Best countries for retirees 2026: tax ranked

The best countries for retirees on tax in 2026 are the 34 countries rated Excellent that charge 0% on a typical retiree's income, led by the Bahamas, the UAE, Bahrain, Georgia and Qatar. Popular retirement spots such as Panama, Paraguay and Malaysia are also at 0%, and Moldova (0.2%), Bulgaria (2.2%) and Slovakia (2.3%) are close behind. Malta (1.8%) and Taiwan (0.5%) cost as little, but rate Good because a spouse or children can pay a death tax on local assets. Costa Rica (10.7%, Good) doesn't tax a foreign pension either, but its compulsory CCSS health and pension contributions count in our figures.

This guide ranks all 105 countries that rate Excellent or Good for retirees out of the 153 TaxPilot covers. Our example retiree has a US$40,000 foreign pension and US$20,000 of investment income, and we count income tax plus any compulsory social security or health contributions, in 2026.

A low tax bill is only half the story. Inheritance tax, wealth tax, time limits on new-resident regimes and the visa all matter, so we cover those too.

What's changed: Turkey's new article 20/D (Law No. 7582, June 2026) exempts foreign income for 20 years for people who become resident from 1 January 2026, with a 1% inheritance tax rate in those years. Uruguay's Law 20.446 brought in a new 11-year tax holiday and, from 1 January 2026, 12% on foreign rent and gains for everyone else. Malta now exempts pension income up to €37,104 a year from age 61, foreign pensions included. Cyprus raised its foreign pension allowance to €5,000. Cape Verde cut its non-habitual resident period from 10 years to 7. Malaysia extended its foreign income exemption to 31 December 2036. Tunisia brought in a wealth tax from 2026, and Oman's personal income tax starts on 1 January 2028. Croatia's plan to exempt pensions from 2027 is Proposed, not law.

📋 Best countries for retirees in 2026: the top 20 on tax

The graphic shows the eight highest-ranked countries for retirees in 2026: the Bahamas, the UAE, Bahrain, Georgia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Singapore. All eight rate Excellent and charge 0% on a US$40,000 foreign pension plus US$20,000 of investment income.

How do we compare countries for retirees?

Every country gets the same retiree: a US$40,000 foreign pension plus US$20,000 of investment income, US$60,000 in all. The all-in rate is the income tax and any compulsory social security or health contributions on that income, as a share of the US$60,000, under 2026 rules. Ratings are relative to the 153 countries TaxPilot covers.

• Excellent: 5% or less, and no death tax that a spouse or children pay.

• Good: 15% or less.

• Moderate: over 15%, up to 25%.

• Poor: over 25%, or a heavy inheritance or wealth tax.

Each band includes its upper limit, so exactly 5.0% is still Excellent. A flat health premium counts as part of the bill, just like tax.

Pensioner and new-resident regimes count, because a retiree can usually use them. A wealth tax moves the rating down one level. Benefits that end within five years are flagged, but they don't change the rating. Exit taxes are mentioned, not scored.

We rank by the all-in rate. Where countries tie (and 34 Excellent countries tie at 0%), we list first the ones that score best across all six TaxPilot profiles in our ranking of 153 countries for expats.

The best countries for retirees explained

UAE

The UAE doesn't tax individuals on pensions, dividends, interest or capital gains, wherever they're paid from. There's no inheritance, gift or wealth tax either. Retirees who don't work pay no social security, because the UAE pension system only covers UAE and GCC nationals.

The catch: if you don't register a will, UAE courts can apply local inheritance rules to assets held in the UAE. The country paying your pension may also still withhold tax, which a treaty can reduce. A retirement visa exists for over-55s.

👉 UAE expat tax guide

Bahamas

The Bahamas has no income tax at all: pensions, dividends, interest and gains are all outside the tax net, and there's no inheritance tax. National Insurance only applies if you work, so a retiree living on a foreign pension pays nothing.

The catch: there are no double tax treaties, so tax withheld abroad on your pension or dividends stays withheld. You'll also pay 10% VAT and real property tax if you own a home, and the 2026 Budget bill's changes for foreign owner-occupiers are Proposed, not law until the Act is published.

👉 Bahamas expat tax guide

Panama

Panama only taxes income produced in Panama, so a foreign pension and a portfolio held abroad cost 0%. The tax authority's list has no inheritance, gift or wealth tax for individuals.

