More and more entrepreneurs run a Dutch private limited company (BV) while living outside the Netherlands. If you own at least 5% of the shares in that BV and also direct it, you are a directeur-grootaandeelhouder (DGA), a director-major shareholder. Moving abroad does not make your Dutch tax obligations disappear; it changes them. This article explains how a non-resident DGA is taxed in the Netherlands and, just as importantly, which practical matters you need to arrange to stay compliant and avoid paying tax twice.
What is a “non-resident DGA”?
Two elements define the position. First, you hold a substantial interest (aanmerkelijk belang), generally 5% or more of the shares, in a company, which places that shareholding in box 2 of Dutch income tax. Second, you are a non-resident taxpayer: you live abroad but still receive Dutch-source income or hold Dutch assets. As a director of a Dutch-incorporated BV who has emigrated, you typically fall into exactly this category, and you file a Dutch non-resident income tax return, known as the “C-form” (C-biljet), rather than the ordinary resident return.
Is the BV still taxed in the Netherlands?
Yes. A BV incorporated in the Netherlands remains subject to Dutch corporate income tax (vennootschapsbelasting, VPB) on its worldwide profit, regardless of where its shareholder lives. There is, however, an important nuance: the place of effective management. If you run the company entirely from abroad, the other country may also claim the BV as a tax resident, and questions of substance, permanent establishment and even exit taxation can arise. Ensuring the BV has adequate Dutch substance, and analysing the applicable tax treaty, is therefore part of the picture whenever the director lives overseas.
How the non-resident DGA is taxed personally
Substantial interest income (box 2)
As a non-resident with a substantial interest in a Dutch-established company, the Netherlands taxes your box 2 income: dividends distributed to you and gains on the sale of your shares. Since 2024, box 2 has two brackets. For 2026, the rate is 24.5% up to €68,843 and 31% above that (for partners who qualify, the lower bracket runs to €137,686 combined). The top rate was reduced from 33% to 31% on 1 January 2025 and is unchanged for 2026. Whether the Netherlands may actually levy this tax, and at what maximum rate, also depends on the tax treaty between the Netherlands and your country of residence, so the treaty analysis always comes before the calculation.
Dutch dividend withholding tax
When your BV distributes a dividend, it normally withholds 15% Dutch dividend tax (dividendbelasting). For a resident this is an advance levy credited against the final assessment; for a non-resident the treatment depends on the treaty, which may reduce the rate or allow a refund. Keeping the dividend resolutions and withholding statements is essential to reconcile your box 2 position correctly.
Customary salary (gebruikelijk loon)
A DGA is generally required to pay themselves a customary salary. The statutory minimum norm for 2026 is €58,000, but the salary must be set at the highest of three benchmarks (comparable market wage, the highest-paid employee, or the statutory minimum). For a director living abroad, whether this Dutch wage rule and the taxation of director’s remuneration actually apply depends on the treaty. Directors’ fees are frequently allocated to the country where the company is established. This is one of the areas where non-resident DGAs most often need tailored advice.
Excessive borrowing from your own BV
If you borrow from your own company, the excessive-borrowing rules (Wet excessief lenen) can apply. Debts to your BV(s) above a €500,000 threshold (2025 and 2026) are treated as a deemed box 2 benefit and taxed accordingly. The threshold applies to the combined debt of you and your fiscal partner across all your companies, not per company, and non-resident DGAs are not exempt.
Dutch real estate and other Dutch-source income
For a non-resident, box 3 covers only Dutch-situated assets, principally real estate located in the Netherlands (declared at its WOZ value, less any related debt). Dutch bank balances abroad are not taxed here. Other Dutch-source income, for example a Dutch salary, pension or benefit, is reported in box 1 where the Netherlands has the right to tax it.
