Tax havens in 2026: who really charges 0%, and on what

There's no single legal definition. In practice, a tax haven is a place that charges little or no tax on companies, individuals or both, and usually keeps owners' details off public registers.

The label gets used loosely, so it helps to know the neighbours:

• Offshore financial centre: a place whose economy is built around serving clients abroad, such as Cayman or Jersey. Not always zero tax.
• Territorial tax system: taxes only income earned locally. Hong Kong and Panama work this way, so foreign income can go untaxed.
• Tax-free country: usually means no personal income tax, like the UAE or Monaco. Companies there may still pay.
• Low-tax country: charges tax, but less. Ireland's 12.5% and Cyprus's 15% are examples.

Every place in this guide falls into one of four boxes. Which box you need depends on what you're moving.

Sort any column, filter by what you need, or search. Rates are headline rates for an ordinary company and a resident's salary.

Search "tax free countries" and you'll find Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait next to Cayman. All three tax companies; it's the people who pay no income tax. Here's what else gets lost:

The same profit, four places, worked through

Here's what the company itself pays on its profit. Your own tax on what you take out comes on top, where you live.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• Cyprus raised company tax from 12.5% to 15% in 2026.
• Estonia raised its rate on paid-out profit, and on salaries, to 22% in 2025.
• Bermuda, Bahrain, Jersey and the UAE started 15% charges for very large groups in 2025.
• Oman passed a 5% income tax on high earners, starting in 2028.
• Barbados cut its top personal rate to 27.5% for 2026.

For giants, partly. For founders, no. The OECD's global minimum tax only applies to groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more.

The EU keeps two lists and updates them twice a year. The latest update is from 9 October 2026.

Why it matters for a company: banks and partners in the EU look harder at companies from blacklisted places, and EU countries can apply extra withholding or reporting. The grey list carries no penalties of its own.

Yes. Forming a company in one, or moving to one, is legal. Hiding income your own country taxes is not. That line is the difference between tax planning and tax evasion.

Two things make hiding hard today: 119 jurisdictions swap bank account data every year under the OECD's reporting standard, and many countries tax profit kept in a low-tax company their residents control. Our three-click home-tax check shows how closely to look for your own country.

For founders abroad, they work like one, for a different reason. Wyoming and Nevada have no state income tax. Delaware charges none on an LLC's income earned outside Delaware, just a flat $400 a year.

A US LLC is looked through to its owner by default. For an owner abroad with no US business activity, that often means little or no US income tax, with a yearly Form 5472 filing instead. Your own country still taxes you. Corporations are different: they pay the 21% federal tax.

Compare the two: Wyoming LLC formation and Delaware LLC formation.

These 17 places charge no income tax on salaries for their residents in 2026. The catch: you have to actually live there.

• Monaco doesn't extend it to most French nationals.
• Oman starts a 5% tax on income above OMR 42,000 in 2028.
• Bermuda and the BVI charge payroll tax on salaries instead, and Antigua taxes self-employment income.
• US citizens stay taxed by the US wherever they live.
• Residence routes, costs and exit taxes are in our guide to tax-free countries.

Moving yourself and forming a company abroad are different decisions. A company can save company tax from day one; your personal tax changes only when you do.

Pick by use, then by yearly cost. These are the places we form companies, with every government fee in the price:

Not sure yet? Our offshore company guide compares all nine on tax, privacy, speed and three-year cost. For a crypto business, see where to form a crypto company.