Aruba

Taxes, residence and daily life for people moving to Aruba: for a wealthy family, an expat employee and a remote worker. Researched 15 October 2026.

Open Aruba in the interactive guide

At a glance

For an EU-citizen family of five living off a €30M portfolio, the guide's default reader. The interactive guide recomputes everything for other passports and situations.

Score for a wealthy family: 63 / 100
Tax on a €30M portfolio: €117,600 a year
Wealth tax: none
Children inherit: tax-free
Living costs, family of five: €235,897 a year
EU member: no
Currency: AWG
Capital: Oranjestad

Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth

Aruba taxes residents on worldwide income (top rate 52%). Portfolio capital gains are exempt, but dividends and substantial-interest gains are taxed at a special 25% rate. There is no inheritance, gift or wealth tax. Interest on bank deposits is exempt. No wealthy-immigrant regime was verified.

Ordinary tax residence: Worldwide taxation at progressive rates up to 52%. Dividends and gains on a substantial interest (25%+) are taxed at a special 25% rate; other capital gains are exempt. No inheritance or wealth tax.

Inheritance law and trusts

Aruba has no forced heirship since its new inheritance law took effect on 1 September 2021, so a will can leave the estate to anyone. Children can still claim a capped lump sum, and a surviving spouse has statutory rights. Aruba has no trust law and the Hague Trusts Convention is not extended to it; a private foundation is not available in the full form found in Curaçao.

Daily life, scored out of 100

From public indicators (World Bank, UNDP, Transparency International and others); higher is better.

Measure	Score
Political and institutional stability	71
Legal system and property rights	74
Healthcare quality and access	58
Infrastructure and connectivity	97
Cost of living and housing	72
Business opportunities and economy	75

Research notes

Aruba — family-office tax dossier

Last reviewed: 2026-10-15 Tax year: 2026 Reviewer: research agent (Claude), unreviewed by a tax adviser

Summary

Residence and eligibility

Centre-of-existence test; worldwide basis (Deloitte Aruba Highlights 2026; BDO, law effective 1 Jan 2026).

Capital gains

Exempt except substantial interest (25%+) at 25%. JSON: securities 0, private_business_sale 0.25.

Dividends

Special 25% rate (BDO). Temporary 10% applied 2019-2023 only. JSON 0.25 with credit. Deposit interest exempt.

Inheritance and gifts to children

None (Deloitte). Deemed sale of a substantial interest on death if heirs non-resident (25% income tax).

Wealth tax

None.

Special regimes

None verified.

Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

CIT 22%; IPC regime phased out.

Cost of living notes

City: Oranjestad (Eagle Beach / Palm Beach / Noord).

Prime rent: USD 3,500 a month, the median of five 4-5 bedroom houses on RE/MAX Aruba's rental page (15 Oct 2026; range USD 2,360-3,600). CENTURY 21 Aruba listed a 4-bedroom Westpunt house at USD 4,000.
International school: AWG 39,755 a year (USD 22,460), International School of Aruba, Secondary Grades 9-12, from the school's admissions page as archived by the Wayback Machine on 12 Jan 2026 (school year 2025-26; the page states no year). Grades 7-8 AWG 34,324; new students also pay a Capital Levy Fee of AWG 14,000 a year and a AWG 375 application fee. ISA announced in March 2026 it would close after 2025-26; Quality Schools International took over management from 1 July 2026, and the QSI site publishes no 2026-27 tuition (only a USD 600 registration fee).
Price per m2, health insurance, housekeeper: not sourced.

Open questions

Any pensioner/investor tax regime for new residents not verified.
Portfolio dividend rate (25% vs progressive) to confirm.
[standard/dividends] Whether portfolio dividends (holding below 25%) fall under the 25% special rate or the progressive rates up to 52%; BDO describes 'dividends' generally under 25%.
[standard/inheritance] Deloitte's transfer-tax text is internally inconsistent on inheritances of real estate.

Sources

Deloitte International Tax: Aruba Highlights 2026: https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-shared/docs/services/tax/2026/dttl-tax-arubahighlights-2026.pdf
BDO Aruba: Personal income tax (law effective 1 January 2026): https://www.bdoaruba.com/en-gb/tax-system-aruba/tax-system-aruba/personal-income-tax
RE/MAX Aruba: residential rentals: https://remaxaruba.com/property/residential-rental
CENTURY 21 Aruba: single-family homes for rent: https://century21aruba.com/en/s/for-rent/single-family-homes
QSI International School of Aruba: Admissions process: https://aruba.qsi.org/admissions/admissions-process
International School of Aruba: Admissions (tuition and fees), Wayback Machine snapshot 12 Jan 2026: https://web.archive.org/web/20260112210400/https://www.isaruba.com/admissions

Change log

2026-10-15: initial research.
2026-10-15: added prime rent from RE/MAX Aruba listings; school fee not published by QSI Aruba.
2026-10-15: added international school fee (AWG 39,755, International School of Aruba Grades 9-12, 2025-26, from a 12 Jan 2026 Wayback snapshot; QSI publishes no 2026-27 tuition).
2026-10-15: family rent re-checked against the upper-middle-class standard: kept.

Residence and succession sources

Everything you need to know about the New Aruba Inheritance Law — RJK Attorneys
Nuytinck, Het nieuwe erfrecht van Aruba, Curaçao en Sint Maarten (2010) — Erasmus University Rotterdam
Kamervragen 2021Z03742 (legitieme portie in the Kingdom) — Dutch House of Representatives
HBN newsletter: new Book 2 of the Aruba Civil Code — HBN Law & Tax
HCCH status table: 1985 Trusts Convention — Hague Conference on Private International Law
HCCH extensions of the Trusts Convention: Kingdom of the Netherlands — Hague Conference on Private International Law

Tax sources are cited in the research notes above.