Bookkeeper at Kees de Boekhouder
Your business is running smoothly! So it’s time to really invest in it. Of course you put in your time and you may be doing a course to become even better at what you do or you might buy the latest MacBook. But what exactly is an investment? And are there any pros or cons when an expense is an investment?
Are you still not sure after reading this article? At Kees de Boekhouder we help independent entrepreneurs daily to process these matters correctly in their administration, to make optimal use of the tax benefits.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
1
An investment is the expense for a business asset that will exist within your company longer than one production process and that costs more than € 450 (excluding VAT).
A business asset is something you use in your company to do your activities. Mostly it’s a tangible object like a sewing machine in a sewing room or a laptop for a designer. You don’t always have to be able to touch it; for a webshop a website can be a business asset. You should also be able to resell the investment to another party.
The training you got for your business is not a business asset. The training might have increased your skills, but you’re not using the education itself daily to keep your business running and it cannot be resold.
As a rule of thumb, you can assume that an investment must last within your business for more than a year.
2
Suppose your expense turns out to be an investment. What exactly does that mean? It means that you can write off a maximum of 20% of the expense a year. The investment is spread over a minimum of five years. You can also choose to write it off in ten years, but you can’t do it in three. Five years is the minimum. If you are a starting entrepreneur entitled to the ‘startersaftrek’, you are allowed to deviate from this!
For five years your profit will be lower because of the MacBook, which means you pay less income tax. This is an advantage if you expect to have more profit in the future. The expenses can be useful then. It’s a disadvantage if you prefer to keep your profit as low as possible in the year of the expense. The writing off is only relevant for the income tax; you do receive all your VAT returns at once in the quarter of the purchase.
Afbeelding: Zakelijke lunch meeting tussen ondernemers
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
3
If you invest a larger amount within a fiscal year, you may be entitled to an extra deduction: the Kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek (KIA), or small scale investment deduction. This deduction has a fixed annual limit.
If you exceed the limit in that year, you get an extra deduction of 28% of the total figure you invested. In 2025, the KIA threshold is determined at € 2,901 (excluding VAT). For 2026, no increase has been announced, so the limit remains the same. So if you almost hit that amount by the end of the year it could be interesting to make another investment!
4
In summary: correctly reporting your investments in your administration can provide you with a lot of benefits. Make sure you know the rules or let yourself be well-informed!
Are you investing in your business but do you have questions about the processing? Then it might be time for a personal accountant who thinks along with you. The accountants at Kees de Boekhouder are happy to help!
Scan je bonnetje en wij verwerken het automatisch correct in je administratie.
After reading this article, could you still use some help with your bookkeeping? Perhaps Kees de Boekhouder is right for you! Schedule an online appointment to discover if Kees de Boekhouder’s approach suits your needs.
Kees de Boekhouder
“Easy-to-use and intuitive accounting software with friendly and helpful staff.”
(127 reviews)
You speak of an investment when a business asset (like a laptop or machine) costs more than € 450 (excl. VAT), lasts longer than a year, and is resellable. A training course falls outside of this; you cannot resell it.
You do not deduct investments from your profit all at once, but spread them over at least 5 years. You deduct 20% of the purchase value from your profit annually. You get the VAT back in full the following quarter.
Do you invest more than € 2,901 (excl. VAT) in total in 2026? Then you get an extra deduction of 28% of the total amount via the ‘Kleinschaligheidsinvesteringsaftrek’. If you are just under that limit at the end of the year, an extra purchase can provide a lot of tax benefit.
Schedule a non-obligatory, digital appointment with us.
