Gibraltar Category 2 Residency

The Gibraltar Government introduced the Category 2 rules to make Gibraltar a fiscally attractive location for wealthy individuals. There is no inheritance tax, capital gains tax, wealth tax or VAT/Sales tax in Gibraltar which makes it an attractive place to reside for anyone looking to change their tax residency

The key conditions of obtaining Category 2 status are as follows:

• The Category 2 individual must be of substantial and sound financial standing and have a minimum net worth of £2 million.
• The Category 2 resident must either own or rent approved residential accommodation in Gibraltar. The accommodation must be approved by the Gibraltar Finance Centre and be used exclusively by the Category 2 individual and his direct family. His direct family includes his spouse, children, brother, sister, parents and his spouse’s parents. Therefore, the Category 2 individual cannot rent the property and is limited to occasionally allowing others to stay there, otherwise he will not be deemed to have “exclusive use” and would consequently lose his status.
• The Category 2 individual is not allowed to engage in a trade, business or employment in Gibraltar. Exceptions to this rule include where duties are incidental to a business outside of Gibraltar or the Category 2 resident is a director of a Gibraltar Exempt Company or a director of a Company which does not transact any trade or business in Gibraltar.
• Category 2 status is granted on an indefinite basis, but the Category 2 residency certificate needs to be sent to the Gibraltar Finance Centre for endorsement every three years.
• The Category 2 individual must have medical cover in Gibraltar (usually in the form of private medical cover).
• There is no minimum stay in Gibraltar for a Category 2 resident individual, therefore as long as the individual fulfills all of the above conditions he will retain his Gibraltar residency without the need to spend any time in Gibraltar.

Category 2 Tax Rules

• Category 2 tax residents have their tax capped at a maximum of approximately £30,000 per annum. This capped amount is calculated based on a total income of £80,000, but the capped amount varies from year to year due to changes in the tax band.Therefore the total tax payable for a Category 2 resident for 2017/2018 is £27,560.
• In addition, there is no capital gains tax, inheritance tax, wealth tax or sales tax in Gibraltar. This makes it a very attractive low tax location for individuals.

HEPSS "High Executive Possessing Specialist Skills"

HEPSS is a tax status with a capping of tax for individuals coming to live and work in Gibraltar.

A HEPSS certificate will be granted to a company for individuals who will occupy a high executive or senior management position, earn in excess of £100,000 per annum and satisfy the Government that they possess skills which are important for the economic development of Gibraltar and are skills that are not available in Gibraltar.

The person obtaining the HEPSS status is required to buy or rent accommodation of a high standard which is available to him for his exclusive use, all year round.

Irrespective of the HEPSS's annual income, tax will be capped to the first £120,000 and taxed under the Gross Income Based system. Currently this results in an annual tax liability of approximately £28,000.

Gibraltar Corporate Taxation

Gibraltar resident Companies only pay tax at a flat rate of 10%.