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So, you’re seeking a tax-friendly country? Well, news flash: millions of others worldwide are doing the same. Whether it’s for your crypto profits, high net worth, higher income bracket, or perhaps planning an exit from your business with a future payout, there are numerous jurisdictions globally that offer tax advantages and perks for individuals with substantial wealth or higher incomes.
We’ll delve into the tax benefits of some of these countries today and explore which ones are particularly crypto-friendly, disregarding crypto profits as capital gains.
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Our comprehensive guide will cover the top tax-friendly and crypto-friendly countries, including the tax benefits you can opt into and the eligibility criteria for their programs.
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Each country has its own unique programs and benefits; therefore, not all countries will be ‘friendly’ based on your specific wealth, income or long term/medium term goals. Consider this as a high-level overview, as your first step before diving deep with our office for a custom proposal based on your goals and working with our tax advisory partners in these destination countries.
Let’s explore the most tax-friendly jurisdictions that some of you might be familiar with or not yet know about. These jurisdictions are not limited to cryptocurrencies or digital assets but offer overall tax advantages, either through fixed fee tax regimes or low or zero taxes.
The Caribbean islands—St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, and Dominica—are the easiest to become a citizen of from our list. You can achieve this by making a donation to the government or through an investment (usually within 4-6 months), which can range from US$250,000 to $350,000 depending on the number of family members you include in your application. This investment grants you zero tax on your global income, inheritance, or capital gain. These countries are renowned for their relaxed tax regulations.
While you don’t necessarily need to visit or reside on any of these islands, becoming a citizen offers numerous advantages, especially if you have a high income, are planning a business exit, or are expecting crypto profits. Refer to our in depth guide on fast-track passports from these islands outlined in this Video & Article.
If you’re curious about where you can live while being a citizen of these countries, you can consider combining them with any of the following EU countries below.
So you’re wondering where in EU can you reside or have your tax residency, no matter if you are a citizen of any other country. Let’s go through the EU tax-friendly options:
Malta
Spain
Italy
Greece (although this is not our favorite tax friendly or crypto-friendly country with one exception which we will cover)
Estonia
Monaco
Andorra
Let’s begin with Malta. You can opt for a tax residency program in Malta and pay either a flat rate of €15,000 per year or a 15% flat tax. Most of our clients choose the €15,000 flat tax regime because it’s more practical. This means that regardless of your earnings outside of Malta, you’ll only pay a flat fee of €15,000 annually – making it one of the most affordable tax regimes in the entire EU region.
However, you can’t be a tax resident of another country; you can only be a resident of Malta. You can have a separate citizenship but become a resident of Malta. The process takes around 5-6 months, and you’ll need a clean bill of health, a background check, and sufficient funds to demonstrate that you can support yourself and your family. Interestingly, you don’t even need to reside in Malta full-time, which is a significant advantage.
As a reminder, Malta is a full member of the EU and the Schengen Area. Therefore, a residency in Malta provides visa-free travel to any of the 27 EU countries.
Additionally, Malta doesn’t tax you personally on digital asset transactions or cryptocurrency income. This means you could technically be a permanent resident of Malta or a tax resident and not be subject to taxes on these types of income. The permanent residency program is slightly different but still takes 6 months to process. It involves making donations, contributions, and administrative fees to the government, along with either renting a property or purchasing one in Malta.
(Refer to our Malta program video and article here)
Spain, one of our favourite countries in the EU, is revamping its Golden Visa program on April 3, 2025. It’s likely that real estate will no longer be an option for becoming a resident of this beautiful Mediterranean country. However, the “Beckham Rule” will remain in place even after the Golden Visa program undergoes a major overhaul.
The “Beckham Law,” officially known as the Special Expatriate Tax Regime under Article 93 of the Spanish Personal Income Tax Law, offers favourable tax conditions for individuals relocating to Spain for employment. This regime allows eligible individuals to be taxed as non-residents, focusing solely on Spanish-source income while maintaining their tax residency status. The regulation can last for six years or five tax years.
Under this regime, applicants are only taxed on their local income, not their global or international income. This means you can have your lawyer set up a company to employ you in Spain while you earn your pension, dividends, or income from overseas at a 0% tax rate, unless you’re already paying taxes in your origin country.
To become eligible for the Golden Visa in Spain, you have several options: deposit funds into a Spanish bank account, make an investment in the bank totalling €1,000,000, or purchase real estate worth €500,000 anywhere in Spain (which is changing as of April 3, 2025).
Remember that we’re always posting about these key details for investors and entrepreneurs for new programs and policy changes seeking residency, passports, and tax relief – and if that’s what you are interested in, you can subscribe to our YouTube channel for more deep dive videos.
Italy has an interesting program – although it’s not as cheap or tax friendly as other countries we are covering today since it’s one of the hottest destinations in the world for professionals and families seeking residency in Europe. Here are the two key points to note about the Italian residency program:
They do have a flat tax regime which is €200,000 a year. No matter how much you earn globally, you end up paying €200,000 to the Italian government. Obviously for anyone making less than €5m a year, this may not be a feasible program
The first 5 years of your residency in Italy is considered temporary (even though you can spend as much time there as you like), meaning you don’t need to move your tax residency to Italy during this period.
