Intangible fixed assets in the annual accounts
Software, licences, patents and purchased goodwill can appear on the balance sheet as an intangible fixed asset. The rules for capitalising are stricter than for machines or buildings.
The short answer
Intangible fixed assets are non-physical assets that serve the enterprise on a lasting basis, such as capitalised development costs, licences, patents and purchased goodwill (art. 2:365(1) DCC). You value them at cost and amortise over the useful life. Research costs, internally generated goodwill and own brands do not go on the balance sheet.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Legal basis | art. 2:365 DCC (items and reserve), art. 2:386(3) DCC (amortisation), art. 2:387 DCC (impairment) |
| Guideline | RJ 210 Intangible fixed assets; goodwill from an acquisition in RJ 216; for micro and small the RJk volume |
| Amortisation | Over the expected useful life. If for development costs or goodwill it cannot be reliably estimated: at most ten years. Incorporation and issue costs: at most five years |
| Statutory reserve | Equal to capitalised costs of incorporation, share issue and development (art. 2:365(2) DCC) |
Legal framework and RJ 210
The law names five kinds of intangible fixed assets that appear separately on the balance sheet (art. 2:365(1) DCC): costs of incorporation and share issue, costs of development, costs of acquiring concessions, permits and intellectual property rights, goodwill acquired from third parties, and advance payments. Goodwill and advance payments are included at no more than the expenditure incurred, less amortisation (art. 2:385(4) DCC).
Whoever capitalises costs of incorporation, issue or development explains them and keeps a statutory reserve for the same amount. That reserve limits the room for dividend. For incorporation and issue costs the RJ recommends not capitalising them; costs of a share issue are then charged to the share premium.
RJ 210 elaborates when an expenditure is an asset. The core: the asset is identifiable, the legal entity has control over it, future economic benefits are probable and the cost can be reliably determined. A write-down of goodwill is not reversed later (art. 2:387(5) DCC).
What you do and do not capitalise
| Expenditure | Treatment |
|---|---|
| Research: gaining new knowledge and insights | Expense in the year itself |
| Development: design and construction of a new product, process or system | Capitalise if all conditions of RJ 210 are met, with a statutory reserve |
| Purchased software, licence, permit or patent | Capitalise at acquisition price |
| Goodwill paid on the purchase of a business | Capitalise and amortise |
| Internally generated goodwill, an own brand or customer base | Do not capitalise |
| Training, advertising and start-up costs | Expense in the year itself |
For development costs you must be able to show that the project is technically feasible, that you intend and are able to complete and use or sell it, that it will probably generate economic benefits and that the expenditure can be reliably determined per project. Without time records and project administration that will not work. If all conditions are met, you capitalise; it is then no longer a free choice. For micro and small, according to the RJk this obligation applies only if development is a core activity.
Amortisation starts as soon as the asset is ready for use. Every year you test whether there are indications of lasting impairment (art. 2:387(3) DCC); the carrying amount may not exceed the recoverable amount, the higher of realisable value and value in use.
Worked example: a software company capitalises a platform
A BV (private limited company) builds its own platform in 2025. From January up to and including March it investigates which technology is suitable (€ 30.000). From April up to and including December it builds: € 96.000 in hours and € 24.000 in external costs. The platform goes into use on 1 January 2026 and is expected to last five years.
| Moment | Journal entry | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 2025, research | Expense; nothing on the balance sheet | € 30.000 |
| 2025, development | Intangible fixed assets to Capitalised own production | € 120.000 |
| 2025, reserve | Other reserves to Statutory reserve development costs | € 120.000 |
| 2026, amortisation | Amortisation costs to Intangible fixed assets (€ 120.000 : 5) | € 24.000 |
| 2026, reserve | Statutory reserve to Other reserves | € 24.000 |
At the end of 2026 the carrying amount is € 96.000, equal to the statutory reserve. For tax, the BV may write off the production costs at once in 2025. If it does, the tax carrying amount is nil and commercially it recognises a deferred tax liability: at a rate of 19% that is € 22.800 at the end of 2025.
