# Belize

 Country code: BZ · Currency: BZD · Language: Belizean Creole

**Pros**
- Territorial tax system exempting foreign-sourced income from local taxation for non-resident entities.
- English as the official language simplifying legal navigation and business operations for international entrepreneurs.
- Strong property rights for foreigners allowing full ownership of land and assets without local partnership.

**Cons**
- High violent crime rates and security concerns in urban centers like Belize City.
- Underdeveloped infrastructure with frequent power outages and poorly maintained road networks outside tourist zones.
- Systemic corruption and bureaucratic delays impacting government services and land title processing.

Long story short: Here, the state doesn't touch a cent of what you earn outside the country: zero tax on foreign income, and an offshore company set up in 48 hours.

The catch: opening a bank account is an obstacle course, banks pull the plug the moment they smell anything international, and both police and customs like a little grease.

Besides that: the wealthy neighborhoods stay quiet, even though Belize City has its rough patches. Excellent seafood, a stunning reef and beaches, decent urban infrastructure, a laid-back vibe, but a tiny local market.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Belize** doesn't tax personal income, and nobody comes sniffing around when you settle in. No withholding, no tax return, no centre-of-vital-interests trap waiting to snap shut.

Earn what you want: the taxman here simply doesn't know your name.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | NONE | no personal income tax framework |

**01.2 Tax residence test**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 183-day rule | does not exist here |  |
| Economic interest | does not exist here |  |
| Family centre | does not exist here |  |
| Habitual abode | does not exist here |  |
| Extended-stay test | does not exist here |  |

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Belize** keeps its hands off what you hold. *No capital gains tax*, no annual wealth grab, no inheritance regime.

Your portfolio compounds in peace and leaves the way it came in; nobody's standing at the door with their palm out.

**02.1 Investment income**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital gains | NONE | no capital gains regime |
| Dividend tax | NONE | no dividend tax |
| Interest income | NONE | no interest income tax |

**02.2 Wealth & estate**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wealth tax | NONE | no annual wealth tax · no real-estate wealth tax · no net-worth assessment |
| Inheritance system | NONE | no estate tax · no heir-based duties · no succession tax framework. Wealth transfers across heir-classes are not taxed in this jurisdiction. Only standard probate / registration fees may apply. |

**02.3 Crypto**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Crypto · tax regime | ZERO TAX | Rate: 0% · Belize does not impose Capital Gains Tax. For individual residents, crypto-asset gains are generally tax-free unless the activity is classified as a trade or business. Professional trading is subject to Income Tax at a flat rate of 25% on chargeable income or Business Tax on gross receipts (typically 1.75% for general trade). Sources: Belize Tax Service, Income Tax Act, PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries. |
| Crypto-to-crypto | NEUTRAL | a swap is not a taxable realisation event |
| FATF travel rule | NOT SIGNED | no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers |

## Easy to run a company there?

Long story short: YES.
**Belize** runs *no corporate income tax* and *no criminal liability* for misuse of corporate assets: fiscally and legally featherweight.

The catch: registries are *public*, so your name as shareholder is one search away for any curious stranger. They won't tax you, they won't prosecute you. They'll just put you in the shop window.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | NONE | no corporate income tax framework |
| VAT standard rate | NONE | no general VAT · no consumption tax framework |

**03.2 Regime & registry**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| IP Box · Patent Box | NONE | no IP regime · IP income taxed under standard corporate rules |
| Misuse of corporate assets | NO CRIMINAL | no criminal liability · Belize follows the Common Law tradition where a company is a separate legal entity, but the 'consent' of a sole shareholder-director typically negates the 'dishonesty' required for criminal theft or fraud (Criminal Code, Chapter 101), provided the company is solvent and no creditors are defrauded. There is no specific 'Abus de Biens Sociaux' (ABS) statute; such actions are treated as a civil breach of fiduciary duties under the Companies Act 2022 or as a tax/accounting irregularity. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry (BCCAR) |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Belize Companies and Corporate Affairs Registry (BCCAR) |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

_In this country, the most standard company form is called Private Company Limited by Shares. The costs below are for incorporating a company in its simplest form, for reference only._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Registration Fee (Authorized Capital < BZD 50,000) | USD 150 |  |
| Name Reservation Fee (OBRS) | USD 12 |  |
| Professional Incorporation Service & Registered Agent Setup | USD 1,087 |  |
| Total | USD 1,250 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Belize** has no treaty network at all, which buries the holding question, full stop.

Every dividend in or out eats the statutory withholding at full rate, and no domestic regime can patch a hole that sits on the source side. Don't park a holding here.

