A Dutch stichting cannot pay its founders or board, and may pay others only for an idealistic or social purpose. For family companies the STAK is the standard tool: it keeps the votes while the children hold certificates, and the business succession relief can apply. Family foundations exist in large numbers but are taxed through their founders and heirs under the APV rules, which the courts confirmed in 2025 and 2026.
The Dutch stichting: a foundation with strict limits
A Dutch foundation (stichting) is set up by notarial deed, has legal personality, no members and a board that decides alone. It can hold shares, investments and real estate, and it is registered at the KvK within days. What it cannot do is pay its founders or board members, and it may pay others only for an idealistic or social purpose.
That rule shapes everything. The Netherlands has three practical uses for a stichting in private wealth: the STAK, which separates votes from value in family companies; the family foundation, a widely used but legally grey form; and the ANBI, the public-benefit foundation with tax privileges.
Control and succession
Holds the shares, issues certificates to the family; the board keeps the votes.
Grey zone
About 66,800 exist with at least EUR 30.8 billion; under review since 2025.
Public benefit
Gifts exempt, donors deduct; tighter supervision from 2026.
The STAK: votes in the foundation, value with the family
- How it works. Parents transfer shares to the STAK and receive depositary receipts (certificates). The certificates go to the children by gift or inheritance; the votes stay with the STAK board, usually the parents and trusted advisers.
- Tax-transparent. Certificates are treated as the underlying shares: box 2 for substantial interests, and the business succession relief (BOR) can apply.
- BOR in 2026. 100% exempt up to EUR 1,543,500 of business value, 75% above; five years of ownership before a gift, three years of continuation afterwards; preference shares excluded from 2026, longer periods for late starters.
- Governance. Since 2021 one director can no longer outvote all others combined. Family STAKs can rely on an exemption from the trust-office licence.
The STAK does not save tax on its own. It lets parents hand over value without handing over control, which is often worth more.
The family foundation and the APV rules
- How they are used. Elders sit on the board; relatives who are not on the board receive support for study, care or housing, presented as a social purpose. There is no statutory family foundation; it is a practice.
- Tax since 2010: APV. Assets placed in a separated private wealth structure are attributed to the person who contributed them, and after death to the heirs pro rata, in box 3, and for gift and inheritance tax. The foundation's own position does not shield them.
- Courts confirm it. The Supreme Court (26 September 2025) and the Hague Court of Appeal (23 June 2026) held the APV rules lawful even without abuse, and even where heirs receive nothing.
- Under review. A 2025 government study found 66,800 family foundations, mostly holding investments and largely untaxed. The cabinet is evaluating the rules; no bill yet.
ANBI: when the purpose is public
A foundation recognised as an ANBI pays no gift or inheritance tax on what it receives, and donors can deduct gifts from income tax. In return it must spend on its public purpose, publish its accounts and accept supervision, which is being reinforced from 2026; from 2029 a foundation that loses ANBI status must spend its ANBI assets within three years.
| STAK | Family foundation | ANBI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who benefits | Certificate holders (the family) | Relatives, within a social purpose | The public cause |
| Tax on the foundation | None (transparent) | None unless it runs a business | None |
| Tax on the family | Box 2 or box 3 as shareholders; BOR possible | Box 3 and inheritance tax via APV | Gift and inheritance tax exempt |
| Legal certainty | High | Low | High, with supervision |
Stichting, STAK or ANBI?
Four questions.
Stichting, STAK or ANBI?
Four questions. You see which Dutch foundation fits and how it is taxed.
The core rule of every Dutch stichting.
Votes with the board, value with the children, BOR possible.
APV attributes assets to founders and heirs.
Tax privileges in exchange for spending and supervision.