Result before tax (resultaat voor belastingen)
Result before tax is the profit or loss after ordinary income and expenses, but before taxes on profit.
What does result before tax (resultaat voor belastingen) mean?
Result before tax is the profit or loss after ordinary income and expenses, but before taxes on profit.
It differs from operating result because financial income and expenses and other items count. It is also not automatically the taxable profit on which corporate income tax is calculated.
How does it work?
The result before tax is a subtotal: operating result plus financial income, minus financial expenses. The law does not name the line specifically; art. 2:377(1) DCC asks for the income and expenses from ordinary business activities and the taxes on them. Formats E and F of the Decree on annual accounts formats (Besluit modellen jaarrekening) do show it, directly after the interest expenses.
The amount is the starting point for the tax charge, not the tax base. The Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) describes taxable profit as the outcome of tax rules applied to the commercial profit and loss account and balance sheet. Permanent differences explain why the tax burden deviates from the rate; temporary differences run through deferred taxes (RJ 272).
Example
For financial year 2026 a BV has an operating result of € 60,000. It receives € 500 interest on a deposit and pays € 8,500 interest on the bank loan. Result before tax: 60,000 + 500 − 8,500 = € 52,000. The costs include € 2,000 that is not tax deductible; the taxable profit is therefore € 54,000. Tax: 19% × 54,000 = € 10,260. Result after tax: 52,000 − 10,260 = € 41,740. The effective burden is 10,260 / 52,000 = 19.7%, slightly above the rate because of the non-deductible costs.
In the annual accounts
P&L, especially in the full presentation of medium-sized and large entities.
Difference from operating result
The operating result stops before financing: interest and value changes of securities do not count yet. The result before tax does include them. Two BVs with the same operating result of € 60,000 therefore diverge: one, without loans, keeps € 60,000, the other, after € 8,500 interest, € 51,500.
Common mistakes
- Equating taxable profit with the commercial result
- Deducting the tax charge in advance
What to watch for
- Recalculate the tax charge from this line: plus and minus the tax adjustments, times the rate. An unexplained difference points to a forgotten adjustment or deferred tax.
- A micro entity does not have this line: the profit and loss account of art. 2:395a(5) DCC goes from the cost items to taxes and result after tax. A small entity may use format I or J; medium-sized and large entities format E or F.
- The share in the result of participating interests appears in the formats after the taxes; do not add it to this line.
Legal basis and sources
art. 2:377 DCC
Frequently asked questions
Is result before tax the same as EBT?
Yes. EBT stands for earnings before taxes. EBIT is the result before interest and taxes; EBITDA also leaves depreciation out of account.
Does the BV pay corporate income tax on this amount?
Not exactly. The tax is calculated on the taxable amount: the taxable profit minus deductible losses. That differs as soon as tax and commercial rules differ.
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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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