**04.1 Substance & exemptions**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Territorial · individuals | WORLDWIDE | worldwide income taxation regardless of source |
| Territorial · corporates | WORLDWIDE | worldwide corporate taxation |
| Participation exemption | 100% | no minimum threshold · no holding period |
| CFC rules | NONE | no controlled foreign corporation regime · foreign-source corporate income out of scope |

**04.2 Withholding tax · non-resident**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WHT · dividends | NONE | no withholding on outbound dividends |
| WHT · interest | NONE | no withholding on outbound interest |
| WHT · royalties | NONE | no withholding on outbound royalties |
| Tax-haven WHT | NONE | no punitive rate on record |

**04.3 Treaty network**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Treaties signed | 0 | active |
| Treaties pending | — | in negotiation |

## Easy to come and go?

Long story short: SOME.
**Belize** taxes your worldwide income while you're resident, but at least the exit is free: *no exit tax* on the way out.

Leaving costs you paperwork, not money; your unrealised gains walk out the door with you, untouched.

**05.1 Exit & dual nationality**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exit tax | NONE | no triggers active · residence change tax-free · no deemed-disposal mechanism |
| Dual citizenship | ALLOWED | naturalised citizens may keep their existing nationality |

**05.2 Citizenship paths**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Residence | 6 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Marriage | 1 year | available path to naturalisation |
| Birth | jus soli | available path to naturalisation |
| Descent | 1 gen | available path to naturalisation |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: PARTLY.
**Belize** has signed *most* of the standard exchange frameworks *and* runs a public corporate registry. Your accounts get reported to your home tax office, and your shareholdings sit in the shop window.

Watched on both axes: not wall-to-wall, but don't come here for discretion.

**Multilateral reporting frameworks — 3/9 active · 3 pending**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | Signed | 2018 |
| CARF | None | — |
| FATCA | None | — |
| MLI | In force | 2022 |
| BEPS | Signed | — |
| MAAC | In force | 2013 |
| GLOBAL FORUM | Signed | — |
| EOIR | In force | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: SOMEWHAT.
**Belize** is *flagged* by a few national tax administrations (drawn from FR/ES/PT/BR) and sits outside the FATF club.

The friction is selective: anti-abuse rules fire on specific corridors, and counterparties ask more questions than usual. Neither the FATF nor the EU has it on their lists, which keeps the damage contained: a nuisance, not a scarlet letter.

**Blacklist exposure — Listed by 2 authorities**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EMBARGO | Clear | un / us / eu sanctions |
| FATF | Clear | grey / black list |
| EU | Clear | non-cooperative list |
| FRANCE | Clear | ETNC list |
| SPAIN | Clear | tax-haven list |
| PORTUGAL | Listed | favourable regimes |
| BRAZIL | Listed | low-tax list |

## Do you feel free there?

Long story short: PARTLY.
Press freedom in **Belize** is *partial* (RSF rank **\#47**): civic space exists, with walls you'll eventually touch. Crypto, on the other hand, rides *untaxed*.

Mixed deal: your money moves freely, your mouth a little less so.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | 47/180 | score 68 · ↑ 7 ranks year-on-year |

Central bank digital currency

NONE

no announced CBDC program · no pilot · no retail or wholesale prototype on record

## Connected to the world?

Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in **Belize**. *Stripe* won't onboard you, so card payments mean a foreign structure or a local processor with its own rules. *Amazon* doesn't deliver either.

Some secondary services run (**3/11**), but for an online business this is swimming against the current.

**Accept payments — 1/6 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stripe | Not available | card payments |
| PayPal | Not available | wallet payments |
| Adyen | Not available | enterprise psp |
| Mollie | Not available | eu payments |
| GoCardless | Not available | direct debit |
| Paddle | Available | merchant of record |

**Bank and move money — 1/3 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wise | Available | multi-currency |
| Revolut | Not available | personal banking |
| Revolut Business | Not available | business banking |

**Buy and sell on Amazon — 1/2 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Amazon | Not available | consumer delivery |
| Amazon Seller | Available | marketplace selling |

  SEE ALSO## Other jurisdictions worth comparing

Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Belize. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   U.S. Virgin Islands VI  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/vi) [   Russia RU  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ru) [   San Marino SM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/sm)

  NOTABLY MORE FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, higher total score.

 [   Jersey JE  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/je) [   New Zealand NZ  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/nz) [   Isle of Man IM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/im)

  NOTABLY LESS FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, lower total score.

 [   Russia RU  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ru) [   San Marino SM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/sm) [   Israel IL  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/il)