Last updated: January 18, 2024
It's up to you (the shareholder) to decide how much to distribute as dividends, if anything. The maximum amount is limited to the profit the company has earned during the last financial year(s) and which has not yet been paid out. The minimum amount is 0.
As an example, let’s assume the company:
earned the profit of €10 000 in 2017,
distributed dividends (incl. taxes) of €6 000 in 2018
earned the profit of €5 000 in 2018
If so, the company can distribute a maximum (€10 000 - €6 000) + €5 000 = €9 000 as dividends in 2019. These sums are officially taken into account only if they're recorded and reported in the annual report of the company.
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