Dominica

Research notes

Dominica — family-office tax dossier

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

Summary

Dominica taxes resident individuals on worldwide income at up to 35% (above XCD 80,000 including the XCD 30,000 allowance), so foreign dividends and interest are taxed, with a unilateral foreign tax credit. There is no capital gains, inheritance, estate or wealth tax. Domestic dividends carry a dividend tax credit that largely removes the tax. Residents who are not ordinarily resident are taxed on foreign income only when received in Dominica. Citizenship by investment from USD 200,000.

Residence and eligibility

Resident: present 183 days or more in the year (Deloitte; IRD); the Act also treats as resident a person present for a continuous period spanning adjacent years. 'Ordinarily resident' individuals are taxed on worldwide income; residents not ordinarily resident only on foreign income received in Dominica. CBI: EDF USD 200,000 single / USD 250,000 family of 4; real estate USD 200,000 + USD 100,000 government fee for a family of 4.

Capital gains

No CGT (Deloitte 2026; CBIU). JSON 0. Stamp duty on transfers of immovable property: 2.5% paid by the seller and 2% by the buyer (also on sales of shares in companies with more than 50% real property). Additional fees may apply: assurance fund 1%, judicial fee 1%, solicitor's fee up to 2.5% plus 15% VAT. Non-citizens need an alien landholding licence (cost not verified).

Dividends

Income Tax Act Chap. 67:01: s.8(1) residents taxed on income from all sources in or out of Dominica; s.8(2) residents not ordinarily resident only on foreign income received in Dominica; s.36 dividends included; s.63(2) credit on domestic dividends (whole tax if marginal rate ≤30%, else 35% of net dividend), so JSON domestic 0; ss.64-65 unilateral credit for foreign tax. Rates (IRD, from 2018): XCD 30,000 allowance, then 15%/25%/35%. JSON foreign 0.35, credit.

Inheritance and gifts to children

No inheritance, estate or gift tax (Deloitte 2026; CBIU). Parent-to-child property transfer: parent pays 2% stamp duty; assurance and judicial fees may apply. JSON basis none, fully_exempt.

Wealth tax

None. No national property tax; municipal tax.

Special regimes

None modelled. Residents who are not ordinarily resident are taxed on foreign income only when received in Dominica (s.8(2)); noted in dividends.

Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

Corporate income tax 25%; branch remittance tax 15%; no CGT; unilateral foreign tax credit; no Pillar Two commitment. 15% WHT on dividends, interest and royalties to non-residents.

Cost of living notes

City: Roseau (Morne Daniel / outskirts).

• Prime rent: USD 4,000 a month, the median of the three priced family houses on Caribbean Paradise Realty's Dominica 'furnished, US$3,000 and up' long-term page on 15 Oct 2026: a 4-bed, 4.5-bath ocean-view house in Morne Daniel USD 8,000; a 3-bed house with pool near Roseau USD 4,000 (a 1-bed lower apartment can be added); a 3-bed house plus 1-bed apartment in Morne Daniel USD 3,500. Only one is a true 4-bedroom house. Small sample; listings undated.
• International school fee: not sourced (no private or international secondary school in Dominica publishes a fee schedule online; re-checked 15 Oct 2026).
• Price per m2, health insurance, housekeeper: not sourced.
• 15 Oct 2026 final pass: school fee re-checked with third-party listings (International Schools Database, expat guides) and archives; no dated secondary fee schedule found.

Open questions

• 2025-2026 CBI changes (regional Eastern Caribbean regulator, harmonised USD 200,000 minimum) not verified on an official page; CBIU news lists no price change in July-September 2026.
• Precise meaning of 'ordinarily resident' for a newly arrived family (definition partly illegible in the scanned Act).
• Private/international secondary school fee for Dominica not sourced: re-checked 15 Oct 2026 including third-party listings (International Schools Database, expat guides): no dated fee schedule for a Dominica private secondary school is published; undated expat-guide ranges were not used.
• dividends (standard): The Income Tax Act copy used is an older consolidation; later amendments to s.63 (dividend credit) not checked.
• inheritance (standard): Stamp duty and fees when land passes on death.

Sources

• Deloitte International Tax: Dominica Highlights 2026 (updated January 2026): https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-shared/docs/services/tax/2026/dttl-tax-dominicahighlights-2026.pdf
• Dominica Citizenship by Investment Unit: home page: https://cbiu.gov.dm/
• Income Tax Act, Chap. 67:01 (Dominica, consolidated; ss. 8, 36, 63-65): https://dominica.gov.dm/laws/chapters/chap67-01.pdf
• Dominica Inland Revenue Division: Current income tax rates: https://ird.gov.dm/customer-service/current-income-tax-rates
• Dominica Inland Revenue Division: Withholding tax: https://ird.gov.dm/tax-laws/withholding-tax
• Dominica CBIU: Economic Diversification Fund: https://www.cbiu.gov.dm/investment-options/economic-diversification-fund/
• Dominica CBIU: Real estate investment: https://www.cbiu.gov.dm/investment-options/real-estate/
• Dominica Inland Revenue Division: Personal income tax: https://ird.gov.dm/tax-laws/personal-income-tax
• Caribbean Paradise Realty: Dominica long-term rentals, furnished US$3,000 and up: https://www.caribbeanparadiserealty.net/highend-rentals.html

Change log

• 2026-10-15: initial research.
• 2026-10-15: second pass. Re-checked cost of living with direct site checks; still no school fee schedule or rental listings found, open question sharpened. No other changes.
• 2026-10-15: added prime rent (USD 4,000, median of three high-end furnished long lets near Roseau, Caribbean Paradise Realty); school fee still not sourced.
• 2026-10-15: school fee re-checked with third-party and archive sources; still not sourced.
• 2026-10-15: family rent re-checked against the upper-middle-class standard: kept.