Indonesia's taxes at a glance
| Tax on $50,000 of revenue | 15% to 25% |
|---|---|
| Tax on $100,000 of revenue | 25% to 35% |
| Effective rate at $100,000On profit, after costs of 15% | 25.27% Source: pajak.go.id, checked September 29, 2026. $100,000 revenue = IDR 1,797,660,000 at IDR 17,976.6 per USD; profit (85%) IDR 1,528,011,000; taxable after IDR 54 million allowance IDR 1,474,010,000; tax IDR 386,203,000; 25.27% of profit |
| Tax on $250,000 of revenue | 25% to 35% |
| Tax system | Worldwide |
| Foreign income, new residents | Taxed Source: pajak.go.id, checked September 29, 2026. Income Tax Law article 4(1a) to 4(1c) as amended by Law No. 7 of 2021. The expertise criteria are in Minister of Finance Regulation 18 of 2021 |
| Social contributions, self-employed | 0% Source: taxsummaries.pwc.com, checked September 29, 2026. BPJS health insurance for self-employed members is a fixed monthly amount, not a percentage of income; it would change the effective rate by well under 1 point |
Structure used: Remote worker on an E33G permit, resident under the 183-day or intention test, taxed at the progressive rates on net income from services performed in Indonesia, after the IDR 54 million single allowance. Bands are the effective tax on profit for a remote worker using this structure, with clients abroad and costs of 15% of revenue.
Indonesia tax residency: 183 days in 12 months, or the intention to stay
Under article 2 of the Income Tax Law, as the Directorate General of Taxes publishes it, an individual is a resident taxpayer in either of 2 cases:
- More than 183 days: you are in Indonesia for more than 183 days in any 12-month period. The days do not have to be consecutive, and once you pass the count you are treated as a taxpayer from your first day in the country.
- Intention to reside: you are in Indonesia during a tax year and intend to live there, with no minimum day count.
Residence is judged on the actual facts rather than on paperwork, and the Director General of Taxes has the power to decide it. The 12-month window rolls, so it does not reset on January 1: a stay from September 1 to March 31 runs to 212 days and crosses the line even though neither calendar year holds 183 of them.
Indonesia income tax rates for residents
Indonesian income tax rates for resident individuals, article 17 of the Income Tax Law as amended by Law No. 7 of 2021
| Taxable income in the year | Rate on the band | Total tax at the top of the band |
|---|---|---|
| Up to IDR 60,000,000 (about $3,340) | 5% | IDR 3,000,000 |
| IDR 60,000,001 to IDR 250,000,000 (about $13,900) | 15% | IDR 31,500,000 |
| IDR 250,000,001 to IDR 500,000,000 (about $27,800) | 25% | IDR 94,000,000 |
| IDR 500,000,001 to IDR 5,000,000,000 (about $278,000) | 30% | IDR 1,444,000,000 |
| Above IDR 5,000,000,000 | 35% | IDR 1,444,000,000 plus 35% of the excess |
The bands come from Law No. 7 of 2021 on tax harmonization, and they apply to taxable income: net income minus the non-taxable allowance, which is IDR 54 million (about $3,000) for a single person. The 30% band arrives early in dollar terms, at about $27,810 of taxable income, so every salary that meets the E33G visa's $60,000 floor reaches it.
At that minimum, IDR 1,078,596,000 (about $60,000) a year, a resident with no other deductions owes about IDR 251,378,800 (about $14,000), or 23% of the pay.
Remote work from Bali: Indonesian income, whoever pays
Article 4(1b) of the Income Tax Law, added by Law No. 7 of 2021, spells out that income a foreign citizen receives for work, services or activities in Indonesia, under any name and in any form, counts as income from Indonesia even when it is paid outside Indonesia. For a remote worker in Bali, the employer in Berlin and the bank account in London change nothing: the work happens in Indonesia, so the pay is Indonesian income.
