Bahamas
The Bahamas is one of the oldest and best-known offshore financial centers in the world. It has run as a no-direct-tax jurisdiction for decades: no income tax, no capital-gains tax, no corporate tax on Bahamian companies. The International Business Companies regime is mature, the financial-services sector is genuinely sophisticated by Caribbean standards, and the Bahamas is not on any EU list (neither the Annex I blacklist nor the Annex II grey list) and not on any FATF list as of 2026. The honest catch is two-fold. First, on our internal scale the Bahamas is gray tier: the name carries a legacy offshore-haven reputation, so banking acceptance is mixed and some counterparties apply heavier due diligence by default. Second, at $2,349 all-in it is meaningfully pricier than a Belize or Seychelles IBC for a broadly similar mid-tier outcome, so you are paying a premium for the Bahamas name. For a Bitcoin operator whose counterparties specifically recognize and want a Bahamas entity, that premium can be worth it. We disclose both sides up front and let you self-select.
- Tier
- GRAY
- Formation
- 5 business days
- Apostille
- Supported
- UBO register
- Private
- EU list
- Off both EU lists
- FATF list
- Off the FATF lists
Figures verified February 2026 · Sources: EU Annex I/II and FATF list status, detailed in Plain talk below.
Can a non-resident form a Bahamas company?
Yes. A non-resident can form a Bahamas entity. Bahamas is a GRAY jurisdiction. Banking is more selective and a compliance desk reads it as mid-tier, so confirm your rail accepts it before you file. Formation is $2,349 all-in / ₿0.02951005 / 2,951,005 sats, paid in Bitcoin or USDT, and takes 5 business days.
- Tier
- GRAY
- From price
- $2,349 all-in
- Formation time
- 5 business days
- EU / FATF status
- off both EU lists, off the FATF lists
- Public UBO register
- No
- Apostille
- Supported
What makes Bahamas different
- Zero direct tax on Bahamian companies: no income tax, no capital-gains tax, no corporate tax.
- Not on any EU list (neither the Annex I blacklist nor the Annex II grey list) and not on any FATF list as of 2026.
- Mature IBC statute and a genuinely sophisticated financial-services sector with established local-banking relationships for Caribbean-domiciled entities.
- No public register of beneficial owners; UBO records are held by the licensed agent, not published.
What you are actually buying with Bahamas
GRAY means banking is more selective and the entity reads as mid-tier to a compliance desk. It is not blacklisted, but expect a closer look and a narrower set of rails that will onboard it.
Banking acceptance is mixed despite the genuine local infrastructure: the Bahamas name still triggers heavier due diligence at many desks, so treat the bank step as the real gate, not the formation. Major US business-banking rails do not onboard Bahamas IBCs; if you need US banking, pair the Bahamas IBC with a US-domiciled WY or NM LLC. Apostille is supported, which clears the document requirement at any rail that demands legalized incorporation papers. See the Banking page for named rails.
The Bahamas is gray tier on our scale and carries a legacy offshore-haven reputation overhang. Banking acceptance is mixed, and some institutional counterparties, particularly US securities lawyers and certain EU corporates and banks, apply heavier due diligence than they would for a BVI or Cayman structure despite the clean list status. If you need an offshore vehicle that sophisticated counterparties wave through, BVI is the better spend.
At $2,349 all-in it is meaningfully pricier than a Belize or Seychelles IBC, both of which land near $1,099 Year-1 for a broadly similar mid-tier outcome. You are paying a premium for the Bahamas name and the heavier local-banking infrastructure, not for a better reputational tier. If headline cost is your dominant concern and the brand does not matter to your counterparties, Belize or Seychelles gets you a comparable structure for less.
What we collect, and what Bahamas filing requires
- Email, country of residence, intended use statement
- OFAC + EU + UN sanctions screen (every order)
- Tier 1 KYC (ID + proof of address + source-of-funds attestation): required at this price tier
- Beneficial owner identification per Bahamas AML obligations and the IBC framework
- Notarized copy of passport and proof of address
- Director consent and the first subscriber resolution naming the initial shareholder
The honest note: The licensed Bahamas agent is a regulated financial-services provider and runs substantive KYC on every formation regardless of our platform tier. The Bahamas does not publish UBO data, but the agent must keep beneficial-ownership and accounting records and produce them to the Bahamas regulator and to certain law-enforcement requests under treaty. Anonymous formation is not available on this SKU.
