# Tuvalu

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

**Pros**
- Minimal state presence in daily life and low regulatory burden for small enterprises.
- High personal safety and social cohesion within a peaceful, self-governing community.
- Potential for sovereign digital innovation through unique national assets and minimal bureaucracy.

**Cons**
- Severe geographic isolation creating logistical barriers and high dependency on expensive imports.
- Underdeveloped physical and digital infrastructure limiting scalability for modern business ventures.
- Existential environmental risks and limited land availability restricting long-term capital investment.

Long story short: Nobody here will hassle you over taxes: the fiscal burden is next to nothing, and the administration, tiny as it is, has neither the manpower nor the will to check up on you.

The flip side: there's barely any economy to tap into, just one local bank far too basic for serious business, and an airstrip that shuts down the moment it rains too hard.

Other than that: total safety, jaw-dropping lagoons, but pricey imported food and a country that might end up underwater within a few decades.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Tuvalu** 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.
**Tuvalu** 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 | UNREGULATED | Fallback rate: 30% · Tuvalu has no specific cryptocurrency tax legislation. The Inland Revenue Department applies general income tax rules under the Income Tax Act 1992. Personal income is taxed progressively at 0% (up to AUD 10,000), 15% (AUD 10,001–14,000), and 30% (above AUD 14,000). While there is no separate Capital Gains Tax, gains from crypto may be classified as assessable income if deemed to be from a profit-making undertaking or business activity. Swaps are generally treated as disposals under standard income principles. |
| 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: YES.
**Tuvalu** 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 · Tuvalu follows English common law principles where a sole shareholder-director of a solvent company is generally not subject to criminal prosecution for the personal use of corporate assets. Because the individual is the 'directing mind and will' of the company, their consent is attributed to the entity, negating the 'dishonesty' required for criminal theft or conversion under the Penal Code (Cap 10.20). Such actions are instead addressed through civil remedies for breach of statutory duties under the Companies Act (Cap 40.08, Section 65) or as tax-related distributions. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC | Tuvalu Business Registry |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC | Tuvalu Business Registry |

**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 Business Registration Fee | USD 71 |  |
| Initial Operational Business License (BOL) | USD 71 |  |
| Name Reservation and Administrative Filing Fees | USD 71 |  |
| Professional Incorporation and Legal Service Fees | USD 1,777 |  |
| Total | USD 1,990 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Tuvalu** 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.
**Tuvalu** 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 | 7 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Marriage | — | not available |
| Birth | — | not available |
| Descent | — | not available |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: NO.
Foreign tax offices see next to nothing of what you do in **Tuvalu**: 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 — 0/9 active**

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

## Is it blacklisted?

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

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

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Dominica DM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/dm) [   St. Vincent & Grenadines VC  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/vc) [   South Sudan SS  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ss)

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

 [   Puerto Rico PR  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/pr) [   Argentina AR  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ar) [   Ecuador EC  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ec)

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

 [   Haiti HT  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ht) [   Cuba CU  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/cu) [   Sudan SD  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/sd)