Article 2:402 DCC: the abbreviated separate profit and loss account
If a Dutch entity includes its own figures in its consolidated annual accounts, its separate profit and loss account may suffice with one separate item: the result from participating interests after tax. The other income and expenses appear as one balance. The notes to the consolidated annual accounts state this. Public-interest entities are excluded.
The short answer
If a Dutch entity includes its own figures in its consolidated annual accounts, its separate profit and loss account may suffice with one separate item: the result from participating interests after tax. The other income and expenses appear as one balance. The notes to the consolidated annual accounts state this. Public-interest entities are excluded.
Updated 30 October 2026
Key facts
| Statutory text | Art. 2:402(1) and (2) DCC, text in force from 1 July 2026; last amended as of 1 November 2015 |
| Condition | The entity itself prepares consolidated annual accounts in which its own data are included |
| Excluded | Public-interest entities (art. 2:398(7) DCC) |
| Elaboration in the RJ (Dutch Accounting Standards Board) | RJ 305, paragraph 1 (exemptions for group companies) and RJ 217 (consolidation) |
The text of article 2:402 and what it means
1. If the financial data of an entity are included in its consolidated annual accounts, its own profit and loss account need only state the result from participating interests after deduction of the taxes thereon as a separate item. The notes to the consolidated annual accounts state the application of the preceding sentence.
The exemption affects only the separate profit and loss account of the parent. Normally that account follows a format from the Annual Accounts Formats Decree (Besluit modellen jaarrekening), with turnover, costs, interest and taxes as separate lines. With article 2:402 one mandatory separate item remains: the result from participating interests, measured after the tax that applies to them. Everything else may be shown as one balance after tax. The bottom line does not change.
The condition lies in the word “its”: it concerns the consolidated annual accounts of the entity itself. Whoever wants to see the group figures reads that consolidated account; that is why the separate one may be shorter. A subsidiary that is only consolidated by another gains nothing from this article. Art. 2:403 DCC is meant for it.
The second sentence is a disclosure duty. One sentence in the notes to the consolidated annual accounts is enough, for example: “The separate profit and loss account has been prepared applying article 2:402 DCC.”
2. This article does not apply to entities as referred to in article 398(7).
Paragraph 2 refers to the public-interest entities: entities with securities on a regulated market in the EU, credit institutions, insurers and organisations designated by order in council (art. 2:398(7) DCC). They always present a full separate profit and loss account.
For which groups the abbreviated account pays off
The size class of a group head follows from the figures of the group (art. 2:396(2) DCC), with the thresholds for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024. Whether article 2:402 yields anything depends on whether there are consolidated annual accounts and whether the profit and loss account is made public.
| Class of the group | Consolidate? | What 2:402 yields |
|---|---|---|
| Micro (balance sheet total ≤ € 450.000, net turnover ≤ € 900.000, < 10 employees) | No, a group within the small thresholds is exempt (art. 2:407(2) DCC) | Nothing: without consolidated annual accounts the exemption does not apply |
| Small (balance sheet total ≤ € 7,5 mln, net turnover ≤ € 15 mln, < 50 employees) | Only voluntarily or after written objection by the general meeting | A shorter internal account; the profit and loss account is not filed (art. 2:396(8) DCC) |
| Medium-sized (balance sheet total ≤ € 25 mln, net turnover ≤ € 50 mln, < 250 employees) | Yes, unless art. 2:408 DCC applies | The filed separate account shrinks to two lines plus the result |
| Large (balance sheet total > € 25 mln, net turnover > € 50 mln, ≥ 250 employees) | Yes, unless art. 2:408 DCC applies | Most: otherwise the full separate account becomes public |
Financial years 2025, 2026 and 2027
The text of article 2:402 has not changed since 1 November 2015 and no amendment has been announced. The same therefore applies to financial years 2025, 2026 and 2027. The RJ has amended chapter 305 for the 2027 annual edition; paragraph 305.1 repeats only the statutory text for this article. Chapter 217 has been reorganised and clarified on points for financial years from 1 January 2027 (RJ-Uiting 2026-8). For 2025 and 2026 the previous versions of those chapters apply.
