CHANGES TO THE URUGUAY TAX REGIME 🇺🇾

With the latest legislative change, here are some of the positive and negative changes from the Uruguayan tax residency and tax holiday regime in 2026

NEGATIVE:
- DECOUPLING of the tax holiday and tax residency requirements: The option of investing ~590k and staying 60 days in Uruguay is only available now for tax residency, but not for the tax holiday. Meaning you would be a tax resident without the exemption on foreign capital gains, dividends, rentals and interest for 11 years.

- Foreign-sourced capital gains and rentals, which were previously tax-free forever, are now also taxed at the 12% regular rate. Those on the tax holiday can keep the exemption

POSITIVE
- Besides 183 days in-country and 2 million USD Real Estate investment, there is now a 3rd option to obtain the tax holiday: Invest 100k USD yearly into a Uruguayan research and innovation fund, to be structured by the Uruguayan public administration

- Introduction of a transition regime after the 11 years are over. Now, residents will have the option of choosing between 2 regimes: 300k USD flat tax for 20 years, or a 50% tax reduction on foreign incomes (6% effective rate) for an additional 5 years. For the latter option, the person must invest another 1 million USD in real estate or continue investing 100k per year into the Uruguayan funds.

Noteworthy here: Uruguay can NO LONGER be considered a territorial tax-country!

Pre-2011, foreign sourced passive incomes were fully exempt for all residents under a truly territorial regime
Since 2011, "mobile capital" incomes, namely dividends and interest, were added as exceptions that were taxed even if foreign sourced. The tax holiday exempted them for new residents.
As of 2026, dividends, interest, capital gains and rentals are all taxed on a worldwide basis, with the exception for those on the tax holiday program

The country is now better qualified as a worldwide taxation country WITH a special temporary tax regime, as Portugal, Italy and Spain.

The issue with this setup is the bank account, its extremely difficult to have a decent one + the reputation

I’m (US based) attending a pricy conference in the UK, they’re charging me a 20% VAT, they sent me the invoice online, am I eligible for a VAT refund ?

we can solve the banking side, but yes, US LLC will def be easier vs EU setups

Yes UK or even US LLC are the best solution especially if Panama resident =0

I’d assume attending as part of a U.S. LLC would suffice

If you (you US legal entity) obtain UK vat number you can file a return and have the VAT paid refunded.
You can also claim refund after the fact, up to 4 years.

You can just File form VAT65A with HMRC

Thanks! Does it matter how I pay the invoice? If I pay on personal credit card for example

doesnt'matter

Yes

if all my clients are anonymous on telegram and pay through crypto. is it a problem for us pass through llc? was wondering is they ask for chats and source of income?

No better no, there's a special setups for this kind of shadow businesses

A CPA suggested this to me. Since I don't live in the USA, I will have 0% tax. What could be the problems with this?

Look, its easy if your business is legit nothing shadow than yes as IRS and any kind of administration doesn't care about anonymous client or being paid by crypto , the question is if you can justify your busness is Legit, in your case there's no bank KYC because you are using crypto so the unique issue here is if IRS suspect something and ask you to justify your activity ! Clear ?

ah okayy

strictly speaking you are also VAT liable if you provide services to eu private citizens

all of then are anon so i dont know where are they from

I understand but that doesn’t void your legal liability to do so

EU accept IP adresses as client location for VAT purpose

Imagine how much GDP could be created if all our entrepreneurial minds were not focused in on the detailed tiny little rules and regulations of what taxes apply across what jurisdictions under what circumstances etc. It’s such a drain on the world.

Other than UAE and Paraguay, what other counties are good options to set up as a tax residency without having to spend a lot of time being physically present in the country?

Cyprus

There are not many other candidates if your goal is to maintain your tax resident status while keeping traveling. Paraguay doesn't really have competition in this specific aspect.

What about Georgia

AFAIK they require 183 days stay per 12 months in the country to maintain tax resident status. In PY it is just a single day. Plus, there is huge difference between paying 1% vs 0% tax (almost no accounting needed).

I'm Italian but based in Dubai. Are there countries in Europe where I can open a company remotely and get a business bank account with it? I need an account to receive euros.

Try to apply for e residency in Estonia

Without even visiting? And how do I get business bank account there?

You can do that in Ireland too. And set up Revolut Business bank account online.

I already have a Wise account.. Revolut would be the same I guess.. I mean these are personal bank accounts.. I need business bank account and big transactions

Revolut has a business offering for enterprise. It’s different to personal banking. I use it for my own business. Connected to accounts software and payroll. And staff accounts so I can give my accountant access.

Do they accept Uae companies or only European ones?

No idea. I’ve never done business with UAE. Ask them.

Wise has good business accounts too. I have them. My concern will Revolut or Wise is parking large sums in these financial institutions. At least in Canada, they are not banks. Any missing money is not covered by insurance

Very valid concern. I had the same issue originally. I’m not familiar with Wise as it has no benefits for me. Wise is best for non-EU I think. But Revolut is a fully listened bank by ECB as of the last couple of years. And It’s now the largest bank in Ireland. Offers credit cards, mortgages, insurance products etc. Traditional banks in Ireland are cooked IMHO. Dinosaurs compared to neobanks like Revolut, N26, etc.

If you are based in Dubai (and I get you have emirates id and UAE company ) - why not go to UAE banks?

Wise doesn't accept Uae businesses

for SEPA payments? what is the solution that you found?