Once you are resident, foreign income joins it. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, so foreign dividends, interest, rent and gains go onto the same 5% to 35% scale whether or not you bring them into Indonesia. That is a harder line than Thailand's remittance system, where a resident's foreign income is taxed only when it is brought into the country and income kept abroad is left alone.
The one exception is the 4-year regime for qualifying foreign experts, which limits tax to Indonesian income. It does not apply to a foreigner who claims a tax treaty, and even under it the work you do while in Indonesia stays taxable.
The 0.5% small business tax: why most freelancers cannot use it
Resident businesses with turnover of up to IDR 4.8 billion (about $267,000) a year can pay a final 0.5% on turnover instead of the scale, and an individual pays nothing on the first IDR 500 million (about $27,800) of that turnover under the tax harmonization law. Government Regulation 20 of 2026, which amended the rules on April 22, 2026, keeps independent professional services out of it: consultants and similar experts, advisers, teachers and trainers, authors, researchers and translators, and online content creators such as bloggers, vloggers and influencers.
Much of what nomads sell sits on that list, so a freelance consultant, writer or creator in Bali pays the 5% to 35% scale on net profit. The regulation also leaves out foreign income that was taxed or is taxable abroad, and an E33G holder is an employee of a foreign company rather than a local business, so the 0.5% rate is not a route for either.
Moving to Bali with a foreign portfolio: the plan that holds and the one that does not
Works
Before you arrive, you check whether you qualify for the 4-year foreign expert regime, which leaves foreign dividends untaxed for 4 tax years. If you do not, you budget for them at your top band and claim credit for the tax already withheld on them abroad.
Fails
You move to Bali on an E33G for the year and keep your portfolio abroad, assuming only Indonesian income counts. As a resident, your IDR 359,532,000 (about $20,000) of foreign dividends joins your pay on the scale, and at a 30% top band that adds about IDR 107,859,600 (about $6,000) of Indonesian tax.
Filing an Indonesian tax return
Indonesia tax checklist for a resident remote worker
- Register for a taxpayer identification number (NPWP) with the Directorate General of Taxes once you become resident.
- Count your days on a rolling 12-month window, not by calendar year, and keep your passport stamps and stay permits as proof.
- File the annual individual return (SPT Tahunan) within 3 months after the tax year ends, by March 31, per the Directorate General of Taxes' filing deadlines.
- Report worldwide income once resident, including foreign dividends, interest and gains, and claim credit for foreign tax already paid on them.
- If you rely on the foreign expert regime, keep the evidence that you qualify, and do not claim a tax treaty in the same years, because a treaty claim switches the regime off.
Ways to move to Indonesia
| Route | Minimum income or investment | Permit length | Makes you tax resident | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E33G remote worker visa (KITAS) Source: imigrasi.go.id, checked September 29, 2026Digital nomad visa | $60,000 a year Source: imigrasi.go.id, checked September 29, 2026. Bank reference showing salary or income of at least USD 60,000 a year, a bank statement for the last 3 months with at least USD 2,000, and a work agreement with a company established outside Indonesia | 12 months, renewable | With enough daysNo tax exemption: work done from Indonesia is Indonesian income, and the permit can make the holder resident and taxed on worldwide income. | Open |
| Second Home Visa Source: aseanbriefing.com, checked September 28, 2026Passive income route | Investment of IDR 2,000,000,000 (about $111,000) Source: aseanbriefing.com, checked September 28, 2026. Bank deposit of at least IDR 2 billion (about $111,000) kept while the visa is active; 5 or 10 years | 5 years, renewable | With enough daysNo tax exemption; residents are taxed on worldwide income. | Open |
Special tax regimes in Indonesia
Four-year Indonesian-source regime for foreign experts
A foreign citizen who becomes an Indonesian tax resident and has certain expertise is taxed only on Indonesian income for the first 4 tax years. Work done in Indonesia stays taxable, so it helps with foreign investment income, not with remote work done from Indonesia.
