Since January 2026, the EU automatically shares your financial data across borders. Here is what that means for your structure — and why it should not concern you if it was built correctly.

DAC8 — the EU's eighth Directive on Administrative Cooperation — came into force in January 2026. For EU-based digital entrepreneurs, it represents the most significant shift in financial data transparency the bloc has seen in a decade.

The short version: digital platforms, payment processors, and financial institutions across the EU are now required to automatically report your income data to tax authorities, who share it across borders. If you earn through platforms such as Stripe, PayPal, Upwork, or Fiverr, that income is now visible to your home country's tax authority — without them having to ask for it.

What DAC8 actually covers

The directive targets income earned through digital platforms and financial institutions, including:

• Freelance and service income via digital marketplaces
• Rental income through platforms such as Airbnb
• Gains from crypto assets and digital currencies
• Sales of goods through online platforms
• Bank account balances and transaction data held at EU-regulated institutions

If you operate through any of these channels, the data is already being reported. The question is whether your structure and filings are consistent with it.

Does this affect a US LLC structure?

This is the question we hear most often. The answer depends entirely on how your structure is documented and operated.

A US LLC held by an EU resident is, in most cases, a disregarded entity — meaning the income flows through to you personally and is taxable in your country of residence. If your structure was designed correctly, with proper documentation, clear invoicing chains, and consistent declarations, DAC8 changes nothing material about your tax position. The income was already being declared. The structure was never designed to hide anything — it was designed to optimise.

Where problems arise is when structures were poorly documented or relied on obscurity rather than compliance. DAC8 removes that option entirely. Tax authorities now have the data. The question is whether your filings match it.

What a compliant structure looks like

According to guidance from the European Commission, a compliant structure under DAC8 typically requires:



• A clearly documented business purpose for the LLC
• Invoicing that reflects genuine commercial relationships
• Consistent income declarations in your country of residence
• No reliance on accounts or structures held outside your declared tax position

If your structure has these elements, DAC8 is not a threat — it is confirmation that your approach was correct from the start.

What to do if you are unsure

If you are not confident that your current structure meets these standards, now is the time to review it. DAC8 enforcement is underway, and tax authorities across the EU are actively cross-referencing platform income data with submitted returns.

The first step is understanding your current position — what you have, whether it is documented correctly, and where the gaps are. A well-structured review takes less time than you might expect, and the cost of getting it wrong is considerably higher than the cost of getting it right.