Vanuatu: personal tax guide

What the tax system covers

Vanuatu's revenue-authority guidance states that it has no income-tax system. Rent tax, VAT and business licences nevertheless create real local charges and reporting obligations. The absence of general income tax does not terminate foreign-country residence or citizenship-based obligations.

When you become tax resident

Vanuatu's lack of a general income-tax system means that the residence question is not an ordinary worldwide-income charge. Its reporting guidance still requires reliable residence self-certification for financial accounts. A local passport or permit does not remove a residence connection to another country; record where the person actually lives and where the business is controlled.

Rates and the tax base

No general income tax. Vanuatu does not impose a general income tax. VAT, business licensing and other domestic charges, and tax imposed by a foreign residence or source country, remain separate obligations.

Private investment gains and business trading

No general income or capital-gains tax is identified for private investments; the regulator’s audited accounts state that companies, trusts and individuals are outside those taxes. This does not make every asset transfer free of charges: the courts have addressed a separate land-transfer value-increase fee. Foreign source-country taxes also remain separate.

Asset cost basis on arrival

The arrival cost-basis treatment for this country has not yet been established in this comparison. Do not assume either an arrival-value reset or retention of original cost.

• The treatment needs to be checked separately for ordinary shares, funds, property, business interests and assets acquired by gift or inheritance.

VAT is a real operating cost and compliance system

Customs and Inland Revenue states a 15% VAT rate on most taxable supplies by registered persons and on most imports. The relevant framework includes the VAT Act, Cap 247, and the Tax Administration Act 37 of 2018. Registration is required when taxable supplies exceed, or are expected to exceed, VT4 million in a twelve-month period; voluntary registration can be available below that level.

Track taxable turnover rather than waiting for annual accounts. Determine which entity makes the supply and retain invoices supporting output tax and any input claim. Import VAT may affect working capital even when an export or other sale has different treatment. The absence of a conventional income-tax headline should never be used as shorthand for a business having no tax obligations.

The official guidance excludes certain activities from the definition of taxable activity, including activities carried on by international companies. That is a legal entity-and-activity distinction to verify under the relevant legislation, not a label any company can adopt because it sells abroad.

Rent tax uses gross receipts and different owner allowances

The rent-tax guide describes a 12.5% tax on gross rental income within the regime. Individuals receive a VT200,000 exemption in each six-month period, while a company does not receive that individual allowance. Expenses such as interest, repairs or management fees do not reduce the gross-rent base in the ordinary calculation described by the guide.

The reporting periods run from December through May and June through November, with payment dates stated in the official guide. Review the VAT interaction for commercial or short-term rentals and whether the landlord is registered. A projected net yield should therefore include the applicable tax rather than multiply the purchase price by an advertised gross rental percentage. Ownership through a company can change the allowance and reporting position.

Close or maintain each registration deliberately

List the residence permission, investment approval, business licence, TIN, VAT registration and any rental activity. Decide which continue after departure. A shareholder leaving does not automatically close a company or cancel the company’s licence. Obtain the authority’s current cancellation or amendment instructions and assign responsibility for the final filings.

For a continuing business, keep a reliable address for correspondence and authorised people for bank and tax matters. Preserve invoices, returns and ownership records. If assets are sold or a business is transferred, determine the tax treatment of that transaction rather than assuming the departure itself resolves it. A going-concern transaction and separate asset sales can have different VAT consequences.

Finish property and indirect-tax obligations

Prepare the final rent schedule for the relevant six-month reporting period and establish who receives income after the move. The rent-tax guide’s gross-income basis means expenses cannot simply be netted from the return. A company owner should not claim the individual VT200,000 allowance. Check whether commercial or short-term rental activity falls within VAT and whether registration continues.

If the property remains, arrange management, insurance and a process for providing records to the person handling returns. If it is sold, preserve the leasehold or title documents, transaction price and related costs for both local and destination-country analysis. Do not close the only usable bank account before final payments, refunds or property receipts have been addressed.

Prepare for the receiving country before arrival

Compile acquisition costs and current values for shares, property, investments and business assets. Identify foreign trusts, loans and retained company profits. The destination may tax worldwide income, apply CFC rules or treat a company as resident because its owner now directs it locally. A Vanuatu incorporation or passport does not answer those questions.

Update bank tax-residence and address information accurately and preserve proof of the move. If citizenship remains, distinguish passport renewal and nationality records from any residence-permit cancellation. This guide does not claim that every personal or corporate departure is free of tax; the verified local workstreams are VAT, rent tax and licensing, while transaction-specific and cross-border consequences require the particular facts. Plan those issues before relocating the family or business authority.

Property income needs its own calculation

The official rent-tax guide describes a 12.5% charge on gross rent within the regime, without a deduction for ordinary property expenses. Individuals have a specified VT200,000 exemption per six-month period, while companies do not receive the same allowance. This can produce a meaningful difference between the rent received and the landlord’s net economic return.

Commercial and short-term rental activity can interact with VAT, whereas residential accommodation has its own treatment. Review the particular lease, use, turnover and registration rather than treating every rental identically. A property plan should include legal title or leasehold review, insurance, management, maintenance and tax reporting. The nationality application does not perform this commercial due diligence for the investor.

Foreign companies and income attribution

No domestic CFC income-tax charge is identified within the general framework described by the revenue authority, which states that Vanuatu has no income-tax system. This does not prevent another country from attributing income of a Vanuatu entity to its resident owners.

Departure, migration and continuing obligations

Personal departure does not cancel company licences, VAT or rent obligations. Transaction-specific closing and receiving-country rules require separate review.