Oceania & Pacific
Cook Islands tax rates 2026
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. The Cook Islands are self-governing in free association with New Zealand, where a New Zealand trust runs under a separate law, the Trusts Act 2019.
Worldwide (residence-based)
Last verified
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. Published detail on Cook Islands personal tax is thin.
Rates checked July 2026: the top marginal income tax rate, the standard VAT rate and the main corporate rate.
Ways to relocate to the Cook Islands
The residency and citizenship routes that lead here, weighed against the tax picture above.