The Cost of Starting a Dutch BV in 2026 (Full Breakdown)

Bottom line up front: the one-off cost of setting up a Dutch BV in 2026 is mostly two items — the notary (typically €400–€1,500 for the incorporation deed) and the KVK registration fee of €82.25 — plus a symbolic €0.01 minimum share capital and whatever service fee you pay to have it handled for you. There is no €18,000 capital requirement and no annual KVK fee. The costs that actually add up over the life of the company are the ongoing ones: bookkeeping, annual accounts, and corporate income tax at 19% / 25.8%. Here is the full breakdown.

The one-off setup costs

Four items make up the cost of getting the BV to exist and registered.

1. Notary fee — typically €400 to €1,500. A BV can only be created by notarial deed executed by a Dutch civil-law notary, so this is unavoidable. Standardised online providers advertise packages from around €500 excluding VAT; a straightforward single-shareholder BV sits at the low end, while a holding-plus-operating structure with custom articles of association costs more. These are market prices, not an official tariff, so quotes vary between notaries.

2. KVK registration fee — €82.25. This is the one-off fee to enter the company in the Handelsregister (trade register) at the Kamer van Koophandel. It is charged once at registration; there is no annual KVK membership fee. (Some sources cite a slightly different cent amount — confirm the exact 2026 figure on kvk.nl at the moment you register.)

3. Minimum share capital — €0.01. Since the 2012 Flex-BV reform there is no minimum capital to lock up — the legal floor is one eurocent. In practice founders usually issue €1–€100 of shares. This is your money staying in your company, not a fee, but it is worth stating plainly because many people still believe an €18,000 minimum applies. It does not.

4. Service / formation fee. If you have the incorporation handled for you — coordinating the notary, drafting, KVK registration, and the tax registrations — there is a service fee on top of the notary and KVK costs. Our transparent all-in pricing is on the pricing page; the value of a fixed fee is that it folds the notary, KVK, and admin into one figure with no surprise add-ons.

So a realistic one-off range for a simple BV is roughly the notary (€400–€1,500) + €82.25 KVK + €0.01 capital + your chosen service fee. A holding structure means two incorporations, so budget for two notary deeds and two KVK fees.

The ongoing costs that matter more

The setup fee is a one-time number; the running costs are what determine whether a BV is affordable for your situation. Budget for these from day one.

Bookkeeping. A BV must keep proper records and file periodic VAT (BTW) returns — usually quarterly, paid within one month of quarter-end. Whether you use software or a done-for-you bookkeeping service, this is a recurring monthly or quarterly cost, and it is the main ongoing expense for most small BVs.

Annual accounts. Every BV must prepare annual accounts and file (at minimum) an abridged version with the KVK each year. This is a fixed yearly job.

Corporate income tax (Vpb). The company pays corporate income tax on its profit:

• 19% on taxable profit up to €200,000;
• 25.8% on taxable profit above €200,000.

The Vpb return for a financial year is filed after year-end (for a calendar-year company, before 1 June of the following year, with extension available).

Payroll, if you draw a salary. If you are a director-shareholder (DGA) taking a salary, the company runs payroll and applies the gebruikelijk loon (customary salary) rule — for 2026 the DGA salary must generally be at least €58,000 gross per year (or higher if comparable roles pay more). Payroll adds a monthly filing and its own admin cost. If you instead leave profit in the company and pay yourself later via dividends, that is taxed in box 2 at 24.5% / 31% rather than through payroll.

Worked example: a simple single-founder BV

To make it concrete, here is an illustrative first-year picture for a straightforward one-person BV (your actual notary and service fees will vary):

• Notary deed: €400–€1,500 (one-off)
• KVK registration: €82.25 (one-off)
• Share capital issued: €1 (stays in your company)
• Service/formation fee: per the pricing page (one-off)
• Bookkeeping: recurring monthly/quarterly
• Annual accounts filing: recurring yearly
• Corporate tax: 19% of profit up to €200,000 (only if you make a profit)

The takeaway: the barrier to starting a BV is low — under €2,000 all-in for a simple case is realistic — but the BV only makes sense once there is enough profit to justify the ongoing bookkeeping, accounts, and (if you draw a salary) payroll overhead.

Is a BV worth the cost for you?

Because of that ongoing overhead, a BV is not automatically cheaper than trading as an eenmanszaak (sole trader). The rule of thumb is that a BV tends to become attractive somewhere in the €100,000–€130,000 annual profit range — but that is an advisory band, highly dependent on your DGA salary, how much profit you retain, and partner income, not an official figure. Below roughly €80,000 profit, an eenmanszaak usually still wins on total cost and tax.

Before you commit, run your own numbers: the eenmanszaak-or-BV tool helps you find the crossover point, and the pricing page shows the all-in formation and bookkeeping fees so there are no surprises. And because every euro figure here is a 2026 amount that can be re-set — KVK fees, the DGA salary norm, tax thresholds — confirm the current numbers at the point you incorporate.