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Your BV stays Dutch. You don't have to.

A Cyprus company pays 15% and, with non-dom status, you pay no tax on dividends. If you own 5% or more of a BV, leaving puts a Dutch tax bill on your shares. It's deferred for life, but a dividend from the BV starts collection.

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Lees in het Nederlands

Two layers of Dutch tax, next to Cyprus.

The Netherlands taxes profit inside the BV, then again when you take it out. Move the slider to your own profit.

€200,000
In the Netherlands
Corporate tax
−€51,600
Tax on dividends
−€46,004
You keep
€102,396
In Cyprus
Corporate tax
−€30,000
Health contribution (GeSY)
−€4,505
You keep
€165,495

More in your pocket+€63,099every year

More in your pocket +€63,099 every year

The Netherlands: corporate tax at its upper rate of 25.8%, then income tax on dividends from your own company at its top rate of 31%, so smaller profits pay a little less. Box 3, the tax on savings and investments, works as a wealth tax, 36% on a deemed 6.00% return on investments, about 2.16% of their value a year.

Headline rates for a founder who takes the profit out as dividends and has become Cyprus tax resident with non-dom status. Your own figures will differ. This is an illustration, not tax advice.

What the Netherlands holds on to.

The Netherlands values your shares the day you go and keeps the claim for life. Settle these with a Dutch adviser while you still live there.

  • An exit tax that never lapses

    With 5% or more of a company, leaving counts as selling your shares at market value, taxed at up to 31%. Inside the EU the bill (conserverende aanslag) is deferred for life, without interest. Sell, pay a dividend or close the company, and collection starts.

  • Your BV stays Dutch

    A BV set up under Dutch law is always Dutch for tax, whoever runs it. It keeps withholding 15% on dividends, and those dividends stay taxable in the Netherlands. Run it from Cyprus and it becomes resident in both countries, with no simple way to settle it.

  • Deregistering isn't leaving

    Deregistering with your municipality is needed but decides nothing. The tax office looks at where you live, work, see a GP, are insured and send your children to school. A Dutch home you keep counts against you, and stays taxed in the Netherlands.

  • Ten more years of inheritance tax

    A Dutch national stays inside Dutch inheritance and gift tax for ten years after leaving. Anyone else is caught for one year, and only on gifts. The clock starts when you actually leave, not when you deregister.

  • Your state pension stops building

    Each year you're not insured costs 2% of your Dutch state pension (AOW), for life. You can insure voluntarily, at most €5,693 a year in 2026, but only if you apply within one year of leaving.

  • Cyprus isn't on the Dutch lists

    The Dutch rules that tax a foreign company's profit at home only reach companies in countries on a fixed government list. Cyprus isn't on it, and its 15% rate is well above the 9% test.

What changes in Cyprus.

One flat rate, no minimum salary rule, and dividends free of tax for 17 years with non-dom status.

Corporate tax
15%
One flat rate, with no local surcharges.
Tax on dividends
0%
As a non-dom, for up to 17 years.
Days a year for tax residency
60
Under the 60-day rule, with a home and a business here.
Wealth or inheritance tax
0
Cyprus has neither.
  • As a Dutch citizen you're an EU citizen, so you don't need a visa. You register with the Yellow Slip, and we file it with you.
  • Cyprus doesn't make you pay yourself a minimum salary, and has no wealth tax. You decide your own pay, and your savings aren't taxed on a return they never made.
  • The tax treaty lets the Netherlands keep its exit tax, but Cyprus won't tax the same growth in value again when you sell later.
  • Running your own Cyprus company counts towards the 60-day rule. A Cyprus home you really live in also helps show the Netherlands that you've left.

The move, month by month.

The timings depend on your case. Start with the BV, not the flight.

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  1. First

    Sort out the BV

    A Dutch tax adviser values your BV and plans its cash, any loans between you and the BV, and whether it stays, closes or is sold. Do this while you still live there. We can recommend an adviser if you need one.

  2. Month 1We do this

    Company and Yellow Slip

    We register the Cyprus company with tax, VAT and VIES, and apply for your Yellow Slip with you. Your books open the day you order.

  3. Month 1 to 3

    Deregister and move your life

    Deregister with your municipality before you leave and keep the proof. Then move your GP, insurance and daily life. That ordinary list is what the tax office reads.

  4. Month 3 to 6

    A home and decisions in Cyprus

    Rent or buy the Cyprus home the 60-day rule needs, and take the company's decisions here. Decide on voluntary state pension insurance within a year of leaving.

  5. Month 6 to 12

    The Dutch tax return

    Your Dutch adviser files the return for the year you left, and the deferred exit tax bill follows. Have every dividend from the old BV checked before it's paid.

  6. Month 6 to 12We do this

    Tax residency and non-dom

    We register your Cyprus tax residency and non-dom status, then keep your day counts and Cyprus filings in order.

The Cyprus side, done for you.

Fixed prices, excl. VAT, agreed before you start. Government fees are charged at cost, on top of our fee, once your application is approved.

Questions from Dutch founders.

Still unsure? Talk to a person on WhatsApp, or book a free call below.

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Only if you own 5% or more of a company, alone or with your partner. Then leaving counts as selling those shares at market value, and the gain is taxed at up to 31%. Because Cyprus is in the EU, payment is deferred automatically, with no interest and no security. The bill is real, though. It's put on hold, not cancelled.

No, not for anyone leaving today. The ten-year waiver only applied to people who left before 15 September 2015. Since then the deferral lasts for life, and the tax office no longer cancels the bill after ten years. Advice to sit out a decade describes a rule that changed more than ten years ago.

You can, but it costs you three ways at once. The BV withholds 15% Dutch dividend tax, you may owe Dutch income tax on it as a non-resident, and part of your deferred exit tax falls due. Some of these are credited against each other, but there's no way round them. Plan the BV's cash before you leave.

No. A company set up under Dutch law stays Dutch for corporate tax and dividend tax, whoever runs it. Run it from Cyprus and it becomes resident in both countries, and the treaty only lets the two tax offices negotiate. The options are to keep the BV, close or sell it while you still live there, or convert it formally with proper advice.

When your life is really in Cyprus. There's no day count. The tax office asks where you spend most of your time, where your family lives, where you work and are insured, where your GP is and where your children go to school. Deregistering is needed but not enough. A Dutch home you keep is strong evidence you never left, so sell it or let it out for real.

What you've built up stays yours and is paid at state pension age. You stop building it, and each year you're not insured costs 2% of it, for life. You can insure voluntarily, at most €5,693 a year in 2026, if you were insured for the full year before you left and apply within a year of leaving. Once you work in Cyprus, you're insured in Cyprus, not in both.

Ten years, if you're a Dutch national. If you die or make a gift within ten years of leaving, the Netherlands treats you as still living there. Someone of another nationality is caught for one year, and only on gifts. The clock runs from the day you actually leave. Cyprus has no inheritance tax.

No. The Dutch rules that tax a foreign company's profit at home only apply to companies in countries on a fixed government list. Cyprus is on neither the low-tax list nor the list of uncooperative countries. The rate test looks for a rate below 9%, and Cyprus at 15% sits well above it.

No. Under the 60-day rule you can be Cyprus tax resident with 60 days a year here, a home you rent or own, a business or job in Cyprus, and no more than 183 days in any other country. Running your own Cyprus company can count as the business.

Plan your move with us.

Tell us what you own and when you'd like to move. We'll tell you what applies, what it costs, and what to do first.

  • Which rules at home affect you
  • The order to do things in
  • A fixed price for the Cyprus side

30 minutes, by video, free

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Your move, one partner.

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