# Guyana

 Country code: GY · Currency: GYD · Language: English

**Pros**
- Rapid GDP growth from oil discoveries: Unprecedented expansion creating vast opportunities for private investment and entrepreneurship.
- English-speaking environment: Ease of doing business and legal navigation within a familiar linguistic and common law framework.
- Abundant natural resources: Significant potential for private exploitation in mining, agriculture, and energy sectors with minimal competition.

**Cons**
- Systemic corruption and bureaucracy: Opaque government processes and administrative inefficiencies hindering free market operations and fair competition.
- Inadequate infrastructure and energy: Frequent power outages and poor transport networks raising logistical costs and operational risks.
- High crime and security risks: Significant threats to personal safety and property rights requiring expensive private security measures.

Long story short: In Georgetown, oil money flows freely and Guyana's tax authorities still don't have the tools to hunt you down, so you can breathe easy.

The flip side: the administration crawls, paperwork sits for months, and corruption greases every gear wherever black gold changes hands.

Other than that: banks stay skittish with foreigners, roads outside the capital are falling apart, but you sleep soundly in Georgetown's upscale neighborhoods. The mixed Caribbean-Indian food is worth the trip, and the jungle serves up breathtaking scenery.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: YES, A LOT.
On paper, **Guyana** shears you at up to **35%**. In practice, the *territorial* regime only bites income sourced locally: foreign salary, foreign dividends, foreign gains walk through untouched. The sticker is there to scare; the machinery doesn't reach that far.

Earn your living abroad and the local taxman mostly waves at you from a distance.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | 25 → 35% | progressive · 2 brackets |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 – 16,064 | 25% |
| 16,064 + | 35% |

**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 | exists here |  |
| Extended-stay test | does not exist here |  |

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: YES, FAIRLY.
**Guyana** takes **20%** when you sell, and that's the whole story: no annual wealth levy, no inheritance regime.

The state waits for the value to move before reaching for it; while it sits, nobody touches it.

**02.1 Investment income**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital gains | 20% | flat |
| Dividend tax | 35% | progressive |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 – 16,064 | 25% |
| 16,064 + | 35% |

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Interest income | 20% | flat |

**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 | UNREGULATED | Fallback rate: 40% · Guyana has no specific cryptocurrency tax legislation. The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) applies general tax principles: gains from assets held for less than 12 months are treated as ordinary income (taxed at progressive rates of 28% and 40%), while assets held for more than 12 months are subject to Capital Gains Tax at a flat rate of 20%. The Bank of Guyana has issued warnings that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and remain unregulated. |
| Crypto-to-crypto | TAXABLE | each swap counts as a disposal — gains realised at every trade |
| FATF travel rule | NOT SIGNED | no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers |

## Easy to run a company there?

Long story short: NO.
Corporate tax in **Guyana** is **45%**, no IP-box mercy, VAT at **14** on top.

Operationally, running a company here is fine; fiscally, the state helps itself to a fat slice of every unit of profit. You do the work, they skim the cream.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | 25 → 45% | progressive · +2% Minimum Corporation Tax (MCT) of turnover for commercial companies if higher than 40% of chargeable profits |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 + | 25% |
| 0 + | 40% |
| 0 + | 45% |

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| VAT standard rate | 14% | single rate · no reduced tiers |

**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 · Guyana follows the Common Law tradition (influenced by English law), where the 'separate legal personality' of a company is recognized. However, for a sole shareholder-director of a solvent company, the 'misuse' of assets is typically treated as a civil breach of fiduciary duty under Section 96 of the Companies Act (Cap. 89:01) or an unauthorized distribution of capital. While Section 194 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act (Cap. 8:01) prohibits the fraudulent appropriation of property by directors, the requirement for 'fraudulent' intent is generally not met when the sole owner consents and no creditors are prejudiced, as the owner is considered the 'directing mind and will' of the company. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority (DCRA) |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Deeds and Commercial Registry Authority (DCRA) |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

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

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Incorporation Fee | USD 287 |  |
| Administrative Notices (Directors, Secretary, Registered Office) | USD 15 |  |
| Name Search and Reservation Fee | USD 24 |  |
| Mandatory Legal Declaration of Compliance and Professional Setup Fees | USD 1,499 |  |
| Mandatory Certified Copy of Certificate | USD 2 |  |
| Total | USD 1,827 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Guyana** 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 | REMITTANCE | remittance basis — foreign income taxed only when brought in |
| 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 | 20% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · interest | 20% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · royalties | 20% | non-resident outbound |
| 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: LITTLE.
Coming and going from **Guyana** costs you nothing worth mentioning. *Territorial* regime (foreign income stays foreign), *no exit tax* at the door.

You show up with your stuff, you leave with your stuff, plus whatever you earned abroad in between. Borders the way they should all work.

**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 | — | 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: NO.
Foreign tax offices see next to nothing of what you do in **Guyana**: it has signed *few exchange frameworks*.

But the *corporate registries are public*: your shareholdings and directorships are one search away for anyone curious. Invisible from abroad, on display at home.

**Multilateral reporting frameworks — 1/9 active · 1 pending**

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

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: SOMEWHAT.
**Guyana** 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 1 authority**

| 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 | Clear | low-tax list |

## Do you feel free there?

Long story short: PARTLY.
**Guyana** sits in the *middle band* of the RSF press-freedom index (rank **\#73**): civil society functions, but the walls are real and you'll learn fast where they stand.

Crypto lives in the standard regulated tier.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | 73/180 | score 60 · ↑ 4 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 **Guyana**. *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 (**4/11**), 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 | 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 Guyana. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Trinidad & Tobago TT  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/tt) [   Kenya KE  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ke) [   Antigua & Barbuda AG  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ag)

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

 [   Jamaica JM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/jm) [   Costa Rica CR  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/cr) [   Cape Verde CV  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/cv)

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

 [   Tuvalu TV  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/tv) [   Dominica DM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/dm) [   St. Vincent & Grenadines VC  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/vc)