# Zimbabwe

 Country code: ZW · Currency: ZWL · Language: Chibarwe

**Pros**
- Abundant natural resources and fertile land for private agricultural or mining ventures.
- High literacy rate and skilled workforce available at competitive labor costs.
- Growing adoption of decentralized digital currencies to bypass traditional banking inefficiencies.

**Cons**
- Extreme monetary instability and hyperinflation risks to undermine long-term capital accumulation.
- Pervasive corruption and weak property rights protection to hinder secure private investment.
- Dilapidated infrastructure and frequent power outages to increase operational costs for businesses.

Long story short: Zimbabwe's tax office slaps you with a mountain of taxes, printed almost as fast as the central bank prints its own currency, but hardly anyone actually pays them.

The economy runs on US dollar cash, tax inspectors are too overwhelmed to chase you down, and in Harare's leafy suburbs like Borrowdale, private security does the job the state gave up on.

Other things worth knowing: daily power cuts offset by generators and solar panels, a banking system riddled with multi-currency headaches, hearty food like braai and sadza, and gorgeous scenery from Victoria Falls to the Matobo Hills.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Zimbabwe** 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.
**Zimbabwe** 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 | NONE | no crypto tax data |
| Crypto-to-crypto | — | no data |
| FATF travel rule | NOT SIGNED | no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers |

## Easy to run a company there?

Long story short: YES.
**Zimbabwe** 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 · In Zimbabwe, the misuse of corporate assets by a sole shareholder-director of a solvent company is generally treated as a civil breach of fiduciary duty under Sections 54 and 55 of the Companies and Other Business Entities Act (COBE), rather than a criminal offense. While Section 68 of the COBE Act and Section 136 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] criminalize 'fraudulent conduct,' these require an 'intent to defraud.' In a solvent company where the sole owner consents to the transaction, there is typically no victim to be defrauded, and the act is handled through tax adjustments (deemed dividends) or civil restitution. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Companies and Intellectual Property of Zimbabwe (CIPZ) |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Companies and Intellectual Property of Zimbabwe (CIPZ) |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

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

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Registration Fees (Name Search & Incorporation) | USD 60 |  |
| Professional Incorporation Service Fee | USD 240 |  |
| Total | USD 300 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Zimbabwe** 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.
**Zimbabwe** 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 | 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: NO.
Foreign tax offices see next to nothing of what you do in **Zimbabwe**: 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 · 2 pending**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | None | — |
| CARF | None | — |
| FATCA | None | — |
| MLI | None | — |
| BEPS | None | — |
| MAAC | Signed | 2025 |
| GLOBAL FORUM | Signed | — |
| EOIR | None | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: NO.
**Zimbabwe** sits on no major blacklist, though it's *outside* the FATF club.

Some counterparties will run a bit of extra due diligence out of habit, but there's no formal stigma: you won't get hassled for dealing with it.

**Blacklist exposure — Clear everywhere**

| 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 | Clear | favourable regimes |
| BRAZIL | Clear | low-tax list |

## Do you feel free there?

Long story short: NO.
Press freedom in **Zimbabwe** is *locked down* (RSF rank **\#106**). Independent media and civic space operate under pressure (when they operate at all), and that kind of grip usually spills over into economic life too.

Small mercy: crypto isn't formally banned.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | 106/180 | score 52 · ↑ 10 ranks year-on-year |

Central bank digital currency

    Program Status Cross-border Sources     Zimbabwe CBDC

Zimbabwe's central bank is exploring the use of a digital currency

Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe

   RESEARCH   —   [announce →](https://twitter.com/ReserveBankZIM/status/1590560608994623489 "Announcement")

 programs 1

## Connected to the world?

Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in **Zimbabwe**. *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 | Available | enterprise psp |
| Mollie | Not available | eu payments |
| GoCardless | Not available | direct debit |
| Paddle | Not 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 Zimbabwe. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Bhutan BT  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bt) [   Kyrgyzstan KG  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/kg) [   Lesotho LS  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ls)

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

 [   Bangladesh BD  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bd) [   Botswana BW  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bw) [   Chad TD  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/td)

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

 [   Gambia GM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/gm) [   St. Pierre & Miquelon PM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/pm) [   St. Martin MF  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/mf)