Bermuda

Research notes

Bermuda — family-office tax dossier

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

Summary

Bermuda has no personal income, capital gains, dividend or wealth tax. It does levy stamp duty on the estates of deceased persons, but only on property situated in Bermuda (Bermuda real estate, local-currency deposits, shares in Bermuda companies outside the exemptions): first BMD 100,000 nil, then 5.25%, 10.5%, 15.75% and 21% above BMD 2 million. A portfolio of foreign securities held abroad is outside the charge. Gifts of Bermuda property bear stamp duty of 2.1%-7.35%. Since 2025 a 15% corporate income tax applies to Bermuda entities of multinational groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more.

Residence and eligibility

No income tax, so no tax residence test. EIRC: BMD 2.5m qualifying investment (gov.bm, June 2024); 2026 Policy adds BMD 25,000 charitable donation, BMD 10,000 BDA fee and enhanced due diligence. Residential Certificate fee BMD 2,755.

Capital gains

None for individuals (Deloitte 2026, PwC 2026). JSON 0. Sale of Bermuda land carries stamp duty of 2.1%-7.35% marginal (Head 14; gov.bm).

Dividends

None; no withholding; no comprehensive treaties. JSON 0.

Inheritance and gifts to children

Stamp Duties Act 1976 s.47 and Schedule Head 2 (as amended 1 April 2023): stamp duty on the affidavit of value of the deceased's estate, payable within 90 days of the grant/resealing. Bands (marginal): first BMD 100,000 nil; next 100,000 at 5.25%; next 800,000 at 10.5%; next 1,000,000 at 15.75%; above BMD 2 million 21%. (gov.bm's probate page still shows the pre-2023 5/10/15/20%; Deloitte 2026 and the consolidated Act show the 5.25-21% rates used here.) JSON: basis estate, exemption 100,000, brackets 5.25% from 0, 10.5% from 100,000, 15.75% from 900,000, 21% from 1,900,000 (relative to the amount above the exemption), children_treatment taxed. Scope: only property situated in Bermuda; s.47(3) excludes foreign-currency deposits, securities of exempted undertakings and foreign assets held through a qualifying Bermuda PIC. A foreign portfolio held abroad is therefore not charged. Deductions: surviving spouse, primary family homestead (Bermudian status only), debts. Gifts: Head 17 voluntary dispositions inter vivos, Bermuda property 2.1%-7.35% marginal, non-Bermuda property 1.05%.

Surviving spouse: Stamp duty is not payable on the affidavit of value for assets passing on death to a surviving spouse (Stamp Duties Act 1976 estate provisions; Carey Olsen, Legal 500 Private Client Guide 2025: Bermuda). Registered partners were not checked separately.

Wealth tax

None. Annual land tax on annual rental value; foreign currency purchase tax 1.25%.

Special regimes

None.

Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

No tax on profits for ordinary Bermuda companies; exempted undertakings hold tax assurance certificates to 31 March 2035. Corporate Income Tax Act 2023 (law since 27 December 2023): 15% CIT for fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2025, only for Bermuda entities of MNE groups with annual revenue of EUR 750 million or more (GloBE-style base; no IIR/UTPR). cit_rate recorded as 0 because a family holding or family-office company is outside scope. Payroll tax (employee portion 0.5%-12.5% marginal, 2025/26) and land tax apply.

Cost of living notes

City: Hamilton / Paget-Warwick (Bermuda).

• International school fee (annual, per child): BMD 27,820 (2026). Saltus Grammar School, annual tuition 2026-27 paid in one instalment (two-, three- and ten-payment plans cost 28,260-28,720). The page gives a single figure, not a per-grade table. Amounts shown in $ (BMD at par with USD). Source: Saltus Grammar School: Tuition at Saltus (2026-27).

