Annual accounts of a Dutch stichting (foundation)
Most Dutch foundations prepare accounts but never file them. A foundation with a sizeable business is the exception.
The short answer
Every Dutch foundation (stichting) must keep records and draw up a balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure within six months of year end (art. 2:10 DCC), but most never file them. Only a foundation whose registered enterprises have net turnover of €7.5 million or more in two consecutive years falls under Title 9 and, as a rule, files annual accounts with KVK (art. 2:360(3)).
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| All foundations | Records, balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure within six months, kept for seven years (art. 2:10 DCC) |
| Title 9 foundations | Enterprise turnover of at least €7.5 million in two consecutive years (half the small-entity turnover limit of €15 million) |
| Deadlines under Title 9 | Prepare within six months (plus up to four) and adopt within one month after that (art. 2:300 DCC); file within eight days after adoption (art. 2:394 DCC) |
| Standards | RJ 630 for commercial foundations; RJ 640 and RJk C1 for non-profits; RJ 650 and RJk C2 for fundraising |
| Financial years | 2025–2027; threshold unchanged since financial years starting in 2024 |
Two regimes
| Regime | Which foundations | What they prepare | Filed with KVK? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. 2:10 only | Foundations without an enterprise, or whose enterprises stay below the turnover test | Balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure within six months; records kept for seven years. A foundation with a registered enterprise also states that enterprise's net turnover (art. 2:299a DCC) | No |
| Title 9 | Foundations whose registered enterprises reach €7.5 million net turnover in two consecutive years (art. 2:360(3) DCC) | Full Title 9 accounts for the size class, for the whole foundation | Yes |
| Sector regime | Foundations that by law must publish equivalent accounts, such as care providers or housing associations | Accounts under the sector rules | Under those rules |
The third row reflects the second sentence of art. 2:360(3): if a foundation is legally obliged to prepare and publish financial reporting equivalent to Title 9 accounts, the turnover test does not bring it under Title 9. Equivalent means comparable in content and level to Title 9 as a whole, and publication need not be through KVK (RJ 630.107).
When the turnover test bites
Only the net turnover of the enterprises the foundation runs counts, not donations, grants or investment income, and several registered enterprises are added together (RJ 630.106). The threshold is half the small-entity turnover limit, so €7.5 million for financial years from 2024; before that it was €6 million. The test needs two consecutive financial years at or above the threshold, and the foundation stays within Title 9 until it falls below for two consecutive years (RJ 630.104). For a new foundation the RJ recommends applying the first-year rule by analogy: Title 9 already applies if the first year meets the test (RJ 630.105).
Once the test is met, Title 9 covers the whole foundation, including its non-commercial activities (RJ 630.108). The size class then uses the foundation's total assets together with the turnover and employees of its enterprises (art. 2:398(5) DCC). Where it gives a better insight, an operating account (exploitatierekening) replaces the profit and loss account (art. 2:361(2) DCC).
Deadlines and who adopts under Title 9
De jaarrekening wordt uiterlijk een maand na afloop van de termijn vastgesteld door het daartoe volgens de statuten bevoegde orgaan. Indien de statuten deze bevoegdheid niet aan enig orgaan verlenen, komt deze bevoegdheid toe aan het toezicht houdende orgaan en bij gebreke daarvan aan het bestuur.
Unofficial translation: the annual accounts are adopted no later than one month after the end of the period by the body authorised to do so under the articles; if the articles give no body that power, it lies with the supervisory body and, failing that, with the board. Under the rest of the article, the board prepares the accounts within six months after year end, extendable by up to four months by that body for special circumstances, and the board and supervisory body members sign them (art. 2:300(1)–(2) DCC). Filing follows within eight days after adoption and no later than twelve months after year end (art. 2:394 DCC). A foundation has no shareholders, so the articles matter more than in a BV: check them before planning the timetable.
Worked example: a museum foundation with a shop and café
A fictitious museum foundation runs a shop and café registered as an enterprise. Their net turnover was €7.8 million in 2024 and €8.1 million in 2025; donations of €1.2 million a year do not count. Both years reach €7.5 million, so Title 9 applies to the foundation's 2025 accounts. At 31 December 2024 and 2025 the foundation's total assets are about €6.0 million and the enterprises employ 70 people on average.
- Size class: assets within €7.5 million and enterprise turnover within €15 million, but 70 employees is 50 or more. Two of three small criteria are met on both dates, so the foundation is small.
- Consequences: full Title 9 accounts for the whole foundation, published as an abbreviated balance sheet with notes; no management report and no statutory audit under Title 9, although grant providers may require one.
- Filing alternative: because the foundation does not aim to make a profit, it may skip the KVK filing if it sends the documents free of charge on request to creditors and others entitled, or lets them inspect them at its office, and files an accountant's statement that it acted only within its objects (art. 2:396(9) DCC).
- Calendar: prepared by 30 June 2026, adopted by 31 July 2026 by the body named in the articles, filed within eight days after adoption; with a full four-month extension, prepared by 31 October and adopted by 30 November 2026; in every case public by 31 December 2026.
Foundations that international founders meet
A trust office foundation (stichting administratiekantoor, STAK) holds shares in a company and issues depositary receipts, for example to employees or family members. Whether a foundation runs an enterprise that must be registered depends on its actual activities, not its name; a STAK whose only activity is holding and administering shares is the typical case that stays outside Title 9, with only the art. 2:10 duty. Confirm this for your STAK with a Dutch adviser.
A foundation with public-benefit status (ANBI) has a separate tax-law duty to publish certain information on a website; KVK points this out as an obligation distinct from filing accounts. Non-profit foundations outside Title 9 often still prepare accounts under RJ 640 or RJk C1 because funders, supervisors or their own articles ask for it, and fundraising organisations follow RJ 650 or RJk C2.
Foundations in Jaarrekening.io
Jaarrekening.io supports foundations that fall under Title 9 through art. 2:360(3): it asks about the enterprise turnover test and the equivalent-reporting exception, and its draft adoption resolution names the body that the articles or art. 2:300(3) designate. Foundations outside Title 9 can use the bookkeeping module, but voluntary accounts under RJ 640 or RJk C1 are not yet available, and fundraising organisations, care providers and housing associations are outside the application's annual accounts route. The first set of annual accounts in an account is free; after that a set costs micro €250, small €500, medium-sized €2,000 and large €5,000, excluding VAT. Note that every screen and document is in Dutch.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Does a Dutch stichting have to file annual accounts with KVK?
Only if it falls under Title 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, which happens when the net turnover of its registered enterprises is €7.5 million or more in two consecutive financial years (art. 2:360(3) DCC), unless sector law already requires equivalent public accounts. Every other foundation prepares a balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure under art. 2:10 but does not file them. A small Title 9 foundation without a profit objective can also avoid filing under the conditions of art. 2:396(9).
Do donations count towards the turnover test for foundations?
No. Only the net turnover of the enterprises the foundation runs counts, for example a shop, café or paid service. Donations, grants and investment income are not net turnover. If the foundation runs several registered enterprises, their turnover is added together.
Who adopts the annual accounts of a Dutch foundation?
The body named in the articles of association. If the articles name none, the supervisory body adopts them, and if there is no supervisory body, the board (art. 2:300(3) DCC). Under Title 9 adoption must take place within one month after the preparation period of six months, or of up to ten months with an extension.
Does a STAK file annual accounts?
A trust office foundation (STAK) that only holds and administers shares usually runs no enterprise and so does not fall under Title 9. It still keeps records and prepares a balance sheet and statement of income and expenditure within six months after year end (art. 2:10 DCC), without filing them. Its actual activities decide.
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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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