North & Central America
Belize: tax at a glance
Belize runs a territorial system with no capital gains tax. Businesses pay tax on gross receipts rather than net profit, and there is a 12.5% general sales tax on top.
Territorial
Last verified
The taxes
- Personal income (top)
- 25%Employment income above BZD 26,000 is taxed at a flat 25%. The system is territorial, so foreign-source income is generally exempt.
- Corporate income
- Business tax of 1.75–19% on gross receipts, standing in for a tax on net profit across most sectors.
- Capital gains
- None
- VAT / GST
- 12.5% GST.
- Dividends (WHT)
- 15%
- Interest (WHT)
- 15%
- Royalties (WHT)
- 15%
- Social security (employee)
- Roughly 1.7–4%, paid to the Social Security Board.
- Social security (employer)
- ~5–7% (Social Security Board)
- Wealth tax
- None
- Inheritance / estate
- None
- Property tax
- ~1–2.5% of assessed value (city/land tax, by district)
- Other
- Stamp/transfer duty 5% on property over USD 10,000
How the system works
- Tax system
- Territorial
- Foreign income
- Largely outside scope (territorial)
- Taxes by citizenship
- No
- Exit tax
- No
- CFC rules
- No
- CRS
- Participating
- Special regime
- Qualified Retired Persons (QRP) program
The rates below are indicative headline figures (top marginal, standard, and headline rates), reviewed 2026-07. Brackets, surcharges, and state, provincial or cantonal taxes vary. Treat this as a reference map, not advice.