• Prime rent: BMD 16,750 a month (2026), the median of the four priced 4-5 bedroom houses offered on long lets among the 49 residential rentals on propertyskipper on 15 Oct 2026 (Gilbert Hill, Smith's 13,500; Fen Gables, Devonshire 15,500; St Helier's, Paget 18,000; Soundwinds, Hamilton Parish, 5 bed 25,000). Excluded: Buckingham, Southampton (5 bed, 14,000 a month for November 2026-June 2027 only; with it the median is 15,500) and three price-on-application listings. Coldwell Banker Bermuda's own list had no 4+ bedroom home.

Purchase price per m2, health insurance and housekeeper not sourced.

Open questions

• Fees for licences to acquire land by non-Bermudians and the minimum ARV thresholds for restricted persons not researched.
• No indicator overrides: Bermuda is in the World Bank/WGI data (homicide 2023, internet users 2017, life expectancy 2024). UNDP publishes no HDI and TI no CPI for Bermuda; there is no same-definition substitute, so the hdi and corruption composites stay unscored.
• inheritance (standard): Whether a transfer of foreign listed securities by a Bermuda resident through a foreign broker creates a Bermuda instrument chargeable at 1.05% (Head 17(ii)) in practice.

Sources

• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Bermuda, Individual - Taxes on personal income (last reviewed 19 February 2026): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/bermuda/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
• Deloitte International Tax: Bermuda Highlights 2026 (updated January 2026): https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-shared/docs/services/tax/2026/dttl-tax-bermudahighlights-2026.pdf
• Government of Bermuda: Stamp duty tax on legal transactions: https://www.gov.bm/articles/stamp-duty-tax-legal-transactions
• Stamp Duties Act 1976 (consolidated), s.47 and Schedule Heads 2, 14 and 17: https://www.bermudalaws.bm/Laws/Consolidated%20Law/1976/Stamp%20Duties%20Act%201976
• Government of Bermuda: How to probate an estate in Bermuda: https://www.gov.bm/articles/how-probate-estate-bermuda
• Government of Bermuda: Economic Investment Certificate / Residential Certificate: https://www.gov.bm/services/economic-investment-certificate-residential-certificate
• Government of Bermuda: Government updates investment options for Economic Investment and Residential Certificates (9 June 2024): https://www.gov.bm/news/government-updates-investment-options-economic-investment-and-residential-certificates
• Government of Bermuda: Updates to Bermuda's Economic Investment Residential Certificate programme (2 October 2026): https://www.gov.bm/news/updates-to-bermudas-economic-investment-residential-certificate-programme
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Bermuda, Corporate - Taxes on corporate income (last reviewed 19 February 2026): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/bermuda/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Bermuda, Corporate - Other taxes (land tax, payroll tax): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/bermuda/corporate/other-taxes
• Saltus Grammar School: Tuition at Saltus (2026-27): https://www.saltus.bm/admissions/tuition-at-saltus
• propertyskipper: Properties to rent in Bermuda (residential): https://www.propertyskipper.com/properties/all/tender_type/rental/property_type/residential
• Carey Olsen: Private Client Guide 2025, Bermuda (Legal 500): https://www.careyolsen.com/sites/default/files/uploads/Private%20Client%20Guide%202025%20-%20Bermuda%20%28Legal%20500%29.pdf

Change log

• 2026-10-15: initial research.
• 2026-10-15: second pass. Added Saltus Grammar School 2026-27 tuition (BMD 27,820). Prime rent still not sourced (no 4+ bed listing at Coldwell Banker Bermuda). Indicator overrides reviewed: none added (BMU covered by World Bank data; no same-definition HDI/CPI).
• 2026-10-15: inheritance scope set to local assets only for standard in the structured data (Bermuda estate duty reaches only property situated in Bermuda (Stamp Duties Act s.47(2)(b))); previously the scoring applied the rates to the worldwide estate, which overstated the tax.
• 2026-10-15: added prime rent (BMD 16,750, median of four priced 4-5 bed long lets on propertyskipper).
• 2026-10-15: family rent re-checked against the upper-middle-class standard: kept.
• 2026-10-16: added surviving-spouse treatment.