Owning Property on Sint Maarten from Abroad
Many owners of villas, condominiums and apartments on Sint Maarten live in the United States, Canada or Europe. Sint Maarten taxes property where it is located. Where the owner lives does not change that.
This guide explains which taxes apply when you buy, let, hold and sell a property on the island. It also explains the difference between owning in your own name, through a company and through a private fund foundation.
The guide covers the Sint Maarten side. Your home country will usually tax the same income as well, under its own rules.
Buying a property
Transfer tax of 4 percent is due on the deed that transfers legal ownership. It is calculated on the value of the property and settled through the civil law notary when the deed is signed. A price in the deed below the value does not reduce the tax. The same tax applies to rights over property, such as long lease.
No turnover tax is charged on a purchase on which transfer tax is paid.
A lot of property on the island is held in long lease. Before you buy, check the remaining term, the ground rent and the conditions of the lease. A long lease with only a few years left is worth less than a property owned outright.
Buying the shares in a company or foundation that owns a property is a different transaction from buying the property itself. Whether transfer tax applies then depends on the facts. We test that before the deal is signed.
Holding a property
Property tax is in the legislation at 0.3 percent of the value a year. It is not levied and no assessments are issued, so holding a property on Sint Maarten costs no annual property tax at present. The charge has not been abolished, so the position can change.
Sint Maarten has no wealth tax.
Letting the property
Three taxes can apply to rent: income tax, turnover tax and room tax. Which of them apply depends on how you let and to whom.
Income tax on the rent
An owner who lives abroad pays Sint Maarten income tax on rent from a property on the island. It makes no difference whether the rent is paid on Sint Maarten or into a bank account abroad.
Rent from a property held in your own name is taxed on 65 percent of the gross rent. The other 35 percent is a fixed deduction for costs. Mortgage interest is deductible on top of that. Actual costs above the fixed deduction cannot be deducted, and there is no depreciation.
Every taxpayer, resident or not, receives the basic tax credit. Owners who live abroad file Form B, the income tax return for non-residents. Our page on the Sint Maarten personal income tax return explains the forms.
An owner who does not file can receive an estimated assessment. The burden of proof then shifts to the owner, and an estimate is hard to undo afterwards. Tax administrations receive more and more data from booking platforms and payment providers, so not filing is a real risk.
Room tax on short stays
Room tax is 5 percent of the price of the accommodation. It is charged on guests who are not registered as residents of Sint Maarten. The owner or the operator collects it from the guest.
- The tax is paid before the fifteenth day of the following month, with a signed statement.
- Late payment adds a surcharge of 10 percent.
- An annual return follows before 1 February.
An owner who lets a condominium through an international platform collects room tax in the same way as a hotel. A payment by the platform settles the obligation only if it covers the entire price the guest paid.
Turnover tax on rent
Turnover tax is 5 percent. A private owner who lets a property on a regular basis counts as an entrepreneur for turnover tax, even without a business in the ordinary sense.
Two exemptions matter most for owners:
- Letting a home to residents of Sint Maarten who live in it permanently.
- Short stays on which room tax has been paid over the entire price.
Room tax and turnover tax therefore do not add up on the same stay. One of the two applies. If no room tax is paid, or room tax is paid over part of the price only, turnover tax is due on the rest. Skipping the room tax registration saves nothing for that reason.
Extras charged to guests, such as food and drinks, excursions or equipment hire, are ordinary turnover.
Turnover tax is normally filed and paid every month, within fifteen days after the month ends. A private owner who lets property can ask to file once a year instead. That option has to be requested and does not apply automatically.
When letting turns into a business
Buying a property, letting it through an agent and selling it years later is managing your own wealth. Buying units to renovate and sell, again and again, is running a business. The rent and the profit on sale are then taxed as business income. Letting with hotel-type services can also cross that line. The difficult cases sit in between, and it pays to look at this at the start.
Selling a property
A private owner who sells a property held in their own name pays no Sint Maarten tax on the gain. That applies to owners who live abroad as well. It stops applying once the owner is running a business, as described above.
A company that sells a property is taxed on the gain at 34.5 percent. A private fund foundation that sells a property is exempt, provided it does not conduct a business.
Your home country may tax the gain under its own rules.
Own name, company or private fund foundation
How you hold the property decides how the rent and a later sale are taxed. The choice is easiest to make before the purchase.
In your own name
- Rent is taxed on 65 percent of the gross rent, with mortgage interest deductible.
- A gain on sale is not taxed, as long as you are not running a business.
- You file an income tax return each year.
Through a company
- The company pays profit tax of 34.5 percent on its actual profit, including gains on sale.
- Actual costs and depreciation are deductible, and an investment allowance applies to the building.
- Sint Maarten levies no withholding tax on dividends.
- The company files a profit tax return with financial statements each year.
Through a private fund foundation
- Rent and gains are free of profit tax, as long as the foundation does not conduct a business.
- Distributions to beneficiaries who live abroad are not taxed on Sint Maarten.
- The foundation files a profit tax return with financial statements each year, even when no tax is due.
Buyers on Sint Maarten are often American or Canadian. Many of them are glad to take over a foundation that owns the property, which can make a later sale easier. How the foundation works is set out in Private Fund Foundation (PFF) in Sint Maarten: 2026 Guide.
Inheritance
Sint Maarten has inheritance tax legislation, but the tax is not collected. Heirs of a property on the island therefore pay no Sint Maarten inheritance tax. The tax on the estate is decided by the rules of the country where the owner or the heirs live.
Your home country
The United States, Canada and most European countries tax their residents on income from property abroad as well. Many of them give relief for tax paid on Sint Maarten. How that works depends on your country and, in some cases, on a tax treaty. The Sint Maarten return and the return at home should tell the same story.
How we help property owners
A large part of our practice is owners who do not live on the island. We prepare and file their returns, register them for room tax and turnover tax, and deal with the Inspector when an assessment is wrong. Owners who have not filed for some years can still put that right, and it is better done before the tax office estimates the income.
We start with a short intake and an engagement letter. For the wider picture, see Doing Business in Sint Maarten: Tax Guide 2026. Filing dates are listed in Sint Maarten Tax Forms and Filing Deadlines 2026.
The office can be reached by e-mail and WhatsApp at any time.