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Brunei

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

Open Brunei 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
67 / 100
Tax on a €30M portfolio
€48,600 a year
Wealth tax
none
Children inherit
tax-free
EU member
no
Currency
BND
Capital
Bandar Seri Begawan

Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth

Brunei has no personal income tax, so there is no tax on capital gains, dividends or interest for individuals. There is also no inheritance, gift or wealth tax and no VAT. Companies pay 18.5%. Brunei has no residence-by-investment programme, foreigners generally cannot own land, and Sharia criminal law applies alongside common law.

Inheritance law and trusts

For Muslims, who are most residents, Islamic law fixes the heirs' shares and a will can dispose of at most one third. Non-Muslims are believed to have freedom of testation. Brunei has trust law, including an international trusts order, but I found no foundation statute and the Hague Trusts Convention is not in force.

Daily life, scored out of 100

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

MeasureScore
Political and institutional stability73
Corruption and government integrity66
Legal system and property rights54
Healthcare quality and access68
Education quality40
Human development and quality of life67
Infrastructure and connectivity70
Business opportunities and economy82

Research notes

Brunei — family-office tax dossier

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

Summary

Brunei has no personal income tax, so there is no tax on capital gains, dividends or interest for individuals. There is also no inheritance, gift or wealth tax and no VAT. Companies pay 18.5%. Brunei has no residence-by-investment programme, foreigners generally cannot own land, and Sharia criminal law applies alongside common law.

US citizens: US citizens remain fully US-taxed; Brunei levies nothing on individuals, so the US layer is the full cost.

Residence and eligibility

Not relevant to individuals (no personal income tax). The Income Tax Act defines a resident individual as one residing in Brunei, including a person present and employed 183 days or more in the preceding year.

Capital gains

Brunei resident (standard)

Brunei does not impose personal income tax on individuals, so there is no tax on individuals' capital gains (PwC). Income tax applies only to companies.

Dividends

Brunei resident (standard)

No personal income tax, so dividends are untaxed for individuals (PwC).

Inheritance and gifts to children

Brunei resident (standard)

No inheritance, estate or gift taxes (PwC).

Wealth tax

Brunei resident (standard)

No net wealth tax (PwC).

Special regimes

None modelled; see Residence and eligibility.

Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

Headline CIT rate: 18.5% (0.185). 18.5% CIT on income accruing in or derived from Brunei; partial exemption on the first BND 250,000; companies with turnover up to BND 1 million exempt; petroleum income 55%.

Cost of living notes

Not researched in this pass (no quickly verifiable sources).

Open questions

Sources

Change log

Residence and succession sources

Tax sources are cited in the research notes above.