Concept
Mauritius combines moderate taxes, an Anglo-French legal tradition and a mild climate, which is why entrepreneurs and remote workers have long favoured the island. The corporate rate remains 15%, while personal income tax turned progressive on 1 July 2025. The main benefit for an arriving resident is that foreign income is taxed only on the part brought onto the island.
Taxes
From 1 July 2025 the Finance Act 2025 replaced the former flat rate with a progressive scale. The first MUR 500,000 of annual chargeable income is exempt, the next MUR 500,000 is taxed at 10%, and everything above MUR 1 million at 20%. The former solidarity levy has been abolished, but a temporary Fair Share Contribution was introduced for top earners: on net income above MUR 12 million an extra 15% is due on the excess, a rule set for income from 1 July 2025 and the two years that follow. The tax year runs from 1 July to 30 June, returns are filed by 30 September, and electronic filers are usually granted an extension to mid-October.
Residence and territoriality
A person is treated as a tax resident who spends at least 183 days on the island in a tax year, or 270 days in total across that year and the two preceding ones, or who is domiciled in Mauritius — provided their permanent home is not located outside it. A resident is formally taxed on worldwide income, but the foreign part falls into tax only to the extent actually remitted to Mauritius. The system is partially territorial and operates, in effect, on a remittance basis. Salary for work physically performed on the island counts as Mauritian income even if the money arrives in a foreign account. See also the basic residence tests: days and the centre of vital interests.
How to obtain status
Several residence options are available. The Occupation Permit is a combined work-and-residence permit in three categories: investor (a transfer of at least USD 50,000 into a Mauritian company, turnover of at least Rs 1.5 million from the first year and Rs 20 million cumulatively by the fifth), professional qualified by salary level, and self-employed in services (the same USD 50,000 and letters from three clients). The Premium Visa is a one-year visa for remote workers and retirees with foreign income from USD 1,500 a month, with no right to local employment. See also digital nomad visas. Residence through property comes from buying a home from USD 375,000 in an approved scheme — IRS, RES, PDS, Smart City, IHS or G+2; the status holds while the property is retained and extends to a spouse and children up to 24. See also the residence-by-investment visas overview. From 1 December 2025 a non-refundable USD 50 fee applies to Occupation Permit and retirement-permit applications.
Substance and tax discipline
The low rate and the remittance regime depend on real presence. After the revision of the treaty with India and the OECD's wider campaign against structures without genuine economic activity, Mauritius tightened its substance requirements: a company must carry on genuine activity and keep people and expenditure on the island (CIGA), otherwise access to reliefs and treaties comes into question — see economic substance. For an individual, under automatic exchange of information via CRS, both remitted and foreign-retained income is visible to other countries' tax authorities, so remittance planning takes account of reporting in the home country (see tax transparency). The UK's 2025 reform closed the classic non-dom regime — UK non-dom 2025.
Corporate taxation
Mauritius is often used for purposes beyond personal residence. A Global Business company in Mauritius enjoys a partial-exemption regime: 80% on certain types of foreign income — foreign dividends and interest — lowers the effective rate to roughly 3% where the substance and CIGA conditions are met, while the base corporate rate stays at 15%. Families therefore often combine personal resident status with a Mauritian holding company or fund. See also holding structures. Where a risk of dual residence arises, the dispute is settled by the tie-breaker of the relevant treaty. See also tax residence tie-breaker rules. Other tax-residence options include zero-tax islands and territorial regimes — Cayman and Bahamas and the UAE.
Historical development
Historically, the island has facilitated capital investment into India and Africa. For decades investors went through Mauritius thanks to the treaty with India, which exempted gains on shares of Indian companies from withholding tax. The 2016 protocol changed that: from 1 April 2017 India taxes such gains itself, while investments made before that date remain protected by grandfathering. After the treaty was revised and under OECD pressure, the emphasis shifted to real presence and substance, to wealthy residents and companies with genuine activity on the island.
Q/A
Does a Premium Visa allow work for a local employer?
No. The Premium Visa is designed for a long stay and remote work or business sourced outside Mauritius. Local employment requires the appropriate work status, usually an Occupation Permit or another work-and-residence permission authorised by law.
Does a visa make someone tax resident automatically?
No. Immigration status and tax residence are tested separately. The MRA applies domicile and physical-presence tests, including 183 days in the current income year or an aggregate 270 days in the two preceding income years.
Is foreign income always exempt while the money stays offshore?
No. The source of the income and the person's tax status must be classified first. For residents, the MRA refers to Mauritius-source income and foreign income remitted to the island; work physically performed there requires a separate source analysis.
Does buying any property qualify the owner for residence?
No. Residence is tied to EDB-approved schemes, not to every apartment or villa. For PDS, IRS, RES and qualifying G+2 property, the official residence threshold is USD 375,000; the permit remains linked to continued ownership of the qualifying property.
Can an ordinary residence permit replace an Occupation Permit?
Usually not: residence alone does not always authorise paid local work. An Occupation Permit combines residence and work rights for an investor, professional or self-employed person; exceptions depend on the precise category, including certain qualifying property routes.