International Business CompanyBahamas
What it takes to form, own and run a private limited company in Bahamas, and how its profit is taxed. Each figure links to the page it was read from.
This company type
At a glance
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The liability of the members of a company may, according to the Memorandum — (a) be limited either to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares respectively held by them
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Act shall be managed by at least one director who may be
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
Form it
Who registers it
- Registry
- Formed without visiting
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- Formed online
- Yes
What it takes to form
- A notary
- Not stated
The registry’s and the law’s own pages do not mention it.
- A resident director
- Not required
- Paying up the capital
- Shares may be issued for money, services, property or a binding obligation to contribute (s.20) and for such amount as the directors determine (s.21(1)); no minimum paid-up proportion is stated.
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each share in a company shall be issued for money, services rendered, personal property (including other shares, debt obligations or other securities in the company), an estate in real property, a promissory note or other binding obligation to contribute money or property,
Own it
Who may own and run it
- Directors
- At least 1 · none need live there · a company may be one
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Act shall be managed by at least one director who may be
- Shareholders
- At least 2
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Where there is a single director or a single
- Members
- At least 2
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Where there is a single director or a single
- A local company secretary
- Not required
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to be an officer or agent of the company.
- A local registered agent
- Required
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Providers Act.
Each year, at the registry
- Annual registry fee
- BSD 350
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25. Government Annual Tax
- Accounts on the public record
- No
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A company shall cause reliable accounting records to be kept in relation to
- Audit for a small company
- Not required
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A company shall cause reliable accounting records to be kept in relation to
- Audit
- Not in our records
Important dates
When each obligation falls due, as the authority states it.
Not in our records No dates for the International Business Company are in our records.
What is public
- Directors
- Public
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shall be filed with the Registrar and shall be open to in-
Tax
Tax on profit
How this company type is taxed, which can differ from its place’s headline rate.
No tax on profit · 0%+6 regimes
A company, member or shareholder is not subject to any business licence fee, income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax or other tax on income or distributions (s.187), unless a Bahamian resident within the Exchange Control Regulations Act meaning.
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(a) any business licence fee, income tax, corpora-
Work it out on a profit figure: the company’s tax, the owner’s, and what is left.
Special regimes that may apply
- Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act (Chapter 261A) — concessions for investing in the Port Area free zone · 100% exempt
A licensee of the Grand Bahama Port Authority carrying on or intending to carry on business in the Port Area who owns developed land, owns less than five acres of undeveloped land, or is a non-Bahamian owning five acres or more, and is approved by the Minister on the Investment Board's recommendation Grand Bahama (Port Area) Investment Incentives Act (Chapter 261A), sections 3, 4 and 8 - Hotels Encouragement Act (Chapter 289) — concessions for new hotels other · 100% exempt
The promoter or owner of a new hotel, and the owner of an existing hotel, with whom the Minister enters an agreement; extended to entertainment facilities, nightclubs, restaurants and shops by Part II Hotels Encouragement Act (Chapter 289), section 4 (new hotels) and section 6 (existing hotels) - Industries Encouragement Act (Chapter 326) — relief for approved manufacturers other · 100% exempt
An approved manufacturer of an approved product Industries Encouragement Act (Chapter 326), section 13 - The Bahamas Investment Incentives Act (Chapter 328) — approved developer and licensee benefits in development zones free zone · 100% exempt
An approved developer of a development zone, and a licensee carrying on an approved enterprise in the zone The Bahamas Investment Incentives Act (Chapter 328), section 7 and the Third Schedule - International Business Companies Act (Chapter 309), section 187 — exemption from certain taxes free zone · 100% exempt
A company incorporated or continued under the Act, and its members and shareholders, provided no Bahamas resident within the Exchange Control Regulations Act is a beneficial or legal owner or has an interest in its securities International Business Companies Act (Chapter 309), section 187 - Business Development Incentives Programme Act, 2025 — incentive credits other
An eligible licensee: a holder of a licence under the Business Licence Act, 2023 carrying on a business with annual turnover greater than B$50 million, which is not already benefiting under the Family Islands, Hotels, Industries Encouragement, Tariff Act chapter 98 or Investment Incentives regimes Business Development Incentives Programme Act, 2025 (No. 49 of 2025), sections 2, 4 and 7
Whether a company qualifies depends on its activity and conditions set in each statute.
- CFC rules in Bahamas
- Not in our records
Close it
Closing it
The other end, which most guides leave out.
- Route
- Winding up and dissolution under Part IX; or continuation to another jurisdiction (fee BS$700 up to $50,000)
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30. Continuation from under the Interna-
- Statutory fee
- BSD 200
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10. Filing of Articles of Dissolution.............. $200.00
Every business in Bahamas
VAT
- 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
Payment and banking services
None of the services whose lists we hold names Bahamas. Each provider, and what a listing means.
Reference
Its name and code
- Kind
- Private limited companyDerived our grouping, the same words in every country
- Name in law
- International Business Company
- ISO 20275 code
- A9N4Secondary GLEIF, Entity Legal Forms code list