# Namibia: taxes, residence and cost of living

Source: https://domicile.wiki/places/namibia/ (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: 62 / 100
- Tax on a €30M portfolio: €48,600 a year
- Wealth tax: none
- Children inherit: tax-free
- EU member: no
- Currency: NAD
- Capital: Windhoek

## Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth

Namibia taxes only income from a Namibian source, residence being largely irrelevant. There is no capital gains tax (except on mining and petroleum rights and shares in companies holding them), dividends are exempt for resident individuals, and there is no wealth, inheritance, estate or gift tax. Foreign dividends and gains on a foreign portfolio are therefore untaxed. Property purchases bear transfer and stamp duty.

- **Namibian resident (source-based)**: Source-based income tax 0-37% (2025/26 table); no CGT; dividends exempt; no inheritance or wealth tax.

## Inheritance law and trusts

There is no forced heirship: freedom of testation is the first principle of Namibian wills law and is tied to Article 16 of the Constitution. Customary law governs many Black Namibians' estates. A 2018 review aims to unify succession law. Trusts and foundations were not sourced.

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

- Safety and personal security: 38
- Political and institutional stability: 57
- Corruption and government integrity: 49
- Legal system and property rights: 58
- Healthcare quality and access: 39
- Education quality: 16
- Human development and quality of life: 33
- Infrastructure and connectivity: 57
- Business opportunities and economy: 47

## Research notes

### Namibia — family-office tax dossier

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

#### Summary

Namibia taxes only income from a Namibian source, residence being largely irrelevant. There is no capital gains tax (except on mining and petroleum rights and shares in companies holding them), dividends are exempt for resident individuals, and there is no wealth, inheritance, estate or gift tax. Foreign dividends and gains on a foreign portfolio are therefore untaxed. Property purchases bear transfer and stamp duty.

US citizens: US citizens remain fully US-taxed on worldwide income and estates; the app adds the US federal layer. No US-Namibia income tax treaty; Namibia's source basis means little local tax overlaps with US tax.

#### Residence and eligibility

Not normally relevant: Namibia taxes income from Namibian sources (or deemed Namibian sources) regardless of residence; some foreign interest and royalties of 'ordinarily resident' persons are deemed Namibian-source (PwC).

- **Permanent or temporary residence permit** (EU, US, OTHER): Non-citizens need a residence permit (or work permit); no residence-by-investment programme verified in this session.

#### Capital gains

##### Standard regime

No capital gains tax. Only profits on the sale of mining or petroleum licences/rights and on shares (direct or indirect) in companies owning such rights are taxable as specific inclusions in gross income. Receipts of a capital nature are excluded from gross income, and foreign-source amounts are outside the tax.

- **Important exceptions, statute references and announced changes:** Transfer duty on shares in property- or mining-right-owning entities from 1 October 2024 (buyer-side).
- **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 CGT: listed and foreign shares, private business sales (other than mineral/petroleum-right companies) and real estate held as capital 0%.
- **Trader recharacterisation:** Profits from a scheme of profit-making (e.g. regular dealing in property or shares) are revenue, not capital, and taxed at up to 37% if Namibian-source.
- **Foreign assets:** Foreign gains are not Namibian-source.

#### Dividends

##### Standard regime

Dividends are exempt from tax for resident individuals. Foreign dividends are not Namibian-source and are also exempt; PwC notes that, because of the source rules and the exempt status of dividends, few foreign-taxed items are taxable in Namibia.

- **Important exceptions, statute references and announced changes:** Interest arising outside Namibia can be deemed Namibian-source for a resident (PwC); this concerns interest, not dividends.
- **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:** 0% domestic (exempt) and 0% foreign (not Namibian-source / dividend exemption). Foreign withholding tax is a final cost; no credit needed.
- **Outbound withholding:** Non-resident shareholders tax: 10% where a company holds at least 25%, otherwise 20%; treaty relief available.
- **Treaty network:** 11 DTAs (Botswana, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mauritius, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Sweden, UK); none with the US.
- **Holding companies:** Companies pay 30% (financial years from 1 January 2025) on Namibian-source income; dividends exempt.

#### Inheritance and gifts to children

##### Standard regime

No inheritance, estate or gift tax (PwC). Transfer of Namibian immovable property to heirs may attract transfer and stamp duty; this was not verified.

- **Important exceptions, statute references and announced changes:** Transfer duty/stamp duty on registering inherited Namibian property not verified.
- **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / high / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- **JSON numbers:** basis `none`, children `fully_exempt`, exemption 0 NAD, brackets (marginal): none; other transfer costs 0% (0.0).
- **Gifts:** None. (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

##### Standard regime

No net wealth or worth tax.

- **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / high / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- **JSON type:** `none`
- **Property tax (not a wealth tax):** Municipal property rates on municipal valuations. Transfer duty on property purchases by individuals on a sliding scale (12% for non-natural persons), with a luxury bracket above NAD 12 million from 1 October 2024; stamp duty NAD 12 per NAD 1,000 on transfer deeds.

#### Special regimes

None modelled; see Residence and eligibility.

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

Headline CIT rate: 30% (0.3). Source-based CIT of 30% for domestic companies and branches (financial years from 1 January 2025); special rates for registered manufacturers (first ten years), mining, diamond mining and petroleum. Dividend NRST 10%/20% on payments to non-residents.

#### Cost of living notes

Not researched.

#### Open questions

- Any announced move from source to residence-based taxation, or a capital gains tax, could not be checked in this session (web search budget exhausted); PwC (reviewed 16 July 2026) still describes a source system without CGT.
- The 2026/27 individual tax table was not opened directly (PwC shows the 2025/26 table with a 37% top rate).

#### Sources

- Namibia, Republic of - Individual - Income determination (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/individual/income-determination
- Namibia, Republic of - Individual - Taxes on personal income (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
- Namibia, Republic of - Individual - Foreign tax relief and tax treaties (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/individual/foreign-tax-relief-and-tax-treaties
- Namibia, Republic of - Corporate - Withholding taxes (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/corporate/withholding-taxes
- Namibia, Republic of - Individual - Other taxes (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/individual/other-taxes
- Namibia, Republic of - Individual - Residence (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/individual/residence
- Namibia, Republic of - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income (PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, professional): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/republic-of-namibia/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income

#### Change log

- 2026-10-15: initial research.


## Residence and succession sources

- [Wills Act 7 of 1953](https://namiblii.org/akn/na/act/1953/7) — NamibLII
- [Mwoombola v Master of the High Court [2018] NAHCMD 103](https://namiblii.org/akn/na/judgment/nahcmd/2018/103) — NamibLII
- [Ministerial statement on succession reform, 25 April 2018](https://www.parliament.na/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Ministerial-Statement-by-Hon-Minister-of-Justice-Sakeus-Shanghala-on-the-charges-to-succession-on-Namibia-25-April-2018.pdf) — Parliament of Namibia
- [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