Emigration from the Netherlands

Moving abroad often sounds like a personal choice—a new adventure, a different lifestyle, or the next step in your career or business.

Still, emigration is more than just a change of address. As soon as you leave the Netherlands, questions arise regarding taxes, social security, pension accrual, and your future status with the Tax and Customs Administration. Especially if you are leaving behind income, assets, a business, or family ties in the Netherlands, it is important to understand the implications in advance.

Experience shows that many issues only come to light after the moving boxes have been unpacked. That is precisely why thorough preparation is essential.

When are you considered to have emigrated for tax purposes?
To determine whether an emigration has taken place for tax purposes, the Tax and Customs Administration considers the big picture. Where does your family live? Do you still own a home in the Netherlands? Where are your social and economic interests located? The key question is whether your lasting personal ties to the Netherlands have actually been severed.

This means that someone may be formally deregistered, while the Netherlands still considers him or her a resident for tax purposes. The reverse situation also occurs. Even after emigrating, you are not entirely free from Dutch taxes.

The Netherlands can still levy taxes on:

• capital gains taxes, such as those on the capital gains from shares in which the taxpayer holds a substantial interest, or on pensions and annuities accrued in the Netherlands;

• Dutch income components, such as Dutch real estate or shares in a Dutch company in which the taxpayer holds a substantial interest;

• gift and inheritance taxes, because the Netherlands may, under certain conditions, continue to levy these taxes for up to ten years after emigration.

Emigration therefore limits the Netherlands’ right to tax, but does not completely eliminate it.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Have I truly emigrated for tax purposes, or do I still maintain a lasting connection to the Netherlands?

• What tax assessments can I expect in the case of a substantial interest, a pension, an annuity, or a business?

• Do I have to pay right away, or can I get a payment extension?

• How long can the Netherlands continue to levy taxes on a gift or estate after I leave?

• What will happen to my social insurance, my AOW pension accrual, and my health insurance?

• What obligations and sources of income will I still have in the Netherlands after I leave?

Are You a Director and Major Shareholder Planning to Emigrate?
For directors and major shareholders, emigration is often more than just a personal move. In addition to the entrepreneur’s own tax situation, shareholdings, the Dutch company, and future dividend or sale proceeds also play an important role.

The consequences of emigration for a director and major shareholder can continue to have an impact for years to come. Thorough preparation provides insight into the opportunities, risks, and key considerations before the move takes place.

What Nassau Can Do

A successful move abroad doesn’t begin on moving day, but during the preparation phase. Nassau assists individuals, entrepreneurs, and internationally active professionals with relocating from the Netherlands. In doing so, we consider not only the immediate tax implications but also the long-term consequences.

Our support includes, among other things:

• assessment of tax residency and actual emigration;

• understanding of tax liens and exit taxes;

• guidance on payment deferrals and the conditions within and outside the EU/EEA;

• consideration of inheritance and gift taxes, including the ten-year rule;

• coordination of social security, AOW accrual, and health insurance;

• assessment of tax planning in coordination with an advisor in the new country of residence 

This approach is not only fiscally sound, but also practical and tailored to your plans for the future.