ENTREPRENEURSHIP | TAXES

Which is more fiscally advantageous anno 2025: dividend or salary?

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Many entrepreneurs with a bv wonder what is more tax advantageous: a higher salary or a dividend payment. Read more about it here.

Many entrepreneurs with a bv wonder what is more tax advantageous: a higher salary or a dividend payment. With the tax changes in 2025, including adjusted tax rates and increased customary pay, it is important to plan carefully. In this article, we explain the differences and make a detailed calculation. Here we also include the mandatory minimum salary of €56,000 gross.

What are the differences between salary and dividend?

When you want to receive income from your bv, you can do this through salary or dividend, or a combination of both. Both options are taxed differently for tax purposes.

Salary: Taxed through payroll taxes and social contributions (box 1). This contributes to your social security and pension accrual.
Dividend: After paying corporate income tax, dividends are taxed with dividend tax and Box 2 taxes. Social contributions do not apply here.

The tax rules in 2025

The following tax rules will apply in 2025:

Customary wage rule: As a DMS, you must receive at least €56,000 salary, unless you can make it plausible that a lower wage is customary.
Corporate income tax: The low rate of 19% applies up to €200,000 profit, above that the rate is 25.8%.
Box 2 rates: Up to an income of €67,000 from substantial interest, the rate is 24.5%. Above that, the rate is 31%.

Example calculation

In this example, the entrepreneur wants to receive €100,000 net privately. We calculate the costs for the limited liability company and the total tax burden for three scenarios: full salary, full dividend, and a combination with the minimum salary of €56,000.

	Full salary	Salary (€56,000) + dividend
Gross payment	€166.000	€138.485
Social security and payroll tax	€66.000	€19.120
Corporation tax	N.v.t.	€15.651
Net profit in bv	N.v.t.	€66.834
Dividend tax (15%)	N.v.t.	€10.025
Box 2 tax (24.5%)	N.v.t.	€12.501
Net private income	€100.000	€100.000
Total tax (bv + private)	€66.000	€57.297

You see, paying out only salary to have €100,000 net remaining is less attractive fiscally. Salary only results in a high tax burden because of payroll tax and social security contributions.

In this example, a combination of salary and dividend is fiscally most advantageous. This allows you to comply with the customary-wage scheme, limit social security contributions and take full advantage of the lower rates in Box 2. Still, the ideal division may vary from situation to situation, depending on your profits, private expenses and future plans.

Get advice about your situation

Do you want to know what is fiscally advantageous for you? At Belastingadviseur Eindhoven, we make a personal calculation and give tailor-made advice.

Contact us today for a non-binding consultation. Together, we will make sure you take full advantage of the tax benefits in 2025!