Intangible fixed assets per size class
With the limits for financial years from 1 January 2024, the presentation of intangible fixed assets looks like this per class. A class applies if the legal entity meets at least two of the three criteria on two consecutive balance sheet dates; the first and second financial year follow art. 2:398(1) DCC. The reserve obligation of art. 2:365(2) DCC applies to everyone who capitalises.
| Class | Balance sheet | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Micro (balance sheet total ≤ € 450.000, net turnover ≤ € 900.000, < 10 employees) | Only the total of fixed assets; capitalised incorporation and issue costs separately (art. 2:395a(4) DCC) | None. Tax-based policies are allowed (art. 2:395a(7) DCC): then you follow the tax amortisation |
| Small (balance sheet total ≤ € 7.5 million, net turnover ≤ € 15 million, < 50 employees) | Intangible fixed assets as one item; incorporation and issue costs separately (art. 2:396(3) DCC) | No movement schedule required; the amortisation method is. The tax-based policies are also an option (art. 2:396(6) DCC) |
| Medium-sized (balance sheet total ≤ € 25 million, net turnover ≤ € 50 million, < 250 employees) | All five items; in the published balance sheet only incorporation and issue costs and goodwill separately (art. 2:397(5) DCC) | Movement schedule per item (art. 2:368 DCC) |
| Large (balance sheet total > € 25 million, net turnover > € 50 million, ≥ 250 employees) | All five items, also publicly | Movement schedule and the disclosures of RJ 210, distinguishing purchased from internally developed assets |
Tax treatment of goodwill and development costs
The tax authority has its own rules (art. 3.30 Income Tax Act 2001 (Wet IB 2001), for the BV via art. 8 Corporate Income Tax Act 1969 (Wet Vpb 1969)). On goodwill you amortise for tax at most 10% per year, even if the commercial useful life is five years. The production costs of an internally made intangible asset may be charged to profit at once in the year of production. Both rules lead to temporary differences between the commercial and the tax carrying amount, and thus to a deferred tax in the commercial annual accounts.
Common mistakes when capitalising
- Including research costs or general overhead in the capitalised amount.
- Capitalising hours without records per project and per phase.
- Forgetting the statutory reserve, or not reducing it when you amortise.
- Amortising goodwill over ten years by default. The law asks for an estimate of the useful life; ten years is only the maximum if that estimate cannot be made reliably.
- Putting an internally built customer base or brand on the balance sheet.
Recording development costs in Jaarrekening.io
Jaarrekening.io has a module that records, per development project, hours, costs, the test of the conditions, the amortisation and the statutory reserve. It has been built, but is not yet in the app's menu and does not book anything itself; see capitalising development costs. In the annual accounts themselves, the movement schedule of fixed assets has a line per item of art. 2:365 DCC.
Sources
- Art. 2:365 DCC: intangible fixed assets and statutory reserve (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:386 DCC: amortisation
- Art. 2:387 DCC: impairments
- Art. 2:395a, 2:396 and 2:397 DCC: exemptions per size class
- Art. 3.30 Income Tax Act 2001: tax amortisation of goodwill and intangible assets
- RJ-Uiting 2025-5, Guideline 240 (final): costs of incorporation and issue, statutory reserves (rjnet.nl)
- Dutch Accounting Standards Board: RJ volume
- Accountancy Vanmorgen (2020): reporting aspects of innovation costs, RJ 210 and RJk
- Dutch Tax Administration: calculating depreciation
Frequently asked questions
How long do I amortise goodwill?
Over the expected useful life. Only if in an exceptional case you cannot estimate it reliably do you amortise over at most ten years and state in the notes why (art. 2:386(3) DCC). For tax, amortisation is at most 10% per year.
Does the statutory reserve for development costs count for dividend?
Yes. A BV distributes only to the extent that equity exceeds the statutory and articles-based reserves (art. 2:216(1) DCC). The more you capitalise, the smaller the distributable room, even though the profit does not change.
What happens if a capitalised project fails?
Then you write the asset down against the result, because the impairment is lasting (art. 2:387(3) DCC). The statutory reserve falls by the same amount and is released to the other reserves.
From when do I amortise capitalised development costs?
From the moment the asset is ready for use, according to a pattern that fits the expected useful life (art. 2:386(4) DCC). During construction you do not yet amortise, but you do test whether the project remains viable.
May I expense purchased software in one go?
Only if the amount is negligible for the true and fair view (RJk A1.304a). Software that you use for several years is otherwise a fixed asset.
Read more
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.
Get started