The Bahamas

Research notes

The Bahamas — family-office tax dossier

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

Summary

The Bahamas levies no personal income tax, capital gains tax, dividend tax, inheritance, estate, gift or net wealth tax. The costs that do apply are on Bahamian real estate: VAT of up to 10% on conveyances (10% flat for foreign buyers), annual real property tax, and probate/resealing formalities for Bahamian-situs assets. No income tax treaties. Economic permanent residence needs a USD 1 million investment (real estate or Central Bank zero-coupon bonds) held 10 years, up from USD 750,000 since 1 January 2025.

Residence and eligibility

No income tax, so no tax residence test matters locally. Immigration: economic permanent residence requires a USD/BSD 1.0 million investment in real estate or Central Bank of The Bahamas zero-coupon bonds, held for at least 10 years (Department of Immigration page). The threshold was raised from USD 750,000 effective 1 January 2025, announced in the 2024-25 Budget (Tribune, 30 May 2024). Processing fee BSD 200; certificate fees unverified. Foreign purchasers of land need an International Persons Landholding permit, or for a single-family home for personal use a post-closing Certificate of Registration (Chambers 2026).

Capital gains

No capital gains tax (PwC, last reviewed 21 July 2026; Deloitte 2026). JSON rates all 0.

Real estate conveyances bear VAT (replacing the old stamp duty on conveyances): 10% for foreign buyers and entities on the whole value; Bahamians and permanent residents with the right to work pay a sliding scale from 2.5% (under BSD 100,000) to 10% (over BSD 1 million). Base is the higher of price and fair market value; buyer and seller customarily split it 50/50 but that is a commercial choice. Transfers of shares in land-owning companies also attract VAT. Since 1 July 2025 amendments to the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act require the conveyance to be registered (anti-VAT-evasion).

Dividends

No personal income tax, so dividends are untaxed; JSON 0/0, credit not applicable. No withholding tax on outbound dividends. No double tax treaties (TIEAs only), so US 30% / EU statutory withholding on portfolio dividends is not reduced.

Inheritance and gifts to children

No inheritance, estate or gift tax (PwC; Deloitte 2026). JSON basis none, fully_exempt. Bahamian-situs assets need a Bahamian grant or resealing of a foreign grant before they can be dealt with; legal fees scale with value (minimum BSD 2,500 in a 2012 Higgs & Johnson guide). other_transfer_cost_rate 0 because a portfolio held abroad needs no Bahamian grant. Certain voluntary intra-family land transfers are zero-rated or partially exempt from VAT (Chambers 2026).

Second pass (2026-10-15): PwC's Bahamas 'Other taxes' page (reviewed 21 July 2026) says stamp duty is levied on instruments of all types at varying rates and that there are no transfer taxes, but it does not say whether an assent or vesting deed to heirs is dutiable. Probate fees were not found. other_transfer_cost_rate stays 0; see Open questions.

Wealth tax

No net wealth tax. Annual real property tax applies by property class; owner-occupied capped at BSD 150,000 per year (Deloitte 2026). The 2026-27 Budget proposed a flat 0.625% 'foreign owner-occupied' category (not verified as enacted).

Special regimes

None. The standard regime already has no direct taxes.

Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

No corporate income tax. Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax Act enacted 29 November 2024 (effective for fiscal years from 1 January 2024; for most groups from 2025) applies a 15% Pillar Two top-up only to MNE groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more. Business licence tax applies to businesses operating locally. No withholding taxes.

Cost of living notes

City: Nassau (western New Providence: Sandyport).

• Family rent, 4 bedrooms (monthly): BSD 10,000 (2026). Sandyport (gated canal-front community, Cable Beach area, western Nassau; upper-middle executive housing, not Lyford Cay or Old Fort Bay). Two 4-bedroom houses listed by Coldwell Banker Bahamas, both USD 10,000 a month and both marked RENTED, read 15 Oct 2026: a 4-bed, 4-bath, 3,200 sq ft (about 297 m2) house with pool, dock and generator (listing 71327), and a fully furnished 3-bed plus office (usable as a fourth bedroom), 2,500 sq ft (about 232 m2) canal-front house (listing 81437). Both give USD 10,000 (BSD at par with USD). Earlier note: gated executive 4-5 bed homes at Sandyport and Westridge were USD 10,000-12,000. Very thin sample, asking rents of let homes. Replaces the Lyford Cay/Old Fort Bay figure (BSD 25,000), which was ultra-prime.
• International school fee (annual, per child): BSD 35,600 (2026). Lyford Cay International School (IB), High School grades 11-12, annual tuition 2026-27 (grades 9-10: 33,000). The school says tuition includes books, technology fees and off-island field trips. Amounts shown in $ (BSD at par with USD). Source: Lyford Cay International School: Tuition & Fees (annual tuition 2026-27).