Qualifying non-resident status and the C-form
By default, a non-resident DGA reports only Dutch income, assets and deductions and is not entitled to Dutch personal deductions or tax credits. You may, however, be treated as a qualifying non-resident taxpayer (kwalificerende buitenlandse belastingplichtige) if you (a) live in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the BES islands, and (b) have 90% or more of your income taxed in the Netherlands. Qualifying status requires an official income statement (inkomensverklaring) from the tax authority of your country of residence. In practice, a DGA whose main income arises abroad rarely meets the 90% test, so this status is the exception rather than the rule, but it is always worth checking. If you moved during the year, the year of migration is filed on an M-form rather than a C-form, so confirming your exact dates of residence matters.
Emigration: the protective assessment
A DGA who was a Dutch resident and then emigrates should expect a protective assessment (conserverende aanslag) on the latent box 2 claim in the shares at the moment of departure, together with a step-up in the acquisition price (verkrijgingsprijs). This assessment is usually deferred and can lapse after ten years, but it is triggered again by events such as a substantial dividend or a sale of the shares. If you emigrated with an existing BV, retrieving the protective assessment and the established acquisition price is a priority, they determine how future distributions and disposals are taxed.
Practical checklist: what to arrange
- Authorisation and access. Arrange authorisation (machtiging) so your adviser can file for you, and sort out DigiD or an alternative route early. This is often the biggest practical bottleneck for people living abroad.
- Correct address registration. Make sure the Dutch tax authority has your current foreign address; authorisation letters and assessments are sent there, and an outdated address causes months of delay.
- Treaty analysis first. Establish which country may tax your dividends, director’s fees and capital gains before filing, to prevent double taxation.
- Keep the deed of incorporation, capital contribution, dividend resolutions, withholding statements and the acquisition price of your shares.
- Coordinate both countries. Align the Dutch return with your filing in your country of residence and claim any treaty relief or foreign tax credit.
- Mind the deadlines and back years. Non-residents are frequently invited to file several years at once; late filing can lead to penalties.
- Review substance and management. Check that the BV’s Dutch substance still matches where and how it is actually run.
Avoiding double taxation
Because both the Netherlands and your country of residence may look at the same income, the tax treaty is your main protection against double taxation. It allocates the right to tax between the two countries and provides either an exemption or a credit. Getting this right, and filing consistently in both jurisdictions, is where most value (and most risk) sits for an internationally mobile DGA.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still pay Dutch tax if I live abroad but own a Dutch BV? Usually yes. The BV pays Dutch corporate income tax, and you as the shareholder can be taxed in the Netherlands on box 2 income (dividends and share gains) and on Dutch assets, subject to the applicable treaty.
Which return do I file? A non-resident files the C-form. If you emigrated or immigrated during the year, that year is filed on the M-form instead.
Can I claim Dutch deductions and tax credits? Only if you are a qualifying non-resident taxpayer, broadly, if you live in the EU/EEA, Switzerland or the BES islands and 90% or more of your income is taxed in the Netherlands, evidenced by an income statement from your country of residence.
Do I have to take a salary from my BV? As a DGA you are generally expected to, based on the customary-salary rules (a €58,000 minimum norm for 2026), but for a director abroad the treaty determines whether and where that remuneration is taxed.
What happens to my shares when I emigrate? The Netherlands typically issues a protective assessment on the built-up value of your substantial interest and records a stepped-up acquisition price; keep this documentation for future dividends or a sale.
How Taxcount can help
Taxcount B.V. advises international entrepreneurs and non-resident DGAs on Dutch corporate and personal tax, treaty positions, dividend planning and the full C-form filing process, from authorisation to submission. If you live abroad and own a Dutch BV, we can review your position and make sure nothing is missed. In the mean time you can check if you have all your bases in order with our non-resident DGA document checklist.
This article provides general information about Dutch tax rules for non-resident director-major shareholders and is not tax advice. Rates, thresholds and treaty outcomes change and depend on your personal situation; please seek advice tailored to your circumstances.