Banks in Cyprus will open that for you.. If you have good revenues..

thanks.

Welcome

hey, anyone know of any accountants in portugal that can help me to optimise my tax structure as a digital nomad who just recently moved here? ty!!

Check the sticky, they’re great

you should move with an optimization strategy in mind :)

i have bruh

A secret benefit of Chile 🇨🇱 Real Estate: the DFL2 tax benefit

For up to 2 NEW property purchases up to 140m2:

- NO income tax on rentals
- 50% discount on property tax for 10-20 years
- 75% seal duty reduction
- No gift or inheritance tax

With two high-end properties, this could be 7-9k USD/mo tax-free for life!

These have to be new properties. If you are buying used, you keep the property tax discount till the end of the term, but lose the 0% income tax on those rentals

Nomads who have travelled around Asia (namely TH, PH, VN, JP, CN) how have you handled taxes? Do you need to apply for a permit different for each country?

In all of these countries, taxes are not required for individuals visiting as tourists. This status changes if one establishes long-term residence. Consequently, the optimal zero-tax nomad strategy involves maintaining an official address or residence in a zero-tax jurisdiction while traveling globally, ensuring that the maximum permitted stay in any given country is not exceeded.

Thanks, what about working there though? I read that technically I should apply for a work visa

i would love an AI summary of everything thats written about tax so far in this group

The actionable parts of tax are always specific to your individual circumstances. The substance and your risk appetite. And mainly, how much money you’re making.

I don’t know a single nomad who spent a few weeks / couple of months in a foreign country and who got busted for working from his laptop at Starbucks;-)

Great to know

I have been wondering about this. Maybe someone with more knowledge can correct me but on a tourist visa you are prohibited from working and being paid from within the country. The only scenario where working remotely breaks the rule, if I understand correctly, is if you work for a local customer. If your income comes from elsewhere you should be good IMHO

There are no blanket rules. Plenty of countries prohibit working at all, regardless of source of income. This is why some of the "nomad visas" are the same length as a tourist visa — they want you to report that income and pay taxes to them on it. Enforeceability with all of this is another question.

100% work for local company is forbiden for tourist. but that means that you can’t get a part time job while staying 2month somewhere. so don’t worry about frilancing or working remotely while on tourist visa - just don’t - even if this would be technically illigal - that is non-enforcable. even in chian or japan or usa

From what I could understand any work, foreign or local, is forbidden if you don't have the proper work visa

cant image living in turkey for 20 years tbh )

Any Canadians here have advice on best setups and best order to sort out residency / banking / corporate structure?

Check out Michael Rosmer on YouTube, he is/was Canadian and covers it a bit

Thanks - the country has deteriorated to an unrecognizable state, very sad to see the national self destruction happening.

Anyone living in Georgia and paying the 1% tax? I'm in Sweden and looking to make the move. Is it easy?

I can help you if needed

The great Uruguay 🇺🇾 tax holiday trick!

While the 2 million USD RE investment or 100k/year funds investment caused shock, not everyone caught the fine print:

"Quienes adquieran la residencia fiscal a partir del 1º de enero de 2026, en tanto configuren la hipótesis dispuesta en el literal A) del artículo 2º de este Título en cada ejercicio fiscal podrán realizar la referida opción sin necesidad de cumplir las condiciones previstas en el inciso anterior."

So besides the two investment options, you can still use literal A, Articulo 2

This says you can become a tax resident by either:
a) Spending 183 days
b) Having your main base of financial activities and economic nexus

For B, it is understood that you can claim tax residence in Uruguay when over 50% of your income comes from the country

So technically still possible to get the tax holiday without 183 days or investment if you open a Uruguayan company and run most of your income through it

Now, what is the big trick?

Foreign-source income in Uruguay is self-reported. Because the escribanos usually will not validate your foreign income, one can say that you have none or very little.

So one opens a SAS, invoices enough to cover basic living expenses through it, pays out the director's wage, pays the social security, and thus claims that this constitutes their main income

Uruguay will then consider the person a tax resident and allow them to claim the tax holiday.

Would this hold in court if there was a tax dispute with another country AND the person clearly has most of their income outside Uruguay and hasn't spent 183 days? No

Does it work to become tax resident and claim the tax holiday and have a tax certificate? Sure

Not legal advice

Nice thanks :)

Pieter is going through hell gathering invoices. From memory he was incorporated in Singapore. It sounds like Portugal has the same problem.

In Australia and US you don’t need invoice for every little thing unless you get audited which is great.

Has anyone solved this nonsense?

I would comment on Pieter’s x thread but replies are locked.

I thought perhaps you could do a C-corp or LLC in the US, and have it as containment to keep all the trading / spending there, and just transfer over big lumps of money as needed.

I think the solution he’s coming up with is pretty good: automate it with AI on your end, when other options fail. Most vendors send you invoices by email. I only have issues with Stripe, ChatGPT, Google Ads, Bing Ads, GoDaddy, and Respond.io I think. I used to be massively annoyed with that too, until I decided to religiously set up Gmail filters and auto forwarding to my accountant + whenever I can I move to vendors that support invoices via email (true story: moved most of my domains to cloudflare for this reason).

It seems to be easy..

it's fast and easy. takes 3/4 business days to register IE and open the business account

for an american citizen and remote biz owner, which euro countries work to live in long term? ai is telling me czechia is good.