Tax on rental income in Curacao

The Curacao tax authorities assume 4 possible situations:

To determine whether you have to pay tax on your rental income, the tax authorities look at the following options:

• You rent out your house or apartment for a long time with a minimum continuous period of 12 months and the tenant is registered on Curacao (has a sedula) and uses the house for permanent residence. In that case you pay no tax if the owner is a private person.

• You rent out your house or apartment for a long time and the tenant is not registered on Curacao (does not have a sedula). In that case you pay 7% sales tax to the Tax Authorities Curacao.

• You rent out your house or apartment on Curacao as a vacation rental for shorter periods. Also in that case you pay 7% sales tax to the tax authorities in Curacao.

• You rent out a house, apartment or room for a period longer than 90 days but shorter than 12 months. Or you rent out commercial premises such as a shop, office building or storage shed. In both cases you pay 6% sales tax to the Tax Authorities Curacao.
  
  

To whom whom do you have to pay tax on rental income on Curacao?

Until the end of 2015, 7% lodging tax (room tax) was collected by the Tourist Office of Curacao (CTB) when people rented a house or apartment for a short period of time to vacationers. However, this 7% accommodation tax has been replaced by 7% turnover tax as of 1 January 2016. Where previously the CTB in Curacao was charged with checking and collecting the lodging tax, this is now the responsibility of the Tax Authorities.

As a homeowner you now have to make declarations and payments to the Tax Authorities Curacao. On the tax return you indicate how high your rental income has been over a certain period. This can be done online via the website of the Curacao tax authorities at this link. You can also request a paper declaration form. You will then receive a tax assessment of 7% of the specified amount. You must pay the amount of this assessment to the tax collector. This can again be done online, via online banking, or at the cash register of the tax office in the WTC building in Piscadera.

Do you rent out your house via www.AirBnB.com?

An agreement is currently being drawn up between the Tax Authorities Curacao and the leading website www.airbnb.com. The intention is that AirBnB automatically charges 7% cost/sales tax on every online booking via the website. AirBnB withholds this tax and makes payment to the government. A similar agreement was previously concluded with the government of Aruba. This is not yet complete for Curacao and until then you have to continue to file a declaration yourself.

When the arrangement comes into effect, it goes as follows: As a landlord, you must send proof of payment, which you will receive via AirBnB, to the Tax Authorities Curacao. This so that they can check whether all turnover tax owed by you has been paid via AirBnB. It is expected that in the future, in addition to AirBnB, other websites will also enter into such an agreement with the government of Curacao.

Interested to rent out your vacation home in Curacao but not looking forward to all the work?
Contact PMI Curacao for professional property management in Curacao. 

As a client of RE/MAX BonBini you will receive a special offer when you sign a management contract with PMI Curacao. 
Ask us for details.