This Mauritius tax guide covers the rules in force from 1 July 2025 (income year 2025/26 — the fiscal year runs July to June). Personal income tax now has three bands of 0%, 10% and 20%; corporate tax is 15%, cut to an effective ~3% on qualifying foreign income and export profits; and there is no capital gains, inheritance or wealth tax. Resident individuals pay tax on foreign income only if remitted. The 2025/26 Budget added a temporary Fair Share Contribution of 15% on personal income above MUR 12 million (~$254,000).
Introduction
Mauritius is an island nation of 1.26 million people in the Indian Ocean, 800 km east of Madagascar — a stable multi-party democracy since independence from Britain in 1968 and consistently ranked Africa’s top jurisdiction for governance and ease of doing business. English is the official administrative language, French and Creole dominate daily life, and the hybrid legal system pairs a French civil code with British-style courts, appeals still lying to the Privy Council in London. The climate is tropical, the lifestyle is beach-and-golf with a serious financial centre attached, and the cost of living is well below Europe — though imported goods carry island premiums. Mauritius is a member of the Commonwealth, the African Union, COMESA and SADC, with 46 double-tax treaties — one of the densest networks in Africa and Asia.
For internationally-mobile investors, this Mauritius tax guide matters because the country combines low flat rates with an unusually friendly base: a 15% corporate ceiling, an 80% exemption that takes qualifying foreign income to ~3%, no tax on capital gains anywhere in the system, and — rare outside the classic non-dom world — a remittance basis for individuals’ foreign income. The Budget 2025–26, effective 1 July 2025, simplified personal tax to three bands (0%/10%/20%), while adding temporary solidarity-style levies on very high earners and large companies, and a Pillar Two top-up tax for the biggest multinational groups.
Direct Taxes
Resident individuals are taxed on Mauritius-source income and on foreign income only to the extent it is remitted to Mauritius — unremitted offshore earnings are outside the net entirely. Progressivity is mild: three bands topping out at 20%. A company is tax-resident if incorporated in Mauritius or centrally managed and controlled there, and pays 15%. The signature regime for investors is the partial exemption: 80% of qualifying foreign-source income (dividends, interest, fund and leasing income, subject to substance) is exempt, producing a ~3% effective rate — the engine of the Global Business Company (GBC) sector.
Personal income tax (income year 2025/26 bands)
| Chargeable income (MUR) | Rate |
|---|---|
| 0 – 500,000 (~$0 – 10,600) | 0% |
| 500,001 – 1,000,000 (~$10,600 – 21,200) | 10% |
| Over 1,000,000 (~$21,200) | 20% |
| Fair Share Contribution — net income above MUR 12 million (~$254,000), including domestic dividends | +15% on the excess |
The three-band scale applies from 1 July 2025, replacing the finer 2%–20% multi-band ladder introduced in 2023. The Fair Share Contribution is legislated as temporary — the income year starting 1 July 2025 and the two following years — and is notable for pulling normally-exempt Mauritian dividends into its base. Deductions run through the Employee Declaration Form (EDF) system; reliefs exist for dependents, medical premiums and pension contributions.
Corporate income tax
| Item | Rate |
|---|---|
| Standard corporate income tax | 15% |
| Export of goods | 3% |
| Qualifying foreign income with 80% partial exemption (GBC regime) — effective | ~3% |
| Corporate Fair Share Contribution (chargeable income > MUR 24m, ~$508,000; 1 Jul 2025 – 30 Jun 2028) | +5% (or +2% for 3%-taxed companies) |
| Pillar Two QDMTT — MNE groups ≥ €750m revenue (from 1 Jul 2025) | top-up to 15% |
| Alternative minimum tax — hotels, insurance, financial intermediation, real estate, telecoms (from 1 Jul 2026; GBCs excluded) | 10% of book profit |
| CSR contribution | 2% of chargeable income |
The 15%/3% architecture survives, but the 2025–26 Budget layered temporary and sectoral add-ons: the corporate Fair Share Contribution for large profitable companies, a QDMTT aligning big multinationals with OECD Pillar Two, and a 10% book-profit minimum tax for five domestic sectors from July 2026. Dividends from resident companies are exempt with no withholding tax; interest and royalties paid to non-residents bear 15%/15% withholding (treaty-reducible — confirm rates per treaty). Losses carry forward five years. Substance requirements (employees and expenditure in Mauritius) are a condition of the partial exemption.