The Pensionado visa gives permanent residence for a lifetime pension of at least US$1,000 a month, or US$750 if you own Panama property worth more than US$100,000. The country paying your pension may still tax it.

👉 Panamá Digital: permanent residence as a retiree or pensioner (in Spanish)

👉 Panama expat tax guide

Paraguay

Paraguay's personal income tax only reaches income from activities in Paraguay and assets located there. A foreign pension, foreign dividends and gains on investments held abroad aren't taxed, even if you're resident. There's no wealth tax and no separate inheritance or gift tax.

The top rate on Paraguayan salaries and fees is 10%, so even local income is lightly taxed.

👉 Paraguay expat tax guide

Malaysia

Resident individuals don't pay Malaysian tax on foreign income, including a foreign pension, as long as it was subject to tax where it arose or you leave it abroad. The exemption now runs to 31 December 2036. There's no inheritance, gift or wealth tax.

Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) is the long-stay route if you don't work there, with a fixed deposit from US$150,000 (Silver) and a home of at least RM600,000. If your pension is paid without tax only because of a treaty claim, check it still counts as subject to tax where it comes from.

👉 Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture: MM2H categories and requirements

👉 Malaysia expat tax guide

Georgia

Georgia taxes individuals on a territorial basis, so a foreign pension and foreign dividends, interest and gains are untaxed. There's no separate inheritance tax and no wealth tax, and gifts and inheritances from close family are exempt.

The catch is the annual property tax on homes and cars you own. Tax-exempt income counts towards its income bands, so foreign income can push you to 0.8% to 1% of market value once family income passes GEL 100,000.

👉 Georgia expat tax guide

Uruguay

Uruguay doesn't tax a pension from a foreign scheme, and new residents can choose an 11-year tax holiday with 0% on foreign capital income. You qualify if you weren't resident in the two previous years and you spend more than 183 days a year in Uruguay, or meet an investment test instead.

After the holiday, residents pay 12% on foreign interest, dividends, rent and gains, which takes our example to about 4%. Uruguay's wealth tax only reaches assets in Uruguay, so it doesn't lower the rating. It rates Good, not Excellent, because heirs pay a 3% to 4% transfer tax on Uruguayan property passing on death, children and spouses included.

👉 Law 20.446, article 648: the new regime for incoming residents (in Spanish)

👉 Uruguay expat tax guide

Turkey

Turkey is new to this list. Article 20/D takes foreign income out of Turkish tax for 20 years for people who become resident from 1 January 2026, after three years with no Turkish home or tax liability. A foreign pension and foreign dividends are exempt and don't even go on a return.

Without 20/D the same income costs about 31%, so the regime is the whole story. Inheritances in the 20/D years are taxed at a flat 1%, and a foreigner inheriting foreign assets from someone who isn't a Turkish citizen pays nothing. Because a spouse or children still pay on Turkish assets, Turkey rates Good rather than Excellent.

👉 Official Gazette: Law No. 7582, which adds article 20/D and the 1% inheritance rate (in Turkish)

👉 Turkey expat tax guide

Malta

Malta is the lowest-tax EU option on our numbers. From 2026, pension income is exempt up to €37,104 a year if you're 61 or over, covering state, occupational, private and foreign pensions together. In our example only the investment income is taxed, about 1.8% of the total.

The catches: under 61 the same income costs about 10% to 18%, and a single person under 65 living on pensions or investments may owe Class 2 contributions. There's no inheritance tax as such, but heirs pay 5% duty on Maltese property, which is why Malta rates Good rather than Excellent.

👉 Malta Tax and Customs Administration: tax exemption on pension income after age 61

👉 Malta expat tax guide

Costa Rica

Costa Rica taxes income produced in Costa Rica, so your foreign pension, dividends and gains on assets abroad are outside income tax, even once you're resident. There's no inheritance or wealth tax.

The catch is the CCSS. Pensionados and rentistas must join as "migrant insured" members and pay health and pension contributions. We estimate these at about 16% of a US$40,000 pension, roughly US$6,400 a year, which is about 10.7% of our US$60,000 example and why Costa Rica rates Good rather than Excellent. The CCSS sets the income it charges on: at the US$1,000-a-month pensionado minimum the cost would be about 2%, and if it used all your income, up to about 19%. Moving to worldwide taxation has been discussed for years, but it's Proposed, not law.

