Dutch holding for Gulf owners and families: treaty rates, documents and your bank file

Treaty rates for each Gulf state (2026)

The Netherlands has a tax treaty with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. Each treaty sets the maximum Dutch withholding tax on payments to a shareholder or lender in that state (tax treaties, Articles 10 to 12).

• The Dutch exemption comes first. Dutch dividend tax is 15%. A company shareholder in a treaty country with a holding of 5% or more can receive dividends at 0%, within the anti-abuse rules (Dividend Tax Act 1965, Article 4). The treaty rates in the table apply when the exemption is out of reach.
• Oman and Bahrain. The 0% treaty rate applies to a company there with an active business, with shares traded on the local stock exchange, or owned only by the government. In other cases, the Netherlands may levy up to 10% when Oman or Bahrain taxes the dividend at less than 10%. The tax authorities of both countries can also agree on the 0% rate (treaty Article 10).
• Family members as shareholders. A family member who lives in a Gulf state and owns shares directly pays the treaty rate for other dividends: 10%. For the UAE, the treaty covers people with UAE nationality who live in the UAE (treaty Article 4). A resident of the UAE with another nationality pays the Dutch rate of 15%.
• UAE government bodies. Dividends to the UAE government and to bodies such as the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are taxable only in the UAE (treaty Article 10).
• Interest and royalties. A Dutch company withholds 0% on interest and royalties, except the conditional withholding tax for related companies in listed low-tax jurisdictions (Belastingdienst, 2026).

Bahrain and the UAE: the Dutch list of low-tax jurisdictions

For owners in Bahrain and the UAE, our team checks the Dutch list of low-tax jurisdictions first.

Bahrain is on the Dutch list for 2026. That brings a conditional withholding tax of 25.8% on certain interest, royalty and dividend payments from a Dutch company to a related company in Bahrain (Belastingdienst, 2026). The Dutch government has said that the tax treaty with Bahrain limits this tax (letter to parliament, 2022), so each structure needs a check. The list for 2026 leaves out the UAE (Dutch regulation in force from 1 January 2026). A new list applies from 1 January each year.

Our team maps every payment from your Dutch companies to related companies before the first dividend, and checks the list of the year of payment.

Why owners in the Gulf choose a Dutch holding

• Profit up to the holding. Under the participation exemption, dividends and sale gains from a holding of 5% or more are exempt from Dutch corporate tax (2026).
• Corporate tax. 19% on profit up to €200,000 and 25.8% above (2026). The Tax Plan 2027 proposes the same rates for 2027.
• Dividends abroad. 15% dividend tax, with an exemption for parent companies in the EU, the European Economic Area (EEA) or a treaty country from a 5% holding.
• Treaties. A tax treaty with each of the six Gulf states.
• Your bank file. All six Gulf states are outside the EU list of high-risk countries for money laundering (European Commission, January 2026).

In a holding above your operating companies, you keep your profit apart from the risks of daily business. See the Dutch holding structure.

Documents from the Gulf: apostille or legalisation

The Dutch notary needs your documents with an official stamp from your country. Three Gulf states use the apostille. The other three use legalisation in two steps.

• Translations. Documents in English can be used as they are. Documents in Arabic need a sworn translation into Dutch, English, French or German. A sworn translator in the Netherlands can translate a document after the legalisation, and that translation is ready for use as it is (Netherlands Worldwide, 2026). Our team arranges it through a selected partner, after you agree to the price.
• Signing from home. You sign a power of attorney for the deed in front of a notary in your country. An employee of the Dutch notary’s office then signs the deed for you.
• What the notary needs. Passport copies and proof of address of every shareholder and director. For a company shareholder: a recent register extract, the articles, a board resolution and an ownership chart down to the people who own the company in the end.
• Timing. The holding and the operating company are usually set up within one week once all documents are complete.

Step-by-step lists per country: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. For a company in the UAE, see also setting up a Dutch BV from the UAE.

Your bank file

A BV must have a business bank account. The bank decides, and our team prepares the file. Approval often takes 2 to 8 weeks (business.gov.nl, 2026). The file contains:

• An ownership chart down to the people who own the company in the end.
• The source of the funds that go into the company, with proof.
• A short plan: the activity, the countries, the expected payments and the first contracts.
• Passport copies and proof of address of the directors and owners.

