Holding a US passport turns ordinary financial admin here into something considerably more involved, because US tax obligations follow citizenship rather than residence. The part that catches people out is investing: standard European index funds fall into a reporting category that can cost more to declare than the funds ever earn.
Yes, and there's no way around it: the US taxes citizens and green card holders on worldwide income no matter where they live, so an annual US return sits alongside your Dutch one for as long as you hold that citizenship. In practice double taxation is largely avoidable — the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion lets you exclude up to $132,900 of foreign earned income for the 2026 tax year, and the Foreign Tax Credit (often the better option once you're paying Dutch rates, which usually exceed US ones) lets you offset US tax with Dutch tax already paid. The real headache is PFIC: almost any European-domiciled ETF or mutual fund — meaning most of what a Dutch broker offers, including simple index funds — counts as a Passive Foreign Investment Company under US rules, triggering punitive tax treatment and a separate Form 8621 for every single fund, every year, whether you sold anything or not. Combined with FBAR/FATCA reporting on Dutch bank accounts, this isn't a DIY situation. Anyone investing seriously while holding a US passport should budget for a preparer who specifically handles American-expat returns, not just any accountant.