What the BV gives a US founder
The BV is the Dutch limited company: incorporation from €0.01 of capital, formation handled remotely through a Dutch civil-law notary with video identification, and corporate tax of 19% on the first €200,000 of profit (25.8% above, 2026). It is a full EU entity — one VAT registration that trades across the whole single market, access to the EU's treaty network, and a corporate home that European customers, platforms and banks recognise on sight.
For the structure-minded founder the standard build is a personal holding above the operating BV: profits move up under the participation exemption and the sale of the operating company lands in the holding free of Dutch corporate tax. The model sits in the Dutch holding structure.
Road one: the EU base, while you stay in the US
You keep living in the United States and the BV becomes your European arm: EU invoicing, EU VAT, an importer-of-record position, a home for European hires. Formation runs fully remote and a US citizen or a US LLC can hold the shares. Two points deserve attention from day one. First, management and control: where the BV is effectively run shapes where it is taxed, so the setup should be designed on paper before the notary, with the director question answered deliberately. Second, your US filing duties travel along: a US person owning a foreign corporation reports it to the IRS (Form 5471 territory, and GILTI rules may apply) — have a US tax adviser confirm your picture alongside the Dutch design. How the BV compares to keeping everything in an LLC sits in Dutch BV vs US LLC.
Road two: the move, with the BV as your DAFT vehicle
US citizens hold a residence route most of the world envies: the DAFT visa, a two-year renewable permit as an entrepreneur against €4,500 of capital in your own business. The BV is the natural vehicle: the €4,500 sits cleanly on the balance sheet as equity, the proof at renewal is a bookkeeper's statement, and the company is already in place as your business grows. The full condition list sits in the DAFT requirements checklist.
After landing, the Dutch tax picture takes over: a director-shareholder salary (the €58,000 norm, with room to agree lower in a growth phase), dividends in box 2, and — for employees recruited from abroad who meet the conditions — the 30% ruling. The US side keeps running in parallel: citizens file US returns wherever they live, with the US–NL treaty and the foreign earned income rules preventing double taxation in most setups.
The right order
Design → incorporate → bank → then the IND. Structure on paper first (one BV or holding + BV), incorporation through the notary in one to three weeks via the BV incorporation route, the business account opened and the capital deposited — the banking route shows the file that makes this succeed — and only then the DAFT application, so the KVK extract and the balance sheet are ready to carry it.
The short version
One company, two jobs: EU base and residence vehicle. 19% up to two tons of profit, remote formation, €4,500 that stays your own equity — and a US filing layer that runs alongside, best confirmed by a US adviser before you sign. Start with the design, and the rest follows in order.
The annual obligations that come with it
An American owning a Dutch company files in two systems each year. Form 5471 reports the company itself; GILTI can reach profit before it is distributed; FBAR covers the accounts. The complete picture sets them side by side with the Dutch calendar.