Bahamas
Bahamas: 5 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment.
Forming a company
Company types in the Bahamas
The 5 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Bahamas. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Bahamas.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Bahamas: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Bahamas belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
None of the 36 arrangements we hold lists Bahamas as a member.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 0%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Auditor appointed yearly by members; at least ninety percent of the registered shareholders of a private company may resolve not to appoint an auditor.Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-10
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shareholders of a private company may resolve not to
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- BSD 350Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-10
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(a) at least 60% of its shares are beneficially owned by Bahamas ......................................................................... $350.00
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Bahamas, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 10%
Standard rate 10%, zero rate 0% (Department of Inland Revenue). Its FAQ still shows a Customs example at 12% (the earlier rate); the About and rate answers on the same site and the 2024 Act reprint give 10%.
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Two rates of VAT are applied which is the standard rate of 10% and a zero rate of 0%.
- Other rates
- 0% Goods exported or supplied to customers abroad
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Conversely goods exported supplied to customers abroad are exempted or zero-rated.
- Registration threshold
- BSD 100,000
taxable activity turnover; any past or future 12 months of taxable activity
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You are required to register for and charge VAT under the VAT Act if your past or future 12 months of taxable activity exceeds the $100,000 threshold.
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
A business below the BSD 100,000 threshold may register voluntarily and then has all the obligations of a mandatory registrant; the Controller wants evidence of a fixed place of business, a taxable activity, proper records and willingness to file returns (Department of Inland Revenue FAQ).
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Yes, you can choose to register voluntarily. You will be required to fulfill all of the obligations of a Mandatory Registrant.
- A foreign company
- See the note
The VAT Act (reprint of 1 July 2024) s.19(1)(e) requires a person domiciled within or outside The Bahamas who provides telecommunication services or electronic commerce to persons for use in The Bahamas to register regardless of the registration threshold, within fourteen days of starting the activity (s.19(3)(c)). That rule covers those services only; the pages read state no rule for non-resident suppliers of goods or other services and no rule that a tax representative must be appointed.
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(e) is domiciled within or outside The Bahamas to the extent such person provides, either directly or through an agent, telecommunication services or electronic commerce to persons for use, enjoyment, benefit or advantage within The Bahamas, regardless of the registration threshold.
- Returns filed
- Depends on the business
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As at January 1, 2017 VAT returns must be filed online within 21 days of the end of each tax period.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Bahamas, tax year 2025, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- Not levied here
The Bahamas levies no general corporate income tax: the Ministry of Finance's Green Paper speaks of 'the absence of CIT in The Bahamas' and consults on introducing one. A Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax Act 2024 reaches only entities of multinational groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more, and the Department of Inland Revenue asks in-scope entities for DMTT forms (DMTT-24 by 31 March 2026, DMTT-25 by 30 April 2026); that is not a general corporate return.
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in the absence of CIT in The Bahamas, a 15% top-up tax would, in principle, be payable on profits of a Bahamian subsidiary of such a multinational group
- Corporate tax, final payment
- Not levied here
The Bahamas levies no general corporate income tax: the Ministry of Finance's Green Paper speaks of 'the absence of CIT in The Bahamas' and consults on introducing one. A Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax Act 2024 reaches only entities of multinational groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more, and the Department of Inland Revenue asks in-scope entities for DMTT forms (DMTT-24 by 31 March 2026, DMTT-25 by 30 April 2026); that is not a general corporate return.
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in the absence of CIT in The Bahamas, a 15% top-up tax would, in principle, be payable on profits of a Bahamian subsidiary of such a multinational group
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Not levied here
The Bahamas levies no general corporate income tax: the Ministry of Finance's Green Paper speaks of 'the absence of CIT in The Bahamas' and consults on introducing one. A Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax Act 2024 reaches only entities of multinational groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more, and the Department of Inland Revenue asks in-scope entities for DMTT forms (DMTT-24 by 31 March 2026, DMTT-25 by 30 April 2026); that is not a general corporate return.