Case: the holding of a bakery chain
Bakkersgroep Noord BV holds all shares in two operating companies. They do not form a fiscal unity. The group is medium-sized and Bakkersgroep Noord prepares consolidated annual accounts for 2026. The holding measures its participating interests at net asset value. It charges on management fees itself and lends money to the subsidiaries.
| Separate profit and loss account 2026 | According to the format | With art. 2:402 DCC |
|---|---|---|
| Management fees charged on | € 300.000 | |
| Wages and salaries | − € 210.000 | |
| Other operating expenses | − € 40.000 | |
| Interest income from group companies | € 15.000 | |
| Corporate income tax on own result | − € 12.350 | |
| Other income and expenses after tax | € 52.650 | |
| Result from participating interests after tax | € 1.240.000 | € 1.240.000 |
| Result after tax | € 1.292.650 | € 1.292.650 |
The own result before tax is € 300.000 − € 210.000 − € 40.000 + € 15.000 = € 65.000. After € 12.350 tax, € 52.650 remains: the balance in the third column. Because there are no minority shareholders and the participating interests are at net asset value, the consolidated profit and loss account shows the same group result of € 1.292.650, but broken down by turnover and costs of the whole group. The notes to that consolidated account get the sentence on the application of article 2:402.
Suppose the group stays within the small thresholds on 31 December 2027 and on 31 December 2028. Then Bakkersgroep Noord may stop consolidating for 2028 under art. 2:407(2) DCC. With the consolidated annual accounts the abbreviated form also falls away: the separate account follows the format again, with the simplifications for small entities.
Where the abbreviated account goes wrong
- Using the form while there are no consolidated annual accounts, for example at an intermediate holding that applies art. 2:408 DCC.
- Forgetting the sentence in the notes to the consolidated annual accounts (paragraph 1, second sentence).
- Showing the result from participating interests before tax. The law asks for the amount after the tax that applies to it.
- Thinking the separate balance sheet may also be shorter. The article concerns only the profit and loss account; balance sheet and notes remain complete. The statements on participating interests under art. 2:379 DCC and art. 2:414 DCC may, however, be combined (art. 2:379(5) DCC).
- Dropping disclosures that are not attached to a line of the account. The average number of employees (art. 2:382 DCC) and the remuneration of directors (art. 2:383 DCC) remain mandatory; according to RJ 217.501 you may give that remuneration in the notes to the consolidated or to the separate annual accounts.
What article 2:402 connects to
- Article 2:361 DCC: the annual accounts include the consolidated annual accounts if the entity prepares them.
- Articles 2:405–2:414 DCC: how the consolidated annual accounts are built up.
- Article 2:406 DCC and article 2:407 DCC: when you must consolidate and when not.
- Article 2:403 DCC: the exemption on the subsidiary's side.
- RJ 305 and RJ 217 for medium-sized and large entities; for small RJk B3.
How it works at Jaarrekening.io
In the consolidation module of Jaarrekening.io you switch on the abbreviated separate profit and loss account per group. The document preview then shows that account with the two lines and the result, and the notes to the consolidated annual accounts get the statement. If the entity is marked in the app as listed or with a public-interest category, the full form remains. The consolidation module is built, but is not yet in the app menu.
Sources
- Art. 2:402 DCC: exemption for the separate profit and loss account, text in force from 1 July 2026 (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:398 DCC: public-interest entities (paragraph 7), text in force from 1 July 2026 (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Art. 2:361 DCC: the concept of annual accounts, text in force from 1 July 2026 (wetten.overheid.nl)
- Dutch Accounting Standards Board guidelines for annual reporting (rjnet.nl)
- RJ-Uiting 2026-8: final amended Guideline 217 Consolidation, 24 August 2026 (rjnet.nl)
Frequently asked questions
May a holding without consolidated annual accounts use article 2:402 DCC?
No. The exemption applies only if the entity includes its own financial data in its own consolidated annual accounts. A holding that does not consolidate under art. 2:407(2) or art. 2:408 DCC prepares its separate profit and loss account according to the ordinary format.
Which items remain in the abbreviated profit and loss account of art. 2:402 DCC?
The law requires only one separate line: what the participating interests yield, measured after the tax that applies to them. The other income and expenses may be shown together as one balance after tax. Together they give the result after tax, which remains equal to that of the full account.
Must the application of article 2:402 DCC be stated in the notes?
Yes. The notes to the consolidated annual accounts state that the exemption has been applied (art. 2:402(1), second sentence, DCC). One sentence is enough.
Does article 2:402 DCC apply to a listed company or a bank?
No. Paragraph 2 excludes the public-interest entities of art. 2:398(7) DCC: entities with securities on a regulated market in the EU, credit institutions, insurers and organisations designated by order in council. They present a full separate profit and loss account.
What is the difference between art. 2:402 and art. 2:403 DCC?
Art. 2:402 DCC applies to the parent that consolidates itself and affects only its separate profit and loss account. Art. 2:403 DCC applies to a group company that is consolidated by another; with the consent of its shareholders and a liability statement, the format rules, the audit and the filing of its own annual accounts fall away.
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