The Bahamas' taxes at a glance
| Tax on $50,000 of revenue | 10% to 15% |
|---|---|
| Tax on $100,000 of revenue | 5% to 10% |
| Effective rate at $100,000On profit, after costs of 15% | 0% to 5.2% Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. Profit $85,000; National Insurance 10.3% x BSD 43,160 ceiling = $4,445; income tax $0; total 5.2%. 0% if National Insurance were not collected from a BEATS holder |
| Tax on $250,000 of revenue | Up to 5% |
| Tax system | No personal income tax |
| Foreign income, new residents | Untaxed Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 28, 2026 |
| Social contributions, self-employed | 0% to 10.3% Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. PwC (last reviewed July 21, 2026): self-employed individuals contribute 10.3%; the insurable ceiling is BSD 830 a week (BSD 43,160 a year). Rates rose from 8.8% on July 1, 2024 |
Structure used: BEATS permit holder working for foreign clients, with no personal income tax; National Insurance of 10.3% on profit up to BSD 43,160 a year as a self-employed person residing in The Bahamas. Bands are the effective tax on profit for a remote worker using this structure, with clients abroad and costs of 15% of revenue.
Bahamas tax residency: no income tax, no residence test
The Bahamas is one of the few countries with no personal income tax. Salaries, fees, dividends, interest and capital gains are untaxed, and there is no inheritance, estate, gift or wealth tax (PwC Bahamas other taxes, reviewed July 21, 2026). With no income tax there is no income tax residence test, and no day count to pass.
What you hold instead is an immigration status. The BEATS remote work permit or permanent residence decides how long you may stay and what work you may do, and neither has a tax effect in The Bahamas.
That moves the real residency question to the country you are leaving. Most tax systems keep treating you as resident until you break their own tests, whether by days, a home, family or where your economic life is centered, and some keep taxing former residents for years after they go. A move to The Bahamas only works once that exit is complete, because there is no Bahamian tax to credit against the tax you left behind.
Proving the move falls on you. No procedure for issuing a tax residence certificate to an individual was found, so the evidence your old country sees is the permit, a lease or deed, local bank statements, utility bills and your travel record.
Leaving a high-tax country for The Bahamas: the version that holds up
Works
You let your old home on a long lease, move with your family, take the BEATS permit, open a local bank account and spend most of the year in Nassau. You file whatever exit return your old country requires and keep the lease, bank statements and travel record that prove where you now live.
Fails
You take the BEATS permit but keep your house and your spouse in London, spend 4 months in Exuma and the other 8 in the UK. With more than 183 days in the UK you are still UK resident, all your income stays taxable there, and The Bahamas has no tax of its own to credit.
The taxes you still pay in The Bahamas
The government raises its money from consumption and property instead. VAT applies at 10% to almost all goods and services bought in The Bahamas, with a 0% rate on zero-rated supplies such as exports (Department of Inland Revenue), so it shows up in everyday costs such as groceries, restaurants and domestic flights rather than on your income.
What a remote worker living in The Bahamas pays
| Tax or charge | Who pays it | Rate or amount |
|---|---|---|
| Personal income tax | Nobody | None |
| Capital gains, inheritance, estate, gift and wealth tax | Nobody | None |
| National Insurance, self-employed | A self-employed person residing in The Bahamas | 10.3% of profit up to BSD 830 a week |
| VAT | Everyone, on most goods and services bought locally | 10% standard, 0% on zero-rated supplies |
| Real property tax | Owners of land and buildings | 0% to 1% on a home you live in; up to 1.5% on foreign-owned rentals |
| BEATS permit | Each professional and dependent, every year | $25 application plus $1,000 permit; $25 plus $500 per dependent |
Real property tax if you buy a home
Property is the one asset The Bahamas taxes every year. A home you own and live in is exempt on the first BSD 300,000 (about $300,000) of value, then taxed at 0.625% on the next BSD 200,000 (about $200,000) and 1% above that, so a BSD 1,000,000 (about $1,000,000) home, the size the permanent residence route calls for, owes BSD 6,250 (about $6,250) a year (Department of Inland Revenue, real property tax). Paying in full by March 31 takes 10% off, and tax unpaid by December 31 draws a 5% surcharge.
Bahamas real property tax by type of property
| Property | Value band | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Home you own and live in | First BSD 300,000 | Exempt |
| Home you own and live in | Next BSD 200,000 | 0.625% |
| Home you own and live in | Above BSD 500,000 | 1% |
| Foreign-owned rental or commercial property | First BSD 500,000 | 0.75% |
| Foreign-owned rental or commercial property | Next BSD 1,500,000 | 1% |
| Foreign-owned rental or commercial property | Above BSD 2,000,000 | 1.5% |
| Vacant land owned by a foreigner | First BSD 7,000, then the rest | BSD 100 flat, then 2% |
National Insurance for self-employed remote workers
National Insurance is the one levy on income. The regulations define a self-employed person's income as the annual profit arising to any self-employed person residing in The Bahamas from any trade, profession or vocation (National Insurance (Contributions) Regulations, regulation 2), and the only people treated as outside the system are diplomats, staff of international organizations and foreign armed forces.
