Tax
No income tax, with VAT and Business Licence fees instead
The Bahamas imposes no personal income tax, no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax. Public revenue comes principally from VAT, introduced in 2015 and charged at 10 per cent since 2022, from customs duties, and from Business Licence fees assessed on turnover under the Business Licence Act. A domestic top-up tax has been introduced to align with the OECD global minimum tax for large multinational groups.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National; Department of Inland Revenue
- Deadline — VAT return: filed monthly or quarterly depending on turnover
- Deadline — Business Licence: application and fee due by 31 January each year
- Deadline — Real property tax: assessed annually with a discount for prompt payment
Governing law
- Value Added Tax Act 2014
- Business Licence Act 2023
- Real Property Tax Act
- Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax Act 2024
In practice
The absence of income tax does not mean an absence of tax compliance: the Business Licence fee is charged on gross turnover regardless of profitability, so a loss-making business still pays, and that is the obligation most often underestimated by new entrants. Groups within scope of the global minimum tax now face a domestic top-up charge, which is a significant departure from the historic no-corporate-tax position.