The Bahamas VAT registration threshold
The Bahamas VAT registration threshold is 100000 BSD, in force since 1 Jan 2015. Last checked against the official source on 10 Aug 2026.
The turnover at which VAT/GST registration becomes compulsory in The Bahamas, with the period the test runs over, the rule for non-established suppliers, and any separate treatment of imported digital services.
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What this value means
PERIOD BASIS: rolling, not calendar - backward limb s.19(1)(a) tests turnover (taxable supplies and taxable importations; exempt supplies are outside 'taxable supplies') at the end of ANY period of twelve or fewer months; forward limb s.19(1)(b) tests expected turnover at the beginning of any 365-day period. The test is 'in excess of' - exactly BSD 100,000 does not trigger it. s.19(3)(a): application to the Comptroller within FOURTEEN days of meeting the requirement (Department of Inland Revenue, OTAS portal); public entertainment promoters (s.19(1)(c)) instead need Comptroller-determined thresholds and must apply at least 48 hours before the event. s.19(4): a person meeting the requirements is a taxable person whether or not he applies. DIR applies an administrative de-registration threshold of BSD 80,000. NON-ESTABLISHED SUPPLIERS: no separate regime or fiscal representative requirement - but s.19(1)(e) (inserted by VAT (Amendment) Act, No. 31 of 2019, s.7(a)(iii); amended by No. 12 of 2020) makes registration compulsory REGARDLESS OF THE REGISTRATION THRESHOLD for a person 'domiciled within or outside The Bahamas to the extent such person provides, either directly or through an agent, telecommunication services or electronic commerce to persons for use, enjoyment, benefit or advantage within The Bahamas'. s.2(3) deems such provision by a person domiciled outside The Bahamas to be a taxable supply made within The Bahamas and a taxable activity of that person, with the person deemed resident to that extent. Registration is via the same online process as residents (vat.revenue.gov.bs); no local agent required. Group registration cannot mix a resident and a non-resident (s.22(4)(a)). IMPORTED DIGITAL SERVICES: taxed through the s.2(3)/s.19(1)(e) electronic-commerce deeming rather than a separate VES-style regime. 'Electronic commerce' covers business transactions through electronic transmission of data (statutory examples: websites, web-hosting, software and updates, digitised products including e-books, streaming/broadcast events, distance teaching, search engines, downloads of music, films and games, mobile applications). Vacation-home MARKETPLACES (defined s.2: a person other than the homeowner providing a platform through which vacation-home rental accommodation is offered or payment is collected) must register regardless of the threshold under s.19(2)(b) (substituted by No. 31 of 2019 s.7(b)) and are liable for the VAT on the full rental, services and their commission (s.5(2A), most recently substituted by No. 20 of 2023); a homeowner who is a foreign person supplying vacation-home rentals is likewise registrable regardless of threshold (s.19(2)(c)). Traps: (1) The nil threshold for telecoms/electronic-commerce suppliers in s.19(1)(e) is easy to miss - DIR's older registration guidance (2017) predates it and still reads as if the BSD 100,000 threshold applies to everyone; the 2019-2020 amendments override that for e-commerce, and they catch domestically domiciled e-commerce providers too, not only foreign ones. (2) The 14-day application window in s.19(3) is much shorter than most VAT laws; liability as a taxable person arises from meeting the test, not from registering (s.19(4)). (3) The forward test runs from the beginning of any 365-day period, so a new business expecting >100k must register at the outset. (4) The backward test is 'twelve or fewer months' - a fast start can trigger registration before a full year. (5) The de-registration figure (BSD 80,000) is administrative DIR practice, not in the Act. (6) The standard VAT rate has moved (7.5% - 12% - 10% from 1 January 2022) but the threshold has stayed at BSD 100,000 since commencement on 1 January 2015 - do not infer threshold changes from rate changes. (7) The 2017 PDF guides on the DIR site fetch as damaged/binary via scripted retrieval; use the November 2024 consolidated Act reprint instead. (8) Turnover counts taxable supplies (standard- and zero-rated) - exempt supplies are excluded, unlike Jamaica's GCT test.
Get it programmatically
curl https://usaref.dev/v1/bs/vat-registration-threshold
# $0.005 per call — x402 on Base (USDC). No key, no signup.
# History: curl https://usaref.dev/v1/bs/vat-registration-threshold/history?from=2020-01-01
# Provenance: curl https://usaref.dev/provenance/bs/vat-registration-thresholdOther The Bahamas series: Central Bank of The Bahamas Discount Rate (Bank Rate) · VAT standard rate · National minimum wage (weekly) · Public holidays · CPI inflation (year-on-year) · Corporate income tax rate · Withholding tax rates · Statutory interest on judgment debts · Personal income tax brackets · Statutory social-insurance contributions
The same figure elsewhere: United States · Canada · Costa Rica · Dominican Republic · El Salvador · all 10