Accounts of a Dutch sole proprietorship: prepare, file and costs

The short answer

A Dutch sole proprietorship does not fall under Title 9 Book 2 DCC and files no annual accounts with the KVK. You do have a bookkeeping duty: within six months of the financial year a balance sheet and a statement of income and expenses, kept for seven years (art. 3:15i DCC). Those figures form the business part of your income tax return, which often has to be in before 1 May.

Updated 30 October 2026

Key facts

Why a sole proprietorship has no annual accounts duty under Book 2

Title 9 of Book 2 DCC lists to whom the annual accounts rules apply: the BV, the NV, the cooperative, the mutual insurance association and a few special cases (art. 2:360 DCC). The sole proprietorship is not among them. It is not a legal entity: you and your business are legally one, and you are liable for all debts.

That removes the size classes, adoption, filing and the audit, even for a sole proprietorship with staff and high turnover. What remains is the bookkeeping duty. Anyone who runs a business or independently practises a profession keeps records from which their rights and obligations can always be seen and, within six months each year, prepares a balance sheet and a statement of income and expenses (art. 3:15i DCC). The tax counterpart is in art. 52 AWR.

Preparing the annual documents of a sole proprietorship

In the business part of the return, the Belastingdienst asks for a profit and loss account and a balance sheet: the tax annual accounts. You calculate the profit according to sound business practice, with a consistent line of conduct from year to year (art. 3.25 Income Tax Act 2001 (Wet IB 2001)).

1. Bring the bookkeeping up to date through the last day of the financial year and reconcile the bank.
2. Decide what belongs to the business capital and what is private.
3. Include open invoices, stock and costs still to be paid, even if the money only moves in the new year.
4. Depreciate business assets over their useful life, with an eye on residual value; check it in the depreciation calculator.
5. Book private withdrawals, private deposits and private use, such as the addition for the car.
6. Prepare the profit and loss account and the balance sheet and check that the business capital reconciles.

Notes are not mandatory, but a short explanation of depreciation, stock and special items helps you, your adviser and a financier.

Components and an example: carpentry business, financial year 2025

The annual documents consist of a profit and loss account and a balance sheet; the movement of the business capital links the two.

The business capital reconciles as follows: € 18.400 on 1 January, plus € 62.000 profit, plus € 1.500 private deposit, minus € 55.000 private withdrawals, is € 26.900 on 31 December.

From profit to taxable profit: if the entrepreneur meets the hours criterion of 1.225 hours, the self-employed deduction of € 2.470 comes off for 2025. Of the remaining € 59.530, 12,7% is exempted by the SME profit exemption: € 7.560. The taxable profit comes to € 51.970.

Filing: not for the sole proprietorship

A sole proprietorship files nothing. The KVK is clear about it: the filing duty does not apply to sole proprietorships. Your figures are therefore not public and nobody can request them from the Business Register.

In practice the return is the real deadline: without a profit and loss account and balance sheet you cannot complete the business part. With an extension you usually pay tax interest, according to the Belastingdienst.

What do the annual documents of a sole proprietorship cost?

You pay the KVK nothing, because there is no filing. The costs depend on who prepares the figures.

What you pay an adviser is itself a business cost and reduces your profit. There is no statutory rate; the work depends on the number of entries, the quality of your records and whether there are staff, stock or a company car.

Do it yourself or outsource as a sole proprietorship

Nobody obliges you to take a bookkeeper or accountant. There is no audit requirement for the sole proprietorship, whatever its size. Get help if:

• you invest and want to know whether an investment deduction or accelerated depreciation applies;
• you doubt which assets, such as a car or a building, belong to the business capital;
• you hire staff and will start paying payroll taxes;
• you stop, transfer the business or want to switch to a BV.

Even if you outsource, you remain responsible for a correct return; so discuss the figures before they are submitted. If you are thinking of a BV, first compare the duties on the page annual accounts of a BV. If you work as a freelancer (zzp), read annual accounts for a freelancer.

Common mistakes at the sole proprietorship

• Making only a cash statement of receipts and expenditure, without accounts receivable, accounts payable and depreciation.
• Leaving private expenses via the business account as costs.
• Not reconciling the VAT: the balance on the balance sheet must fit the last return.
• Throwing away the records after five years; the period is seven years.

Jaarrekening.io and the sole proprietorship

Jaarrekening.io makes no annual accounts for a sole proprietorship: the annual accounts route follows Title 9 and is for legal entities. You can, however, create the sole proprietorship without that route. You then use the bookkeeping, the VAT return, payroll and the income tax worksheet, with among others the entrepreneur's deduction and the SME profit exemption for 2026. The bookkeeping and the VAT return already work; payroll and income tax are coming soon. You file the return itself via Mijn Belastingdienst (the Belastingdienst's online portal) or your adviser.

Sources

• Art. 3:15i DCC: bookkeeping duty for anyone who runs a business or profession
• Art. 2:10 DCC: balance sheet and statement of income and expenses within six months; keep for seven years
• Art. 2:360 DCC: legal forms to which Title 9 applies
• Art. 52 AWR: tax record-keeping and retention duty
• Belastingdienst: Sole proprietorship and the consequences for your taxes
• Art. 3.25 Wet IB 2001: profit according to sound business practice
• KVK on sole proprietorships: To file or not to file annual accounts?
• Ondernemersplein: Must you prepare annual accounts or an annual report?
• Belastingdienst: which figures you need for the business part of the return
• Belastingdienst: When must my income tax return be in?
• Belastingdienst: Requesting an extension for the 2025 tax return
• Belastingdienst: Self-employed deduction 2025
• Belastingdienst: SME profit exemption
• Belastingdienst: How long must you keep records?

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