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Offshore Common Law

Founders pairing the IBC with a Belize trust, Belize

Belize has one of the strongest asset protection trust statutes in the Caribbean (Trusts Act 1992): a 1 year statute of limitations on creditor challenges, no requirement to recognise foreign judgments, and explicit firewall provisions. Combined with a Belize IBC as trustee or as underlying asset holding company, the regime fits family office and high net worth founders.

1 year limitationFirewall trust statuteStrong asset protection
Start setup {placement} 4 min · no card required
Corp tax
0%
Fastest setup
5 days
Tax treaties
14
Region
Offshore

What you'll need

  • No resident director required
  • Local registered office required
  • Economic-substance test applies
  • Minimum capital: No minimum capital
  • Administrative language: English
  • Legal system: Common law

Tax and treaty profile

  • Corporate tax 0%
  • Tax treaties 14
  • VAT rate 12.5%
  • Withholding on dividends 0%
Key treaty partners
United KingdomSwedenDenmarkAustriaSwitzerlandCARICOM members

Banking and payments

  • Banking takes 2 to 4 weeks with KYC
  • Stripe not supported
  • Crypto banking available

Considerations

If your customers or banks are reputation sensitive

Belize was on the EU AML high risk list until 2022 and remains under enhanced due diligence by many international banks and payment processors. Stripe, Wise, and Mercury do not onboard Belize IBCs. For a cleaner offshore reputation consider:

Historical AML scrutinyNo Stripe supportBank de risking exposure