Form a Bahamas IBC
Bahamas IBC yearly costs 2026

Bahamas annual fees and filings: what an IBC owes each year

Updated 12 November 2026International Business Companies Act, Ch. 309About 8 minutes to read
The short answer

Every Bahamas IBC owes the government US$350 on 1 January, or US$1,000 when its authorised capital is over US$50,000. Paid after 31 March it becomes US$385; after 31 October, US$560. Still unpaid at the year's end, the company is struck off.

There's no audit and no annual return, but a substance report goes in through the agent every year. With us the year costs US$990.

Find my late fee See the substance penalty
The date that ends it 1 Jan an IBC still owing last year's fee is struck off A full year after the fee fell due. The Registrar publishes a warning notice within 30 days of 31 October first.

A Bahamas IBC asks very little of its owner each year, which is exactly why owners forget it. One government fee falls on the same day for every company on the register, and it grows twice before the Registrar removes the company. Pick the month you expect to pay and see what you'd owe. Every figure below comes from the International Business Companies Act and the official substance guidelines.

Key takeaways

  • The annual fee is US$350, or US$1,000 above US$50,000 of authorised capital, due 1 January whatever month the company was formed.
  • It rises by 10% after 31 March, then by a further half of the fee after 31 October.
  • Unpaid on 31 December, the company is struck off from 1 January and can no longer lawfully trade or deal with its assets.
  • Every IBC files an economic substance report within 9 months of its year end, even with nothing to report. Missing it starts at US$5,000.
  • Nothing about the accounts is filed and no audit applies, but records must be kept for 5 years.
  • With Heirson the year costs US$990, the government fee included.
Chapter 1

Bahamas IBC late fee by month: what you would owe

Unlike most registries, The Bahamas doesn't tie the fee to your formation date. Every IBC shares one fee year that opens on 1 January. Choose the capital band, then tap the month you'd pay in.

Section 176 of the International Business Companies Act adds 10% to a fee unpaid by 31 March and half the fee again if it is unpaid by 31 October; section 165 removes a company still unpaid on 31 December. Taken together, US$350 becomes US$560.

1
Key takeaway

One date for every IBC: 1 January. The price climbs in April and again in November.

Chapter 2

Everything else a Bahamas IBC owes in a year

The fee is the only money the government takes. Everything else is a filing or a record, and nearly all of it passes through your registered agent, the only party allowed to lodge it.

  • Registrar General
    Annual government feePaid through the agent, with the receipt kept on the company's file. The government's payment page gives the same 1 January date.
    1 January
  • Substance portal, via agent
    Economic substance reportOwed even when the company carries on no relevant activity at all.
    9 months after year end
  • Agent, then Registrar
    Accounting records declarationA signed statement that reliable records exist, where they're held and that they can be produced. The agent lodges it.
    Once a year
  • Registered agent
    Beneficial owner detailsAnyone holding 10% or more of the shares or votes goes into the agent's private database.
    15 days after a change
  • Registrar General
    Register of directors and officersA copy the public is entitled to inspect at the registry.
    12 months after a change

Notice what isn't on the list: no annual return, no accounts and no audit for an ordinary IBC.

Where you live: pick it

2
Key takeaway

Five obligations a year, and four of them leave through the agent.

Chapter 3

Why some guides give you different Bahamas dates

Search for the IBC renewal date and you'll meet 31 March, "no filings at all" and fee tables from 2004. Each has a source, and each misleads in its own way.

Renewal falls on 31 March.

31 March is the last day before the 10% increase. The fee itself falls due on 1 January. The 31 March annual return belongs to companies formed under the Companies Act, not to IBCs.

An IBC has no yearly filing.

It has no annual return. It still sends a substance report every year, and its agent lodges a records declaration.

A nominee director keeps your name off the record.

Since 19 January 2026, under the IBC (Amendment) Act 2025, nobody may sit as a director on another person's instructions. Fines reach US$50,000, and a company knowingly keeping one pays US$1,000 a day.

Directors are private.

The register of directors and officers goes to the Registrar and is open to public inspection. Owners, held in the agent's database, are not.

IBCs enjoy a 20 year tax exemption.

Preferential IBC exemptions ended for companies formed from 2019. An IBC doing no business in or from The Bahamas still pays no business licence tax, as the Department of Inland Revenue's guidance and our Bahamas tax guide explains.

3
Key takeaway

31 March is a penalty date, not the due date.

Chapter 4

Bahamas economic substance report: the cost of filing late

Every IBC reports, including one that only holds an investment account. The agent enters the report in the government's portal no later than nine months after the financial year ends, so 30 September for a December year end. Who has to pass the full test is set out in our Bahamas tax guide. Here is what silence costs under the substance guidelines for the Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act 2023.

30 days
US$5,000 plus US$500 a dayThe company doesn't give the agent what it needs, or the report never reaches the portal.
Up to US$100,000 plus US$1,000 a dayA false report, obstruction, or information destroyed.
Up to US$300,000Ignoring the authority's notices, which can also end in strike off.

The directors decide whether the company has a relevant activity and tell the agent, who doesn't have to second-guess them.

4
Key takeaway

A nil report is still a report, and silence starts at US$5,000.

Chapter 5

Records, registers and owners: the quiet duties

None of these has a fixed day in the calendar. They matter on the day a bank, a buyer or an authority asks. Our Bahamas IBC bank account guide lists what a bank asks for, and our Bahamas company search guide shows how a certificate is tested online.

