On a Monday morning, a founder opens the balance sheet and sees one familiar line: receivable from shareholder. A private bill passed through the current account. Interest was booked. Nothing felt dramatic. That is exactly why this line deserves attention. In a small BV, the same person can be director, shareholder, and debtor. The ledger still has to keep those roles apart.
When a loan is still a loan
Article 4.12 of Wet IB 2001 covers dividends and similar profit distributions in box 2. Article 4.13 adds a separate rule for excessive borrowing from the own BV. Dutch tax law treats those routes differently, and business files need to do the same. A shareholder can still owe a real civil-law debt while the tax file starts to move in another direction.
For 2023, the excessive-borrowing threshold stood at €700,000. From 2024 onward, it is €500,000. In 2026, box 2 is taxed at 24.5 percent up to €68,843 and 31 percent above that. That means a tax charge can arise even when no cash dividend lands in the private bank account.
A current-account balance can be useful for small, short movements. Belastingdienst treats rekening-courant as a place for amounts that are settled quickly. The practical line sits at €17,500. If the balance never exceeds that amount during the year, no interest is calculated. Once it passes €17,500, interest is calculated over the whole balance.
Two routes, one balance sheet
A BV loan to its shareholder must look businesslike. Belastingdienst points to a written agreement, repayment terms, security, businesslike interest, and treatment that matches what an unrelated lender would accept. If the shareholder misses the agreed terms and the file keeps drifting, Belastingdienst may treat the loan as income for the shareholder.
That is where many small-company files weaken. A private bill is paid from the BV. A transfer fills a household gap. The repayment is supposed to come after a sale or bonus. Months pass. The ledger still says loan, but the company no longer behaves like a creditor.
Own-home borrowing adds another layer. A BV can lend for the purchase, renovation, or maintenance of an own home. Qualifying interest then belongs in box 1, and the debt does not go into box 3. For the excessive-borrowing test, qualifying own-home debts are excluded. Since 31 December 2022, the BV must also have a mortgage right for such debts, unless the debt already existed on that date.
What a real creditor would do
The Hoge Raad has framed the issue in creditor terms, including ECLI:NL:HR:2015:645 and ECLI:NL:HR:2023:26. The question is plain enough: what would a real third-party creditor have done? A bank would follow dates, interest, security, and recovery. A BV should leave the same trail when the debtor is its own DGA.
That matters because a loan can change character before the file admits it. After lending, the BV may give up creditor rights because of the shareholder relationship. The amount then leaves the BV's assets definitively. Belastingdienst also says conduct or omissions can create that effect, even when the formal claim still sits in the ledger.
For the founder, this is not a theory exercise. It decides whether the receivable still counts as a company asset, or whether it has become a disguised distribution. It also decides how the balance sheet reads in bank talks, succession planning, and any later dispute over value.
The small-company file that holds up
A strong file does not need drama. It needs order. Put the loan agreement, current-account ledger, interest entries, repayments, security, and tax returns next to each other. The company should be able to explain why the money left, when it comes back, and what happens after a missed date.
That discipline protects both sides. The shareholder avoids a surprise box 2 bill on money already spent. The BV avoids a balance sheet that looks stronger than the claim really is. In a small company, that false strength can confuse lenders, buyers, and family members who rely on the numbers.
The practical answer is simple. Keep short current-account movements short. Keep structural private financing in a proper loan file. Track the €500,000 threshold with care. And if the money is for an own home, classify it as such and keep the mortgage position clean. The tax law does not ask for friendliness. It asks for a company that behaves like a company.
Want a quick check of your DGA loan file before year-end?
The data, sourcing, and analysis behind this article were conducted by Linda Pavan. AI was not used to identify sources, build the factual basis, or produce the analytical judgment contained here. AI was used only as a drafting aid. The final English text was personally reviewed, edited, and approved by Linda Pavan before publication.
