Extremely low energy and utility costs through significant government subsidies for industrial operations
Access to a large, highly educated, and tech-savvy youth population at competitive labor rates
Strategic geographic position serving as a transit hub between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East
Cons
Pervasive state control and dominance of semi-governmental entities stifling private sector competition
Severe international sanctions and isolation from global banking systems hindering cross-border capital movement
Systemic corruption and lack of transparent legal protections for private property and individual liberties
Nobody in Tehran comes after you for taxes, the state lacks the manpower to bother. The real trap is money itself: sanctions have severed Iranian banks from the world, so pulling profits out means informal channels and endless headaches.
Corruption plays like a favor economy, not a shakedown. Mountains ring the city, the food is superb, and north Tehran feels safe and lively.
Also worth knowing: the rial can halve in value within a year, paperwork drags forever, and infrastructure outside the capital is patchy at best.
Iran 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.
01.1Income tax
Personal income tax
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?What residents pay on what they earn: salary, freelance income, sometimes dividends too. We show the system (flat or progressive) and the top rate.
Source et informations complémentairesno personal income tax framework
01.2Tax residence test
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
Income tax simulatori
N/A
no income tax framework — nothing to simulate
Will your wealth be taxed?NO.
Iran 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.
02.1Investment income
Capital gains
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?The tax on your profit when you sell something that gained value: stocks, property, crypto, a business. Some countries skip it entirely.
Source et informations complémentairesno capital gains regime
Dividend tax
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?What you pay when your company sends you dividends. It stacks on top of corporate tax, so the combined bill is what really counts.
Source et informations complémentairesno dividend tax
Interest income
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?The tax on income from savings, bonds and loans. Matters when choosing where to park your cash.
Source et informations complémentairesno interest income tax
02.2Wealth & estate
Wealth tax
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?A yearly tax on what you own above a threshold, whether you sell or not. Most countries scrapped it; a few still run one.
Source et informations complémentairesno annual wealth tax · no real-estate wealth tax · no net-worth assessment
Inheritance system
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?What heirs pay on what they inherit, by category (spouse, children, others), with allowances and top rates. Plenty of countries charge nothing at all.
Source et informations complémentairesno 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.
02.3Crypto
Crypto · tax regime
—
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De quoi s’agit-il ?How crypto gains are taxed here: zero, flat, progressive or grey zone. Includes whether crypto-to-crypto swaps count as taxable events.
Source et informations complémentairesRate: 40% · Taxed under the 2025 Speculation and Profiteering Taxation Act. Short-term gains (held <1yr) are taxed at 40%, dropping to 10-15% after 1 year and potential exemptions after 2 years. The law uniquely taxes a portion of inflation-driven gains. Mining is regulated as industrial activity. Domestic payments are banned.
Crypto-to-crypto
TAXABLE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?How crypto gains are taxed here: zero, flat, progressive or grey zone. Includes whether crypto-to-crypto swaps count as taxable events.
Source et informations complémentaireseach swap counts as a disposal — gains realised at every trade
FATF travel rule
NOT SIGNED
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De quoi s’agit-il ?Does this country enforce the crypto Travel Rule? If yes, exchanges must identify senders and recipients, like banks do for wire transfers.
Source et informations complémentairesno information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers
Easy to run a company there?YES, BUT EXPOSED.
Iran has no corporate income tax but stacks the two nastiest non-fiscal frictions: criminal liability for misuse of corporate assets (jail on the table for sloppy intra-company spending) and public registries (your name served up to anyone with a browser).
The sticker says zero; the exposure says otherwise, on every other axis.
03.1Rates
Corporate tax
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?What companies pay on their profits. The headline rate is a starting point: IP boxes and holding regimes often pull the real rate lower.
Source et informations complémentairesno corporate income tax framework
VAT standard rate
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?The sales tax baked into almost everything you buy here. One standard rate, plus reduced rates on things like food or books.
Source et informations complémentairesno general VAT · no consumption tax framework
03.2Regime & registry
IP Box · Patent Box
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?A discounted tax rate on income from patents, software and designs, often 5 to 10%. A magnet for tech and licensing businesses.
Source et informations complémentairesno IP regime · IP income taxed under standard corporate rules
Misuse of corporate assets
CRIMINAL
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De quoi s’agit-il ?If you spend company money on yourself, is it a crime (prison possible) or a civil matter? Some countries prosecute even sole shareholders.
Source et informations complémentairescriminal liability · Article 258, Clause 3 of the Bill of Amendment to the Commercial Code (1347/1969) · Iran strictly adheres to the 'Autonomy of the Legal Entity' principle (Article 583 of the Commercial Code). Under Article 258(3) of the 1969 Amendment, directors who use company assets or credit for personal purposes against the company's interests face criminal penalties of 1 to 3 years' imprisonment. Because the company is a distinct legal person, the sole shareholder's consent does not negate the crime, and the act is treated as a criminal breach of trust regardless of the company's solvency.
Shareholders privacy
PUBLIC
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De quoi s’agit-il ?How visible a company's shareholders and directors are: free public registry, paywalled, restricted or fully private. More privacy, but sometimes warier banks.
Source et informations complémentairesOfficial Gazette of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Directors privacy
PUBLIC
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De quoi s’agit-il ?How visible a company's shareholders and directors are: free public registry, paywalled, restricted or fully private. More privacy, but sometimes warier banks.