Purchase price per m2, health insurance and housekeeper not sourced. Rent sample is small (two Sandyport listings) and asking-price based.

Open questions

• Economic permanent residence certificate fees and any minimum-presence requirement (secondary sources cite 90 days a year; not confirmed officially).
• No indicator overrides added: The Bahamas is covered by World Bank/WGI data.
• Prime purchase price per m2, family health insurance and housekeeper cost not sourced.
• wealth tax (standard): Exact real property tax bands in force for 2026 and whether the proposed 0.625% foreign owner-occupied category was enacted.
• inheritance (standard): Whether stamp duty or VAT applies when Bahamian real estate vests in heirs on death (assent/vesting deed) and the size of probate fees. PwC (reviewed 21 July 2026) says only that stamp duty is levied on instruments of all types, at rates that vary, and that there are no transfer taxes; it does not address transfers on death. other_transfer_cost_rate is kept at 0 pending a primary source (Stamp Act schedule).

Sources

• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: The Bahamas, Individual - Other taxes (last reviewed 21 July 2026): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/the-bahamas/individual/other-taxes
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: The Bahamas, Individual - Taxes on personal income (last reviewed 21 July 2026): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/the-bahamas/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
• Deloitte International Tax: Bahamas Highlights 2026 (updated January 2026): https://www.deloitte.com/content/dam/assets-shared/docs/services/tax/2026/dttl-tax-bahamashighlights-2026.pdf
• Higgs & Johnson: Guide to probate administration in The Bahamas (2012): https://www.mondaq.com/property-taxes/201438/guide-to-probate-administration-in-the-bahamas
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: The Bahamas, Corporate - Other taxes (last reviewed 21 July 2026): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/the-bahamas/corporate/other-taxes
• Bahamas Department of Immigration: Permanent Residence: https://immigration.gov.bs/?p=3786
• Tribune242: Permanent residency reform labelled 'huge' (30 May 2024, 2024-25 Budget): https://www.tribune242.com/news/2024/may/30/permanent-residency-reform-labelled-huge/
• Chambers Real Estate 2026: Bahamas (Graham Thompson): https://gpg-pdf.chambers.com/Real-Estate-2026/39/
• PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: The Bahamas, Corporate - Taxes on corporate income (last reviewed 21 July 2026): https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/the-bahamas/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income
• Coldwell Banker Bahamas: Bahamas property rentals (listings sorted by price, viewed 15 Oct 2026): https://www.coldwellbankerbahamas.com/bahamas-property-rentals
• Coldwell Banker Bahamas: RENTED Sandyport Executive Home For Rent (listings 71327 and 81437) (Coldwell Banker Lightbourn Realty, other): https://www.coldwellbankerbahamas.com/listing-rented-nassau-executive-home-for-rent-71327.html and https://www.coldwellbankerbahamas.com/listing-nassau-executive-home-for-rent-81437.html
• Lyford Cay International School: Tuition & Fees (annual tuition 2026-27): https://www.lcis.bs/tuition-and-fees

Change log

• 2026-10-15: initial research.
• 2026-10-15: second pass. Added prime rent (BSD 25,000/month, Coldwell Banker Bahamas Lyford Cay/Old Fort Bay listings) and replaced the undated OpenApply school fee with LCIS's own 2026-27 fee (BSD 35,600, grades 11-12). Probate/stamp cost on land passing to heirs re-checked against PwC (no answer; open question sharpened, other_transfer_cost_rate still 0).
• 2026-10-15: family rent re-checked against the upper-middle-class standard: changed from 25,000 to 10,000 BSD (Sandyport, Nassau; was Lyford Cay/Old Fort Bay).