Updated on 4 August 2021
Can you register a company at a virtual office address? The answer is 'yes', and many people choose to use a PO box address in the Netherlands each year.
You may have heard about foreign companies with a postal address in the Netherlands. For these companies, there are many advantages to a so-called PO Box company. These advantages are especially interesting from a tax point of view.
But even if you reside in the Netherlands, registering your company can have advantages.
Let's start at the beginning. What exactly is a virtual office address? When you rent a virtual office address, you rent a PO box. Customers and suppliers can then send all their mail to this postal address. This PO box is managed by the company where you pay rent.
How you can view and receive your mail differs per company. For example, some companies offer to email the mail to you in PDF format. Other companies only receive your mail and forward it to you, which obviously takes longer.
In a number of cases, you also have the option of renting an office space or a meeting room for certain days in addition to the postal business address. This way you can convert your virtual office address into a virtual office!
A virtual address can no longer be used as a business address for registering with the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce checks all registrations from time to time.
Even if you are registered at a multi-company building, but your rental contract shows that you are at the office for less than 40 hours a week, you will have to change your business address. If not, your company will be removed from the Trade Register.
In this case, you will have to register your company at the address where you carry out your activities. So there is a strong chance that as a starting entrepreneur, you will have to register your company at your home address.
In some cases, it may be possible to register first at your home address and later change this to the virtual office address.
A PO box address is more professional than a home address. Nowadays, more and more people search the Internet before they start working with a company, which prevents a large mail pile. However, if you expect a lot of mail, a virtual office address is very useful because the mail is sorted by someone else, which saves you time. If you are often abroad, you can choose to receive the mail per PDF. For example, you can read your physical mail on your laptop or smartphone. In addition to a virtual office address, you can often also receive all kinds of other services such as a reception, an office space or a meeting room.
The biggest advantage for companies outside the Netherlands remains the ability to avoid paying taxes. However, the EU is working to tackle these PO box companies in Amsterdam, among others.
So if you are away from the Netherlands for weeks or months, expect to receive a lot of mail and value privacy, a virtual mailbox could be the right solution for you. Contact us today for more details.
