The door: DAFT, in one paragraph

US citizenship, a registered Dutch business you own for at least a quarter, €4,500 of equity maintained throughout, IND fee of €423, family included, first permit two years, permanence in view after five. The complete mechanics, renewal traps included: DAFT for creators.

The honest US half

The United States taxes its citizens on worldwide income wherever they live, so the move changes your Dutch side while the American filings continue: the annual return, the foreign account reports, and the corporate forms your US adviser knows once a Dutch BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company) enters the picture. The system offers real relief — the foreign earned income exclusion and foreign tax credits mean Dutch tax paid generally offsets the US bill — but the paperwork is a duet. Our role is the Dutch half, delivered so your US adviser can file the American half cleanly; that division has run smoothly for our US clients for years.

What you gain on the Dutch side

  • The structure itself: retained profit at 19%, the holding for the exit, the shock absorber for volatile income — the full machine from start here. A multi-year lower customary salary agreed with the tax authority, combined with borrowing up to €500,000 from your own BV, saves roughly €18,000 to €20,000 a year in the growth phase.
  • The expat ruling, where the salary norm is met: up to 30% of salary tax free (27% for new cases per 2027), stackable with the DAFT permit via your own BV — see the expat ruling.
  • A European base with EU market access, a payslip-friendly life, and five years toward permanence.

One investing caution, flagged early

US persons investing through foreign funds meet punitive American reporting rules, so the portfolio design inside the holding deserves a US-aware hand from day one — one conversation at the start beats a decade of cleanup. We coordinate this with your US adviser as standard.

The first 90 days

Permit application, city registration via IN Amsterdam, the structure in one notarial act, the €4,500 in place, US tax forms refreshed to the new residence — the full sequence with dates: moving to Amsterdam.