Home Foreign businesses A Dutch BV with foreign owners: what you have to do
A Dutch BV with foreign owners: what you have to do
A Dutch BV (private limited company) is a Dutch company, wherever its owners live. That brings a fixed set of tax obligations. Here they are, in the order you meet them.
Your Dutch BV handled, at a fixed monthly fee
Accounting, every VAT return, the corporate income tax return and the annual accounts, all explained in English. Package Dutch BV.
Corporate income tax
A BV incorporated under Dutch law is treated as established in the Netherlands for corporate income tax, also when its owners or directors live abroad. In 2026 the rate is 19% on profit up to € 200,000 and 25.8% above that. The BV files a return every year.
VAT
A BV with its own office or staff in the Netherlands registers for VAT in the normal way. If it is managed from abroad without such an establishment, the Dutch tax authorities register it as a foreign business.
How that registration as a foreign business works is explained on our page on VAT registration in the Netherlands for foreign companies.
The director's salary
If a shareholder with a substantial interest works for the BV, the customary salary rule can require the BV to pay a minimum salary, with payroll tax. Where the director lives and works abroad, the tax treaty decides where that salary is taxed. We file the payroll return for the director for € 25 per month.
Dividends
When the BV pays a dividend, it withholds 15% dividend tax and files a return within one month. A tax treaty or the EU rules can reduce or remove that tax for a foreign shareholder. We file the dividend tax return for € 95 per distribution.
Annual accounts and UBO register
The BV files its annual accounts with the KVK (the Dutch Chamber of Commerce) at the latest 12 months after the end of the financial year; small BVs file a limited version. We prepare and file them for € 645 per year, or as part of the monthly package. The BV also registers its ultimate beneficial owners with the KVK. Owners living outside the EU usually need a recent, legalised extract from their population register.
Example
Two founders who live in the United Kingdom set up a Dutch BV that sells software to businesses in the EU. The BV has no office in the Netherlands and is managed from London.
- Corporate income tax: the BV files a Dutch return every year; the tax treaty between the Netherlands and the UK decides where the profit is taxed
- VAT: the BV registers as a foreign business; its services to EU businesses are usually reverse-charged to the customer
- Annual accounts and UBO register: filed with the KVK, as for every Dutch BV
This is a simplified worked example, not a client case. The treaty position depends on where the BV is actually managed.
What we do
With our Dutch BV package (€ 150 per month) we handle the accounting, every VAT return, the corporate income tax return and the annual accounts. Advice on salary and dividends is € 95 an hour, agreed up front. All in English, all amounts excl. VAT.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to live in the Netherlands to own a Dutch BV?
No. Owners and directors can live abroad. The BV does need a registered address in the Netherlands, and for VAT it may then be treated as a foreign business.
What does it cost to have the BV handled?
The Dutch BV package is € 150 per month, including the VAT returns, corporate income tax return and annual accounts. Excl. VAT.
Do I pay Dutch tax on dividends as a foreign shareholder?
The BV withholds 15% dividend tax. Depending on the tax treaty or the EU rules, part or all of it can be reduced or refunded.
Where is a Dutch BV tax resident if it is managed from abroad?
For Dutch corporate income tax a BV is always treated as established in the Netherlands (Article 2(5) of the Dutch Corporate Income Tax Act 1969). If the other country also treats the BV as resident, the tax treaty decides: under many older treaties the place of effective management, under treaties amended by the multilateral instrument (MLI) a mutual agreement between both tax authorities.
What counts as the place where the BV is managed?
According to the Dutch Supreme Court, the place where the key decisions on the activities are taken, where the final responsibility lies and from where instructions are given (HR 19 January 2018, ECLI:NL:HR:2018:47). That ruling concerned the treaty with Singapore.
What happens if the BV files its annual accounts late?
Late filing is an economic offence, for which a fine can be imposed. If the BV goes bankrupt, late publication in the three years before can also make the directors liable (Article 2:248 of the Dutch Civil Code).
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