Knowledge Hub

Dutch Business & Tax Knowledge Base 2026

861 English guides on doing business in and from the Netherlands, written for international entrepreneurs and updated to the 2026 and 2027 figures. See how we verify this claim →

Want our team to take a look? → Email an advisor

Home›Knowledge Hub

Each guide is about one question that founders from abroad ask. Examples are what a Dutch company costs and how you register it from abroad. Other questions are about what you pay yourself, how dividend is taxed and when a holding is worth it. Start with the four main topics, or use the document check to see which papers your country requires.

BV Incorporation

Complete guide to setting up a Dutch BV: costs, timeline, notary and KVK registration.

Holding Structures

How the Dutch structure with a holding and an operating company works, and how much tax you can save with it.

BV vs. Sole Trader

When does a BV become more tax-efficient than a sole trader? Find the exact profit threshold.

DGA Salary Calculator

Calculate your optimal director salary and dividend split for 2026. Live calculator with official tax rates.

Open calculator →

Entity Comparison

Compare all Dutch legal structures: sole trader, general partnership (VOF), BV and holding. Tax, liability and setup costs.

Compare now →

Answers to the most common questions about Dutch BV formation, corporate tax and doing business in the Netherlands.

Read the guide →

The complete English library has 861 guides on all areas of Dutch business, tax and legal structures, sorted by topic. If you are new, start with Doing Business in the Netherlands.

Other

90 guides

Your company can be taxed where it is registered and also where it is managed day to day. Many creators think only the…

American platforms withhold 30% on royalties and ad revenue before they pay you. For recipients in the Netherlands, the rate…

Dubai has a very low corporate rate and zero personal income tax. American platforms, however, withhold 30% on payouts to…

American citizens can live in the Netherlands under the Dutch-American Friendship Treaty of 1956. In return for a modest…

The value-added tax (VAT) on your sales depends on two questions: where the customer is based, and whether the customer is a…

A sale of your channel or brand costs the least tax when a holding company already owns your operating company. Most creators…

You pay less tax on platform income through three legal choices: your company structure, the timing of your income and your…

Tax avoidance means you arrange your affairs within the rules, and it is legal. Tax evasion means you hide income from the tax…

You can correct years of undeclared platform income through the Dutch voluntary disclosure procedure. Maybe you had platform…

At €100,000 of creator profit a year, a company structure usually saves more than it costs. The tax depends on how much you spend…

At €300,000 a year, the tax you pay depends mostly on how much profit you keep in your company. Every choice now involves…

At €1 million of yearly profit, most creators focus on building lasting wealth from strong years. Saving tax in one year is then…

The Netherlands offers a scheme that makes a large slice of your salary tax free for five years when you relocate here for work…

As a creator in the Netherlands, you can deduct your production gear, software, outsourced work, business travel and marketing…

Free products, trips and barter deals are taxable income for a creator, at market value. A brand sends you a watch or a phone…

Since 2023, an EU directive called DAC7 has required digital platforms to identify their EU sellers and send earnings data to tax…

The Dutch tax office can go back five years for domestic income and twelve years for foreign income. Many creators ask this…

When you leave the Netherlands with a BV, the tax authority issues a protective assessment on your shares. You pay this tax only…

Creators ask these questions in search bars and AI assistants, often anonymously. Each question has a link to its full answer…

Most creators build their structure in five steps. You register the business, set up a BV, add a holding, plan how you pay…

Use your first €10,000 in this order: set aside money for tax, build a buffer, and then buy gear that earns money. Investing…

With €50,000 saved, set up your tax structure before you invest. At this amount, many creators look for investments first, while…

Divide €100,000 of creator income into four parts: a buffer and tax reserve, a company structure, an automatic portfolio and a…

With €500,000 inside your structure, you need a fixed routine for your money decisions. Every decision now involves a five-figure…

By your first million as a creator, seven things should already be in place. Most of the important work is done before you reach…

Invest business profit inside your BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company). Invest personal savings…

A Dutch holding does the same three jobs as a family office. It invests the surplus, protects the assets and plans the handover…

Creators are the world's most targeted audience for passive-income fantasies, and well placed to build the real thing. The test…

Index investing from your BV means buying broad index funds automatically every month, inside the holding, for decades. The…

People ask this with every number under the sun: what to do with 15k, with €40,000, with 300.000, with whatever came in after a…

You can pay yourself from your BV in three ways: a salary, a dividend or a loan from your own company. Each way has its own cost…

You can borrow from your own company, and many creators overlook this option. If you arrange the loan properly, you can use it…

With a BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company), you can even out creator income that changes strongly from…

Your content library belongs in the holding, which licenses it to the operating company. Your back catalogue is a valuable asset…

Crypto you receive for content or sponsorships is revenue, valued in euros on the day you receive it. This applies inside a Dutch…

You can give money to family in three ways: gifts within the yearly exemptions, a planned larger gift, or a loan from your…

A creator builds a pension in three levels: the state pension (AOW), deductible deposits into locked annuity products, and…

On paper, long-term investing usually gives a slightly better return than buying a home. With a home, you have fixed costs…

Rental property with a loan and real costs is usually best held in a BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited…

Each Dutch money term used on the creator pages has a definition of one or two short sentences. Keep this list at hand when you…

Relocating to Amsterdam as a creator goes wrong in one predictable way: doing the steps in the wrong order. Company before…

