Working Remotely in the Netherlands for a USA based company?

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

This won't be easy; basically the Dutch taxman is going to get bent up about it.  You pay taxes on your worldwide income, based on where you are regarded as being resident, not where the person who writes your paycheque lives.  There are all sorts of compulsory payments that have to be paid to the Dutch Government (adds up to about 52% of your income), plus whatever the US takes for federal and state taxes - yes, Uncle Sam still likes to know what you're up to and you have to file Federal and State tax returns for as long as you are a US citizen, regardless of where you live.  In addition to which, there are compulsory payments for local Health Insurance and Holiday pay.

So how can you do it; you can set up your own business, you'll need a visa to do it, it's called a "Start-Up visa; this link will take you to the bit of the Dutch Government department (IND) that has the details.  Basically, you get a 12-month temporary visa in which to set up your business, after that time, you will be assessed and if you've met the criteria, it gets extended and so on.  The link has the full list of things you have to comply with.

Next type is a "Self-Employed" visa.  You need to register your company with the Kamer van Koophandel, it has to trade in the Netherlands for the benefit of the Dutch people (I'm paraphrasing, but that's what they want).  Bottom line is that if you think you can sit in an apartment somewhere in the Netherlands and do just what you do now Stateside, forget it, it's not going to happen.  The details about this visa are on the same website as before; follow this link to get there.

The other thing to consider is perhaps staying working for your current US boss; how this works is that they employ you on a Dutch employment contract via a Dutch Work Agency; these are relatively new and you'll have to scratch around the agencies looking for one that will take you on, but Google should help you find one.

The last thing to remember when doing this is that all working visas are by their nature temporary, so you are resident in that country at the goodwill of a politician and if he/she changes the rules, then there are no "rights" to claim.  That said, the Netherlands is a very benevolent nation and it needs the foreign workers to help them grow their economy;  I've never heard of anybody actually being kicked out, but then again, I'd never heard of Donald Trump until 3 years ago.

If you have any further specific questions, please come back to us.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team