Known for its stunning beaches, vibrant culture, and warm, welcoming community, Jamaica is a top destination for expats looking to live the island life.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about relocating to Jamaica from a personal tax perspective, including tax residency, income tax, special tax regimes and tax return obligations.
TaxPilot recommend that you organize your affairs in good time to get ahead and make the most of favorable tax treatment while making sure you’re meeting your tax return obligations.
Jamaica follows a residence taxation model. If you are resident, you will pay tax worldwide incomes. If you are non-resident, you will pay tax on local incomes only.
if you are present in Jamaica on more than 182 days during the tax year.
if you are present in Jamaica on 90 days per tax year over four consecutive tax years.
if you have accommodation in Jamaica and you reside in the accommodation for one night during the tax year.
Providing that you are considered non-domiciled, foreign incomes and gains will be exempt from Jamaica taxation providing the incomes and gains are not remitted to Jamaica. Jamaica can be a very tax efficient place to live in and as such, Global Tax Consulting recommends seeking personalized tax planning advice to take advantage of the special tax regime.
Exempt from Jamaica taxation.
Must be non-domiciled.
Tax on property and share sales
Tax on value of owned assets
Tax on assets passed to heirs
Tax to contribute to state welfare
If you receive incomes overseas while you are living in Jamaica, you may find the source country, as a starting point, continues to tax the income which may cause double taxation unless you are using special tax regime.
Double taxation agreements can be used to mitigate double taxation and receive tax free income. As such, the more double taxation agreements a country has, the better, as agreements will ensure you’re not taxed twice and even better, ensure your income is tax free.
At present, Jamaica as 26 double taxation agreements signed.
