Bahamas Tax Guide: No Income Tax, No Capital Gains, No Wealth Tax

The Bahamas rank 7th out of 217 in our world ranking, with a FiScore of 9.3 out of 10. Seven hundred islands an hour's flight from Florida, and a list of taxes that do not exist.

What the Bahamas do not levy

• No personal income tax.
• No capital gains tax.
• No inheritance or gift tax.
• No wealth tax.
• No general corporate income tax, with one exception that only touches very large groups.

The state funds itself through 10% VAT, customs duties, which are heavy on almost everything imported, and various fees.

The corporate exception, and why our page shows 15%

For fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2025, the Bahamas apply a 15% domestic minimum top-up tax, their implementation of OECD Pillar Two.

It reaches one audience only: multinational groups with consolidated revenue above 750 million euros. A local business, a family holding company or a consultancy is nowhere near the threshold.

That is what produces the "0 to 15%" range on our Bahamas page. For almost everyone, the applicable figure is still zero.

Set that aside and the Bahamian position remains better than the Gulf's: the UAE taxes companies at 9% above 375,000 dirhams of profit, which catches essentially every structure an expatriate entrepreneur would run. Only Bahrain still sits where the Bahamas do.

Residency, priced in property

The Bahamas run one of the most legible programmes anywhere: a number, a status.

Applications at the upper threshold are generally given accelerated treatment.

As always, holding a residence permit is not the same as ceasing to be tax resident where you were. What decides that is real presence and severed ties, not a card.

If you are American, this is the whole story

The Bahamas are heavily American in feel, and the reasons are obvious: the flight from Miami is under an hour, the dollar is used alongside the local currency at par, and the time zone is the same.

None of that changes the tax position. The United States taxes its citizens on citizenship. Because the Bahamas take nothing, there is no foreign tax credit to offset your US bill. Beyond the foreign earned income exclusion on earned income, you pay the full American rate.

An American in the Bahamas removes a tax they were never paying and keeps in full the one they were. That sounds obvious written down, and it is routinely missed. See why a zero-tax country can cost you more.

The drawbacks

Living costs are very high. Almost everything is imported and dutied. Food, energy and building materials cost markedly more than in Florida.

Hurricanes. The archipelago sits on the track, and Dorian in 2019 showed what that can mean. Insurance and island choice both matter.

Public services are uneven outside Nassau and a handful of developed islands.

Economic concentration in tourism and finance leaves the country exposed to external shocks.

So, who are the Bahamas for?

• Someone genuinely relocating with accumulated wealth: nothing on income, nothing on gains, nothing on wealth, nothing at death, and residency available through property.
• An American: excellent on lifestyle and proximity, neutral or negative on tax.
• Someone wanting an address without living there: it does not work. Residence decides.
• A modest budget: the cost of living eats much of the advantage.

The full table is on our Bahamas page, and the comparison tool puts it next to anywhere else.

Sources

Figures verified in August 2026 against the Government of the Bahamas and PwC Tax Summaries. An error reported to us gets fixed.

This page informs, it does not advise. Before deciding anything, talk to a professional who will look at your situation, as our terms of use set out.