Financial year
The twelve-month period for which the annual accounts are prepared, usually equal to the calendar year (boekjaar). A different financial year is called a non-calendar financial year.
What does financial year mean?
The twelve-month period for which the annual accounts are prepared, usually equal to the calendar year (boekjaar). A different financial year is called a non-calendar financial year.
The financial year determines which transactions fall in the annual accounts and from which end date statutory deadlines run. A first or last financial year may be shorter or longer. The calendar year is usual, but not mandatory.
How does it work?
If the articles of association designate no other financial year, the financial year coincides with the calendar year (art. 2:10a DCC). A BV can therefore only move to a different financial year by amending its articles, and thus with a notarial deed (art. 2:234(1) DCC). After the year ends, the deadlines start running: the board of a BV prepares the annual accounts within five months, with at most five months' extension by the general meeting (art. 2:210(1) DCC), and at the latest twelve months after year-end they are filed (art. 2:394(3) DCC).
The first financial year begins at incorporation and ends on the date named in the articles; it can therefore be shorter or longer than twelve months. See Can the first financial year last eighteen months?. For corporate income tax the tax year equals the financial year (art. 7(4) Wet Vpb 1969, the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act). The VAT return follows its own periods.
Example
A BV in garden products has a financial year from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. A delivery of € 14.000 on 24 June 2026, invoiced on 3 July and paid on 15 August, is turnover of financial year 2025/2026. The July 2026 rent of € 3.000 paid in advance on 28 June is an expense of 2026/2027 and sits on the balance sheet at 30 June as a prepayment. Deadlines: prepare by 30 November 2026 at the latest, file by 30 June 2027 at the latest. The VAT return for the second quarter of 2026 simply runs to 30 June.
In the annual accounts
The period above the balance sheet, P&L and notes for every company.
Difference from the calendar year
The calendar year always runs from 1 January to 31 December. The financial year coincides with it if the articles say nothing different, but may also begin on 1 April or 1 July; that is called a non-calendar financial year. The annual accounts and corporate income tax follow the financial year. VAT periods remain calendar months or calendar quarters.
Common mistakes
- Confusing the financial year with the VAT return period
- Accruing costs on the payment date
What should you watch for?
- Check the articles of association for the applicable financial year; if nothing is stated, it is the calendar year.
- Put the dates for preparing, adopting and filing in the diary immediately after year-end; the filing deadline calculator works them out from the last day of the financial year.
- The increased threshold amounts for micro, small and medium-sized entities apply to financial years that began on or after 1 January 2024. For a non-calendar financial year the start date is therefore decisive, not the balance sheet date.
Legal basis and source
art. 2:10a, 2:10(2) and 2:394(3) DCC
Frequently asked questions
May a financial year be longer than twelve months?
An ordinary financial year lasts twelve months. The first financial year after incorporation and the transitional year when the financial year is changed may be shorter or longer; the articles of association determine the end date.
How do you change the financial year of a BV?
By amending the articles of association: a resolution of the general meeting, recorded in a notarial deed (art. 2:234(1) DCC). For corporate income tax the tax year shifts along, because the law follows the financial year there.
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
Your first set of annual accounts is free, for every size class. Create an account and prepare the annual accounts of your Dutch company under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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