What happens to my BV shares when I emigrate to Cyprus?
Short answer
If you hold a substantial interest (5% or more, together with your partner), you are treated as having sold the shares when you leave, and the Belastingdienst issues a protective assessment (conserverende aanslag) on the gain. It does not expire.
Because Cyprus is in the EU, payment is deferred automatically and without interest. The assessment becomes payable, in part or in full, when you sell the shares, when the company pays you a dividend or when the company stops.
For people who deregistered after 15 September 2015, the old rule that cancelled the assessment after ten years no longer applies.
The treaty with Cyprus also lets the Netherlands tax dividends from the BV under Dutch rules for as long as the assessment is unpaid.
Sources
- Belastingdienst: protective assessment in the case of emigration belastingdienst.nl
- Netherlands–Cyprus tax treaty (wetten.overheid.nl) wetten.overheid.nl
Information, not advice. This answer describes the published rules as they stand on 12 October 2026, checked against the sources listed. Tax and residence rules depend on your own circumstances and change; check your position with a tax adviser qualified in the Netherlands and in Cyprus before you act on it.
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