Italy taxes crypto gains at 26% or 18% depending on the specific scenario. However, in Italy, you only have to pay taxes on your crypto profits when you cash out by converting your cryptocurrency into euros (or any traditional money) or into an NFT (non-fungible token).This means that if you are just trading between different cryptocurrencies—for example, swapping Bitcoin (BTC) for Ethereum (ETH)—you do not have to pay any taxes on those transactions. The tax is only triggered when you exchange crypto for something that is considered real-world value, like fiat currency (government-issued money) or NFTs, which are classified differently under Italian tax laws. This makes Italy crypto-friendly for traders who want to move between different digital assets without immediately worrying about taxes, as long as they don’t convert their holdings into cash or NFTs.
To qualify for the Italian residency program you need a clean bill of health and background check, enough funds to support yourself and family, and an investment in one of 4 options ranging from government bonds, startup venture, private or publicly traded companies or philanthropic project (these range from €250,000 to €2,000,000 with the sweet spot at approx.. €500,000). And it only takes 3 months to process the initial residency for Italy.
Portugal is a popular destination for international investors and families, attracting them with its climate, food, standard of living, beautiful landscapes, and safety. Its Golden Visa program, one of the most well-known in Europe since its inception, experienced a slight decline after the 2023 change that eliminated real estate as a qualifying option. Despite this, Portugal still offers one of the most flexible citizenship programs in the entire European Union.
Previously, Portugal had the Non-Habitual Residency (NHR) program for non-residents who were exempt from their foreign-derived income. However, in early 2025, the program was revamped with the introduction of NHR 2.0. This new program introduces specific income brackets based on an individual’s occupation, source of income, and specific business activities.
Regarding cryptocurrency, it is currently taxed at 5% if held for at least a year. Pensioners are not eligible for tax benefits as they must adhere to the dual taxation treaty. Additionally, the most affordable region in Portugal for becoming a resident is Madeira. For more information on this special region, refer to our video and article here.
Although Greece is a very popular Golden Visa destination, qualifying you through a real estate purchase to receive a residency in the country (either €250,000 or €400,000 depending on the location and the type of property), the tax regimes are not as favorable. The only reason it’s on our list today is because it offers a 7% flat tax on retirees on their global pensions while residing in Greece, or a flat tax regime of a lump sum of €100,000 for high-net-worth individuals who earn more than €500,000 per year globally. Both programs are valid for 15 years after you become a resident of Greece.
Some of our favorite crypto friendly countries are:
Estonia; It’s crypto friendly since there is no taxation on crypto income as long as it’s not your main business. This is one of the biggest advantages of this country
Singapore does not tax crypto income or profits from digital assets.
Dubai (part of the United Arab Emirates) has no personal income tax or crypto tax for individuals. Although we do expect in the next 5-8 years this may change.
Hong Kong has no capital gains tax on crypto or as they would like to call it, digital asset transactions or profits.
Panama, the last stop on our list, offers an all-around tax-free haven. Whether you’re a permanent resident or citizen, any income earned outside Panama is exempt from taxation, both for your business and personal affairs. This means that day trading, consulting, digital asset transactions, or even being a pensioner, you won’t have to worry about taxes in Panama.
To become a permanent resident of Panama, you can acquire real estate worth either US$200,000 if you’re part of the friendly nations country list or US$300,000 if your nationality isn’t listed on the friendly nations countries list by the Panamanian government. This is their Golden Visa program, and it’s fast, easy, and straightforward. All you need is proof of sufficient investment and a police clearance, and cryptocurrency sources of funds are also accepted.
Obtaining citizenship in Panama is even more flexible. You can acquire it in just 5 years without having to reside there full-time. To maintain your status, you only need to visit Panama for a day every 2 years. It doesn’t get any easier or more convenient than that!
Also some notable countries for crypto friendly taxation but didn’t make it to our top list this time:
Cayman islands where there is no taxation on digital assets or income.
Switzerland since there is no capital gain tax on crypto income if it was a long term investment, but digital assets are still considered wealth and can be taxed in the cantons based on their wealth taxation system.
Germany also does not tax crypto income if the digital asset was held for 1 year or more, deemed as a long-term investment.
Monaco which has always traditionally been a haven for the wealthy and higher earners. Although there is no personal income tax, the indirect taxes on owning property there do make it unfavourable for the new generation of the elite.
Andorra has a low flat tax regime of 10% for personal income, no matter the source, and 12% for corporate tax. There is no capital gain or wealth tax in Andorra. Just to remind you, Andorra is an EU country and a tiny speck on the map between Spain and France.
Belize has an interesting program for retirees where there is a global tax exemption on their passive retirement income for up to 50 years.
Bermuda, similar to the Caribbean islands we covered earlier in this article has no direct taxation on overseas income, capital gains, or inheritance.
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That was a lot to cover in just one article, but I hope it gave you a high-level overview of the tax-friendly options available to you if you’re considering becoming a tax resident of another jurisdiction, renouncing your citizenship to minimize taxation based on your passport or permanent residency, or becoming a citizen of that country in the future without residing there full-time. Of course, we assist you in selecting the appropriate residency and citizenship programs and connect you with the right tax advisory teams in the destination countries to help you preserve and manage your wealth.
If you want up-to-date insights on residency programs, citizenship options, and tax-efficient migration strategies, subscribe to our YouTube channel where we discuss the latest immigration updates, fast-track passports, and global mobility solutions.
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