Seychelles

Last update: 2026-06-04
SC SCR Seychellois Creole
Pros
Absence of capital gains, gift, or inheritance taxes to maximize private wealth retention.
Strategic territorial tax system with exemption of foreign-sourced income for non-resident entities.
High level of personal safety and political stability within a serene tropical environment.
Cons
Significant reliance on imported goods with resulting high operational costs and logistical complexities.
Increasing regulatory compliance requirements from international pressure on offshore financial centers.
Limited local labor pool and specialized talent with need for expensive foreign recruitment processes.
Personal income
NONE
Corporate
NONE
Capital gains
NONE
VAT (standard)
NONE
i 4.7 DIVIDEND PIPELINE
i 3.7 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 3.7/10 DIVIDENDPIPELINE 4.7/10 CRYPTOHAVEN 2/10 PRIVACYGRADE 2/10 EASYCITIZENSHIP 0.9/10
01/08

Will Seychelles tax what you earn?

income tax tax residency territorial system

NO. Seychelles 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 Seychelles tax what you own?

capital gains wealth tax inheritance dividends interest

NO. Seychelles 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%
Seychelles does not impose Capital Gains Tax. Personal Income Tax is limited to employment income (emoluments), meaning individual investment gains from crypto are not taxed. However, if trading activity is frequent enough to be classified as a business, it is subject to Business Tax at progressive rates up to 25%. The Virtual Asset Service Providers Act 2024 regulates businesses but maintains the tax-free status for individual holders.
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 Seychelles?

corporate tax criminal liability public registry VAT IP box

YES. Seychelles 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
N/A - Civil Matter / Companies Act 1972, Section 164
Seychelles follows a Common Law approach to corporate governance and criminal law. For a solvent company with a sole shareholder-director, the use of company funds for personal expenses is treated as a civil breach of fiduciary duty or an unauthorized distribution rather than a criminal offense. Under the Penal Code (Cap 158), crimes like theft or fraudulent appropriation require 'dishonesty' or 'intent to defraud'; since the company's consent is identified with its sole owner, these criminal elements are legally absent as long as the company remains solvent and no third-party creditors are harmed.
Shareholders privacyi
PUBLIC PAYWALL
Financial Services Authority (FSA)
Directors privacyi
PUBLIC PAYWALL
Financial Services Authority (FSA)
Incorporation costi
International Business Company
International Business Company
Government Registration Fee USD 144
Professional Incorporation & Registered Agent Service USD 817
Minimum Capital Deposit USD 0
Total USD 962
VAT standard ratei
NONE
no general VAT · no consumption tax framework
04/08

Is Seychelles good for your holding company?

treaty network participation exemption withholding

NO. Seychelles 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
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 · SC 0% > 0% no treaty
Inspect a country
Hover any country on the map to read its withholding-tax treaty with SC.
Country Status Dividends Interest Royalties
// no treaties match
05/08

What does it cost to come and go from Seychelles?

exit tax territorial system dual citizenship

LITTLE. Coming and going from Seychelles 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 Seychelles protect your privacy?

info exchange corporate registries

NOT AT ALL. Seychelles has signed every exchange framework that matters and operates a public corporate registry. Whatever you do here (earn, hold, structure) is reportable, accessible, or both. Privacy is not the strategy in this jurisdiction.

Multilateral reporting frameworks 3/10 active · 4 pending
CRS
2017
CARF
FATCA
2014
MLI
2021
BEPS
MAAC
2015
GLOBAL FORUM
EOIR
CRYPTO-CARF
CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE
07/08

Is Seychelles itself a liability?

blacklists FATF standing

YES. Seychelles 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 Seychelles?

press freedom crypto CBDC EU

PARTLY. Press freedom in Seychelles is partial (RSF rank #45): civic space exists but isn't fully open. Crypto, on the other hand, sits untaxed. Mixed picture: payment freedom yes, speech freedom only partly.

Press freedom · RSF indexi
45/180
score 68 · ↓ 8 ranks year-on-year
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 Seychelles. 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.