Estate agent annual accounts: when is commission turnover?
Signed in December, delivered in February: in which year does the commission fall? The answer follows from the law, your terms of engagement and the conditions in the purchase contract.
The short answer
An estate agent is entitled to commission as soon as the purchase agreement has been concluded through his mediation (art. 7:426(1) DCC), unless the engagement ties the payment to delivery. That moment determines in which financial year the turnover falls. Many estate agents work as a sole proprietorship or vof and are not covered by Title 9; an estate agent's BV files its annual accounts with the KVK.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Usual legal form | Sole proprietorship or vof; larger offices a BV |
| Statutory moment of commission | Conclusion of the mediated agreement (art. 7:426(1) DCC) |
| Cooling-off period for a private buyer of a home | Three days after receipt of the signed deed (art. 7:2(2) DCC) |
Which legal form, which obligation?
A self-employed estate agent or an office with two partners is usually a sole proprietorship or vof. Title 9 of Book 2 DCC does not normally apply to them, so no annual accounts go to the KVK; they prepare annual figures for income tax (sole proprietorship, vof). An estate agent's BV does file; the example below assumes this.
For the scope of publication, only the size class counts for an estate agent's BV: check the size criteria and do the audit requirement check if the office grows.
The moment of turnover of commission
The engagement of an estate agent is a mediation agreement: the intermediary is entitled to payment as soon as the agreement between the client and the third party has been concluded through his mediation (art. 7:426(1) DCC). For the sale of a home that is the purchase agreement, not the delivery at the notary. The engagement may make the payment dependent on the performance of the purchase. If it then does not go ahead, the client remains liable for the payment, unless the failure to proceed cannot be attributed to him (paragraph 2).
For the annual accounts a second test applies. Revenue from a service you recognise only when it is probable that the fee will come in (RJ 270.117), and if one act is much more important than all the others, you wait with the revenue until that act has been performed (RJ 270.120). As long as a private buyer is still in the three-day cooling-off period (art. 7:2(2) DCC) or can invoke a financing condition, the commission is not certain.
| Position on 31 December | Commission this financial year? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase signed, cooling-off period and conditions lapsed | Yes | The right to payment has arisen |
| Purchase signed, financing condition runs until mid-January | As a rule no | The buyer can still dissolve; assess per file how likely that is |
| Engagement ties the payment to delivery in February | No | The right to payment depends on the performance of the purchase |
| Viewings and an offer, no agreement yet | No | No agreement has been concluded |
| Valuation report delivered, invoice follows in January | Yes | The service has been performed |
Worked example: six files around the turn of the year
An estate agent's BV has, on 31 December, six sales files in which the purchase agreement has been signed but the commission has not yet been invoiced. According to its terms of engagement, the commission is due when the purchase is concluded, except in one file.
| Files | Commission | Treatment on 31 December |
|---|---|---|
| Three files, all conditions lapsed | € 6.500 + € 8.200 + € 5.300 = € 20.000 | Turnover of this financial year; € 20.000 still to be invoiced |
| Two files with a running financing condition | € 7.000 + € 6.000 = € 13.000 | No turnover; assess in January |
| One file with commission on delivery in February | € 7.500 | No turnover; only on delivery |
Of the € 40.500 in possible commission, the BV recognises € 20.000 in this financial year. The remaining € 20.500 stays outside turnover and is recognised only when the conditions for the fee have been met.
Start-up costs and purchase engagements
If on accepting the engagement you charge a fixed amount for start-up, photography and placement, that is turnover as soon as you have carried out those activities. With a purchase engagement at a fixed amount in advance, you already have the money but have not yet delivered the service: the amount stands as received in advance on the balance sheet until the search is completed.
Keep the date of the purchase agreement, the lapse of the conditions and the delivery date per file. That list supports the item commission still to be invoiced, a receivable on the balance sheet.
Common mistakes at estate agencies
- Booking commission as turnover only on receipt via the notary, while the right to payment arose in the previous financial year.
- Taking every signed purchase as final turnover, even if the conditions are still running.
- Booking the fixed amount for a purchase engagement as turnover on receipt.
The estate agency in Jaarrekening.io
An estate agent's BV reads its XAF audit file or trial balance in Excel or CSV into Jaarrekening.io; you determine the commission still to be invoiced yourself. The software compiles the annual accounts and the publication version and sends nothing to the KVK. If you work as a sole proprietorship or vof, you do not use the annual accounts route but the bookkeeping and taxes.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
The purchase was signed in December and delivery is in February. In which year does the commission fall?
That depends on your engagement. Without a deviating agreement the right to payment arises when the purchase is concluded (art. 7:426(1) DCC) and the commission falls in the old year, provided the conditions have lapsed. If your engagement ties the payment to delivery, the turnover follows only on that delivery.
Is commission due if the buyer dissolves the purchase?
If the payment is made dependent on the performance of the purchase and it does not go ahead, the client remains liable for the payment, unless the failure to proceed cannot be attributed to him (art. 7:426(2) DCC). Read what your terms say about dissolution and do not book turnover as long as the outcome is uncertain.
Does the moment of turnover for commission also apply to an estate agent without a BV?
Yes. In the annual figures of a sole proprietorship or vof too, commission belongs to the year in which you became entitled to it, not to the year of payment. The difference is that those figures do not go to the KVK: you use them for the income tax return.
When is a valuation turnover?
On delivery of the valuation report. The service has then been performed, even if you send the invoice later or the customer pays later.
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Preparing Dutch annual accounts?
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