Social security and health contributions
| Contribution | Employee | Employer | Self-employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSG — monthly pay ≤ MUR 50,000 (~$1,060) | 1.5% | 3% | Fixed/reduced quotas |
| CSG — monthly pay > MUR 50,000 (~$1,060) | 3% | 6% | — |
| National Savings Fund (NSF) | 1% | 2.5% | — |
| HRDC training levy | — | 1.5% | — |
The CSG (Contribution Sociale Généralisée) replaced the old capped pension system in 2020 and applies without an upper earnings ceiling — but even at the top rates the combined wedge (≤4% employee, ≤10% employer) is small by European standards. The CSG funds a monthly income allowance for lower earners, extended through June 2027. Self-employed contributors pay modest fixed amounts — confirm current quotas with the MRA.
Indirect Taxes
Mauritius runs a standard credit-method VAT — not tied to any EU framework — and it is the state’s main indirect tax, administered by the Mauritius Revenue Authority alongside customs and excise.
Value-added tax (VAT)
| Rate | Applies to (examples) |
|---|---|
| 15% (standard) | Most goods and services |
| 0% (zero) | Exports, sugar, basic foodstuffs (bread, rice), international transport |
| Exempt | Education, health services, certain financial services |
Excise and other indirect taxes
| Tax | Notes |
|---|---|
| Excise duties | Alcohol, tobacco, petroleum, motor vehicles (high — cars can double in price) |
| Registration duty (buyer) | 5% of property value |
| Land transfer tax (seller) | 5% of property value |
| Customs duties | Low average; many goods duty-free |
Other Taxes Worth Knowing
| Tax | Mauritius treatment |
|---|---|
| Capital gains tax | None — gains on shares, funds, crypto and real estate are exempt income |
| Dividends (resident individual, Mauritian company) | Exempt, no withholding — but counted in the Fair Share Contribution base above MUR 12m (~$254,000) |
| Dividends (foreign) | Taxable only if remitted; 80% exemption may apply via companies |
| Interest (resident individual) | Taxable at band rates; most local bank interest exempt |
| Rental income | Taxable at band rates (max 20%) |
| Wealth / net worth tax | None |
| Inheritance / estate tax | None |
| Gift tax | None (registration duty may apply to property transfers) |
| Immovable property tax (annual) | None at national level for residences (municipal rates minor) |
| Exit tax | None |
The absence of capital gains tax is systemic — it is not a relief or election but simply outside the charging provisions, for individuals and companies alike. Combined with the remittance basis, a resident investor holding a foreign portfolio can realise gains tax-free and pay Mauritian tax only on what they bring onshore. The practical bill for most affluent residents is 10–20% on local-source and remitted income plus 15% VAT on consumption.
Disadvantages & Risks
Mauritius is a small, remote economy — 4,500 km of ocean separate it from its main markets, and growth leans on tourism, textiles, sugar and financial services, all cyclical. The rupee depreciates persistently (from ~35/USD in 2019 to ~47/USD in 2026), which erodes local savings and makes imported life more expensive — most wealthy residents keep assets in hard currency offshore, which the remittance basis conveniently accommodates. The financial-services reputation took a hit when Mauritius spent October 2020 to late 2021 on the FATF grey list (and the associated EU high-risk list); it was removed from the FATF list in October 2021 and from the EU list in January 2022, and is not currently on any EU or OECD blacklist or grey list. The 2016 renegotiation of the India treaty, which ended the famous capital-gains route, is a reminder that treaty-driven structures can be repriced by counterparties.
The second theme is quiet erosion of the headline rates. The 2025–26 Budget introduced the personal Fair Share Contribution (15% above MUR 12m — pulling exempt dividends into a levy for the first time), a corporate equivalent for large companies, a Pillar Two QDMTT, a sectoral 10% minimum tax from 2026, and a harder-edged CSR regime. Each is modest alone, and the FSC has a legislated three-year sunset, but the direction shows fiscal pressure. Substance requirements for the 3% regimes are policed — letterbox GBCs no longer work — and banking onboarding, while smoother than during the grey-list years, remains document-heavy for offshore structures.
Strategy & Ideal Profile
The workhorse structure is personal residence plus a GBC holding company. The individual takes the remittance basis — foreign gains and unremitted foreign income untaxed — while the GBC earns treaty-protected dividends and interest at an effective ~3% under the partial exemption, with 46 treaties (India, China, UK, France, South Africa, UAE and much of Africa) reducing source-country withholding. Mauritian dividends flow out of the company exempt and withholding-free. For operating businesses, exporters of goods pay 3%, and freeport and innovation regimes can go lower. Property buyers should budget the 5%+5% transfer round-trip, and non-citizens buying USD 375,000+ in approved schemes (PDS and similar) obtain a residence permit with the purchase.
