Relocating here after Brexit

UK citizens use the standard permits for non-EU citizens. These are the self-employed permit and, for founders of a new product, the startup permit. For the self-employed permit, you need a real business plan and real revenue. A working creator can usually show both. Both permits take longer than the American treaty option, and both are workable. See relocating to Amsterdam in 90 days for the order of steps.

The exit rules from the UK side

  • When your UK residence ends: under the statutory residence test, the UK stops taxing your worldwide income from a certain date. Base your departure date on this test, in place of the end of a lease.
  • The five-year rule: if you make large gains abroad and return to the UK within five years, the UK taxes those gains when you return. Keep this in mind if you plan to sell your channel.
  • UK-source income (a UK property, UK clients) is still taxed in the UK as usual. Under the tax treaty, the two countries coordinate this.

Benefits in Amsterdam for a British creator

  • Access to the EU market again: a single registration for the EU VAT scheme for cross-border sales (OSS) is enough. You then avoid the extra VAT work per country that UK sellers have had since Brexit. For sellers of products and courses, this alone is worth the paperwork.
  • Rules that last: the UK newcomer regime lasts four years. The Dutch rules for your structure are the same in year one and in year twenty. Retained profit is taxed at 19% on the first €200,000 (25.8% above), you choose when to pay dividends, and you can get the expat ruling when you arrive. A lower customary salary is allowed if comparable work pays less, or for up to three years while a new BV is still unable to pay the full salary. You can also borrow up to €500,000 from your own BV (besloten vennootschap, the Dutch private limited company). The lower salary is what saves tax. At €36,000 in place of €58,000, you keep about €7,100 a year more. After a later dividend, about €2,800 of that remains. The loan gives you access to money, but your tax stays the same. Calculate it with your own figures.
  • A tax-free sale through the holding: if you later sell your company, the holding receives the proceeds tax free under the participation exemption. See selling your channel or brand.
  • The same 0% US royalty rate that you had in the UK also applies in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam or London

The full comparison, industry pull in London against structure and permanence in Amsterdam, is in Amsterdam versus London. Creators whose business is the London industry tend to stay, and creators whose business is the internet tend to relocate.