bahamas-vat

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# Bahamas VAT

## Section 1 — Quick reference

**Quick reference table**

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Country | The Bahamas (Commonwealth of The Bahamas) |
| Standard rate | 10% |
| Reduced rate | 5% (food in food stores from April 2025; medications, diapers, hygiene from September 2025) |
| Zero rate | 0% (exports, international transport) |
| Exempt | Financial services, residential rent, education, medical, public transport |
| Return form | VAT return (frequency based on turnover) |
| Filing portal | https://inlandrevenue.finance.gov.bs |
| Authority | Department of Inland Revenue (DIR) |
| Currency | BSD (Bahamian Dollar, pegged 1:1 to USD) |
| Filing frequencies | Monthly (>BSD 5M), Bimonthly (BSD 400K–5M), Quarterly (BSD 100K–400K), Annual (voluntary) |
| Deadline | 21st of the month following the period |
| Registration threshold | BSD 100,000 mandatory; BSD 50,000 voluntary |
| No income tax | The Bahamas has NO income tax of any kind |
| Companion skill | vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded |

**Conservative defaults**

| Ambiguity | Default |
| --- | --- |
| Unknown rate on a sale | 10% |
| Unknown VAT status of a purchase | Not deductible |
| Unknown counterparty location | Domestic Bahamas |
| Unknown food classification (store vs restaurant) | 10% (restaurant/prepared) |

**Red flag thresholds**

| Threshold | Value |
| --- | --- |
| HIGH single-transaction size | BSD 10,000 |
| HIGH tax-delta on a single default | BSD 500 |

## Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue

### Required inputs

- **Minimum viable input** — bank statement for the period. Acceptable from: CIBC FirstCaribbean, RBC Bahamas (Royal Bank), Scotiabank Bahamas, Commonwealth Bank, Fidelity Bank, or any other.  _(Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue)_

### Bahamas-specific refusal catalogue

- **R-BS-1 — Grand Bahama Freeport** — Trigger: client operates within Grand Bahama Port Authority area. Message: "Freeport operations under the Hawksbill Creek Agreement have special VAT provisions requiring specialist analysis. Please escalate."  _(R-BS-1)_
- **R-BS-2 — Investment fund structures** — Trigger: client is an investment fund. Message: "Investment fund VAT treatment requires specialist analysis. Please escalate."  _(R-BS-2)_

## Section 3 — Supplier pattern library

### 3.1 Bahamian banks (fees exempt — exclude)

**Bahamian banks pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CIBC FIRSTCARIBBEAN, CIBC FC | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Financial service, exempt |
| RBC BAHAMAS, ROYAL BANK | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same |
| SCOTIABANK BS, COMMONWEALTH BANK | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same |
| FIDELITY BANK | EXCLUDE for bank charges | Same |
| INTEREST, LOAN, REPAYMENT | EXCLUDE | Out of scope |

### 3.2 Government (exclude)

**Government pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DIR, DEPT INLAND REVENUE | EXCLUDE | Tax payment |
| CUSTOMS, BAHAMAS CUSTOMS | EXCLUDE | Duty (import VAT separate) |
| BUSINESS LICENCE, BL FEE | EXCLUDE | Government fee |
| NIB, NATIONAL INSURANCE | EXCLUDE | National insurance |

### 3.3 Utilities

**Utilities pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BPL, BAHAMAS POWER AND LIGHT | Domestic 10% | Electricity |
| WSC, WATER AND SEWERAGE | Domestic 10% | Water |
| BTC, BAHAMAS TELECOMMUNICATIONS | Domestic 10% | Telecoms |
| ALIV | Domestic 10% | Mobile |

### 3.4 Insurance (exempt — exclude)

**Insurance pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BAHAMAS FIRST, COLINA, J.S. JOHNSON | EXCLUDE | Exempt |
| SUMMIT INSURANCE | EXCLUDE | Same |

### 3.5 SaaS and international services

**SaaS pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META, AWS | Self-assess 10% (reverse charge) | Non-resident |
| ZOOM, SLACK, CANVA | Self-assess 10% | Same |

### 3.6 Tourism

**Tourism pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| HOTEL, RESORT, ATLANTIS | Domestic 10% (output) | Tourism supply |
| BOOKING.COM, EXPEDIA, AIRBNB | Platform fee — verify entity | May require reverse charge |

### 3.7 Payroll and exclusions

**Payroll pattern table**

| Pattern | Treatment | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |

From openaccountants/openaccountants, AGPL-3.0.

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