Kiribati

Last update: 2026-05-27
KI AUD$ English
Pros
Minimal regulatory oversight and low state interference in small-scale private business operations across the archipelago.
Exceptional personal safety and a peaceful social environment with very low rates of violent crime.
Untapped opportunities in sustainable marine resources and niche eco-tourism within a vast maritime territory.
Cons
Severe infrastructure deficits including unreliable electricity, poor internet connectivity, and extremely limited international logistics.
Prohibitive land ownership laws restricting property acquisition to indigenous citizens, hindering permanent business establishment.
High geographic isolation and extreme vulnerability to rising sea levels threatening long-term physical asset security.
Personal income
NONE
Corporate
NONE
Capital gains
NONE
VAT (standard)
NONE
i 2.2 VERY LOW TAX
i 2 CRYPTO HAVEN
i 2 PRIVACY GRADE
i 0.9 EASY CITIZENSHIP
i 0.5 HOLDING
i 0.5 DIVIDEND PIPELINE
VERYLOW TAX 2.2/10 HOLDING 0.5/10 DIVIDENDPIPELINE 0.5/10 CRYPTOHAVEN 2/10 PRIVACYGRADE 2/10 EASYCITIZENSHIP 0.9/10
01/08

Will Kiribati tax what you earn?

income tax tax residency territorial system

NO. Kiribati 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 Kiribati tax what you own?

capital gains wealth tax inheritance dividends interest

NO. Kiribati 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
UNREGULATED
Fallback rate
35%
Kiribati has no specific cryptocurrency legislation. Tax treatment falls under general income tax rules (Income Tax Act 1990 and 2023 updates). Gains from the disposal of assets are generally treated as assessable income. The top marginal tax rate for residents is 35% for income exceeding 30,000 AUD.
Crypto-to-cryptoi
TAXABLE
each swap counts as a disposal — gains realised at every trade
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 Kiribati?

corporate tax criminal liability public registry VAT IP box

YES. Kiribati has no corporate income tax and no criminal liability for misuse of corporate assets: fiscally and legally weightless. The catch: corporate registries are public, so your name as shareholder shows up in a search portal. The state doesn't tax you and doesn't prosecute you; it just exposes you.

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
NO CRIMINAL LIABILITY
Companies Act 2021, Sections 95 and 96
Kiribati follows the common law tradition where a sole shareholder-director is generally not held criminally liable for 'stealing' from their own solvent company. While Section 95 of the Companies Act 2021 criminalizes serious breaches of duty committed in bad faith, Section 96 provides that actions taken with unanimous shareholder approval are deemed compliant with those duties. Consequently, in a sole-owner scenario, the owner's consent negates the 'dishonesty' or 'bad faith' required for criminal prosecution, treating the matter as a civil breach of fiduciary duty or an improper distribution.
Shareholders privacyi
PUBLIC
MTCIC Online Business Registry
Directors privacyi
PUBLIC
MTCIC Online Business Registry
Incorporation costi
Private Limited Liability Company
Private Limited Liability Company
Foreign Investment Certificate (FIC) Application Fee USD 352
Company Name Reservation and Approval Fees USD 70
Government Incorporation and Lodgement Fees USD 246
Professional Legal and Incorporation Service Fees USD 2,112
Total USD 2,781
VAT standard ratei
NONE
no general VAT · no consumption tax framework
04/08

Is Kiribati good for your holding company?

treaty network participation exemption withholding

NO. Kiribati 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
WORLDWIDE
Corporates
WORLDWIDE
Individuals: worldwide income taxation regardless of source. Corporates: worldwide.
Participation exemptioni
NONE
no dividend participation exemption regime
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 · KI 0% > 0% no treaty
Inspect a country
Hover any country on the map to read its withholding-tax treaty with KI.
Country Status Dividends Interest Royalties
// no treaties match
05/08

What does it cost to come and go from Kiribati?

exit tax territorial system dual citizenship

SOME. Kiribati taxes worldwide income while you're resident, but there's no exit tax on the way out. The cost of leaving is mostly paperwork: unrealised gains follow you to the next jurisdiction untouched.

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 Kiribati protect your privacy?

info exchange corporate registries

YES. Kiribati 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 Kiribati itself a liability?

blacklists FATF standing

SOMEWHAT. Kiribati is flagged by one or two national tax authorities and sits outside FATF membership. Selective friction: anti-abuse rules trigger on transactions in specific corridors, and counterparties tend to ask more questions.

Blacklist exposure Listed by 2 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 Kiribati?

press freedom crypto CBDC EU

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

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 Kiribati. 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.