Where Bahamas entities bank
Banking acceptance is mixed despite the genuine local infrastructure: the Bahamas name still triggers heavier due diligence at many desks, so treat the bank step as the real gate, not the formation. Major US business-banking rails do not onboard Bahamas IBCs; if you need US banking, pair the Bahamas IBC with a US-domiciled WY or NM LLC. Apostille is supported, which clears the document requirement at any rail that demands legalized incorporation papers. See the Banking page for named rails.
Full banking rankingWhen this jurisdiction is right (and wrong)
If the Bahamas brand specifically matters to your counterparties, this is the right pick and the main reason to choose it over a cheaper Caribbean IBC. The jurisdiction is one of the oldest and most recognizable offshore centers, the financial-services sector is sophisticated, and some counterparties will recognize and prefer a Bahamas entity where they would query a Belize or SVG one.
If you are a Bitcoin operator running a foreign-source-income business from outside the US and you want a zero-direct-tax wrapper with real local-banking infrastructure behind it, the Bahamas IBC pairs with Caribbean or Asia-corridor banking and is filed through a crypto-native agent, so the formation itself settles cleanly in BTC or USDT. Keeping your effective rate low on foreign income is subject to your own country-of-residence rules, not the Bahamas'.
If you want a clean-listed offshore IBC that sits off every EU and FATF list and you are comfortable paying for the name, the Bahamas delivers that posture. It is not on the Annex I blacklist, not on the Annex II grey list, and not on any FATF list as of 2026, which is more than several cheaper corridors can say.
The Bahamas is gray tier on our scale and carries a legacy offshore-haven reputation overhang. Banking acceptance is mixed, and some institutional counterparties, particularly US securities lawyers and certain EU corporates and banks, apply heavier due diligence than they would for a BVI or Cayman structure despite the clean list status. If you need an offshore vehicle that sophisticated counterparties wave through, BVI is the better spend.
At $2,349 all-in it is meaningfully pricier than a Belize or Seychelles IBC, both of which land near $1,099 Year-1 for a broadly similar mid-tier outcome. You are paying a premium for the Bahamas name and the heavier local-banking infrastructure, not for a better reputational tier. If headline cost is your dominant concern and the brand does not matter to your counterparties, Belize or Seychelles gets you a comparable structure for less.
If you are a US person, a Bahamas IBC does not reduce your US tax. CFC and Subpart F rules apply, and you carry FBAR, Form 8938, and Form 5471 obligations where relevant. Forming offshore as a US person without a competent cross-border tax advisor is a mistake. The structure is not a tax-avoidance tool.
Common Bahamas questions
Is the Bahamas on the EU blacklist or any FATF list?
No. The Bahamas is not on EU Annex I (the actual blacklist), not on EU Annex II (the grey list of cooperative jurisdictions), and not on any FATF list as of 2026. It is gray tier on our internal scale, which reflects the legacy offshore-haven reputation and the mixed banking acceptance that comes with it, not any formal listing. We disclose the tier honestly so you can self-select. General information, not legal advice.
Why does the Bahamas cost more than Belize or Seychelles?
At $2,349 all-in for Year-1 the Bahamas is meaningfully pricier than a Belize or Seychelles IBC, which land near $1,099 Year-1. The premium buys the Bahamas name and the heavier local-banking infrastructure of one of the oldest offshore centers, not a better reputational tier. If the Bahamas brand does not specifically matter to your counterparties, Belize or Seychelles gets you a broadly similar mid-tier outcome for less, and we will tell you that.
How long does Bahamas formation take?
About 5 business days for the company-formation step. Apostille is supported and adds roughly 5 to 10 business days where your bank or counterparty requires legalized documents. Bank-account opening is a separate process and typically adds 30 to 60 days on top, and it is the real gate given the reputation overhang.
Is my ownership public in the Bahamas?
No. The Bahamas does not operate a public register of beneficial owners, so your name is not published on a searchable database. Your licensed agent still identifies you and keeps beneficial-ownership and accounting records under Bahamas AML law, and those records are accessible to the regulator and to certain law-enforcement requests under treaty. Privacy from public search is real; opacity to the regulator is not.
What's the total cost and how do I pay?
$2,349 is the all-in Year-1 price for the Bahamas IBC, filed through the licensed agent. Year-2 onward is $1,899/yr for the registered agent and government renewal. You settle the whole order in BTC (on-chain and Lightning) or USDT via BitSettle; the Bahamas agent and government are paid in fiat from our operating account.