Vanuatu cryptocurrency tax guide

What this guide covers

This guide summarizes Vanuatu's crypto tax and regulatory position for 2025. customsinlandrevenue.gov.vu wasn't directly fetched. This is educational information, not individualized tax advice.

Tax treatment of cryptocurrency

Crypto gains aren't taxed in Vanuatu, since the country has no income or capital gains tax at all — and the regulatory framework for crypto businesses is now confirmed, not just reported. Vanuatu has no income tax or capital gains tax at all — a long-standing, well-established structural feature of its tax system, not a crypto-specific ruling. As a result, crypto transactions fall outside the tax base entirely: trading profits, mining income, staking rewards, and token-sale proceeds are all reported as untaxed for both individuals and companies. Purchases made with crypto may still carry VAT, reported at a standard 15% rate (one older source instead gives 12.5%, which this guide doesn't treat as current). On the regulatory side: the Virtual Asset Services Providers Act No. 3 of 2025 took effect 12 May 2025, establishing five license classes (a base D class for exchange activity, plus D.1 for transfers, D.2 for custody/safekeeping, D.3 for ITO-related financial services, and D.4 for bank-related activity), with the VFSC as primary licensing/prudential authority and the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu holding an additional approval role for the D.4 class. This guide treats the Act as in force, superseding the older, less-detailed 'no legislation' reports — though an attempt to read the Act's own text directly (via the VFSC's site) returned a broken link, so this relies on two independently corroborating secondary reports rather than the primary text itself.

Common taxable events

• This guide doesn't identify any individual crypto income or capital gains taxable event in Vanuatu, consistent with the general absence of income and capital gains tax.
• Purchasing crypto with fiat — may carry Vanuatu's standard VAT (reported at 15%).

Potentially non-taxable events

• Any individual or corporate crypto trading profit, mining income, staking reward, or token-sale proceed — not subject to income or capital gains tax, since neither exists in Vanuatu.

Tax rates and thresholds

No individual or corporate income tax or capital gains tax rate applies to crypto, since neither tax exists in Vanuatu. VAT, where applicable to a fiat purchase of crypto, is reported at a standard 15% rate — this guide doesn't treat the conflicting 12.5% figure as current.

Cost basis and calculation

Not applicable, since no income or capital gains tax exists.

Reporting and compliance

• No individual tax filing obligation applies to crypto gains.
• A business providing virtual-asset services (exchange, transfer, custody, ITO-related finance, or bank-related crypto activity) must hold the corresponding license class (D, D.1, D.2, D.3, or D.4) from the VFSC under the Virtual Asset Services Providers Act No. 3 of 2025, confirmed via two independent secondary sources. Unlicensed activity is reported to carry penalties of up to 25 million vatu (~US$207,700) or 15 years' imprisonment, per one source -- not independently confirmed against the Act's own text.

Residency and cross-border issues

The absence of income and capital gains tax applies broadly regardless of residency status; this guide doesn't resolve how a Vanuatu resident's crypto gains might be treated by another country where they are also tax-resident.

Example

This example is hypothetical, for illustration only: Kalo, a Vanuatu resident, trades crypto for a profit. That gain faces no income or capital gains tax in Vanuatu, since neither tax exists for individuals or companies.

Official resources

• Department of Customs and Inland Revenue: https://customsinlandrevenue.gov.vu/
• Vanuatu Financial Services Commission (VFSC): https://vfsc.vu/

Limitations and review information

Tax year covered: 2025. Last verified: October 28, 2026. Known gap: customsinlandrevenue.gov.vu and vfsc.vu weren't directly fetched (an attempt to read the Act's own PDF text returned a 404), so the Virtual Asset Services Providers Act No. 3 of 2025's details rely on two independently corroborating secondary sources rather than the primary text. This is educational information only, not individualized tax advice — confirm current specifics directly with the VFSC or a qualified Vanuatu advisor.