British Virgin Islands tax system: taxation of BVI companies and individuals. Tax treaties of the BVI

BVI Business companies are exempt from any taxation, regardless their source of income. The only tax existing in the BVI is payroll tax for companies employing local working force; the current rate is 8%, first USD 10 000 are tax exempt.

The BVI company must pay an annual fee to the government, depending on the maximum volume of shares permitted to issue and the date of incorporation of the company.

• Companies with a share capital up to USD 50 000 pay USD 350 per year.
• Companies with a share capital more than USD 50 001 pay the sum of USD 1 100 per year.

Stamp Duty

Stamp duty is levied at a rate of 12% on real estate transactions for non-BVI citizens.

The rates are lower for the citizens of the BVI - 4%.

No.

No.

No.

Trust income is exempt from tax if:

• the trust is created by or on behalf of a non-resident person;
• and owns no land in the BVI;
• and does not carry on business in the BVI.

BVI income tax is not levied, unless the individual is an employee working for the BVI.

No.

Payroll tax and social contributions are paid by the self-employed and employers doing business in the BVI.

The payroll tax rate is 10% for small companies and up to 14% for large employers.

8% of the remuneration can be reimbursed at the expense of employees.

The first USD 10 000 is not subject to payroll tax.

Social contributions are paid at a rate of 4% by employees and at a rate of 4,5% by employers.

For citizens and companies of the BVI, land tax is levied at the rate of USD 3 per year for the first acre and USD 1 for each subsequent acre.

For foreign citizens, this tax is USD 50 per year for each first half acre and USD 150 for the second half acre and USD 50 for each subsequent half acre of land.

Real estate tax is 1,5% per annum of the estimated annual rental amount of real estate.

The BVI has entered into 28 Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) with the following jurisdictions:

28 TIEAs: Aruba, Australia, Canada, China, Curacao, Czech Republic, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Guernsey, Iceland, India, Ireland, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sint Maarten, South Korea, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States.

The country has joined the Hague Convention, which abolishes the requirement for legalization of foreign official documents and replaces it with the Apostle stamp.