Payroll for the DGA: how it works in 2026

As a director-major shareholder (DGA) you are employed by your own BV for payroll tax purposes. The BV pays you a customary salary of at least €58,000 in 2026, withholds payroll taxes and files a payroll tax return every month. As a DGA you are usually not insured for the employee insurance schemes, so the BV pays no premiums for them.

The customary salary

In 2026 your salary as a DGA is at least the highest of three amounts:

• The salary for the most comparable employment
• The highest salary of the other employees in your BV or in related BVs
• €58,000 (in 2025 it was €56,000)

If others in a comparable job demonstrably earn less, you may use that lower salary. If you work part-time for your BV, it may be proportionally lower. Document your reasoning.

What happens every month

• The BV is registered as an employer with the Belastingdienst
• A payslip is made for the DGA every month
• The BV withholds wage tax and national insurance contributions
• The payroll tax return and payment are due by the last day of the following month
• At year-end you receive an annual statement

With a customary salary of €58,000, that is a gross salary of €4,833.33 a month. For the BV, the salary is a deductible cost.

Employee insurance and Zvw

If as director you can decide on your own dismissal, for example because you hold at least two thirds of the votes, you are not insured for unemployment (WW), sickness (ZW) and disability (WIA). The BV then pays no employee insurance premiums. For the Health Insurance Act (Zvw), the BV withholds the income-related contribution from your salary. So you get no benefit through UWV if you fall ill or lose your job; arrange your own insurance if needed.

Employed by the holding or the operating BV

With a holding company you are often employed by the holding, which charges a management fee to the operating BV. The customary salary then applies to your work for all BVs together. You need one payroll, at the BV that employs you.

What it costs with us

We run the payroll for €13.50 per payslip, with a one-off setup of €90 per payslip. We also calculate your customary salary and align it with your dividend.