# Marshall Islands

 Country code: MH · Currency: USD · Language: English

**Pros**
- Absence of corporate, dividend, or capital gains taxes for non-resident international business companies
- World-leading legal framework for Decentralized Autonomous Organizations and blockchain-based corporate structures
- High levels of personal safety and minimal government interference in daily private life

**Cons**
- Significant geographic isolation leading to high transport costs and limited global market access
- Fragile infrastructure with inconsistent electricity and slow internet speeds outside major urban centers
- Heavy reliance on foreign aid and increasing international pressure regarding tax transparency standards

Long story short: Here, nobody comes after your wallet: the Marshall Islands barely tax locals and the administration will never bother you, it mostly exists to register offshore companies and ships.

The flip side: quiet corruption favors local clans, the economy runs on American aid and fishing, banks are fragile and increasingly cut off from the international system, and Majuro's infrastructure stays basic.

Besides that: low crime, excellent fresh fish, and gorgeous lagoons, but everything else gets imported at a steep price.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Marshall Islands** 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.
**Marshall Islands** 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% · The Marshall Islands does not impose capital gains tax on individuals. While the Sovereign (SOV) is recognized as legal tender under the Sovereign Currency Act 2018, other cryptocurrencies are generally treated as intangible property. Individual residents are not taxed on investment income or capital gains. However, professional trading conducted as a resident business is subject to a Gross Revenue Tax (GRT) of 3% on all receipts exceeding $10,000 per year. |
| 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.
**Marshall Islands** is maximum operational chill: *no corporate income tax* on standard profits, *no criminal liability* for misuse of corporate assets, and *non-public* registries.

The state doesn't take a cut, doesn't park a prosecutor over your intra-company flows, and doesn't put your name in a search box.

VAT sits at **n/a**. Run your thing; nobody's looking over your shoulder.

**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 · The Marshall Islands (RMI) follows a common law system with corporate legislation (Business Corporations Act, 52 MIRC) modeled after Delaware law. In a solvent company, a sole shareholder's use of corporate assets for personal purposes is treated as a civil breach of fiduciary duty or a tax issue (constructive dividend) rather than a criminal offense. Criminal charges such as embezzlement under the RMI Penal Code (31 MIRC) require the 'property of another'; since the sole owner is the only constituent of the solvent entity, the 'intent to defraud' the company is legally absent. |
| Shareholders privacy | PRIVATE | Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrator |
| Directors privacy | PRIVATE | Marshall Islands Maritime & Corporate Administrator |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

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

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Registration & Documentation Fees (including Apostilles for banking) | USD 1,050 |  |
| Professional Incorporation Service & First Year Registered Agent Fee | USD 850 |  |
| Minimum Capital Requirement | USD 0 |  |
| Total | USD 1,900 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Marshall Islands** 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 | TERRITORIAL | territorial — foreign-source income generally untaxed |
| Territorial · corporates | TERRITORIAL | territorial principle — foreign-source profits generally exempt |
| 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: LITTLE.
Coming and going from **Marshall Islands** 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 | FORBIDDEN | naturalisation requires renouncing existing citizenship |

**05.2 Citizenship paths**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Residence | 10 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Marriage | — | not available |
| Birth | — | not available |
| Descent | — | not available |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: PARTLY.
**Marshall Islands** plays along with *some* of the exchange machinery (typically CRS, MLI, MAAC), so a slice of your financial life gets shipped to treaty partners. Corporate registries stay *non-public*, so ownership stays opaque.

Half-watched: they see some of the money, none of the structure.

**Multilateral reporting frameworks — 3/9 active · 1 pending**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | In force | 2018 |
| CARF | None | — |
| FATCA | None | — |
| MLI | None | — |
| BEPS | None | — |
| MAAC | In force | 2016 |
| GLOBAL FORUM | Signed | — |
| EOIR | In force | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

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

**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 **Marshall Islands**. *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 Marshall Islands. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   British Virgin Islands VG  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/vg) [   Anguilla AI  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ai) [   Nauru NR  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/nr)

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

 [   St. Barthélemy BL  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bl) [   Wallis & Futuna WF  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/wf) [   Oman OM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/om)

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

 [   Monaco MC  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/mc) [   Somalia SO  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/so) [   Montserrat MS  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ms)