# Macau: taxes, residence and cost of living

Source: https://domicile.wiki/places/macau/ (domicile.wiki, researched 2026-10-15). Data licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Research, not tax or legal advice.

## At a glance

For an EU-citizen family of five living off a EUR 30M portfolio (the guide's default reader).

- Score for a wealthy family: 72 / 100
- Tax on a €30M portfolio: €48,600 a year
- Wealth tax: none
- Children inherit: tax-free
- EU member: no
- Currency: MOP
- Capital: Macau

## Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth

Macau taxes individuals only on employment and business income: professional tax is at most 12%, and complementary tax 12% on business profits. It does not tax capital gains, dividends or interest received by individuals, and has no inheritance, gift or wealth tax. It became formally territorial from 2026. The treaty network is tiny (no US treaty). Residence for foreigners is mainly through talent and employment schemes; the old investment-residence scheme for property buyers was suspended in 2007.

- **Macau resident**: Only employment and business income are taxed; no tax on capital gains, dividends, inheritances or wealth.

## Inheritance law and trusts

Macau follows the Portuguese model: children and other close family have a protected share that a will cannot override (about half the estate for one child, two thirds for two or more, per a secondary source). The Hague Trusts Convention applies through China, and Law 15/2022 gives an onshore trust law since December 2022. Foundations exist only for social-interest purposes.

## Daily life (0-100, higher is better)

- Safety and personal security: 82
- Political and institutional stability: 74
- Legal system and property rights: 59
- Healthcare quality and access: 92
- Education quality: 82
- Infrastructure and connectivity: 90
- Business opportunities and economy: 89

## Research notes

### Macau — family-office tax dossier

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

#### Summary

Macau taxes individuals only on employment and business income: professional tax is at most 12%, and complementary tax 12% on business profits. It does not tax capital gains, dividends or interest received by individuals, and has no inheritance, gift or wealth tax. It became formally territorial from 2026. The treaty network is tiny (no US treaty). Residence for foreigners is mainly through talent and employment schemes; the old investment-residence scheme for property buyers was suspended in 2007.

US citizens: US citizens remain fully US-taxed; Macau does not tax their investment income, so the US layer is the full cost. No treaty.

#### Residence and eligibility

No residence test is relevant for individuals: professional tax applies to Macau employment income regardless of residence; investment income is not taxed (PwC).

- **Talent programme / employment / significant investment residence authorisation** (EU, US, OTHER): Residence authorisation through the talent-introduction scheme, employment, or significant investment/management projects approved by IPIM; the property-purchase route was suspended in 2007 (details not verified). Portuguese citizens have historical links but no automatic right.

#### Capital gains

##### Macau resident (`standard`)

Macau has no capital gains tax for individuals: capital gains and investment income are not taxable to individual recipients (PwC). Individuals are taxed only on employment income (professional tax, max 12%). From 1 January 2026 Macau formally moved to territorial taxation.

- **Important exceptions, statute references and announced changes:** Stamp duty applies to transfers of Macau real estate (purchaser) and special stamp duties on short-term resales of residential property have existed; current rates not verified. Dealing in property or securities as a business is subject to complementary tax (12% above the threshold).
- **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / high / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- **JSON numbers:** headline 0% (0.0); listed domestic 0% (0.0); listed foreign 0% (0.0); private business sale 0% (0.0); local real estate 0% (0.0); foreign real estate 0% (0.0).
- **How derived:** No tax on capital gains of individuals (PwC Income determination).
- **Trader recharacterisation:** A business of trading is subject to complementary tax at up to 12%.
- **Foreign assets:** Not taxed.

#### Dividends

##### Macau resident (`standard`)

Dividends are not taxed in the hands of individuals; dividends of Macau companies are covered by complementary tax at company level (PwC). Foreign dividends are untaxed.

- **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / high / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- **JSON numbers:** headline 0% (0.0); domestic 0% (0.0); foreign gross 0% (0.0); foreign tax relief: not_applicable.
- **How derived:** No personal tax on dividends.
- **Outbound withholding:** No dividend WHT (general knowledge, not verified).
- **Treaty network:** Comprehensive arrangements with Mainland China, Hong Kong, Portugal, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Mozambique and Vietnam only; Belgium signed (PwC). No treaty with the US, so US dividends bear 30% US WHT.
- **Holding companies:** Complementary tax 12% above the tax-free threshold (MOP 600,000 for 2025 income under the 2026 Budget); territorial from 2026 except for MNE constituent entities.

#### Inheritance and gifts to children

##### Macau resident (`standard`)

No inheritance, estate or gift taxes (PwC). The former succession and gift tax was abolished in 2001 (general knowledge).

- **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / high / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- **JSON numbers:** basis `none`, children `fully_exempt`, scope `worldwide`, exemption 0 MOP, brackets (marginal): none; other transfer costs 0% (0.0); deemed disposal 0% (0).
- **Gifts:** None. Stamp duty may apply to gratuitous transfers of Macau real estate (rates not verified). (same as inheritance: True; tax-free after years: None)
- **Foreign assets:** No tax.
- **Residence/domicile rules:** Not applicable.
- **Business relief covers listed shares:** False

#### Wealth tax

##### Macau resident (`standard`)

No net wealth tax.

- **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / high / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- **JSON type:** `none`
- **Property tax (not a wealth tax):** Urban property tax on Macau real estate (on rental income or assessed rental value; rates and owner-occupier reliefs not verified). Stamp duty on property purchases.

#### Special regimes

None modelled; see Residence and eligibility.

#### Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

Headline CIT rate: 12% (0.12). Complementary tax: progressive to 12% on taxable profits; tax-free threshold raised to MOP 600,000 for 2025 income by the 2026 Budget; territorial taxation from 1 January 2026 except foreign income of MNE constituent entities.

#### Cost of living notes

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

#### Open questions

- Residence routes for a non-working investor family were not verified with IPIM/PSP.
- Property stamp duties and urban property tax rates not verified.

#### Sources

- Macau SAR - Individual - Income determination (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/macau-sar/individual/income-determination
- Macau SAR - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/macau-sar/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income
- Macau SAR - Individual - Foreign tax relief and tax treaties (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/macau-sar/individual/foreign-tax-relief-and-tax-treaties
- Macau SAR - Individual - Other taxes (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/macau-sar/individual/other-taxes
- Macau SAR - Individual - Residence (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/macau-sar/individual/residence
- Direcção dos Serviços de Finanças (Financial Services Bureau) - home (Financial Services Bureau, Macao SAR, tax_authority): https://www.dsf.gov.mo/

#### Change log

- 2026-10-15: initial research.


## Residence and succession sources

- [HCCH status table: Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=59) — Hague Conference on Private International Law
- [Key things to know about Macau's Trust Law](https://macaubusiness.com/ten-things-to-know-about-macaus-trust-law/) — Macau Business
- [International Estate Planning in Macau](https://pbl.legal/?p=26042) — PBL Law Group
- [Macau Court of Second Instance, Proc. 66/2015](https://www.court.gov.mo/sentence/pt-fcc76dfd0888a47b.pdf) — Macau Courts
- [Macau Property Inheritance Regime](https://mantonio.net/macau-property-inheritance-regime/) — Manuela Antonio