How does loss relief work?
The idea behind the scheme is that a business does not exist per calendar year but across years. Without offsetting, someone who makes a loss one year and an equal profit the next would, on balance, pay tax on a zero result.
The order is not free. A loss is first offset against the oldest year against which that is possible, and then onwards. That matters for your bookkeeping: you cannot choose to save it for a year with a higher rate.
The terms count from the loss year. Nine years forward sounds generous, but for a business that grows slowly, a large loss from the first year can partly lapse before there is enough profit to set against it.
Where is loss relief in the law?
These legal sources come from the specialist dossiers that were reviewed on 24 August 2026. Mind the difference that becomes large in a dispute: a statutory article next to a value is where that value is found, not a justification for how it applies to your situation.
- Article 3.150 of the Dutch Income Tax Act (Wet IB 2001)the offsetting of losses from work and home: three years back and nine years forward
- Article 3.148 of the Dutch Income Tax Act (Wet IB 2001)describes what counts as a loss that can be offset
The links go to the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl, in the version that applied on 24 September 2026.
What does basestep do with loss relief?
Loss relief over several years is outside the reach of the tax engine, and the platform says so at the moment you run into it: for this you need an adviser, and we do not guess. What you do get is your export, so that the bookkeeping is complete in it.
All calculations, explanations and signals in basestep are calculation support and instruction, not tax or legal advice. Amounts are estimates based on your own input; the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) sets the assessment.
Where does it go wrong with loss relief?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Saving the loss for a better year
The order is fixed: first the oldest year against which it can be offset. Saving it for a year with a higher rate is not possible.
Thinking a loss year is worth nothing
A loss is a claim to a refund or to lower tax later. If you do not record it, you leave money on the table that evaporates after nine years.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.