Buying Costs
Buying a house in Nevis is relatively easy, whilst there is no purchase tax in Nevis, there are various acquisition costs which are payable when buying property. There is a 1EC cent for every EC$5 of the purchase price contribution to the National Assurance Fund, the registration fee is EC$7.20. These are contributions to a title assurance which is a legal requirement on St. Kitts & Nevis. The Inland Revenue registration fee is approximately EC$50. The preparation of plans costs about another US$300 and the mandatory lawyer will charge a conveyance fee of about 2.5% of the purchase price.
A general guide for legal fees is 2.5% on the first EC$25,000, 2% on the next EC$25,000 and 1% on the next EC$950,000.
A mortgage incurs an extra 1% stamp duty on the value of the loan plus legal fees payable to the bank on a reducing balance based on the value of the loan, as per the legal fees above.
Once the house is purchased taxes and other expenses are quite low. The Controller of Customs assesses the annual rental value of the property and a 5% land tax is levied annually on this rental value. However, in most cases that tax does not amount to more than about US$1,000 per year. No other running taxes are due. If the property is rented, any rental income is tax-free for the owner. In the event of a sale, there is no capital gains tax to pay either. The tax system on St. Kitts & Nevis is financially interesting to those who wish to become resident because income is not taxed, there are no wealth taxes.
