Bermuda

Last update: 2026-05-03
BM
Pros
Absence of personal income, capital gains, or corporate taxes for most international business entities.
Robust legal framework based on English Common Law ensuring strong property rights and contract enforcement.
Strategic geographic location providing easy access to North American markets and high-speed digital infrastructure.
Cons
Significant reliance on high import duties and payroll taxes to fund government expenditures.
Restrictive local ownership regulations requiring sixty percent Bermudian control for many domestic business categories.
Exorbitant cost of living and operational expenses driven by isolated geography and limited land availability.
Personal income
Corporate
15%
flat
Capital gains
VAT (standard)
NONE
i 7.2 DIVIDEND PIPELINE
i 6.1 HOLDING
i 2.9 VERY LOW TAX
i 2 CRYPTO HAVEN
i 2 PRIVACY GRADE
i 0.9 EASY CITIZENSHIP
VERYLOW TAX 2.9/10 HOLDING 6.1/10 DIVIDENDPIPELINE 7.2/10 CRYPTOHAVEN 2/10 PRIVACYGRADE 2/10 EASYCITIZENSHIP 0.9/10
01/08

Will Bermuda tax what you earn?

income tax tax residency territorial system

NO. Bermuda 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
%
progressive · 0 brackets
Income simulatori
Income
Tax due
Effective rate
all-in
Marginal rate
Tax residence testi
N/A
no formal tax residency test · matters mainly for citizenship / immigration tracks
02/08

Will Bermuda tax what you own?

capital gains wealth tax inheritance dividends interest

NO. Bermuda 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
flat
Dividend taxi
NONE
flat
Interest incomei
NONE
flat
Wealth taxi
NONE
no annual wealth tax · no real-estate wealth tax · no net-worth assessment
Crypto · tax regimei
Regime
ZERO TAX
Rate
0%
Bermuda is a tax-neutral jurisdiction that does not impose personal income tax, capital gains tax, or wealth tax on individuals. While the Digital Asset Business Act (DABA) 2018 provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto-related businesses, individual residents are not taxed on the purchase, holding, or sale of digital assets. A 15% corporate income tax is being introduced in 2025, but it applies only to large multinational enterprises with annual revenue exceeding €750 million.
Crypto-to-cryptoi
NEUTRAL
a swap is not a taxable realisation event
FATF travel rulei
IN FORCE
VASPs must share sender / recipient data on transfers above the threshold
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 Bermuda?

corporate tax criminal liability public registry VAT IP box

YES. Corporate tax in Bermuda sits at a low 15%, with no criminal liability for misuse of corporate assets and non-public corporate registries. Cheap to run, discreet on ownership, calm on legal posture. A clean operating jurisdiction.

Corporate taxi
15%
flat
IP Box · Patent Boxi
NONE
no IP regime · IP income taxed under standard corporate rules
Misuse of corporate assetsi
NO CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Civil Matter / Breach of Fiduciary Duty (Companies Act 1981, Section 97)
Bermuda follows English common law principles where a company is a separate legal entity, but the 'consent' of a sole shareholder-director generally precludes criminal charges for theft or misuse of assets while the company is solvent. Such acts are treated as civil breaches of fiduciary duty or unauthorized distributions of capital under Section 54 of the Companies Act 1981. Criminal liability for 'fraudulent trading' (Section 248) typically requires the company to be in liquidation or an intent to defraud creditors.
Shareholders privacyi
PRIVATE
Registrar of Companies
Directors privacyi
PUBLIC PAYWALL
Registrar of Companies
Incorporation costi
Exempted Company
Exempted Company
Government Application and Registration Fees (including first year fee) USD 3,220
Professional Incorporation and Legal Service Fees USD 15,779
Total USD 18,999
VAT standard ratei
NONE
no general VAT · no consumption tax framework
04/08

Is Bermuda good for your holding company?

treaty network participation exemption withholding

NO. Bermuda 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%
10% holding · 12 months min
CFC rulesi
NONE
no controlled foreign corporation regime · foreign-source corporate income out of scope
WHT · dividendsi
0%
non-resident outbound
WHT · interest
0%
non-resident outbound
WHT · royalties
0%
non-resident outbound
Tax-haven WHT
no punitive rate on record
Treaties signedi
0
active
Treaties pending
in negotiation
Tax treaty networki
origin · BM 0% > 0% no treaty
Inspect a country
Hover any country on the map to read its withholding-tax treaty with BM.
Country Status Dividends Interest Royalties
// no treaties match
05/08

What does it cost to come and go from Bermuda?

exit tax territorial system dual citizenship

LITTLE. Coming and going from Bermuda 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
ALLOWED
naturalised citizens may keep their existing nationality
Citizenship paths
Residence
Marriage
Birth
Descent
Investment
06/08

Will Bermuda protect your privacy?

info exchange corporate registries

PARTLY. Bermuda participates in some exchange frameworks (typically CRS, MLI, MAAC), so a portion of your financial information reaches treaty partners. Corporate registries stay non-public, so ownership remains opaque. Middle-ground privacy: selective, not total.

Multilateral reporting frameworks 4/10 active · 4 pending
CRS
2017
CARF
FATCA
2014
MLI
BEPS
MAAC
2014
GLOBAL FORUM
EOIR
CRYPTO-CARF
2024
CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE
07/08

Is Bermuda itself a liability?

blacklists FATF standing

YES. Bermuda sits on multiple major blacklists. Counterparties routinely apply anti-abuse rules, higher withholding, or refuse the transaction entirely. The jurisdiction itself is the risk, regardless of the substance of what you're doing inside it.

Blacklist exposure Listed by 3 authorities
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 Bermuda?

press freedom crypto CBDC EU

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

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 Bermuda. 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.