5 yearsReliable accounting recordsMoney in and out, sales and purchases, assets and liabilities, backed by invoices and contracts, enough to draw up accounts on request. Failing costs up to US$10,000.
15 daysOwner changes to the agentAnyone reaching 10% of the shares or votes, or controlling the company another way, is reported within 15 days. Under the Register of Beneficial Ownership Act, only six named authorities can search the database.
12 monthsDirectors on the public fileAppointments and departures reach the Registrar within 12 months, where anyone may read them. Leaving them unfiled can lead to strike off.
90 daysIf the agent leavesA registered agent gives at least 90 days' notice before resigning. With no replacement by then, the company can be struck off.
5
Key takeaway

Records for five years, owners within 15 days, directors within 12 months.

Chapter 6

Struck off on 1 January, and the way back

  1. 1 JanuaryFee dueUS$350 on a standard IBC.
  2. 1 April10% addedUS$385 from this day.
  3. 1 NovemberHalf the fee addedUS$560 from this day.
  4. By 30 NovemberRegistrar's noticePublished within 30 days of 31 October.
  5. 1 January afterStruck offThe company may no longer trade or deal with its assets.

A struck-off IBC can't lawfully carry on business or touch its own assets, and its bank will notice quickly. Under the International Business Companies Act, the Registrar can restore it within five years: US$600 if it has been off the register for up to 24 months, US$1,000 after that, plus the fees it owes and US$100 for each year it spent struck off.

How long has the company been struck off?
6
Key takeaway

Restoration stays open for five years, at US$600 to US$1,000 plus everything owed.

Chapter 7

Changes and exits: the Registrar's other fees

Most years bring no change at all. When one does, these are the Registrar's own charges from the First Schedule of the Act, and we pass them on at cost.

US$280A new company name
US$300More capital, staying within US$50,000
US$980Capital raised above US$50,000, after which the fee is US$1,000 a year
US$50Certificate of good standing, for a bank or a buyer
US$700Continuing the company to another country, US$1,000 above US$50,000 of capital
US$600A merger, US$800 above US$50,000 of capital

Letting the fee lapse isn't a way out: the company can still be restored for five years, together with what it owes. To leave cleanly, continue it to another register or wind it up, and we price either route before anything is filed.

7
Key takeaway

Most changes cost US$50 to US$980 at the registry; an exit is priced before filing.

Chapter 8

What a Bahamas IBC costs with us each year

The government's part is fixed by the Act. Ours keeps the agent, the office and every yearly filing in place, and it doesn't change with the capital band.

Capital up to US$50,000: US$990 a year
US$350HeirsonUS$640
Capital over US$50,000: US$1,640 a year
US$1,000HeirsonUS$640
Inside our US$640 a year
  • Licensed registered agent and office in The Bahamas
  • The government fee, paid ahead of 1 January
  • Economic substance report, nil reports included
  • The yearly records declaration
  • Owner database updates within the 15 days
  • Reminders for every date in your dashboard
Not inside it
  • Registrar fees for changes, at cost
  • A certificate of good standing, US$50 at cost
  • Business licence tax, if the company does business in or from The Bahamas
  • Staff or premises, for a company with a relevant activity
  • A nominee director, which the law no longer allows

The government's share is invoiced ahead of every 1 January, ours on the anniversary of your formation. Year one is US$1,190 with formation.

8
Key takeaway

US$990 a year: US$350 to the government, US$640 to keep every filing on time.

Chapter 9

Bahamas annual fees and filings: questions, answered

??
How much is the Bahamas IBC annual fee?
US$350 a year when authorised capital is US$50,000 or less, and US$1,000 above that. Both amounts are set in the First Schedule of the International Business Companies Act.
When is the Bahamas IBC annual fee due?
On 1 January each year, for every IBC regardless of the month it was formed. Paying by 31 March avoids any increase.
What happens if I pay the Bahamas annual fee late?
After 31 March it rises by 10%, to US$385 on the standard fee. After 31 October half the fee is added again, bringing it to US$560. Still unpaid at 31 December, the company is struck off on 1 January.
Does a Bahamas IBC file an annual return or accounts?
No. Neither an annual return nor accounts go to the Registrar, and no audit applies to an ordinary IBC. It must still keep reliable accounting records for five years.
Does a dormant Bahamas IBC file an economic substance report?
Yes. Every IBC reports through its registered agent within nine months of its financial year end, even with no relevant activity. Failing to report starts at US$5,000 plus US$500 a day.
How do I restore a struck-off Bahamas IBC?
Apply to the Registrar within five years. The fee is US$600 if it has been struck off for up to 24 months and US$1,000 after that, plus the unpaid fees and US$100 for each year off the register.
Can I still use a nominee director in The Bahamas?
No. Since 19 January 2026 nobody may serve as a director on another person's instructions, as the Attorney-General's note to industry sets out. Nominee shareholders remain possible, but under the Register of Beneficial Ownership (Amendment) Act 2025 they must be declared and the real owner recorded.
What does Heirson charge each year for a Bahamas IBC?
US$990: the US$350 government fee at cost and US$640 for the agent, office, substance report, records declaration and owner updates. Above US$50,000 of capital it is US$1,640.

Changelog

  • 12 November 2026: first published.
  • 13 November 2026: official sources linked inside the text.
Your Bahamas IBC

A Bahamas IBC that never reaches the November price.

We pay the fee before 1 January and file the substance report on time, for US$990 a year.

See the Bahamas IBC Bahamas tax guide