Can I put my business on hold?
- The basis
- 2 June 2025
- Edited 27 July 2026
- 1 min
- Ending and deregistration
You cannot just leave your business inactive for a period of time without taking any action. Your business cannot be ‘on hold’ while remaining registered. As an entrepreneur, you must continue to fulfil your obligations, such as submitting VAT returns and keeping your accounts up to date.
If you do not intend to carry out any business activities for 6 months or more, it is often better to deregister your business.
Deregistration from KVK is free of charge. By deregistering your business or organisation from the Business Register, you provide clarity – not only to your customers and suppliers, but also to organisations such as ours and the Netherlands Tax Administration. As an entrepreneur, you must ensure that your details in the Business Register are correct.
Registered but temporarily inactive
It can happen that you do not want to or are unable to run your business temporarily. You do not need to deregister your business immediately in such cases. But you cannot ‘pause’ your business, so you must continue to submit VAT returns. If you fail to do so, you will be fined by the Netherlands Tax Administration. As a business, you must submit your returns on time, even if your turnover is zero.
You should also continue to keep your accounts up to date. BVs, for example, are required to file financial statements. You will often also still have ongoing costs for your business bank account, insurance, and other things. You should deregister if you want to avoid these risks, costs, and obligations.
When in doubt, use the ‘Continue or end your business’ situation check
Are there any special circumstances that mean you are unable to run your business for a while? That could be a reason to stop. Are you still unsure whether or not to continue running your business?
If your business has been inactive for a long time
If we notice that your business is no longer active or that your details are no longer correct, KVK may deregister your business ourselves. This happens, for example, if you fail to submit a return for several consecutive quarters or declare zero turnover in your VAT returns. We receive a notification from the Tax Administration that your business is no longer active. This means that we may remove your business from the Business Register ourselves. The Business Register is a register of active businesses, legal entities, and organisations.
You should therefore deregister if you know you will not be active for about a year or longer. Your deregistration is final, but you can always register a new business once you start doing business again.
Please note: Deregister your business if you are inactive for an extended period
Please note: If your business is no longer active for an extended period, you must deregister it. You can always register a new business at a later date. The Business Register is a register of active businesses. By law, you must ensure that your details in the Business Register are correct.
