# New Caledonia

 Country code: NC

**Pros**
- Strategic Indo-Pacific location for regional trade and maritime logistics
- Significant local autonomy over taxation and economic regulations relative to mainland France
- High standard of living with modern infrastructure and French-standard healthcare services

**Cons**
- Persistent political instability and civil unrest regarding independence and sovereignty issues
- High cost of living and heavy reliance on expensive imports from distant markets
- Complex bureaucracy and protectionist trade policies restricting free market competition

Long story short: In May 2024, Nouméa burned for two weeks while the state didn't lift a finger, wiping out hundreds of businesses in a few nights.

Past that shock, the system runs straight out of the French playbook: solid banks, decent infrastructure, almost no corruption, and if you're living in Nouméa's wealthier districts, life stays calm.

Other than that: a friendly tax regime for those who set up locally, a high cost of living thanks to imports, hearty food mixing French tradition and Pacific flavors, and lagoon landscapes that will take your breath away.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: YES, A LOT.
They'll shear you for up to **40%** at the top marginal rate in **New Caledonia**, and the taxman has *long arms*: linger a bit too long, park your economic interests here, and the net closes.

Steep rate, wide catchment: the classic combo of states that don't let go of their cash cows. Don't expect a plane ticket to fix it.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | 0 → 40% | progressive · 5 brackets |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 – 9,671 | exempt |
| 9,671 – 17,408 | 4% |
| 17,408 – 29,013 | 12% |
| 29,013 – 43,519 | 25% |
| 43,519 + | 40% |

**01.2 Tax residence test**

_A single active rule is enough to make you tax-resident._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 183-day rule | does not exist here |  |
| Economic interest | exists here |  |
| Family centre | exists here |  |
| Habitual abode | exists here |  |
| Extended-stay test | does not exist here |  |

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: YES, FAIRLY.
Capital gains in **New Caledonia** cost **20%** on disposal, with no annual wealth levy. But *inheritance* comes back for seconds when assets pass down.

Same money, two tollbooths: the sale, then the succession.

**02.1 Investment income**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital gains | 20% | flat · +4% Caledonian solidarity contribution (CCS) added to the base tax |
| Dividend tax | 20% | flat · +11.5% IRVM · +4% CCS · +4.5% centimes additionnels |
| Interest income | 8% | progressive |

**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 | APPLIES | heir-based · 5 heir classes |

| Heir | Top rate | Allowance |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Spouse | EXEMPT | — |
| Children | 20% | XPF 100,000 |
| Siblings | 50% | — |
| Other relatives | 50% | — |
| Non-relatives | 50% | — |

**02.3 Crypto**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Crypto · tax regime | UNREGULATED | Fallback rate: 0% · New Caledonia is fiscally autonomous from mainland France and operates under its own Tax Code (CINC). Currently, there is no specific legislation for crypto-assets. Under general principles (Art. 41 CINC), capital gains on movable property realized by individuals in a private/occasional capacity are exempt from income tax. However, habitual or professional trading is reclassified as business income (BIC/BNC) and taxed at progressive rates up to 40%. New transparency regulations require residents to declare foreign digital asset accounts starting in 2026/2027. |
| Crypto-to-crypto | NEUTRAL | a swap is not a taxable realisation event |
| FATF travel rule | NOT SIGNED | no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers |

## Easy to run a company there?

Long story short: NO.
**New Caledonia** runs the full pressure stack: corporate tax at **35%**, *criminal liability* for misuse of corporate assets (spend company money on yourself and you're prosecutable, sole shareholder or not; your consent is worthless), and *public registries* (your name in the shop window for anyone with a browser).

Heavy rate, real jail risk, zero discretion. If you set out to design a worse frame for an owner-operator, you'd struggle.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | 30 → 35% | progressive · +3% income distributed by corporations or entities subject to CIT exceeding 30 million XPF · +5% taxable income at standard rate reaches or exceeds XPF 200 million (Additional Social Contribution) |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 0 + | 30% |
| 0 + | 35% |

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| VAT standard rate | 11% | single rate · no reduced tiers |

**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 | CRIMINAL | criminal liability · Article L241-3, 4° of the Commercial Code applicable in New Caledonia (Code de commerce applicable en Nouvelle-Calédonie) · New Caledonia follows the French legal principle of the 'autonomy of the legal entity.' The company's assets are legally distinct from those of the sole shareholder. Consequently, a sole director-shareholder can be criminally prosecuted for 'Abus de biens sociaux' (ABS) if they use company funds for personal purposes. This is considered a criminal offense regardless of the company's solvency or the shareholder's consent, as the act is deemed contrary to the corporate interest and potentially harmful to third parties or the entity's own sustainability. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) de Nouvelle-Calédonie |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Registre du Commerce et des Sociétés (RCS) de Nouvelle-Calédonie |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

_In this country, the most standard company form is called Société à Responsabilité Limitée (SARL) (Limited Liability Company). The costs below are for incorporating a company in its simplest form, for reference only._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Government Registration & Registry Fees (RCS Nouméa) | USD 68 |  |
| Mandatory Legal Publication (Journal d'Annonces Légales) | USD 87 |  |
| CFE (Centre de Formalités des Entreprises) Processing Fee | USD 82 |  |
| Professional Fees (Statutes drafting and legal assistance) | USD 967 |  |
| Total | USD 1,205 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**New Caledonia** 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 | TERRITORIAL | territorial principle — foreign-source profits generally exempt |
| Participation exemption | 90% | 10% holding · 48 months min |
| 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 | 21% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · interest | 0% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · royalties | 0% | non-resident outbound |
| 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.
**New Caledonia** 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 | ALLOWED | naturalised citizens may keep their existing nationality |

**05.2 Citizenship paths**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Residence | 5 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Marriage | 4 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Birth | jus soli | available path to naturalisation |
| Descent | 1 gen | available path to naturalisation |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: NO.
Foreign tax offices see next to nothing of what you do in **New Caledonia**: 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 · 1 pending**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | Signed | 2020 |
| CARF | None | — |
| FATCA | None | — |
| MLI | None | — |
| BEPS | None | — |
| MAAC | None | — |
| GLOBAL FORUM | None | — |
| EOIR | None | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: NO.
**New Caledonia** 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:
Not enough data to tell how free you'd actually feel in **New Caledonia**.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | — |  |

Central bank digital currency

NONE

no announced CBDC program · no pilot · no retail or wholesale prototype on record

## Connected to the world?

Long story short: COMPLETELY CUT OFF.
**New Caledonia** is unplugged from the global money grid: **2/11** 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 payments — 1/6 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stripe | Not available | card payments |
| PayPal | Not available | wallet payments |
| Adyen | Not available | enterprise psp |
| Mollie | Not available | eu payments |
| GoCardless | Not available | direct debit |
| Paddle | 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 — 0/2 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Amazon | Not available | consumer delivery |
| Amazon Seller | Not available | marketplace selling |

  SEE ALSO## Other jurisdictions worth comparing

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

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Réunion RE  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/re) [   French Guiana GF  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/gf) [   Martinique MQ  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/mq)

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

 [   Armenia AM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/am) [   Albania AL  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/al) [   North Macedonia MK  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/mk)

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

 [   Gabon GA  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ga) [   U.S. Virgin Islands VI  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/vi) [   Israel IL  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/il)