St. Barthélemy

Last update: 2026-05-11
BL
Pros
Absence of personal income tax for residents living on the island for over five years
Exceptional safety and security with very low crime rates for business and personal life
Significant fiscal autonomy from mainland France allowing for a more business-friendly local tax environment
Cons
Prohibitive real estate prices and extremely high cost of living for entrepreneurs and staff
Limited physical infrastructure and heavy dependence on expensive maritime or aerial imports
Strict local urban planning and environmental regulations limiting new commercial development and expansion
Personal income
NONE
Corporate
NONE
Capital gains
NONE
VAT (standard)
NONE
i 6.4 PRIVACY GRADE
i 5.8 DIVIDEND PIPELINE
i 4.8 HOLDING
i 3.8 VERY LOW TAX
i 2 CRYPTO HAVEN
i 0.9 EASY CITIZENSHIP
VERYLOW TAX 3.8/10 HOLDING 4.8/10 DIVIDENDPIPELINE 5.8/10 CRYPTOHAVEN 2/10 PRIVACYGRADE 6.4/10 EASYCITIZENSHIP 0.9/10
01/08

Will St. Barthélemy tax what you earn?

income tax tax residency territorial system

NO. St. Barthélemy doesn't tax personal income, and doesn't reach for you when you settle. No withholding, no return, no centre-of-vital-interests test waiting to trip. Salary is a non-event here, both in the rate and in the paperwork.

Personal income taxi
NONE
no personal income tax framework
Income simulatori
N/A
no income tax framework — nothing to simulate
Tax residence testi
N/A
no formal tax residency test · matters mainly for citizenship / immigration tracks
02/08

Will St. Barthélemy tax what you own?

capital gains wealth tax inheritance dividends interest

NO. St. Barthélemy doesn't tax what you hold. No capital gains, no annual wealth assessment, no inheritance regime. The value sitting in your portfolio compounds untouched, and leaves it the same way it arrived.

Capital gainsi
NONE
no capital gains regime
Dividend taxi
NONE
no dividend tax
Interest incomei
NONE
no interest income tax
Wealth taxi
NONE
no annual wealth tax · no real-estate wealth tax · no net-worth assessment
Crypto · tax regimei
Regime
ZERO TAX
Rate
0%
Saint Barthélemy (St. Barts) is a zero-tax jurisdiction for individuals who have been tax residents for at least five years. Qualified residents are exempt from income tax and capital gains tax on movable assets, including cryptocurrency. Individuals who have not yet met the five-year residency threshold are subject to the French mainland tax system, which typically applies a 30% flat tax (PFU) on crypto gains. Source: https://www.comstbarth.fr/fiscalite
Crypto-to-cryptoi
NEUTRAL
a swap is not a taxable realisation event
FATF travel rulei
NOT SIGNED
no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers
Inheritance systemi
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.
03/08

Is it easy to run a company in St. Barthélemy?

corporate tax criminal liability public registry VAT IP box

YES. St. Barthélemy has no corporate income tax but stacks the two harshest non-fiscal frictions: criminal liability for misuse of corporate assets (jail risk on intra-company spending) and public registries (your name visible to anyone with a browser). Zero-tax headline; non-zero exposure on every other axis.

Corporate taxi
NONE
no corporate income tax framework
IP Box · Patent Boxi
NONE
no IP regime · IP income taxed under standard corporate rules
Misuse of corporate assetsi
CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Article L241-3, 4° of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce)
As a French Overseas Collectivity (COM), Saint Barthélemy applies the French Commercial Code and Penal Code. Under the principle of the 'Autonomy of the Legal Entity,' the company's assets are strictly distinct from the shareholder's personal patrimony. Consequently, a sole shareholder-manager can be criminally prosecuted for 'Abus de Biens Sociaux' (ABS) if they use company funds for personal use, regardless of the company's solvency or the shareholder's own consent, as the act is deemed contrary to the company's independent social interest.
Shareholders privacyi
PUBLIC
Registre National des Entreprises (RNE)
Directors privacyi
PUBLIC
Registre National des Entreprises (RNE)
Incorporation costi
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL)
Government Registration Fees (Registry/RCS and RBE) USD 61
Mandatory Legal Publication (Journal d'Annonces Légales) USD 202
Professional Legal and Incorporation Services (Statutes drafting) USD 2,082
Total USD 2,346
VAT standard ratei
NONE
no general VAT · no consumption tax framework
04/08

Is St. Barthélemy good for your holding company?

treaty network participation exemption withholding

NO. St. Barthélemy doesn't carry a treaty network, which makes it unsuitable as a holding jurisdiction. Any dividend flowing in or out faces full statutory withholding, and no domestic participation exemption can compensate for missing relief on the source side.

Territorial systemi
Individuals
TERRITORIAL
Corporates
TERRITORIAL
Individuals: territorial — foreign-source income generally untaxed. Corporates: territorial principle — foreign-source profits generally exempt.
Participation exemptioni
100%
no minimum threshold · no holding period
CFC rulesi
NONE
no controlled foreign corporation regime · foreign-source corporate income out of scope
WHT · dividendsi
no withholding on outbound dividends
WHT · interest
no withholding on outbound interest
WHT · royalties
no withholding on outbound royalties
Tax-haven WHT
no punitive rate on record
Treaties signedi
0
active
Treaties pending
in negotiation
Tax treaty networki
origin · BL 0% > 0% no treaty
Inspect a country
Hover any country on the map to read its withholding-tax treaty with BL.
Country Status Dividends Interest Royalties
// no treaties match
05/08

What does it cost to come and go from St. Barthélemy?

exit tax territorial system dual citizenship

LITTLE. Coming and going from St. Barthélemy is cheap. The country runs a territorial system (foreign income stays foreign), and there's no exit tax on departure. You leave with what you came in with, plus whatever you earned abroad while you were here.

Exit taxi
NONE
no triggers active · residence change tax-free · no deemed-disposal mechanism
Dual citizenship
FORBIDDEN
naturalisation requires renouncing existing citizenship
Citizenship paths
Residence
Marriage
Birth
Descent
Investment
06/08

Will St. Barthélemy protect your privacy?

info exchange corporate registries

YES. St. Barthélemy has signed few exchange frameworks, so foreign tax authorities won't routinely see what you do here. But corporate registries are public: ownership and directorships are queryable by anyone with a browser. Privacy from abroad, transparency at home.

Multilateral reporting frameworks 0/10 active
CRS
CARF
FATCA
MLI
BEPS
MAAC
GLOBAL FORUM
EOIR
CRYPTO-CARF
CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE
07/08

Is St. Barthélemy itself a liability?

blacklists FATF standing

NO. St. Barthélemy carries no entries on any major blacklist, though it sits outside FATF membership. Counterparties may apply light extra due diligence, but no formal stigma attaches to dealing with it.

Blacklist exposure Clear everywhere
FATF
grey / black list
EU
non-cooperative list
FRANCE
ETNC list
SPAIN
tax-haven list
PORTUGAL
favourable regimes
BRAZIL
low-tax list
08/08

Will you feel free in St. Barthélemy?

press freedom crypto CBDC EU

Not enough data to assess civil liberties and financial freedom in St. Barthélemy.

Press freedom · RSF indexi
Central bank digital currencyi
NONE
no announced CBDC program · no pilot · no retail or wholesale prototype on record
SEE ALSO

Other jurisdictions worth comparing

Picked by similarity of strategic profile to St. Barthélemy. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.
NOTABLY MORE FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, higher total score.
NOTABLY LESS FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, lower total score.