Size criteria: micro, small, medium-sized or large
Three numbers determine which regime applies to your annual accounts: the value of the assets, the net turnover and the number of employees. The test runs over two balance sheet dates and across the whole group.
The short answer
A legal entity is micro, small or medium-sized if, on two consecutive balance sheet dates, it meets at least two of three requirements: assets, net turnover and number of employees. For small: assets ≤ € 7.5 million, net turnover ≤ € 15 million, < 50 employees. The class determines what you prepare and publish, and whether an audit is mandatory.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Legal basis | art. 2:395a(1) DCC (micro), art. 2:396(1) DCC (small), art. 2:397(1) DCC (medium-sized), art. 2:398 DCC (first financial year and exceptions) |
| Test | Two or three of the three requirements, on two consecutive balance sheet dates |
| Current limits | For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024 (Staatsblad 2024, 52) |
| Group | The figures of group companies that would fall within a consolidation count (paragraph 2 of each article) |
| Not for | Public-interest entities, such as listed companies, banks and insurers (art. 2:398(7) DCC) |
The three requirements and the limits
The law measures size with three requirements. The first is the value of the assets according to the balance sheet with notes, on the basis of acquisition and production cost: the balance sheet total, that is, calculated at cost. The second is the net turnover over the financial year. The third is the average number of employees over the financial year.
| Class | Assets | Net turnover | Employees | Up to and including financial year 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Micro | ≤ € 450.000 | ≤ € 900.000 | < 10 | € 350.000 and € 700.000 |
| Small | ≤ € 7.5 million | ≤ € 15 million | < 50 | € 6 million and € 12 million |
| Medium-sized | ≤ € 25 million | ≤ € 50 million | < 250 | € 20 million and € 40 million |
| Large: at least two exceeded | > € 25 million | > € 50 million | ≥ 250 | Same, above € 20 million and € 40 million |
The amounts were increased by decree of 5 March 2024 and apply to financial years that began on or after 1 January 2024. For financial year 2023, a legal entity could already apply the new amounts. The number of employees has not changed. The law says fewer than 10, 50 and 250: whoever has exactly fifty employees on average does not meet the requirement for small.
Large has no definition of its own. Whoever exceeds at least two of the three limits for medium-sized on two consecutive balance sheet dates is not micro, small or medium-sized and applies Title 9 in full.
The two-year rule
One year is not enough to switch class. The exemptions apply to a legal entity that has met the requirements on two consecutive balance sheet dates, and they lapse only when that is no longer the case on two consecutive balance sheet dates. That works in both directions: an incidental peak year does not make a small BV medium-sized, and an incidental bad year does not make a medium-sized BV small.
A new legal entity does not yet have two balance sheet dates. A rule of its own applies: in the first and second financial year the balance sheet date of the first financial year is decisive (art. 2:398(1) DCC). See the first annual accounts of a BV.
Worked example: a micro BV keeps growing
A web shop in the form of a BV (private limited company) met the requirements for micro up to and including 2024. The web shop and its figures are fictitious.
| 31-12-2024 | 31-12-2025 | 31-12-2026 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assets | € 410.000 | € 520.000 | € 610.000 |
| Net turnover | € 860.000 | € 1.050.000 | € 1.300.000 |
| Employees | 8 | 9 | 11 |
| Requirements for micro met | 3 of 3 | 1 of 3 | 0 of 3 |
| Regime for the financial year | Micro | Micro | Small |
On 31 December 2025 the BV meets only one requirement. That is the first balance sheet date on which it does not comply, so for 2025 it remains micro. On 31 December 2026 it again does not comply. For financial year 2026 it is small: it then publishes a note in addition to the balance sheet. If it shrinks afterwards, the way back also takes two balance sheet dates.
The group counts
For each of the three classes, the second paragraph provides that the assets, net turnover and number of employees of group companies are counted if they would fall within the consolidation, had the legal entity been required to prepare consolidated annual accounts. That does not apply if the legal entity applies art. 2:408 DCC.
An example. A personal holding company has no turnover and no staff of its own. Its operating company has a turnover of € 2.4 million with fourteen employees. If the holding company forms a group with the operating company, an economic unit under its central management (art. 2:24b DCC), the figures count together and exceed two micro limits: the holding company is then small and publishes an abridged balance sheet with notes. If it is not a group head, it tests on its own figures and can be micro (RJk M1.109). See the guide to annual accounts for a holding company.
What the class determines
| Item | Micro | Small | Medium-sized | Large |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publication | Abridged balance sheet | Abridged balance sheet and notes | Simplified annual accounts, management report, auditor's report | Full annual documents |
| Management report | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Audit | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Cash flow statement (Guideline 360) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Filing | KVK portal or SBR software | KVK portal or SBR software | SBR software or upload in the portal | SBR software or upload in the portal |
The in-depth treatment per topic is under abridged annual accounts, management report, audit requirement and SBR and XBRL. A quick test is possible with the size class calculator.
Common mistakes
- Testing on one year. The class changes only after two consecutive balance sheet dates.
- Using equity. The requirement concerns the value of the assets: the balance sheet total.
- Forgetting the group. A holding or intermediate holding company tests including the companies below it.
- Calculating with the old limits. For financial years from 2024 the increased amounts apply.
- Sitting exactly on the limit. For the amounts the limit is included; for the employees it is not.
- Seeing the class as a choice. Lighter than the law allows is not permitted. Heavier is: the general meeting can decide not to apply the exemptions (art. 2:398(2) DCC).
The size class in Jaarrekening.io
Jaarrekening.io derives the class from the figures of both balance sheet dates, applies the two-year rule and the rule for the first financial year and indicates whether the audit requirement applies. If you opt for a test on a group basis, you record the scope of consolidation; the app warns if it is missing. The outcome is an aid: the board determines the class.
Sources
- Art. 2:395a DCC: micro legal entity: requirements and counting the group (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:396 DCC: small legal entity: requirements and counting the group (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:397 DCC: medium-sized legal entity (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:398 DCC: first financial year, resolution of the general meeting, exceptions (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:377 DCC: the concept of net turnover (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Staatsblad 2024, 52: Implementing Decree for the Directive raising the limits
- KVK: Which business class does your company fall into?
- RJ-Uiting 2016-4: Guideline for Micro Legal Entities (rjnet.nl)
Frequently asked questions
Which limits applied for financial year 2023?
For micro € 350.000 in assets and € 700.000 in turnover, for small € 6 million and € 12 million, for medium-sized € 20 million and € 40 million. For a financial year that began on or after 1 January 2023, a legal entity could already apply the increased amounts (Staatsblad (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees) 2024, 52, art. 4(3)).
What applies in the first financial year of a new BV?
Then there is only one balance sheet date. The class for the first and second financial year follows from the figures at the balance sheet date of the first financial year (art. 2:398(1) DCC).
When do I become small again after shrinking?
When, on two consecutive balance sheet dates, you again meet at least two requirements for small. For the second of those financial years you apply the lighter regime.
Do the size criteria also apply to a sole proprietorship or vof?
No. They belong to Title 9 of Book 2 DCC, and that title applies to the BV, the NV, the cooperative, the mutual insurance company and certain foundations, associations and partnerships (art. 2:360 DCC).
Does the KVK table differ from the law?
The KVK (Dutch Chamber of Commerce) uses the term business class (bedrijfsklasse) and shows a simplified table. The law is leading: if a legal entity meets two of the three requirements, it falls in that class, even if the third figure fits in a higher column.
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