Yes, Amsterdam is good for creators with an international audience, plans for a company and a five-year horizon. The city also…

For a creator living well in Amsterdam, rent is by far the largest monthly cost. The amounts for 2026 are rounded, because…

Dubai offers sunshine and zero income tax. Amsterdam offers a 0% US tax rate on royalties, a way to permanent residence and…

For a decade the answer was automatic: creators relocated to Lisbon for the NHR, the special regime that taxed newcomers gently…

London is still the largest creator market in Europe for money and media reach, but two old advantages are gone. The non-dom…

Berlin has a strong creative scene, and rents are lower than in other western capitals. Once you earn serious money, Germany…

Barcelona has an easy pitch: beach, light, food, a digital-nomad visa and the well-known Beckham regime with its flat rate for…

People who become resident in Italy from 2026 can choose to pay a flat €300,000 a year on their foreign income, however large it…

Paris offers prestige: the luxury houses, the fashion weeks and a strong cultural scene. You pay for this through high French tax…

You can open a business account for your BV in Amsterdam once the company is registered. The bank also asks for documents that…

Decide on your company address before you incorporate, because it is hard to change later. The address is entered in a public…

You can use your stage name as a registered trade name of your company, on your website, in your communication and in contracts…

Anyone can see your company details in the Dutch trade register, including the names of the directors. In recent years, the home…

If someone is stalking you, several steps help within days. Start by documenting everything and reporting it to the police. Then…

To keep brands apart, give each brand its own company, with your holding above them. Many creators run more than one thing, for…

If someone publishes your private details, save the evidence first. Then report it to the police and the platform, and ask sites…

The first person you hire sees more of your business in a week than most colleagues see in a year: raw footage, unreleased plans…

Advertising revenue usually comes from a foreign company, in another currency and with deductions. For VAT (value-added tax), a…

For subscriptions sold to private customers in other EU countries, the VAT (value-added tax) rate of the customer's country…

Tips and gifts during a stream are turnover of your business, whatever the platform calls them. Money you receive because you…

There are three forms of writing income, and each has its own tax treatment. They are a paid newsletter with subscribers…

American creators can get Dutch residence under the Dutch American Friendship Treaty (DAFT) of 1956, with a business investment…

British creators had a rough decade on paper: Brexit ended free movement, and 2025 ended the non-dom era at home. Relocating to…

For a German creator the relocation itself is the easy part. EU citizenship means a registration in place of permits, and…

As an EU citizen, you can relocate from Romania to Amsterdam with a registration. Romania has one of the largest creator…

Many Ukrainian creators are already here or weighing the relocation, under circumstances everyone understands. The core message…

Colombia built one of Latin America's strongest creator economies, despite peso volatility, heavy banking friction on foreign…

For a Brazilian creator one number reshapes the whole calculation. American platforms withhold 30% on royalties paid to residents…

Canada treats emigration as a sale. On the day you cease to be resident, most of your assets are deemed disposed of at market…

Australian creators relocate here for two reasons: proximity to the European and American markets, and a treaty position that…

For a French creator, relocating to the Netherlands is mostly a question of order. One subject dominates the rest: the exit tax…

For a Spanish creator, relocating to the Netherlands mostly comes down to sequence. Three subjects decide the cost: the exit tax…

For an Italian creator, a relocation to the Netherlands is mainly a question of order. Two subjects are important. The regime…

For VAT (value-added tax), a course is a digital service, and the VAT rate of the buyer's country applies. Whether you or the…

The value of a brand deal depends more on the contract than on the fee. Check the usage rights, the exclusivity and the payment…

With a licence, you keep the rights to your work. You give someone permission to use it for a set period, in a set territory and…

Audio income comes in through more channels than any other creator income. These are streaming royalties, sync fees for video…

You can pay a partner or family member from your BV (besloten vennootschap, a Dutch private limited company). The arrangement…

You can repair most parts of a creator structure later. Examples are a missing holding, rights in your own name, the company…

You can get a mortgage on creator income, but you need more preparation than an employee. Lenders are careful with variable…

Before you sign with an agency, check six clauses in the contract. The most important are the length of the term and what counts…

Landlords in Amsterdam want payslips. As a creator, you can supply them when your own company pays you a salary. In Amsterdam…

As a creator in the Netherlands, buy income protection insurance first. You pay everything else from your income. Basic health…

As a creator with a BV (besloten vennootschap, a Dutch private limited company), you follow a fixed tax calendar. You file a VAT…

When you hire your first editor or assistant in the Netherlands, two Dutch rules apply. The tax authority checks whether your…

Go full time as a creator when four numbers are in place: steady income, a buffer, several income sources and known yearly costs…

Dutch healthcare is based on private insurance, and everyone living here must take it by law. The government sets the terms. The…

As a creator with a Dutch company, you usually need a bookkeeper every month and an accountant once a year. You need a tax…

Working with us starts with a paid written scan. You send your figures. You receive a written analysis of your situation, with a…

← All categories

The Dutch knowledge base at /kennisbank has 495 in-depth articles in Dutch on every aspect of Dutch business and tax law.

Free advice

Want our team to have a look?

We help entrepreneurs and international companies with their company in the Netherlands and Europe. Tell us where you stand or what you are planning. You get free advice on your next step.

Holdwise Assistant

Knowledge on doing business in the Netherlands · based on the 2026 figures

You are chatting with our AI assistant. This is a computer program that answers automatically. Have a decision about your own situation checked by us.