👉 Costa Rica expat tax guide

Which countries have special tax regimes for pensioners?

Several countries make the list only because of a pensioner or new-resident rule. These count in our ratings, but check you qualify before you move.

• Greece (7.0%, Good): Article 5B charges a flat 7% on all foreign income for 15 years if you have a foreign pension, weren't Greek resident in 5 of the last 6 years and apply by 31 March. Without it, about 16%.

• Cyprus (5.5%, Good): each year you can pay a flat 5% on foreign pension income above €5,000 instead of the normal scale, plus the 2.65% health contribution.

• Dominican Republic (0%, Good): Law 171-07 exempts a pensionado's qualifying pension and their dividends and interest, once the Ministry of Finance approves it.

• Dominica (0%, Excellent): foreign income of a retired person who wasn't resident before retiring is exempt. Without it, about 24%.

• Saint Lucia (3.1%, Excellent): a foreign pension is exempt if you weren't resident before you retired.

• Cape Verde (0%, Good): non-habitual residents are exempt on most foreign income, now for 7 years. Without it, about 24%. A 1% transfer tax on Cape Verde property passing on death keeps it at Good.

• Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal (Good): a foreign pension brought into the country gets large cuts, such as Tunisia's 80% deduction and Senegal's 80% tax reduction.

• State pension exemptions: Bulgaria, Slovakia, Serbia, Lithuania and Czechia don't tax a foreign state pension (up to a limit in Czechia). In Bulgaria a workplace or private pension can still be taxed at 10%.

Some well-known retiree regimes sit in countries that don't make this list. Italy's 7% tax for pensioners in small southern towns would rate Good, but the normal rate is about 27% (Poor). Thailand is Moderate at about 16%, or Excellent with a Wealthy Pensioner LTR visa. Mexico is Moderate at about 23%, or about 7% if its pension exemption applies. Portugal is Moderate at about 22%, because pensions don't qualify for IFICI.

👉 Special tax regimes for new residents

How do inheritance tax and wealth tax change the ranking?

Excellent needs no death tax that a spouse or children pay. A tax that only more distant relatives pay doesn't count against a country, which is why Hungary and Serbia (close family exempt), Bulgaria, Laos and Monaco (0% for a spouse and children) still rate Excellent.

Where a spouse or children do pay, even only on assets in that country, the rating stops at Good:

• The Philippines: 6% estate tax on a resident foreigner's worldwide estate.

• Chile: inheritance tax of 1% to 25%.

• The UK: 40% inheritance tax, although foreign assets stay outside it until you've been resident for 10 of the last 20 years.

• The Dominican Republic (3%) and Malawi (estate duty).

• Colombia (15% on inheritances), Vietnam (10% on inherited shares and property) and the USA (federal estate tax above US$15 million).

• Brunei: 3% estate duty on estates above BND 2 million, with no exemption for a spouse or children.

• Bermuda (stamp duty of up to 20% on Bermuda assets; a spouse's share is deducted, children's isn't), Malta (5% duty on Maltese property) and Taiwan (estate tax of 10% to 20% on a foreigner's Taiwan property).

• Turkey (1% on Turkish assets in the 20/D years), Uruguay (3% to 4% on Uruguayan property), Cape Verde (1% on Cape Verde property), Bolivia (1% for close family) and Angola (0.5% to 2% on movable assets).

• Nicaragua: heirs of property in Nicaragua pay capital gains tax on it.

Wealth taxes matter less than you'd think on this list. Liechtenstein rates Good rather than Excellent because its charge on net wealth counts as a wealth tax. Bolivia's starts above about US$2.6m, Uruguay's only reaches Uruguayan assets, and Tunisia's new tax starts at TND 3 million, so our example retiree pays none of them. Switzerland (8.8% in Zurich) would be Good, but its annual wealth tax moves it to Moderate.

👉 Countries with a wealth tax

Full list: every country rated Excellent or Good for retirees

Both tables are sorted by the all-in rate on a US$40,000 foreign pension plus US$20,000 of investment income in 2026. Click a country for its full guide.