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in the absence of CIT in The Bahamas, a 15% top-up tax would, in principle, be payable on profits of a Bahamian subsidiary of such a multinational group
- Personal income-tax return
- Not levied here
No personal income tax exists in The Bahamas, in the Ministry of Finance's words (Green Paper on Corporate Income Tax).
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Since no form of personal income tax exists in The Bahamas, there is a potential risk for some owner managed businesses to minimise their CIT liability
- Personal income tax, final payment
- Not levied here
No personal income tax exists in The Bahamas, in the Ministry of Finance's words (Green Paper on Corporate Income Tax).
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Since no form of personal income tax exists in The Bahamas, there is a potential risk for some owner managed businesses to minimise their CIT liability
- Personal income tax, instalments
- Not levied here
No personal income tax exists in The Bahamas, in the Ministry of Finance's words (Green Paper on Corporate Income Tax).
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Since no form of personal income tax exists in The Bahamas, there is a potential risk for some owner managed businesses to minimise their CIT liability
- VAT return
- 21 days after the end of the quarter · each quarter
Department of Inland Revenue FAQ: VAT returns are filed online at vat.revenue.gov.bs within 21 days of the end of each tax period; the period is monthly if turnover exceeds $5 million, otherwise it can be quarterly. Recorded as the standard small-registrant case (quarterly); a monthly filer's return falls due 21 days after each month end. Payment is due at least as often as filing. The FAQ says an extension to file can be applied for but none to pay.
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As at January 1, 2017 VAT returns must be filed online within 21 days of the end of each tax period.
- Payroll withholding
- Not levied here
There is no personal income tax in The Bahamas, so no income tax is withheld from salaries to remit (Ministry of Finance Green Paper). National Insurance contributions are a separate levy and are not an income tax withholding.
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Since no form of personal income tax exists in The Bahamas, there is a potential risk for some owner managed businesses to minimise their CIT liability
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Bahamas yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Bahamas exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Bahamas’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 66.0% | 53.1% | 67.0% | US$1.6 bn |
| Cruise ships, excursion boats, ferry-boats, cargo ships, barges and similar vessels for the transport of persons or goods HS 8901 | 11.2% | 11.0% | 4.4% | US$103 m |
| Unused postage, revenue or similar stamps of current or new issue in the country in which they have, or will have, a recognised face value; stamp-impressed paper; banknotes; cheque forms; stock, share or bond certificates and similar documents of title HS 4907 | under 0.05% | under 0.05% | 4.0% | US$95 m |
| Light-vessels, fire-floats, dredgers, floating cranes, and other vessels the navigability of which is subsidiary to their main function; floating docks; floating or submersible drilling or production platforms HS 8905 | under 0.05% | 17.0% | 3.9% | US$92 m |
| Other vessels, including warships and lifeboats other than rowing boats HS 8906 | under 0.05% | under 0.05% | 3.1% | US$73 m |
| Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked crustaceans, whether in shell or not, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine HS 0306 | 4.4% | 2.1% | 2.4% | US$57 m |
| Polymers of styrene, in primary forms HS 3903 | 4.6% | 2.4% | 2.4% | US$57 m |
| Articles of natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones (natural, synthetic or reconstructed) HS 7116 | under 0.05% | under 0.05% | 1.7% | US$39 m |
| Salt (including table salt and denatured salt) and pure sodium chloride, whether or not in aqueous solution or containing added anti-caking or free-flowing agents; sea water HS 2501 | 1.9% | 1.6% | 1.3% | US$30 m |
| Pebbles, gravel, broken or crushed stone, of a kind commonly used for concrete aggregates, for road metalling or for railway or other ballast, shingle and flint, whether or not heat-treated; macadam of slag, dross or similar industrial waste, whether or not incorporating the materials cited in the first part of the heading; tarred macadam; granules, chippings and powder, of stones of heading 2515 or 2516, whether or not heat-treated HS 2517 | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.2% | US$28 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$2.4 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.