Antigua and Barbuda: corporate tax guide

What the tax system covers

Corporate income tax is distinct from the abolition of personal income tax. The current sources establish corporate registration, payment and nonresident-business obligations; a complete worldwide-versus-source classification for each company type requires further legislation review.

When a company becomes tax resident

The IRD registration guidance expressly reaches some nonresident corporations carrying on business locally. A current legislation review is needed to distinguish incorporation, residence and source in the proposed entity. Registration obligations can arise even where a company is tax-exempt.

Rates and the tax base

25% ordinary corporation tax. The country investment guide identifies 25% on chargeable company income, after tax adjustments. Financial institutions and approved incentives require separate analysis. Verify the applicable income year and any later change before implementing a structure.

Outbound dividends, interest and royalties

Dividends: 25% ordinary nonresident-company rate. The country investment guide lists 25% for dividends paid to a nonresident corporation. CARICOM recipients have a separate relief framework, with different treatment for ordinary and preferred-share dividends; confirm the recipient and instrument before applying relief.

Interest: 25% nonresident company. The IRD guide and company-recipient worksheet specify 25% outside qualifying reduced-rate treatment. CARICOM treaty categories and statutory exclusions require independent checks; individual recipient rates should not be substituted.

Royalties: 25% nonresident company. The IRD guide and company-recipient worksheet specify 25% outside qualifying reduced-rate treatment. CARICOM treaty categories and statutory exclusions require independent checks; individual recipient rates should not be substituted.

The absence of personal income tax is not a business exemption

Antigua’s revenue authority records the abolition of personal income tax and PAYE in June 2016. It separately administers corporate income tax, unincorporated business tax, sales tax, property taxes and other charges. The owner’s personal position and the business’s obligations therefore need separate analysis.

A company operating in Antigua can need local tax registration and returns even when the shareholder obtained citizenship through investment. The corporate registration guidance asks for incorporation, ownership and director information and identifies circumstances in which a nonresident company doing local business must file. A foreign company is not automatically outside the system.

A real operating business needs a compliance calendar

The IRD corporate-payment guidance describes monthly instalments and a balance due within three months after the taxation year ends. A company should maintain books that support revenue, expenses, connected-party payments and amounts distributed to the owner. Product and industry licences and employment obligations require their own review.

If the owner manages another country’s company while living in Antigua, examine the consequences in both jurisdictions. Citizenship does not supply a decision-making location by itself. Document where strategy, contracts and operations are actually controlled before relying on a foreign-management arrangement.

Register the legal entity and its tax obligations

IRD describes tax registration after business registration with ABIPCO. Its checklist includes incorporation documents, ownership details and passports for shareholders or directors. Nonresident companies with local business and specified connected arrangements may also need returns. A company authorised for one activity should separately check business licences and employment arrangements for the actual operation.

Design the cash calendar before the first distribution

Monthly instalments and the balance due after the tax year affect distributable cash. Build an operating forecast with profit, tax, working capital and proposed owner withdrawals as separate amounts. Appoint a local filing contact and arrange access to accounting records before the founder travels. A foreign-currency bank account does not change whether receipts belong in the company's accounts.

Foreign companies and income attribution

A current legislative CFC review is not complete; citizenship-programme marketing is not sufficient evidence of the tax regime.

Departure, migration and continuing obligations

No comprehensive current departure-tax review is asserted in this draft.