St Kitts & Nevis Taxes and Tax Residency

If you are looking to move your tax residency status to St. Kitts & Nevis, you can qualify to become a tax resident by residing within St Kitts & Nevis for a minimum of 183 days during the fiscal year. However, St Kitts & Nevis also offers a citizenship by investment (CBI) program, under this program investors and their families can obtain citizenship of St. Kitts & Nevis by a donation or investment in an approved real estate project in the country, the investment for getting the citizenship starts from $100,000.

Tax residency can be obtained immediately after getting citizenship of St Kitts & Nevis through the CBI program, there is no requirement for physical presence to obtain citizenship or the tax residency status. Although the tax residency is conferred immediately, it should be noted that this does not exempt the investors from their tax obligations in their home countries and it is important to create a tax planning strategy with a local and international tax expert to get most of the tax benefits in one of the oldest tax havens in the Caribbean.

The tax identification number (TIN) is not required to prove the official status of tax residency in St Kitts & Nevis, however other countries may require an individual to show proof of tax residency to their local tax authorities. The TIN can be requested and obtained from St Kitts & Nevis Inland Revenue Department (IRD), in order to request the TIN from IRD, an individual should have a local St Kitts driver’s license, which is currently required to be requested in person. So, you will have to visit St. Kitts & Nevis, clear a simple driving test, obtain the driver’s license, and then you can obtain the tax identification number of St. Kitts.

Taxes in St Kitts & Nevis

Income, Inheritance, Wealth, and Gifts: There are no taxes on income, inheritance, wealth or gifts for residents or non-residents in St Kitts & Nevis.

Social Contributions: Employees are subject to 5% social security contributions of their wages whereas employers are subject to 6% of the employee’s wage.

Capital Gains Tax: Capital gains are not subject to any tax if the asset is sold after 1 year of acquisition. If the asset is sold within 1 year of acquisition, it will be subject to 20% capital gains tax.

Withholding Tax: Withholding tax of 15% is applicable on payments to non-residents like dividends, interest and royalties for both individuals and corporations. St Kitts does not have any withholding taxes on payments to citizens or residents.

Corporate Tax: Non-resident companies are tax exempt on all foreign sources income, however, will be subject to income taxes on locally sourced income. Resident companies are subject to a corporate tax of 33%.

All companies registered within St Kitts & Nevis are required to file income tax returns, even if the company did not conduct any transactions during the year.

VAT: The standard VAT is 17% with a reduced VAT of 10% for hotel and restaurants and 0% for certain food items such as milk and bread.

Stamp Duty: St Kitts & Nevis imposes a stamp duty of 6-10% depending on the location of the property. Please note that foreigners are required to obtain a license to own land and a fee at 10% of the property value will be levied. CBI applicants are exempt of this fee.

Property Tax: St Kitts & Nevis impose property tax based on a simple formula of property value times tax rate. For residential properties, there is an exemption of up to $80,000 on the taxable value of buildings. Property tax is divided into land tax and building tax. The rate depends on the type of object and the island. For example, residential property on the island of St Kitts is taxed at?0.2% of the value of the land and 0.2% of the value of the building.

Regulatory: Common Reporting Standards (CRS) require financial institutions to identify a customer’s tax residencies and report financial accounts held directly or indirectly by foreign tax residents to local tax authorities. It also requires tax authorities (in participating countries) to exchange this information.

Individuals with accounts and other assets in Financial Institutions operating within St. Kitts and Nevis may have their account and asset information reported to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) where that individual meets the criteria of a U.S. Person, and where the account meets the criteria as a Reportable Account under FATCA.

Double Taxation Treaties

St Kitts & Nevis has signed double taxation with other CARICOM member countries, Canada, Denmark, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, and USA.

For expert guidance on different?Citizenship by Investment programs, get in touch with FlyingColour Immigration, we offer assistance in global residency, citizenship, and investment migration programs. For more information, contact our experts at +971 529933135, write at [email protected] or visit our website: https://www.flyingcolourimmigration.com/