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Seychelles

We can help you incorporate in Seychelles

International Business Company (Company limited by shares)

Seychelles is a popular offshore financial center and a growing international company formation market.

Companies incorporated under the International Business Companies Act benefit from one of the quickest company formation worldwide and the lowest annual government fees.

International Business Companies are considered resident for tax purposes in Seychelles but are subject to a territorial tax system, whereby income accrued from foreign-sources is not subject to taxation.

To incorporate a Seychelles IBC, only one shareholder and one director is required, who can be either an individual or a corporation and may be non-resident.

IBCs are not required to file an annual return or financial statements, as long as they do not derive income from within Seychelles.

Seychelles offshore companies are commonly used for estate planning, wealth management, cryptocurrency business, as well as a holding company and to conduct international trading.

Taxes

Corporate income tax – Income derived from a local source is subject to tax, whereas foreign-sourced income is exempt from taxation.

If an IBC does business with Seychelles residents, it must notify the Registry, file annual audited accounts and tax returns and pay local taxes.

Dividends, interest, royalties or other payments made by Seychelles IBCs would be exempt from taxation as long as are derived from income that is not sourced in Seychelles. There are no capital gains taxes in Seychelles.

However, for companies that are part of a multinational group:

  • foreign-sourced active income (e.g. commercial income) is exempted in Seychelles only if it arises from a registered permanent establishment overseas (e.g. branch office), meaning that income is subject to taxes overseas
  • income arising from IP assets is subject to taxes in Seychelles, regardless of the source, except for the income from research and development activities in Seychelles
  • passive income (dividends, interest, capital gains) would be exempt from taxation as long as the company has economic substance in Seychelles
A “multinational group” means any group that: includes two or more enterprises, the tax residence of such enterprises or enterprises are in different jurisdictions, or includes an enterprise resident for tax purposes in one jurisdiction and is subject to tax with respect to the business carried out through a permanent establishment in another jurisdiction.

IBCs are exempt from stamp duty on the formation of a company, transfers of property to or by a company, transactions in respect of the shares, debt obligations or other securities of a company; the creation, variation or discharge of a charge or other security interests over any property of a company; and other transactions relating to the business or assets of a company. However, transactions with instruments related directly or indirectly to Seychelles real estate will be subject to stamp duty.

Other taxes – In Seychelles, there is no capital gains tax, real property tax, inheritance tax or estate duty, capital transfer tax, gifts tax or wealth tax. The main tax on resident individuals is income tax on their income accrued in Seychelles at a maximum rate of 15%.

There is VAT at 15% levied on the local supply of goods and provision of services.

  • Offshore Income Tax Exemption
  • Offshore capital gains tax exemption
  • Offshore dividends tax exemption
  • CFC Rules
  • Thin Capitalisation Rules
  • Patent Box
  • Tax Incentives & Credits
  • Property Tax
  • Wealth tax
  • Estate inheritance tax
  • Transfer tax
  • Capital duties
  • 0% Offshore Income Tax Rate
  • 25% Corporate Tax Rate
  • 0% Capital Gains Tax Rate
  • 0% Dividends Withholding Tax Rate
  • 0% Interests Withholding Tax Rate
  • 0% Royalties Withholding Tax Rate
  • 0 Losses carryback (years)
  • 5 Losses carryforward (years)
  • 0% Personal Income Tax Rate
  • 15% VAT Rate
  • 41 Tax Treaties

Country details

Seychelles
SCR
Victoria
Africa
en-SC, fr-SC
88,340

The Republic of Seychelles is a country member of the Commonwealth, comprised by a group of 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean, to the northeast of Madagascar, with a total surface of 455 sq. km.

It is inhabited by about 100,000 people. Its capital is Victoria, the only city in the archipelago, located on the island of Mahe and inhabited by a third of the population. It has the only international port and airport of the country, which receives flights from the most important international airports worldwide.

Its official languages are English, French and Seychellois Creole, a French-based creole. The Seychellois Rupee (SCR) is its official currency.

The president of Seychelles is the head of state and government. It is elected by universal suffrage for a term of five years.

The Seychelles parliament is unicameral and is called the National Assembly. It is made up of 34 deputies, 25 of whom are directly elected by popular vote in single-member constituencies, and the remaining nine are elected proportionally by the total number of votes to each party.

The main economic sectors are Tourism, with over 300,000 visitors in 2016, fishing and financial services. Other important industries include processing of coconuts and vanilla, coconut rope, construction of boats, printing, furniture, and beverage. The public sector is considerably large employing two-thirds of the labor force.

The financial services sector is the other pillar of its economy, offering offshore banking services, offshore companies registration, registration of investment funds and insurance companies, vessels registration, among others.

Tax treaties

Country Type Date Signed
Botswana DTC  2004-08-26
Viet nam DTC  2005-10-04
Malaysia DTC  2003-12-03
Monaco DTC  2010-01-04
Indonesia DTC  1999-09-27
Bahrain DTC  2010-04-24
San Marino DTC  2012-09-28
Mauritius DTC  2012-08-18
Cayman Islands TIEA 2014-02-12
Malawi DTC  2012-09-06
Sri Lanka DTC  2011-11-07
Swaziland DTC  2012-10-16
China DTC  1999-08-26
Sierra Leone DTC  2014-07-09
Denmark TIEA 2011-03-30
Netherlands TIEA 2010-08-04
Norway TIEA 2011-03-30
Faroe Islands TIEA 2011-03-30
Zambia DTC  2008-02-05
Zimbabwe DTC  2002-08-06
South Africa DTC  1998-08-26
Qatar DTC  2006-07-01
Bermuda DTC  2012-06-21
Guernsey TIEA 2011-12-20
Kuwait DTC  2010-12-07
Cyprus DTC  2006-06-28
Lesotho DTC  2011-09-05
Luxembourg DTC  2012-06-04
Sweden TIEA 2011-03-30
Thailand DTC  2001-04-26
Finland TIEA 2011-03-30
Isle of Man DTC  2013-03-28
Singapore DTC  2014-07-09
Iceland TIEA 2011-03-30
Oman DTC  2003-09-13
Switzerland TIEA 2014-05-26
United Arab Emirates DTC  2006-09-18
Greenland TIEA 2011-03-30
Belgium DTC  2006-04-27
Ethiopia DTC  2012-07-14
Barbados DTC  2007-10-19

Tax treaties Map

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Services

We can help you incorporate a International Business Company (Company limited by shares) in Seychelles for $1,600.


Click here to incorporate your Seychelles IBC.

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