# Nauru

 Country code: NR · Currency: AUD · Language: English

**Pros**
- Absence of corporate tax and no capital gains tax on private business investments.
- Minimal regulatory oversight and low bureaucratic barriers for small-scale private entrepreneurial ventures.
- High level of personal safety and low violent crime rates within the local community.

**Cons**
- Severe infrastructure limitations in reliable electricity, high-speed internet, and modern transportation links.
- Significant geographic isolation and extreme dependence on imported goods and foreign financial aid.
- Historical concerns about government transparency and potential for systemic corruption in public administration.

Long story short: Here, you'll never pay a cent of income tax, simply because the Nauruan state has nothing left to tax since the phosphate dried up.

The flip side: almost no bank actually works, the administration rewrites the rules with every palace shake-up, and the island spent years as a regional money-laundering laundromat.

Beyond that: everything is imported and pricey, the interior looks like a mined-out lunar crater, but the lagoon is still stunning. Crime is basically nonexistent, everyone knows everyone on this speck of ten thousand souls.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Nauru** 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.
**Nauru** 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% · Nauru does not impose capital gains tax, inheritance tax, or wealth tax on individuals. Recent legislation (2024/2025) established the Command Ridge Virtual Asset Authority (CRVAA) and explicitly classifies crypto-assets as commodities rather than securities. While casual investment gains are tax-free, professional trading activity is treated as business income and is subject to the Business Tax Act 2016 at a 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.
**Nauru** 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 · Nauru follows Common Law principles where a company is a separate legal entity, but the misuse of assets by a sole shareholder-director of a solvent company is primarily treated as a civil breach of fiduciary duty (Section 104 of the Corporations Act 1972) or a tax/accounting issue. Under the Crimes Act 2016, criminal offenses such as theft or fraud require a 'dishonest' intent to deprive another of property; in the case of a solvent company with a sole owner who consents to the use of funds, this criminal threshold is generally not met as there is no victim or intent to defraud third parties. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Nauru Registrar of Corporations |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Nauru Registrar of Corporations |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

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

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Incorporation & Registry Fees | USD 355 |  |
| Business Name Registration Fee | USD 142 |  |
| Annual Business License Fee (First Year) | USD 213 |  |
| Name Reservation and Beneficial Ownership Filing | USD 68 |  |
| Professional Incorporation & Legal Service Fees | USD 1,777 |  |
| Total | USD 2,555 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Nauru** 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 | 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: LITTLE.
Coming and going from **Nauru** 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 | — | not available |
| Marriage | — | not available |
| Birth | — | not available |
| Descent | — | not available |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: PARTLY.
**Nauru** 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 — 2/9 active · 2 pending**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | Signed | 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.
**Nauru** 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 **Nauru**.

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

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Seychelles SC  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/sc) [   British Virgin Islands VG  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/vg) [   Anguilla AI  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ai)

  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) [   Montserrat MS  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ms) [   Palau PW  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/pw)