Tax in Aruba

Who is the tax authority?

The Departamento di Impuesto (DIMP) administers all taxes in Aruba. DIMP sits under the Ministry of Finance of Aruba at impuesto.aw.

The primary legislation is the Landsverordening op de Inkomstenbelasting 1943 (personal income tax ordinance) and the Landsverordening Vennootschapsbelasting 1965 (corporate income tax). The Belastingregeling voor het Koninkrijk (BRK, the Kingdom Tax Arrangement revised in 2014) governs taxation among the four countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the Netherlands, Aruba, Curacao, and Sint Maarten.

The Aruban Bar Association and the Orde van Belastingadviseurs (tax-adviser professional body) set professional standards for licensed practitioners on the island.

What is the tax year and when are returns due?

Aruba's tax year is the calendar year (1 January to 31 December). Individual Inkomstenbelasting (IB) returns are due by 31 May of the following year.

Corporate Vennootschapsbelasting (VPB) returns are due within six months of the financial year-end. Belasting op Bedrijfsomzetten (BBO) and BAZV turnover tax are filed and remitted monthly.

Who counts as an Aruba tax resident?

A person is an Aruba tax resident when they meet either the 183-day physical-presence test or the permanent-abode test. The permanent-abode test examines whether an individual's center of vital interests — home, family, economic ties — is located in Aruba.

Residents pay Inkomstenbelasting on worldwide income. Non-residents are taxed only on Aruba-source income such as salary from an Aruban employer, rental income from Aruban property, or profits from an Aruban business.

Intra-Kingdom moves between Aruba, the Netherlands, Curacao, or Sint Maarten trigger a residency re-test under the BRK 2014 tiebreaker rules. Days spent in the Netherlands as a visitor do not automatically trigger Dutch residency while Aruba remains the center of vital interests.

What are the personal income tax rates?

Aruba uses seven progressive Inkomstenbelasting brackets for 2024:

Aruban employees also contribute to social insurance funds. The Algemene Ouderdomsverzekering (AOV, old-age pension) and Algemene Weduwen- en Wezenverzekering (AWW, survivors) are employer-employee shared contributions. The Algemene Zorgverzekering (AZV, national health insurance) adds another layer to the total employment cost picture.

How does corporate tax work?

Aruba's Vennootschapsbelasting (VPB) has a standard rate of 25% for most business entities. The rate applies to worldwide income for residents and Aruba-source income for non-resident entities.

The Aruba Free Zone (AFZ) has operated since 2000, offering import and re-export incentives for qualifying trade activities. AFZ entities must operate within designated zone boundaries and meet minimum investment thresholds. Losses may be carried forward under the VPB rules; the specific carry-forward period is governed by DIMP regulations.

What about BBO, BAZV, and other indirect taxes?

Aruba uses a turnover-tax model rather than a credit-method VAT. The Belasting op Bedrijfsomzetten (BBO) is levied on business gross turnover at 7%, raised in 2023 from the prior 1.5% rate. The Bestemmingsheffing AZV (BAZV) health-insurance levy adds 1.5% on the same turnover base.

Aruba has no credit-method VAT. Input-tax recovery — the mechanism that makes EU-style VAT neutral for registered businesses — does not exist in the BBO/BAZV system. Cascading turnover tax is a structural cost that differs meaningfully from a credit-invoice VAT environment.

How are cryptoassets taxed?

Aruba has no dedicated cryptoasset tax legislation as of 2024. The Centrale Bank van Aruba (CBA) issues regulatory guidance on virtual assets within its financial-supervision perimeter, but the CBA framework addresses prudential oversight rather than income categorization.

What is the treaty network?

Aruba has a small number of comprehensive bilateral double-tax agreements — approximately three direct DTAs. The Kingdom Tax Arrangement (Belastingregeling voor het Koninkrijk, BRK 2014) provides the primary framework governing intra-Kingdom income flows among Aruba, the Netherlands, Curacao, Sint Maarten, and the three BES islands.

Aruba participates in the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information through the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands ratified the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) as a Kingdom-wide signatory; Aruba's bilateral treaties are modified accordingly where the counterparty has also ratified. Aruba is a CRS adopter.

Where does Aruba sit in the regional cohort?

Aruba anchors the Caribbean Dutch Kingdom cohort alongside Curacao, Sint Maarten, and the BES islands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba). The wider Caribbean splits into five distinct tax archetypes:

Common pitfalls and traps

Businesses and individuals regularly encounter these issues when operating in Aruba:

When should you talk to an Aruba tax-adviser?

Some situations are routine enough to handle directly with DIMP. Others benefit from a licensed Aruba practitioner:

• Your income reaches the upper IB brackets (above AWG 147,455 where the 38% rate begins)
• You are structuring through an IPC or using the Aruba Free Zone regime
• You are relocating between Aruba and another Kingdom country — Netherlands, Curacao, or Sint Maarten
• You have received a DIMP assessment, audit query, or back-tax notice
• Your business faces the combined BBO + BAZV monthly obligation and you need to confirm the turnover base
• You hold or trade cryptoassets and want clarity on how DIMP categorizes the income
• You are a foreign investor evaluating Aruba and need to understand the IPC qualifying conditions

You can find vetted Aruba practitioners through the directory below.

This page is general information. It is not personal guidance for your specific situation. Tax rules change. Always check current figures on the DIMP website (impuesto.aw) or with a licensed Aruba practitioner before filing.