Gebruikelijk loon is the Dutch customary-salary rule often applied to a DGA working for their own company.
What it means in Dutch business
It forces the company file to explain the director-major shareholder's salary rather than treating owner income as flexible afterthought. For The Polder reader, the term is useful when it explains what must be checked in the Dutch file, who carries responsibility and how a public rule or signal reaches daily business decisions.
Why it matters
It forces the company file to explain the director-major shareholder's salary rather than treating owner income as flexible afterthought.
Where readers see it
- DGA salary
- payroll tax
- BV cash
- salary evidence
- tax authority questions
In practice
- DGA salary
- payroll tax
- BV cash
- salary evidence
- tax authority questions
What to check
- Which return, assessment, invoice, ledger entry or calculation uses Gebruikelijk loon.
- Which date, rate, threshold or valuation changes the outcome.
- Whether the company file separates sales, cash, tax and private money clearly.
- Which document would explain the position if Belastingdienst asked tomorrow.
Common mistake
Gebruikelijk loon is not solved by copying last year's amount. The salary must still be defensible for this company and this role.
The Polder reading
The Polder reads Gebruikelijk loon through Ledger & Tax: not as loose terminology, but as a way to connect DGA salary, payroll tax, BV cash to the decision a company, adviser or public authority has to defend.
Related terms
- DGA
- loonheffing
- Box 2
Related Polder columns
- A Low DGA Salary Still Has to Earn Trust
- When a Senior Employee Raises the BV Owner’s Salary Question
Last updated by The Polder Dictionary on 2026-06-07T16:12:35+00:00.