Open to new applicants. Lasts up to 4 years. Source: pajak.go.id, checked September 29, 2026
Running your own company while living in Indonesia
Owning a foreign company does not shelter its dividends: a resident's dividends from a foreign company are part of worldwide income and taxed on the scale, up to 35%. PwC's Indonesia summary notes exemptions for foreign active business income and for dividends from Indonesian companies when they are invested in Indonesia within a set period, which suit someone building a business in Indonesia rather than a nomad drawing an income.
Routing your own services through a company changes little either. Pay for work you do in Indonesia is Indonesian income under any name and in any form, and residence, for companies as for people, is decided on the facts rather than on formalities, so invoicing through a foreign company while you work from Bali does not make the work foreign.
The E33G points the same way. The immigration rules for the E33G grant it for carrying out work for a company established outside Indonesia and bar holders from selling goods or services in Indonesia beyond what that job requires, so serving Indonesian clients or running an Indonesian business is outside what the permit allows.
How Indonesia taxes a resident, with and without the 4-year foreign expert regime
| Income | Resident | Resident on the foreign expert regime |
|---|---|---|
| Pay or fees for work done in Indonesia, paid from anywhere | 5% to 35% scale | 5% to 35% scale |
| Pay for work done outside Indonesia | 5% to 35% scale | Not taxed |
| Dividends from your own foreign company | 5% to 35% scale | Not taxed |
| Foreign interest, rent and gains | 5% to 35% scale | Not taxed |
| Claiming a tax treaty | Allowed | Ends the regime |
David's note
I would not move to Bali on the idea that the E33G is a tax visa. It lets you work for a foreign company from Indonesia, but the tax law still treats that work as Indonesian income, and once you are resident everything else you earn joins it. Price the move at your top band, not at zero.
US citizens living in Indonesia
Indonesia is on the IRS list of income tax treaty countries, so an American resident in both countries can use the treaty's tie-breaker, and Indonesian tax paid on work done in Indonesia can be credited against US tax. Claiming the treaty has a cost in Indonesia, though: it switches off the 4-year foreign expert regime. Indonesia is not among the 31 countries with a US totalization agreement, and an American can exclude up to $132,900 of 2026 earnings under the foreign earned income exclusion, but self-employed Americans still owe 15.3% on 92.35% of net profit, about $14,130 on $100,000 of net profit, which the exclusion does not reduce.
The costliest Indonesia mistake: treating the remote worker visa as a tax exemption
The E33G does not make foreign pay tax free
The remote worker visa is an immigration permit. Pay for the work you do from Indonesia is Indonesian income under the Income Tax Law whoever pays it, and a year in Indonesia on the permit makes you resident, which adds your foreign investment income as well. A remote employee paid IDR 2,157,192,000 (about $120,000) a year who files nothing owes about IDR 574,957,600 (about $32,000) a year at resident rates, before sanctions.
Staying under 183 days is not the fix it looks like. The 12-month window rolls across calendar years, the intention test can make you resident from the day you arrive, and pay for work done in Indonesia is Indonesian income whatever your residence status.
The foreign expert regime has its own trap. It lasts 4 tax years counted from the year you become resident, not from the year you first claim it, so a remote worker who spends a year or 2 in Bali before checking whether they qualify has already used part of it.
Who Indonesia suits, and who it does not
Good fit
- Foreign experts who qualify for the 4-year regime and live on foreign investment income.
- Remote employees of foreign companies earning $60,000 a year or more who accept Indonesian tax on their pay.
Poor fit
- Remote workers who expect the E33G to make their foreign pay tax free: work done in Indonesia is Indonesian income.
- Anyone with large foreign investment income, which becomes taxable once resident.
Recent tax and visa changes in Indonesia
Law No. 7 of 2021 sets the current 5% to 35% rate table and the 4-year Indonesian-source regime for foreign experts. pajak.go.id
