Your Dutch BV has cash in the bank, and you need money personally. Borrowing from the company can be possible, but the money remains a company asset until it is properly paid out or lent. Owning the shares does not turn its bank account into a personal savings account.
Before making a transfer, work through two questions: can you repay the loan, and can the company afford to lend? The interest rate and paperwork matter, but they cannot rescue an arrangement that fails either test.
A shareholder loan starts with repayment
This article concerns a loan from your own Dutch BV to you personally, with Dutch tax rules as the starting point. It is different from lending your savings to your company. It is also different from withdrawing money from a sole proprietorship, where there is no separate company lending to you.
Suppose you want €48,000 for a personal purchase and plan to repay it over four years. That requires €1,000 a month in principal repayments, plus interest. Check whether your household has that money left after housing, living costs, existing debts and saving for foreseeable expenses.
If your regular monthly surplus is only €700, the proposed schedule already has a problem. Assuming that future dividends will cover the gap may simply move the uncertainty back to the business. A repayment plan needs an identifiable source of money and a realistic timetable.
Consider a less favourable year as well. If a major client leaves or your income falls for a few months, what funds the next payment? This is particularly relevant when both your salary and your repayment capacity depend on the same company.
Check what the cash is needed for inside the BV
A company bank balance may include money needed for VAT, payroll, suppliers or investment. Lending it out could leave the BV short even if its accounts show a profit.
Imagine a balance of €100,000, with €28,000 of tax payments and €37,000 of committed business spending approaching. That leaves €35,000 before allowing for further expenses or a cash reserve. A personal loan of €50,000 would not fit that timetable unless reliable incoming payments covered the gap.
Look ahead at receipts and payments, rather than treating the year-end balance as permanently available. If the distinction is unfamiliar, my guide to why a profitable business can run out of cash explains it with examples.
The company must remain able to meet its obligations after lending to you. Money reserved for long-term commitments also belongs in that assessment, even when the payment date is some way off.
Put the commercial terms in writing
A company lending to its shareholder should use terms it could justify when dealing with an unrelated person in comparable circumstances. Write down the amount, purpose, loan date, repayment schedule, interest and any security before transferring the funds.
The agreement should also explain when interest is payable, what happens if you miss a payment, and how early repayment works. If security is involved, record what it covers and what happens if its value falls. Some security, such as a mortgage right, requires formal steps beyond signing a loan agreement.
The agreement should identify the BV as lender and you as borrower. Someone authorised to represent the BV signs for it. If you sign for both, make clear which signature is for the company and which is yours personally.
Then follow the agreement. Repeatedly postponing repayments or adding unpaid interest without assessing the borrower’s position can undermine the arrangement. If circumstances change, review the terms and record why any change is also acceptable from the company’s position as lender. A contract is the beginning of the administration, not the end.
There is no single approved interest rate
The right rate depends on the loan’s risks and terms. A secured short-term loan is different from an unsecured loan lasting many years. Whether the rate is fixed or variable matters too.
Assess the return the company should receive as lender and the additional risk it is taking. Do not simply copy a savings rate or a mortgage offer that relates to different lending conditions. Keep the reasoning and supporting information with the agreement.
For an illustration, use a €48,000 loan with an assumed annual interest rate of 5%, calculated monthly on the outstanding balance. The first month’s interest is €200. Add the €1,000 principal repayment and the first payment becomes €1,200. As principal is repaid, the interest falls. The assumed 5% is only there to explain the calculation; it is not a rate recommendation.
When a current account is appropriate
A Dutch rekening-courant records small amounts passing back and forth between you and the company. For example, you pay a company invoice personally and are reimbursed shortly afterwards. These short-lived advances are different from financing a purchase for several years.
Interest need not be charged on qualifying current-account advances where the balance never exceeds €17,500 during the year. Going over the threshold means that interest-free treatment no longer applies. Checking only the opening and closing balances can miss a temporary breach.
A genuine long-term loan does not qualify just because it is small. Borrowing €10,000 for three years still calls for proper loan terms. The bookkeeping label does not determine the nature of the transaction.
The €500,000 rule is an additional tax test
In 2026, the basic threshold for excessive borrowing from your own company is €500,000. Relevant debts of you and your tax partner are assessed at 31 December, and borrowing across your own companies is combined. Claims you hold against a BV do not simply cancel out those debts for this calculation.
Suppose the relevant total is €560,000 and there is no previously taxed excess affecting your threshold. The €60,000 excess is treated as box 2 income. That does not mean the tax bill itself is €60,000.
Crucially, paying that tax does not repay the loan. The debt and its commercial conditions remain. A previously taxed excess affects the threshold in later years, and separate attribution rules can apply to borrowing by certain relatives. If a relative has borrowed from the BV, check whether the attribution rules apply to that debt.
Staying below the threshold does not make a loan acceptable automatically. A €30,000 loan with no credible repayment capacity can still create tax problems. The excessive-borrowing rule sits alongside the requirement for commercial terms.
What about borrowing for your home?
A qualifying own-home debt can be excluded from the excessive-borrowing total. A mortgage right in favour of the BV is generally required; qualifying debts already existing on 31 December 2022 have an exception to that requirement.
Interest deductibility has a separate set of conditions. Spending the money on a property does not settle whether the interest is deductible, and a home outside the Netherlands adds further questions. See my guide to Dutch mortgage interest relief before assuming a personal tax saving.
Do not use borrowing to sidestep your salary
An owner who works for a BV also needs to consider the Dutch customary salary rules. Transferring extra money as a loan does not count as reporting the salary required for your work.
Keep salary, dividends and loans clearly separated in your records. For the BV, a loan to you is a receivable, and interest is income. Your personal tax treatment depends in part on how you use the borrowed money. The company and personal tax returns need to reflect the same underlying arrangement.
Before each year-end, compare the agreement with actual repayments, check interest and security, and review the total debt across all relevant companies. If you would like help weighing up a loan against other ways of taking money from a Dutch BV, I offer tax advice for business owners. Current accounts, existing loan agreements and a household budget give us a practical place to start.