The conversion that makes it work
DAFT covers self-employment, so the move is a reframe: your employer becomes your client. You register a Dutch business, agree a services contract with the US company, and invoice monthly. For the company this is a familiar contractor arrangement; for you it is treaty residence with your income intact.
What to agree with the US company
- Scope and rate: the old salary translates into a monthly or daily fee — typically grossed up, since you now carry your own benefits.
- Contractor status: deliverables and autonomy in the contract keep the relationship clean on both sides of the ocean.
- IP and confidentiality: carried over from the employment agreement into the services agreement.
Companies hesitant about foreign payroll discover this route removes their problem entirely: your Dutch company handles Dutch tax and social security; the comparison with keeping you on US payroll: the decision framework.
Structure and taxes
One anchor client with a healthy fee often points straight at the BV: profit above your salary parks at 19% corporate tax, and the expat ruling can shelter 30% of your salary in 2026 when you employ yourself through the BV: DAFT and the expat ruling. Starters testing the water begin as sole proprietor and convert later: the structure choice. The two-system tax picture: taxes under DAFT.
Day one to steady state
Week one: register, open the account, deposit €4,500. Week two: sign the services agreement, send invoice number one. Week three: file with the IND and keep working — lawfully, from your new Dutch base. The full sequence: application step by step.
More on settling in
- Health insurance and your BSN: the first week
- Bringing your spouse and children
- Sole proprietorship or BV: which vehicle carries the permit
- Incorporating your BV on the treaty
All twenty-one guides sit together on the DAFT hub, grouped the way the route itself runs.