The self-employed rate is 10.3% on earnings up to BSD 830 a week (about $830), which caps the contribution at about BSD 4,445 (about $4,445) a year (PwC Bahamas other taxes). No National Insurance Board guidance on BEATS holders was found, so the figures on this page apply the regulations as written.
| Revenue from foreign clients | $100,000 |
|---|---|
| Business costs at 15% | $15,000 |
| Profit | $85,000 |
| Income tax | $0 |
| National Insurance: 10.3% of BSD 43,160 (52 weeks at BSD 830) | BSD 4,445 (about $4,445) |
| Same person at $50,000 of revenue ($42,500 profit, under the ceiling)10.3% of profit | BSD 4,378 (about $4,378) |
| Tax on $100,000 of revenue | BSD 4,445 (about $4,445), 5.2% of profit |
The Bahamian dollar is pegged 1:1 to the US dollar. Permit fees, VAT on spending and any US tax are not included.
David's note
I would register with the National Insurance Board as self-employed in the first month rather than wait to be asked. The contribution is capped and small next to what the move saves, and a clean contribution record is one more document showing that your working life is now in The Bahamas.
The BEATS permit and working in The Bahamas
BEATS is for professionals and students who work or study remotely from The Bahamas. Professionals apply with a job letter from their current employer or proof of self-employment, plus a passport and proof of medical insurance; the permit expires 12 months from issue, annual renewals are considered for up to 3 years, no income threshold is stated and no minimum stay is required (BEATS FAQ).
The permit covers remote work only. Working for a Bahamian employer or taking Bahamian clients needs a work permit, so the BEATS setup holds as long as every client and employer sits outside the islands.
Moving to The Bahamas on a BEATS permit
- Collect a job letter from your employer or proof of self-employment, a valid passport and proof of medical insurance.
- Apply for BEATS: $25 per applicant, then $1,000 for your permit and $500 for each dependent.
- Register with the National Insurance Board if you work for yourself.
- Keep every client and employer outside The Bahamas; local work needs a work permit.
- Close out tax residence in the country you left, on its own rules, and keep the evidence.
- Renew BEATS each year, for up to 3 years.
- Settle your next status before the third year ends if you plan to stay.
Ways to move to the Bahamas
| Route | Minimum income or investment | Permit length | Makes you tax resident | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEATS remote work permit Source: bahamasbeats.com, checked September 29, 2026. Official program site. Whether '3 years' is the total stay or the number of renewals is not clear from the wordingDigital nomad visa | $0 a month Source: bahamasbeats.com, checked September 29, 2026. No income threshold is stated for professionals; applicants show a job letter from their current employer or proof of self-employment. 0 means no stated minimum | 12 months, renewable | Not applicableNo income tax applies either way; the permit is for remote work only, not for Bahamian employers. | Open |
| Economic permanent residence Source: immigration.gov.bs, checked September 28, 2026Investment route | Investment of $1,000,000 Source: immigration.gov.bs, checked September 28, 2026 | Not stated | Not applicableNo income tax applies either way. | Changed |
Running your own company from The Bahamas
Nothing in The Bahamas taxes the profit of a company you own abroad or the dividends it pays you, and with no personal income tax there are no controlled foreign company rules for individuals (PwC Bahamas individual taxes). The tax on your company is set by the country where it is formed, and sometimes by where it is managed.
A company formed in the United States is the common choice, and whether it owes US tax is a question of US rules alone. For a non-US owner that turns on whether the income is connected with a US trade or business; for a US citizen, a single-member LLC's profit is simply part of your own US return.
Keeping the business outside The Bahamas also keeps it inside the BEATS terms. A business owned or operated in The Bahamas needs a business license under the Business Licence Act 2023 (Department of Inland Revenue) and must register for VAT once its taxable activity passes BSD 100,000 (about $100,000) in 12 months (VAT FAQ), and selling to Bahamian clients is local work that needs a work permit rather than a remote work permit.
US citizens living in The Bahamas
The US has no income tax treaty with The Bahamas, and a US citizen stays taxable on worldwide income wherever they live. With no Bahamian income tax there is no foreign tax to credit, so the foreign earned income exclusion does the work: up to $132,900 of earned income for 2026 (IRS, IR-2025-103) if you pass the physical presence test of 330 full days abroad in 12 months, or the bona fide residence test.
Self-employment tax is where Americans pay twice. With no totalization agreement, US self-employment tax of 15.3% runs on all net self-employment income even when the exclusion is claimed (IRS, self-employment tax abroad), on top of Bahamian National Insurance. A Bahamian bank account also counts toward the FBAR once your foreign accounts together pass $10,000 at any point in the year (FinCEN).
Bahamas tax mistakes: the country you left and the 3-year permit
No tax in The Bahamas is not no tax
The expensive mistake is assuming the move ends your tax bill. The Bahamas taxes no income, so it cannot shelter you from a country that still counts you as resident: keep a home, a spouse or most of your days there and you owe its full rate, with no Bahamian tax to credit. For US citizens it is simpler and harsher, because citizenship alone keeps worldwide income taxable.
BEATS is also a bridge, not a destination. Renewals stop at 3 years, and the permanent residence route listed above needs a real estate or bond investment, so anyone planning to stay longer needs the next status in view before the third renewal.
Who the Bahamas suits, and who it does not
Good fit
- Remote employees and self-employed people who want a 1 to 3 year stay with no income tax and no stated income minimum, for a $1,025 permit fee.
- Wealthy individuals with large investment income, which is untaxed.
Poor fit
- Anyone who needs a tax residence certificate to prove they left a high-tax country.
- People on a tight budget: living costs are high and VAT is 10%.
- Anyone wanting to work for Bahamian clients or employers, which needs a work permit.
Recent tax and visa changes in the Bahamas
The minimum investment for economic permanent residence rose to $1,000,000 (from $750,000 per secondary reports). immigration.gov.bs
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