Business succession scheme (BOR)
The business succession scheme (BOR) is a fiscal scheme allowing you to avoid or greatly reduce the amount of inheritance or gift tax you are liable for, when you inherit or receive a company as a gift, provided you intend to continue the business and meet certain conditions. So, if you inherit or receive a company as a gift, you can pay considerably less inheritance or gift tax with the business succession scheme (BOR).
Conditions BOR
To make use of the BOR:
- The business assets must be continued (minimum years-term).
- It must be an active company (not pure investment capital).
If the conditions are not met (e.g. by ceasing the continuation), the exemption will be removed and the tax must be paid. In this leaflet, (in Dutch) the Tax and Customs Administration explains in detail the conditions for eligibility.
The exemption must be explicitly requested when filing an inheritance or gift tax return.
Exemptions in the BOR
The diagram below shows the tax exemptions in the BOR. Transfer is tax-free up to the first amount. Above this amount, a percentage of the value of the transferred company is tax-free.
In conclusion
To prevent abuse of the schemes, conditions have been tightened. For example, from 2026, if you receive, inherit or transfer shares in a company, you will only be allowed to use the tax benefits in the BOR on ordinary shares (and therefore not on options, for example). More information is available about the changes here (in Dutch) at The Entrepreneurs Square.