☑️ Excellent for retirees in 2026 (44 countries)

☑️ Good for retirees in 2026 (61 countries)

Traps and what to check before you move

• Time limits: some 0% results only last a few years. New Zealand's exemption runs for 48 months (then about 24%), India's RNOR years usually two or three (then about 22%), Tanzania's two years (then about 22%) and the UK's FIG regime four years (then about 11%).

• The visa: Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the Maldives and Timor-Leste have no retirement visa, so a low tax bill doesn't give you the right to stay.

• Your pension's home country: the country that pays your pension may still tax it. Many treaties let only the paying country tax a government service pension, so 0% where you live doesn't always mean 0% overall.

• Leaving your old country: you need to stop being tax resident there too. Some countries make that hard, and a few charge an exit tax.

• Type of pension: several exemptions only cover state pensions (Bulgaria, Slovakia, Serbia) or pensions from a former employer (Pakistan), and in Turkmenistan and Myanmar the treatment of a foreign pension isn't confirmed.

• Health contributions: Moldova's health premium, Kenya's SHIF and Costa Rica's CCSS contributions for pensionados and rentistas are all in our figures. Costa Rica's depend on the income the CCSS charges on, so check it before you move.

• Proposed changes: Croatia's pension exemption from 2027 and Dominica's move to taxing only income earned in Dominica are Proposed, not law. Oman's income tax from 2028 is law.

👉 Hardest countries to stop being tax resident

👉 Countries with an exit tax

Frequently asked questions

What is the best country for retirees for tax in 2026?

34 countries charge 0% on a US$40,000 foreign pension plus US$20,000 of investment income and rate Excellent, led by the Bahamas, the UAE, Bahrain, Georgia and Qatar. Panama, Paraguay and Malaysia are also 0% and have practical long-stay routes for retirees.

Which countries do not tax foreign pensions?

Countries with no income tax (such as the UAE and the Bahamas) and territorial countries (such as Panama, Paraguay, Georgia and Hong Kong) don't tax a foreign pension. Costa Rica doesn't tax it either, but pensionados pay CCSS health and pension contributions on it. Malaysia exempts it to 2036 if it was taxed where it arose, and Malta exempts pension income up to €37,104 from age 61. See countries that don't tax foreign income.

What is the best country in Europe for retirees on tax?

Georgia, Monaco and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation rules) charge 0% on our example, and Moldova (0.2%), Bulgaria (2.2%), Slovakia (2.3%), Serbia (5.0%) and Hungary (5.0%) also rate Excellent. Malta (1.8%), Liechtenstein (0.9%), Montenegro (5.4%) and Cyprus (5.5%) rate Good, and the UK is 0% for your first four years under the FIG regime but has a 40% inheritance tax.

Does Portugal still have a tax break for retirees?

Not for pensions. Pensions don't qualify for IFICI, so our example retiree pays about 22% in Portugal, which rates Moderate. See the Portugal expat tax guide.

Can my pension be taxed in two countries?

Yes. The country that pays your pension may still tax it even if your new country doesn't, and many treaties let only the paying country tax a government service pension. Check the treaty between the two countries before you move.

Which countries have a special tax regime for pensioners?

Greece charges a flat 7% on foreign income for 15 years under Article 5B, Cyprus offers a 5% option on foreign pensions, Turkey exempts foreign income for 20 years under article 20/D, and the Dominican Republic exempts pensionados under Law 171-07. Italy's 7% regime for small southern towns and Thailand's Wealthy Pensioner LTR visa are in countries that don't rate Good overall.

Does inheritance tax affect where I should retire?

It can. The UK charges 40% once you've been resident for 10 of the last 20 years, the Philippines taxes a resident foreigner's worldwide estate at 6%, and Chile charges 1% to 25%. Countries rated Excellent for retirees have no death tax that a spouse or children pay. Where they do pay one, even only on local assets, as in Malta, Turkey or Bermuda, the country rates Good at best.

Where to go next

👉 Countries that don't tax foreign income

👉 Countries with no income tax

👉 Special tax regimes for new residents

👉 Best countries for investors

👉 Countries with a wealth tax

👉 Lowest-tax countries for expats: 153 ranked

👉 Panama expat tax guide

👉 Malta expat tax guide

👉 Greece expat tax guide