Annual accounts for property (Dutch): cost or current value
Let property, a property for own use and a property for resale each follow a different guideline. This is how a property BV chooses its valuation and treats rent and increases in value.
The short answer
A property BV values rented properties at cost or at current value, the market value. If you choose current value, value changes go to the profit and loss account and for unrealised increases you form a revaluation reserve (art. 2:390(1) DCC). A property for own use falls under RJ 212. A micro entity may not value at market value.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Let or held as an investment | RJ 213 Investment property: cost or current value |
| Property for own use | RJ 212 Tangible fixed assets |
| Current value of an investment | The market value (art. 11 Besluit actuele waarde (Decree on current value)) |
| Micro entity | Valuation at market value not permitted (art. 5a Besluit actuele waarde (Decree on current value)) |
| Rental income | Lease under RJ 292, not RJ 270 |
Investment, own use or trading stock?
First the question of what you hold the property for: that determines which guideline applies and which valuation is open.
| What you hold the property for | Guideline | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| Letting to third parties or capital appreciation | RJ 213 Investment property | Cost, or current value (market value) |
| Own office, shop or industrial building | RJ 212 Tangible fixed assets | Cost less depreciation, or current cost |
| Bought for resale | RJ 220 Inventories | Cost or lower net realisable value; no current value |
| Construction commissioned by a buyer | RJ 221 Construction contracts | Revenue in proportion to progress |
An own office does not become an investment because it is held in a property BV.
Cost or current value: what the choice changes
Under the cost model the property is on the balance sheet at acquisition price, less depreciation and impairments. A valuation then does not change the carrying amount, unless it demonstrates a lasting fall in value (art. 2:387(3) DCC).
Under current value the property is on the balance sheet at market value and you do not depreciate. Every value change, including an unrealised one, goes to the profit and loss account of the year in which it occurs (RJ 213.504). Because that profit has not been earned through a sale, you form from the result or the free reserves a revaluation reserve for the difference with the carrying amount on a cost basis (art. 2:390(1) DCC). You may reduce that reserve by the deferred tax liability.
The choice applies to all investment property and you change it only for sound reasons (art. 2:384(6) DCC). For a micro entity there is no choice: art. 5a Besluit actuele waarde (Decree on current value) does not permit valuation at market value.
Worked example: commercial premises of € 600.000
A small property BV lets commercial premises that are on the balance sheet at € 600.000. The substantiated market value at the balance sheet date is € 660.000.
| Current value | Cost price | |
|---|---|---|
| Carrying amount of the property after valuation | € 660.000 | € 600.000 less the depreciation of the year |
| Profit and loss account | € 60.000 unrealised increase in value | Only the depreciation |
| Revaluation reserve | € 60.000, or € 44.520 after deduction of deferred tax | None |
| Deferred tax liability | At a rate of 25,8%: € 15.480 | None |
Under current value the increase of € 60.000 raises the result, but not the distributable room: the revaluation reserve is a statutory reserve (art. 2:373(4) DCC). If the BV later sells the property, the amount in the reserve for this property is released (art. 2:390(3) DCC).
Rent, rent-free periods and deposits
Rent is revenue from a lease agreement. RJ 270 does not deal with it (paragraph 103); the RJ counts rent under chapter 292 Leases. Ordinary letting is as a rule an operating lease: the property stays on your balance sheet and you recognise the rent evenly over the term of the contract (RJ 292.313).
That has consequences for a rent-free period. With a contract of five years at € 4.000 per month with the first three months free you receive 57 × € 4.000 = € 228.000. Spread over sixty months that is € 3.800 rental income per month, also in the months in which you receive nothing. A deposit is not revenue but a debt to the tenant.
For the size class the balance sheet total counts on the basis of acquisition and production cost (art. 2:396(1) DCC); a revaluation therefore does not push the BV over a threshold. The amounts are under the size criteria and the audit requirement check calculates whether an accountant is mandatory.
Common mistakes at property BVs
- Valuing your own office as investment property at market value.