All six Gulf states are outside the EU list of high-risk countries for money laundering (European Commission, January 2026). Banks still check every owner themselves. Read more in opening a business bank account in the Netherlands and business banking for Gulf owners.

Property in the Netherlands through your holding

Your Dutch holding, or a property company under it, can buy property in the Netherlands. The transfer tax in 2026 (Belastingdienst, 2026):

• A company pays the 8% rate on homes, because the 2% rate is for people who live in the home themselves.
• A company abroad with income from the Netherlands is a foreign taxpayer for Dutch corporate tax (Belastingdienst, 2026). Under each Gulf tax treaty, the Netherlands may tax income from Dutch property, such as rent (treaty Article 6).
• The purchase price goes through the civil-law notary. Our team works for you, the buyer: the structure, the tax and the coordination with the notary and an estate agent chosen for your purchase.

The full guide for buyers: buying Dutch property from abroad.

Governance for families: a foundation and a family charter

A family structure can keep control apart from the value of the shares. It has three parts.

• A foundation that issues depositary receipts (in Dutch: stichting administratiekantoor, STAK). The foundation becomes the legal owner of the shares and votes on them. Family members receive depositary receipts, which give them the dividends. The family appoints the board of the foundation from its own people.
• A family charter. It records who decides what: who works in the business, how the next generation joins the board and how the family settles a dispute.
• A shareholder agreement. It sets who may buy or sell shares, at which price, and how an owner leaves.

Our team writes the governance rules with the family, and a civil-law notary signs the deeds. The family appoints its own directors and board members. Licensed investment firms chosen by the family manage the investments. See the family office in the Netherlands and the Dutch STAK foundation.

What we arrange, and what partners do

Partners are chosen per assignment, after you ask. Our team checks the partner’s licence or status before a quote goes to you. You see every price first, and the partner invoices you directly. You have one contact person on our team. See how we work with partners.

A holding with an operating company starts from €4,950 excl. VAT. A single Dutch company (BV) starts from €2,950 excl. VAT. Other work has its own price, which you see first.

Exporting goods from the Gulf into the EU? See your EU importer for Gulf exports.

Want our team to have a look?

One drawing of what the family owns is enough to start.

Sources

• Tax treaty between the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, Tractatenblad 2008, 214, Articles 6 and 10 to 12 (in force since 1 December 2010)
• Tax treaty between the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, Articles 4, 6 and 10 to 12 (version in force since 2 June 2010)
• Tax treaty between the Netherlands and Qatar, Articles 6 and 10 to 12 (version in force since 25 December 2009)
• Tax treaty between the Netherlands and Kuwait, Articles 6 and 10 to 12 (version in force since 23 April 2002)
• Tax treaty between the Netherlands and Oman, Tractatenblad 2010, 181, Articles 6 and 10 to 12 (2010)
• Tax treaty between the Netherlands and Bahrain, Tractatenblad 2008, 119, Articles 6 and 10 to 12 (in force since 24 December 2009)
• Dividend Tax Act 1965, Articles 4 and 5, version in force from 1 January 2025 (2026, in Dutch)
• Belastingdienst, withholding tax on interest, royalties and dividends (2026, in Dutch)
• Belastingdienst, corporate tax rates (2026, in Dutch)
• Belastingdienst, the 5% holding for the participation exemption (2026, in Dutch)
• Belastingdienst, corporate tax for companies in the Netherlands and abroad (2026, in Dutch)
• KVK, the tax plans for 2027 for your BV (15 September 2026, in Dutch)
• Dutch regulation on low-tax jurisdictions, version in force from 1 January 2026 (2026, in Dutch)
• HCCH, Apostille Convention status table (2026)
• Netherlands Worldwide, legalising a document from the United Arab Emirates (2026)
• Netherlands Worldwide, legalising a document from Qatar (2024)
• Netherlands Worldwide, legalising a document from Kuwait (2024)
• European Commission, EU list of high-risk third countries (January 2026)
• Business.gov.nl, opening a Dutch business bank account (2026)
• Belastingdienst, transfer tax rates (2026, in Dutch)

Last reviewed: October 2026.