Commercial annual accounts
The commercial annual accounts (commerciële jaarrekening) account for the financial position and performance under the applicable reporting rules, for users other than the tax authority.
What does commercial annual accounts mean?
The commercial annual accounts (commerciële jaarrekening) account for the financial position and performance under the applicable reporting rules, for users other than the tax authority.
Book 2 DCC and further guidelines apply to Title 9 legal entities. A deviating tax valuation can lead to a deferred tax. The published version may be abridged.
How does it work?
The commercial annual accounts are the annual accounts that Title 9 of Book 2 DCC prescribes: they give the insight needed for a sound judgement of financial position and result (art. 2:362(1) DCC). They are intended for shareholders, banks, suppliers and anyone who requests them from the Business Register. The board prepares them, the general meeting adopts them, and they are the basis for the balance test on dividends.
The taxable profit follows sound business practice (art. 3.25 Wet IB 2001, via art. 8 Wet Vpb 1969) and serves a different purpose: levying tax. Differences arise in depreciation, provisions, participating interests and tax reserves. Temporary differences lead in the commercial annual accounts to a deferred tax asset or a provision for deferred taxes (art. 2:374(4)(a) DCC). Micro and small legal entities may avoid this by also applying the tax-based valuation policies commercially (art. 2:395a(7) DCC and art. 2:396(6) DCC).
Example
A BV buys a machine for € 60.000 at the start of 2025. Commercially it depreciates it over the expected useful life of three years: € 20.000 a year. For tax purposes depreciation is at most 20% a year: € 12.000. Commercial result before tax for 2025: € 100.000. Taxable profit: 100.000 + 8.000 = € 108.000. Corporate income tax due: 19% × 108.000 = € 20.520. The commercial annual accounts recognise a deferred tax asset of 19% × 8.000 = € 1.520, so the tax charge is € 19.000.
In the annual accounts
Balance sheet, P&L and notes; publication form per size class.
Difference from the tax accounts
The tax accounts are not a document that Book 2 DCC prescribes; it is the name for the balance sheet and profit calculation accompanying the corporate income tax return. They are not adopted and not filed. The commercial annual accounts are, and only they count for dividends, for arrangements with the bank and for the size class. See Difference between tax and commercial annual accounts.
Common mistakes
- Equating commercial and tax result
- Keeping the abridged publication for the full internal annual accounts
What should you watch for?
- Prepare a reconciliation between commercial result and taxable profit every year; each line is a temporary or a permanent difference.
- If a micro or small BV opts for tax-based policies, it applies them all and states this in the notes. A small legal entity also explains for which items the valuation therefore deviates from Title 9 (art. 3 of the Besluit fiscale waarderingsgrondslagen, the Decree on tax valuation policies).
- Medium-sized and large legal entities do not have that choice. They value in accordance with Title 9 and recognise deferred taxes.
Legal basis and source
art. 2:362 DCC
Frequently asked questions
Does a BV have to prepare two sets of annual accounts?
It needs commercial annual accounts and, in addition, a profit calculation for the corporate income tax return. A micro or small BV can make the two coincide by preparing the commercial annual accounts on tax-based valuation policies.
Which annual accounts are filed with the KVK?
The commercial ones, in the form that belongs to the size class: for micro an abridged balance sheet, for small a balance sheet with notes. The corporate income tax return goes to the Belastingdienst (Dutch Tax Administration) and is not public.
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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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