Curaçao taxes individuals and companies under a territorial system: residents pay progressive personal income tax from 9.75% up to 46.5% on worldwide income, companies pay 15% or 22% on domestically sourced profits, and a set of special regimes offer flat 10%, 3%, or 0% rates to qualifying retirees, investors, and sectors. On top of income tax, wages carry substantial social security and health premiums, and a 7% turnover tax replaces the VAT most other jurisdictions use.
Personal Income Tax for Residents and Non-Residents
You are treated as a resident if your primary home or the center of your personal and economic life is in Curaçao. Residents owe tax on worldwide income. Non-residents pay only on income sourced from the island.
The 2024 brackets, the most recently published, run in six steps:
- 9.75% on income up to ANG 37,168
- 15% from ANG 37,168 to ANG 49,558
- 23% from ANG 49,558 to ANG 74,337
- 30% from ANG 74,337 to ANG 105,310
- 37.5% from ANG 105,310 to ANG 154,867
- 46.5% above ANG 154,867
Taxable income covers wages, investment returns, and pension distributions. Standard personal deductions include financing costs on a primary home and interest on personal loans. Thresholds are adjusted periodically by ministerial regulation, so confirm the current figures with the Belastingdienst before filing.
The Pensionado Regime for Foreign Retirees
Foreign retirees who relocate to Curaçao can apply for the pensionado regime, which taxes worldwide foreign-sourced income at a flat 10% instead of the progressive scale. The qualification conditions are strict.
To qualify, you generally need to be at least 50 years old, have lived outside Curaçao for at least 60 consecutive months before registering, and apply within two months of entering the population register. You must purchase a home on the island worth at least ANG 450,000 within 18 months of registration; that property cannot be rented out, unless it is a protected monument, which may be rented for up to four months in any 12-month period. Neither you nor your spouse may hold employment or run a business in Curaçao.
Any income from local employment or business falls outside the 10% rate and is taxed at the normal progressive rates. The regime is built for people living off foreign pension income, investment returns, and similar passive sources.
Corporate Income Tax
Corporate income tax applies to companies incorporated under Curaçao law or effectively managed from the island. Because the system is territorial, only profits attributed to a domestic enterprise are taxable; foreign-sourced profits generally fall outside the base.
Since January 1, 2023, the standard rates are 15% on taxable profits up to ANG 500,000 and 22% on profits above that threshold. The taxable base is net profit — total income less allowable deductions such as operating expenses and depreciation. Tax losses carry forward for ten years. Companies in their first four years of business can carry losses forward indefinitely, and shipping and aviation entities get six years of indefinite carryforward.
Participation Exemption
Dividends and capital gains from qualifying shareholdings are fully exempt from corporate income tax. A holding qualifies if the company owns at least 5% of the subsidiary’s share capital, or if the cost of the shareholding is at least XCG 890,000. Anti-abuse rules require the subsidiary to be subject to a profit tax of at least 10%, operate under a comparable foreign tax regime, or earn more than half its income from active sources.
Filing and Penalties
Companies file an annual corporate tax return on a calendar-year basis. The tax authority can grant extensions of several months beyond the standard deadline. Failing to file or underreporting can result in arbitrary assessments and penalties of up to 100% of the additional tax owed.
Special Regimes and Reduced Rates
Curaçao maintains several preferential regimes to attract targeted investment. All of them carry economic substance requirements: real operations, real employees, and real decision-making on the island.
3% Rate for Qualifying Domestic Activities
A 3% profit tax rate applies to certain activities performed in Curaçao when the company has genuine local presence and the income-generating work happens on the island. Qualifying activities include building, improving, repairing, and maintaining aircraft and vessels of at least ten meters, including onboard machinery; call centers, shared service centers, and IT centers supporting groups with turnover of at least ANG 50 million; warehousing operations making land or buildings available to third parties for storage; and management or administration services for unrelated investment funds and their portfolio managers.
Curaçao Investment Company (0%)
A Curaçao Investment Company can qualify for a 0% profit tax rate. The CIC must be a limited liability company whose activities consist exclusively or almost exclusively of lending, investing in securities and deposits, or developing and exploiting intellectual property rights. It must maintain a board composed entirely of Curaçao-resident individuals or certified local trust companies, keep a register of ultimate beneficial owners, produce audited annual accounts, and maintain real presence on the island.1Curaçao Chamber of Commerce. Overview Tax Incentives Curaçao 2024 A CIC cannot be a bank or credit institution supervised by the Central Bank of Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
Tax Holiday for New Investments
The tax holiday regime offers a reduced 3% profit tax rate for five or ten years to companies investing at least ANG 5,000,000 in qualifying sectors, including hotel construction and other tourism accommodation, and land development involving infrastructure and construction preparation. Beneficiaries may also receive exemptions from import duties, real estate tax, and personal income tax on dividends.2CINEX Foundation. Incentives
Intellectual Property Income
Income from qualifying intellectual property that meets the OECD nexus approach can be taxed at 0%. The nexus approach ties the benefit to the qualifying research and development expenditure actually incurred by the taxpayer in Curaçao.