Source et informations complémentairesOfficial Gazette of the Islamic Republic of Iran
03.3Incorporation cost
In this country, the most standard company form is called Sherkat ba Masooliyat Mahdood (Limited Liability Company (LLC)). The costs below are for incorporating a company in its simplest form, for reference only.
Government Registration, Name Booking, and Gazette Publication Fees
USD 2
Professional Legal Fees for Incorporation and FIPPA Consultancy
USD 2,700
Foreigner National Code (Fida Code) Acquisition and Document Translation
USD 300
Total
USD 3,002
A good fit for a holding?NO.
Iran 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.
04.1Substance & exemptions
Territorial · individuals
WORLDWIDE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?Does this country tax only local income (territorial) or everything you earn worldwide? Territorial means your foreign income stays untaxed here. Huge.
Source et informations complémentairesworldwide income taxation regardless of source
Territorial · corporates
WORLDWIDE
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Source et informations complémentairesworldwide corporate taxation
Participation exemption
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?Can a holding company receive dividends from its subsidiaries tax-free? The cornerstone of any serious holding structure.
Source et informations complémentairesno dividend participation exemption regime
CFC rules
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?Anti-offshore rules: they tax you at home on your foreign company's profits, even if nothing was distributed. Where they exist, offshore setups get tricky.
Source et informations complémentairesno controlled foreign corporation regime · foreign-source corporate income out of scope
04.2Withholding tax · non-resident
WHT · dividends
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?The cut this country takes when it sends dividends, interest or royalties abroad. Tax treaties can shrink it; blacklists can inflate it.
Source et informations complémentairesno withholding on outbound dividends
WHT · interest
NONE
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Source et informations complémentairesno withholding on outbound interest
WHT · royalties
NONE
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Source et informations complémentairesno withholding on outbound royalties
Tax-haven WHT
NONE
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Source et informations complémentairesno punitive rate on record
04.3Treaty network
Treaties signed
0
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De quoi s’agit-il ?Deals with other countries to avoid double taxation and cut withholding taxes. The bigger the network, the easier your money moves across borders.
Source et informations complémentairesactive
Treaties pending
—
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Source et informations complémentairesin negotiation
Tax treaty network
origin · IR0%> 0%no treaty
⌖
Inspect a country
Hover any country on the map to read its withholding-tax treaty with IR.
Country
Status
Dividends
Interest
Royalties
∅
// no treaties match
Easy to come and go?SOME.
Iran 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.
05.1Exit & dual nationality
Exit tax
NONE
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De quoi s’agit-il ?What the country charges you for leaving: tax on your unrealized gains, as if you'd sold everything at the border. Here you'll see if it exists and when it triggers.
Source et informations complémentairesno triggers active · residence change tax-free · no deemed-disposal mechanism
Dual citizenship
FORBIDDEN
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Source et informations complémentairesnaturalisation requires renouncing existing citizenship
05.2Citizenship paths
Residence
5 years
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Source et informations complémentairesavailable path to naturalisation
Marriage
—
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Source et informations complémentairesnot available
Birth
jus soli
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Source et informations complémentairesavailable path to naturalisation
Descent
—
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Source et informations complémentairesnot available
Investment
—
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Source et informations complémentairesnot available
Is your money watched?NO.
Foreign tax offices see next to nothing of what you do in Iran: 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
CRS
—
CARF
—
FATCA
—
MLI
—
BEPS
—
MAAC
—
GLOBAL FORUM
—
EOIR
—
CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE
—
Is it blacklisted?YES.
Iran sits on an international embargo list (UN, US or EU sanctions). This is not blacklist friction, it's the financial death penalty: correspondent banking is gone, payment rails refuse the corridor, and simply transacting with the country can put you on a sanctions desk's radar.
Whatever the tax math says, the jurisdiction is radioactive. Walk away.
Blacklist exposureListed by 3 authorities
EMBARGO
un / us / eu sanctions
FATF
grey / black list
EU
non-cooperative list
FRANCE
ETNC list
SPAIN
tax-haven list
PORTUGAL
favourable regimes
BRAZIL
low-tax list
Do you feel free there?NO.
Press freedom in Iran is locked down (RSF rank #176). 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.
08.1Press freedom
Press freedom · RSF index
176/180
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De quoi s’agit-il ?The RSF world ranking of press freedom. A good proxy for censorship and civil liberties. The lower the rank, the freer the press.
Source et informations complémentairesscore 16 · · 0 rank year-on-year
Central bank digital currencyi
Program
Status
Cross-border
Sources
Digital Rial
The main motivation for Iran's CBDC is to modernize its financial system and provide a secure and efficient means of payment. The development of a digital rial would also give the Central Bank of Iran more control over the country's monetary policy and can help to circumvent international sanctions. Additionally, the pilot launch of the CBDC could help to test the feasibility of such a currency and assess its potential impact on the economy before a full-scale implementation.
Iran is unplugged from the global money grid: 0/11 of the services we track work here. No Stripe, no Amazon, and almost nothing around them either.
Whatever your plan is, the payment layer gets built from scratch, with local banks and local rules. Come for other reasons; connectivity isn't one of them.
Accept payments0/6 available
Stripe
card payments
PayPal
wallet payments
Adyen
enterprise psp
Mollie
eu payments
GoCardless
direct debit
Paddle
merchant of record
Bank and move money0/3 available
Wise
multi-currency
Revolut
personal banking
Revolut Business
business banking
Buy and sell on Amazon0/2 available
Amazon
consumer delivery
Amazon Seller
marketplace selling
SEE ALSO
Other jurisdictions worth comparing
Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Iran. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.