Who it suits: investors and traders — zero capital gains tax with no holding-period or participation conditions, plus the remittance shield for foreign income; company owners running Africa/Asia-facing structures through the GBC regime at ~3% with real treaty access; dividend earners extracting exempt, withholding-free distributions from Mauritian companies (below the MUR 12m FSC threshold); retirees and remote workers, via the retirement residence permit and the Premium Visa, under which foreign income spent in Mauritius through offshore accounts is in practice not treated as remitted (confirm current MRA guidance). Tax residency follows 183 days in the fiscal year (or 270 days aggregated over three years), and residence permits — occupation, professional, retirement, property — are straightforward by global standards.
Who it does not suit: high earners with large Mauritius-source incomes just above the FSC threshold, who face an effective 35% marginal band while it lasts; groups inside Pillar Two scope, for whom the 3% regimes are neutralised by top-up taxes; anyone needing deep capital markets or same-day access to European clients; and structures without genuine local substance, which now fail both the partial-exemption conditions and bank onboarding. The headline rates are stable, but assume the temporary levies could outlive their sunsets.
FAQ
Is Mauritius a tax haven?
No — it is a low-tax, treaty-based jurisdiction. Rates are real (15% corporate, up to 20% personal), substance rules are enforced, and Mauritius exchanges information under CRS. It is not on the EU or OECD blacklists or grey lists, having exited the FATF grey list in October 2021 and the EU list in January 2022.
What is the corporate tax rate in Mauritius in 2026?
15% standard. Export of goods is taxed at 3%, and qualifying foreign income of companies (typically GBCs with substance) enjoys an 80% exemption for a ~3% effective rate. Large companies face a temporary Fair Share Contribution, and €750m+ multinational groups a Pillar Two top-up to 15%.
How does the remittance basis work in Mauritius?
Resident individuals pay tax on Mauritius-source income in full, but on foreign-source income only to the extent it is remitted to Mauritius. Foreign income kept and spent offshore is not taxed. This is a permanent feature of the Income Tax Act, not an elective or time-limited regime.
What is the 183-day rule in Mauritius?
An individual is tax-resident if present in Mauritius for 183 days or more in the income year (July–June), or 270 days in aggregate over the current and two preceding income years, or if domiciled in Mauritius without a permanent home abroad.
Does Mauritius tax capital gains?
No. Capital gains are exempt income for individuals and companies — there is no capital gains tax on shares, funds, crypto or real estate. Frequent property trading can be recharacterised as business income, and transfer taxes (5% + 5%) apply to property deals.
Is there inheritance or wealth tax in Mauritius?
No. Mauritius has no inheritance or estate tax, no gift tax and no wealth tax. Heirs take assets free of Mauritian death duties, though forced-heirship rules in the civil code can constrain how estates are divided — relevant for estate planning.
How are dividends taxed for a Mauritius resident?
Dividends from Mauritian resident companies are exempt and carry no withholding tax. Foreign dividends are taxable only if remitted. The one exception: from July 2025, domestic dividends count toward the temporary Fair Share Contribution base for individuals with net income above MUR 12 million (~$254,000).
Sources
All figures should be checked against the primary government sources below.
- Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) — income tax bands, PAYE, CSG/NSF, VAT and duties — mra.mu
- Government of Mauritius — Budget 2025–2026 measures and Finance Act — govmu.org
- Economic Development Board (EDB) Mauritius — residence permits and property investment schemes — edbmauritius.org
- Bank of Mauritius — FATF list exit (October 2021) and MUR exchange rates — bom.mu
- FATF — Mauritius listing history and mutual-evaluation documents — fatf-gafi.org
USD figures are indicative conversions at ~1 USD = 47 MUR (Bank of Mauritius indicative rate, early July 2026) and rounded.
Last verified: 5 July 2026.
This is general information, not personal tax or legal advice. Tax outcomes depend on your specific facts; consult a qualified Mauritius tax adviser before acting.
Related guides: Andorra · Costa Rica · Cyprus · Georgia · Gibraltar · Jersey · Monaco · Montenegro · New Zealand · Panama · Paraguay · Singapore · UAE · Uruguay