What Happened to the E-Zone
The former Economic Zone regime once offered qualifying international trade and service companies a 2% profit tax rate. That rate was abolished effective January 1, 2020 under EU pressure, and the grandfathering period for companies already in the E-Zone on December 31, 2019 expired on December 31, 2022.3Chambers and Partners. Significant Changes to the Curaçao Profit Tax Regime The E-Zone rate no longer exists; former beneficiaries now fall under the standard corporate framework, though the territorial system and the incentive regimes above may still reduce their effective burden.
Social Security and Health Premiums on Wages
Both employers and employees pay premiums that fund the old-age pension (AOV), surviving dependents insurance (AWW), special illness costs insurance (AVBZ), and basic health insurance (BVZ). The combined burden is substantial.
For 2026, employer contributions run 9.0% for AOV, 0.5% for AWW, and 9.3% for BVZ. Employees pay their own share, including 4.3% BVZ and 2% AVBZ, plus contributions to AOV and AWW that bring the combined AOV rate to roughly 15% and AWW to about 1%. Employee-specific insurances add accident insurance (OV) at 0.5% to 5% depending on risk category and sickness insurance (ZV) at 1.9%.
All premiums are calculated up to a wage ceiling, which for 2026 is XCG 85,753.20 per year, or XCG 7,146.10 per month. Wages above that ceiling are not subject to further social security premiums.
Turnover Tax Instead of VAT
Curaçao does not have a VAT. It levies a Turnover Tax (Omzetbelasting, or OB) on goods delivered and services performed by businesses on the island, at a standard rate of 7%.4Curaçao Tourist Board. Room Tax Businesses collect the OB from customers and remit it to the tax authority.
Several categories are exempt. Long-term residential rentals qualify when the lease period exceeds one year, though short-term and vacation rentals do not. Public transport income earned by bus and taxi drivers, and school bus services, are exempt. Care and nursing in hospitals and other care facilities are exempt, whether commercial or nonprofit. Goods shipped into Curaçao from abroad are treated as delivered outside the OB jurisdiction, and services such as advertising, consulting, telecommunications, and IT services performed for customers based abroad are not subject to OB.
Real Estate Taxes
Property owners face an annual property tax and, on purchase, a one-time transfer tax.
The Real Estate Tax (Onroerendezaakbelasting, or OZB) is levied annually on the assessed value of property, with progressive rates running from 0.4% on lower-value properties up to 0.6% on the highest-value portions. The owner is responsible for payment, and the tax authority sets the assessed value.
When property changes hands, the buyer owes a one-time Transfer Tax of 4% on the purchase price or market value, whichever is higher. A notary typically handles collection and remittance. For non-residents inheriting Curaçao real estate from someone who was also not a resident, a separate 8% transfer tax applies in place of inheritance tax.
Curaçao has no separate capital gains tax. Gains from selling privately held real estate outside of a business context are generally not taxed. Profits from real estate held as business inventory or traded commercially fall within the normal corporate or income tax framework.
Inheritance and Gift Tax
Inheritance and gift taxes apply to the assets of island residents at progressive rates that depend on the relationship between the parties, from roughly 2% for close family up to 24% for unrelated beneficiaries.
Inheritance exemptions are XCG 240,000 for a spouse or life partner, XCG 80,000 for children, grandchildren, parents, and parents-in-law, and XCG 8,000 for anyone else. Annual gift exemptions are lower: XCG 20,000 for gifts to spouses, children, grandchildren, and parents, and XCG 8,000 for gifts to anyone else.
If the deceased was not a Curaçao resident, inheritance tax does not apply to the estate. Any Curaçao real estate in the estate is instead subject to the 8% transfer tax with no exemptions.
International Reporting, Treaties, and Withholding
Curaçao’s tax treaty network is small. As of 2023, the island had full double-tax treaties with only Norway and Malta, plus intra-Kingdom arrangements with the Netherlands (the Netherlands-Curaçao Tax Regulations) and the other Kingdom countries (the BRK). A treaty with Cyprus has been signed. The government’s treaty policy follows OECD Model Convention principles, including withholding of up to 5% on certain dividends and exclusive residence-state taxation for interest.5Ministry of Finance. Curaçao 2023 Tax Treaty Policy
Domestically, Curaçao imposes no general withholding tax on dividends, interest, or royalties paid to non-residents. That is a deliberate feature of the holding regime, balanced by substance requirements and international reporting commitments.
Under the FATCA intergovernmental agreement with the United States, local financial institutions identify accounts held by U.S. persons and report to the Curaçao tax authority, which exchanges information with the IRS on a reciprocal basis.6U.S. Department of the Treasury. Agreement Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in Respect of Curaçao, to Improve International Tax Compliance and to Implement FATCA7Ministry of Finance. FATCA/CRS Under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard, financial institutions identify the tax residencies of non-resident account holders and report data that is automatically exchanged with foreign tax authorities each year. The local taxpayer identifier used for all of this is the CRIB number (Centraal Registratie Informatie Belastingplichtige), issued upon registration.8Belastingdienst. Number di CRIB
Anyone building a structure in Curaçao should assume their financial information will reach their home country’s tax authority.