Sole trader or BV: calculate your break-even point
The "six figures" rule of thumb only holds under one specific set of assumptions. Enter your own profit, director salary and payout plans to see what a BV would leave you, and from what profit it tips over for you.
This calculator accompanies the article Sole trader or BV: at what profit does a BV pay off? and uses the same calculation. Note: this is a worked example for orientation and not financial, tax or legal advice.
The statutory minimum is €58,000 in 2026, but the main rule is the salary in the most comparable employment. If your market pays more, enter that: it shifts the break-even point considerably.
Annual accounts, a corporate tax return and payroll filings for yourself easily cost €1,500 to €3,000 a year.
A sole proprietorship works out better
€1,189
is the difference per year
| Sole proprietorship, net per year | €76,885 |
| BV, net per year | €75,696 |
Your break-even point
From this profit the BV wins€131,828
An indication, not financial advice. Have your own situation calculated before converting anything.
How this was calculated
| Sole proprietorship: taxable profit after deductions and the SME exemption | €103,712 |
| Income tax after tax credits | -€39,264 |
| Zvw healthcare contribution | -€3,851 |
| Net as a sole proprietorship | €76,885 |
| BV: director salary | €58,000 |
| Income tax and healthcare contribution on the salary | -€18,997 |
| Profit inside the BV | €60,000 |
| Corporate income tax | -€11,400 |
| Dividend | €48,600 |
| Box 2 on the dividend | -€11,907 |
| Net through a BV | €75,696 |
Calculated with 2026 rates: corporate income tax 19% up to €200,000 and 25.8% above, box 2 24.5% up to €68,843 and 31% above, and a healthcare contribution of 4.9% on up to €79,409. For one entrepreneur without staff, without partner income and without a mortgage.
This is a worked example for orientation and explicitly not tax, legal or financial advice. No rights can be derived from it. The choice between a sole proprietorship and a BV also depends on liability, your partner, pensions, losses carried forward and your longer-term plans. Have a tax adviser run your own situation before converting anything.
Why you hear two very different answers
If you take all the profit out privately, the 2026 break-even point sits around €119,700. Leave the profit inside the BV to invest instead and the advantage starts at roughly €73,900, because for now you only pay corporate income tax. So that gap of tens of thousands is not in the rates, it is in what you do with your profit.
Out of every euro of profit above your director salary, a sole proprietorship leaves you about 51.7 cents, distributing through a BV 61.2 cents, and leaving it inside the BV 81 cents. Those 81 cents are just not yours yet: a box 2 claim sits on them. Toggle the checkbox above to see both sides.
Bear in mind that the customary salary is fixed. At a profit of €70,000 and a salary of €58,000 you only have €9,720 a year to set aside inside the BV; the strategy only really gets going once substantially more comes in than your salary.
No BV yet? Track your profit effortlessly.
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