Discontinuation relief

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Netherlands Enterprise Agency, RVO

Checked 12 May 2023

1 min read

Discontinuation profit

Are you making a profit from ending your business? This is called discontinuation profit (stakingswinst). You have to pay tax on this. Calculating tax over discontinuation profit is not straightforward, it is best to seek expert advice.

Discontinuation relief

If you are making a profit from your discontinuation, you may be eligible for discontinuation relief. This means you will pay less tax on this profit. Discontinuation relief is part of the entrepreneur allowance (ondernemersaftrek).

Tax-free annuity

You can use part of your discontinuation profit to pay your annuities. You will be entitled to an additional tax-free annuity. The amount depends on your age and the situation at the time you discontinued your business.

Transfer facility (DSR)

Do you plan to end your business, but will you move on to another business? Or are you going to start a new business? Then you can ask the Netherlands Tax Administration to transfer the tax on the discontinuation profit to your next business (in Dutch). This will allow you to invest more in the other company. Note: this only applies if you continue with a company for income tax purposes. So not for a bv (private limited company, PLC). This scheme only applies to the discontinuation profit.

When do you qualify?

In order to be eligible for discontinuation relief, you must at least satisfy the following conditions:

you are an entrepreneur
you earn a profit by discontinuing 1 or more businesses

How to apply?

You apply the discontinuation relief to your income tax return. Do you want to convert discontinuation profit into a tax-free annuity? You also indicate this on your income tax return. To use a transfer facility, you need to make a request to your Tax Office (in Dutch).