- Putting an appraisal value on the balance sheet as a micro entity.
- Booking the increase in value without forming a revaluation reserve.
- Booking a rent-free period as months without rental income.
What BVs in this sector file
Property BVs that let, invest or trade fall under SBI section L, renting and trading of real estate (SBI 68). Estate agents belong to the same section; project developers are under construction.
| Balance sheet class, financial year 2024 | Filings | Solvency: p25 – median – p75 | Current ratio: p25 – median – p75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Micro (balance sheet up to and including € 450.000) | 6.159 | −4,2% – 44,7% – 86,2% | 0,50 – 1,61 – 5,71 |
| Small (balance sheet above € 450.000 up to and including € 7,5 mln) | 12.589 | 13,5% – 50,0% – 83,3% | 0,38 – 1,35 – 5,71 |
| Medium-sized (balance sheet above € 7,5 mln up to and including € 25 mln) | 2.119 | 13,9% – 42,4% – 73,5% | 0,27 – 1,00 – 3,35 |
| Large (balance sheet above € 25 mln) | 937 | 16,2% – 35,7% – 63,1% | 0,35 – 1,01 – 3,10 |
In the small balance sheet class, section L had a median solvency of 50,0% for financial year 2024, lower than the 73,4% of all balance sheets in that class combined; the median current ratio was 1,35, lower than nationally (3,28). The national figure is high because of the many holding companies.
The balance sheet class follows only the balance sheet total, not the statutory size class. The dataset does not state the legal form; it covers all XBRL filings with this SBI section, mostly by BVs. Source: KVK Business Register Open Dataset Annual Accounts, processed by Jaarrekening.io, CC BY 4.0. Data downloaded and processed on 2 November 2026. Explanation and all sectors: solvency per sector and current ratio per sector.
The property BV in Jaarrekening.io
Jaarrekening.io takes over the carrying amounts from the XAF audit file or trial balance you import; the software does not determine an appraisal or market value. The choice between cost and current value and the size of the revaluation reserve are decisions of the board, which you process in the bookkeeping and, as a small or larger entity, explain in the notes. Filing with the KVK you do yourself.
Sources
- Dutch Civil Code, Book 2, Title 9
- Decree on current value (Besluit actuele waarde) (art. 5, 5a, 7 and 11)
- RJ Publication 2020-4: draft paragraphs RJ 213 Investment property (draft)
- RJ Publication 2022-8: paragraphs of chapter 212 Tangible fixed assets
- RJ Publication 2023-5: chapter 292 Leases, also for rent (outcome of evaluation of IFRS 16 option)
- RJ Publication 2020-12: draft paragraphs RJ 292 Leases on operating and finance leases (draft)
- RJ 270 Revenue (RJ Publication 2020-15, appendix 2, final)
- RJ Publication 2017-4: draft guideline 220 Inventories (draft)
- Belastingdienst: corporate income tax rates
Frequently asked questions
May a micro BV value its let property at market value?
No. Art. 5a of the Besluit actuele waarde does not permit valuation at market value for an entity as referred to in art. 2:395a DCC. A micro entity therefore values its property at cost, even if an appraisal comes out far above the carrying amount.
Does a revaluation count towards the size class?
No. The criterion is the value of the assets on the basis of acquisition and production cost (art. 2:396(1) DCC). A property bought for € 600.000 and shown on the balance sheet at € 900.000 counts for € 600.000.
Can I distribute the revaluation reserve as dividend?
No. The revaluation reserve is a statutory reserve and distributions are possible only to the extent that equity exceeds the statutory and articles-based reserves (art. 2:216(1) DCC).
Must I have my investment property appraised every year?
The law does not prescribe an annual external appraisal, but under current value the market value must be substantiated at every balance sheet date. If you approximate it with the present value of the expected cash flows, you state method, assumptions and discount rate in the notes (art. 11(2) Besluit actuele waarde). This does not apply to a micro entity: it may not value at market value.
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