Oceania & Pacific
Cook Islands: tax at a glance
A residency system built on progressive income tax up to 30%, a 20% resident company tax, 15% VAT, and a well-known offshore asset-protection trust regime.
Worldwide (residence-based)
Last verified
Ways to relocate to Cook Islands
The residency and citizenship routes that lead here, weighed against the tax picture above.
The taxes
- Personal income (top)
- 30%Progressive tax, free up to NZD 11,000, with a top rate of 30% on income over NZD 30,000.
- Corporate income
- 20%
- Capital gains
- None (no separate capital gains tax)
- VAT
- 15%
- Dividends (WHT)
- 15% (5% for residents)
- Interest (WHT)
- 15% (5% for residents)
- Royalties (WHT)
- 15%, reduced to 5% for residents.
- Social security (employee)
- 5%, paid into the Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund.
- Social security (employer)
- 5%, paid into the Cook Islands National Superannuation Fund.
- Wealth tax
- None
- Inheritance / estate
- None
- Property tax
- There is no recurrent property tax.
- Other
- Non-resident companies pay a 28% tax. There are also import levies and a departure tax.
How the system works
- Tax system
- Worldwide (residence-based)
- Foreign income
- Taxed (worldwide)
- Taxes by citizenship
- No
- Exit tax
- No
- CFC rules
- No
- CRS
- Participating
A special regime for new arrivals
The jurisdiction's real product is the International Trusts Act asset-protection regime, not a personal tax regime. Confirm current rates directly. Published detail on Cook Islands personal tax is thin.
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.