The one thing to understand first
The US taxes its citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. Moving to the Netherlands under DAFT doesn’t change that. You’ll likely need to file both a Dutch tax return and a US one, every year, for as long as you’re a US citizen, whether or not you owe tax in either country.
What typically applies to a DAFT entrepreneur
The FBAR and Form 8938 figures below are confirmed on irs.gov. The rest comes from tax-prep companies that specialize in US citizens abroad.
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US federal return (Form 1040): required if you clear the filing threshold, reportedly as low as $400 in net self-employment earnings for a self-employed person. The US-Netherlands tax treaty and mechanisms like the Foreign Tax Credit (Form 1116) and Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (Form 2555) exist to reduce double taxation, not eliminate the filing requirement itself.
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FBAR (FinCEN Form 114): required if the combined balance of your foreign financial accounts (your Dutch business and personal bank accounts included) exceeds $10,000 at any point in the year. Filed separately from your tax return, through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing system, not with your tax return. Due April 15, with an automatic 6-month extension to October 15. Penalties for not filing can be severe; this is the single most important deadline on this page to get right.
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FATCA (Form 8938): a similar but separate foreign-asset disclosure, attached to your Form 1040. For Americans living abroad, the IRS thresholds are:
Filing status Last day of the year At any time in the year Single or married filing separately more than $200,000 more than $300,000 Married filing jointly more than $400,000 more than $600,000 -
Form 8833: generally needed if you’re claiming that the US-Netherlands tax treaty changes how much US tax you owe.
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Dutch side: a Dutch tax return (Form P, or Form M in your arrival year), filed via Mijn Belastingdienst with DigiD.
Why this matters for your DAFT business specifically
Your DAFT business’s own bank accounts count as “foreign financial accounts” for FBAR purposes. The opening balance sheet and ongoing bookkeeping records you need for the IND (see Opening balance sheet) overlap substantially with what a US tax preparer will ask you for. Getting your Dutch bookkeeping right isn’t just an IND requirement; it’s also the paper trail your US filing will need.
Get this one right with a professional
This page exists to tell you what questions to ask, not to answer them for your specific situation. US international tax rules are genuinely complex, and the penalties for getting FBAR wrong in particular are disproportionate to how easy the mistake is to make. Talk to a tax preparer who specifically handles US citizens abroad, not a general accountant on either side of the Atlantic.
Next steps
See Costs and timeline for the Dutch-side costs, and Opening balance sheet for why your Dutch bookkeeping matters for more than just the IND.