# Guernsey

 Country code: GG

**Pros**
- Zero percent standard corporate tax rate and absence of capital gains or inheritance taxes.
- High degree of legislative autonomy and minimal bureaucratic corruption within a stable, self-governing jurisdiction.
- Exceptional personal safety and high quality of life within a secure, community-oriented island environment.

**Cons**
- Significant restrictions on property ownership and residency through a complex dual-market housing system.
- Limited transport connectivity and high costs for travel and freight due to geographic isolation.
- High cost of living and expensive local services despite the absence of value-added tax.

Long story short: In Guernsey, the state pretty much leaves you alone: no corporate tax, zero VAT, zero capital gains tax. A libertarian's dream, just a boat ride from the mainland.

The catch: the island is tiny, the local market minuscule, and settling in isn't automatic. A residency and housing permit system decides who gets to stay, and the cost of living is steep.

Other than that: a solid, discreet banking system, almost no crime, excellent seafood, and stunning cliffside scenery. Everything runs in English, just a stone's throw from France.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: YES, FAIRLY.
Income tax in **Guernsey** sits at a middling **20%**.

Residency follows the standard international playbook (day counts, economic ties, habitual abode), so if you actually live here, you pay the full menu. No more, no less.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | 20% | flat rate |

**01.2 Tax residence test**

_A single active rule is enough to make you tax-resident._

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

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Guernsey** 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% · Guernsey does not levy Capital Gains Tax (CGT), meaning casual investors pay 0% on crypto disposals. However, if an individual is deemed to be 'trading' (based on the 'badges of trade' such as high frequency and profit-seeking intent), profits are taxed as personal income at a flat rate of 20%. |
| 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, BUT TAXED.
Corporate tax in **Guernsey** lands at a *moderate* **20%**, but the legal frame is quiet: *no criminal liability* on corporate assets, *non-public* registries.

The rate stings a little; nothing else does.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | 0 → 20% | progressive · +15% Customs duty on some goods originating in the United States (not a corporate income surtax, but a customs surtax as described in the document) |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 + | exempt |
| 0 + | 10% |
| 0 + | 20% |

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 · Guernsey law, which imports English common law principles, does not recognize 'Misuse of Corporate Assets' as a standalone criminal offense. For a sole director and shareholder of a solvent company, the extraction of funds is treated as a civil matter—specifically a breach of fiduciary duty or an unlawful distribution under the Companies (Guernsey) Law, 2008 (e.g., Section 303). Criminal liability under Section 432 (Fraudulent Trading) only arises if there is a specific intent to defraud creditors, which is generally not applicable while the company remains solvent and the sole owner consents to the transaction. |
| Shareholders privacy | PRIVATE | Guernsey Registry |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Guernsey Registry |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

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

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Guernsey Registry Standard Incorporation Fee (24-hour) | USD 136 |  |
| Corporate Service Provider (CSP) Professional Setup & KYC Fee | USD 3,388 |  |
| Minimum Share Capital (1 share at £1.00) | USD 1 |  |
| Total | USD 3,524 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Guernsey** 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 | NONE | no dividend participation exemption regime |
| 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.
**Guernsey** 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 | FORBIDDEN | naturalisation requires renouncing existing citizenship |

**05.2 Citizenship paths**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Residence | — | not available |
| Marriage | — | not available |
| Birth | — | not available |
| Descent | — | not available |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: YES, CLOSELY.
Yes, your money is watched here. **Guernsey** signed *every major* automatic-exchange framework: CRS, FATCA, CARF, MLI, MAAC. Open an account and it gets reported straight to your home tax authority (Americans: FATCA applies, no exceptions).

Corporate registries stay *non-public*, which saves a thin slice of ownership discretion. But your financial trail is made of glass.

**Multilateral reporting frameworks — 3/9 active · 5 pending**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | Signed | 2017 |
| CARF | Signed | 2024 |
| FATCA | In force | 2014 |
| MLI | In force | 2019 |
| BEPS | Signed | — |
| MAAC | Signed | 2014 |
| GLOBAL FORUM | Signed | — |
| EOIR | In force | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: SOMEWHAT.
**Guernsey** 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 3 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 | Listed | tax-haven list |
| PORTUGAL | Listed | favourable regimes |
| BRAZIL | Listed | low-tax list |

## Do you feel free there?

Long story short:
Not enough data to tell how free you'd actually feel in **Guernsey**.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | — |  |

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 **Guernsey**. *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 (**5/11**), but for an online business this is swimming against the current.

**Accept payments — 2/6 available**

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

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

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wise | Available | multi-currency |
| Revolut | Available | personal banking |
| Revolut Business | Available | business banking |

**Buy and sell on Amazon — 0/2 available**

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

  SEE ALSO## Other jurisdictions worth comparing

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

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   San Marino SM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/sm) [   Laos LA  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/la) [   Liberia LR  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/lr)

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

 [   Jersey JE  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/je) [   Montenegro ME  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/me) [   Madagascar MG  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/mg)

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

 [   San Marino SM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/sm) [   Liberia LR  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/lr) [   Angola AO  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ao)