# Tuvalu: taxes, residence and cost of living Source: https://domicile.wiki/places/tuvalu/ (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). - Wealth tax: none - Children inherit: tax-free - EU member: no - Currency: AUD - Capital: Funafuti ## Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth Tuvalu's Income Tax Act (Cap. 26.16, 2022 revision) taxes individuals at 0/15/30% (30% above AUD 14,000). Proceeds of capital assets (assets not acquired mainly for resale) are not gross income, so a long-term investor's gains are untaxed. Dividends from Tuvalu companies are exempt. Section 7 as revised taxes residents only on Tuvalu-source income, which would leave foreign dividends untaxed, but other provisions assume foreign dividends are taxed: the foreign rate is left unknown. No inheritance, gift or wealth tax was found. - **Ordinary tax residence**: Individuals taxed at 0/15/30%; capital assets' gains outside income; Tuvalu dividends exempt. ## Inheritance law and trusts Tuvalu succession law could not be sourced here. Customary land passes by custom. No forced heirship rule was confirmed. The Hague Trusts Convention is not in force. ## Daily life (0-100, higher is better) - Political and institutional stability: 55 - Legal system and property rights: 76 - Healthcare quality and access: 38 - Education quality: 16 - Human development and quality of life: 38 - Infrastructure and connectivity: 35 - Business opportunities and economy: 34 ## Research notes ### Tuvalu — family-office tax dossier Last reviewed: 2026-10-15 Tax year: 2026 Reviewer: research agent (Claude), unreviewed by a tax adviser #### Summary Tuvalu's Income Tax Act (Cap. 26.16, 2022 revision) taxes individuals at 0/15/30% (30% above AUD 14,000). Proceeds of capital assets (assets not acquired mainly for resale) are not gross income, so a long-term investor's gains are untaxed. Dividends from Tuvalu companies are exempt. Section 7 as revised taxes residents only on Tuvalu-source income, which would leave foreign dividends untaxed, but other provisions assume foreign dividends are taxed: the foreign rate is left unknown. No inheritance, gift or wealth tax was found. US citizens: US citizens remain subject to US federal income, estate and gift tax on worldwide income and assets wherever they live; the app adds the federal layer. Where local tax on portfolio income is nil there is nothing to credit against US tax. #### Residence and eligibility Income Tax Act s. 2: an individual is resident if the permanent place of abode is in Tuvalu or if personally present in Tuvalu for more than 183 days (in the year, as summarised; full text of the day-count rule not re-read). - **Residence permit** (EU, US, OTHER): Not researched. #### Capital gains ##### Standard regime No capital gains tax. Gross income includes proceeds of disposal of revenue assets and business profits or gains (s. 9), but a 'capital asset' is one not acquired with the principal purpose of disposal, and its proceeds are not gross income (except depreciation recapture on business assets, Schedule 2 para 5). - **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / medium / 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:** Income Tax Act Cap. 26.16 s. 2 ('capital asset', 'revenue asset') and s. 9: only revenue-asset proceeds and business gains are gross income. A long-term portfolio is capital assets = 0. - **Trader recharacterisation:** Assets acquired with the principal purpose of disposal are revenue assets: their proceeds are gross income taxed at up to 30%. Frequent trading risks this treatment. - **Foreign assets:** See dividends on the source rule in s. 7. #### Dividends ##### Standard regime Dividends from resident companies are exempt for residents (Schedule 1 Part 3 para 1). For foreign dividends the Act is internally inconsistent: s. 7(1) as revised says a resident includes gross income 'only if it is derived from a source within' Tuvalu, and s. 8(2) says dividends of non-resident companies never have a Tuvalu source, which would exempt them; but s. 27(4) and Schedule 1 Part 3 paras 3-4 exempt foreign dividends only to the extent overseas tax covers the Tuvalu rate, which presupposes they are taxable at up to 30%. - **Exemptions and thresholds:** Schedule 6: individuals 0% to AUD 10,000; 15% to 14,000; 30% above 14,000. - **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / low / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15) - **JSON numbers:** headline 30% (0.3); domestic 0% (0.0); foreign gross null (unknown); foreign tax relief: credit. - **How derived:** Domestic: Schedule 1 Part 3 para 1 = 0. Foreign: null because s. 7(1) (territorial) conflicts with s. 27(4)/Schedule 1 Part 3 paras 3-4 (taxable with a credit-type exemption at the 30% rate). Headline 0.30 = top individual rate that would apply if taxable. - **Outbound withholding:** 15% non-resident withholding on dividends (Schedule 5), reducible by treaty. - **Treaty network:** No comprehensive treaties found (not verified). #### Inheritance and gifts to children ##### Standard regime No inheritance, estate or gift tax: the official index of Tuvalu legislation lists no estate, succession or gift duty act (only a Wills Act and Native Estates regulations). Estate distributions already taxed in the hands of the executor are exempt for beneficiaries (Schedule 1 Part 1 para 10). - **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / medium / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15) - **JSON numbers:** basis none; children fully_exempt; exemption 0; brackets []; other transfer costs 0.0. - **Gift tax:** No gift tax found. #### Wealth tax ##### Standard regime No net wealth tax and no recurring levy on financial assets. - **Tax year / confidence / verification:** 2026 / medium / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15) - **JSON:** type none. - **Property tax (not a wealth tax):** Not researched. #### Special regimes None found for wealthy new residents. #### Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax) Headline rate in JSON: 30% (0.3). Resident companies 30% (Schedule 6 (i)); Schedule 6 (j) also lists a 40% rate for a category of company (text garbled in extraction; likely non-resident). National Bank and approved funds have own rates. #### Cost of living notes Not sourced. #### Open questions - Foreign dividend treatment unresolved (null). - [standard/dividends] Resolve whether residents' foreign dividends are taxable: check the amending act that produced the current s. 7 wording, or ask the Tuvalu Revenue office. - [standard/inheritance] Land in Tuvalu is largely customary; foreign ownership rules not researched. #### Sources - Income Tax Act Cap. 26.16 (2022 Revised Edition): https://tuvalu-legislation.tv/cms/images/LEGISLATION/PRINCIPAL/1992/1992-0005/1992-0005_2.pdf - Index of all legislation (no estate or gift duty act listed): https://tuvalu-legislation.tv/cms/component/legislation/?view=index_all&Itemid=683 #### 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](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=59) — HCCH