Offshore Jurisdictions for Tax Planning: 5 Criteria in 2026

There is no offshore jurisdiction that is best for everyone. For a Brazilian tax resident, five things weigh: how Brazil's Federal Revenue Service (Receita Federal) classifies the country or regime, whether there is information exchange with Brazil, what substance local law requires, how the bank account works and which obligations remain in Brazil.

This guide teaches you to compare using official sources, with no ranking.

How do you compare offshore jurisdictions for tax planning?

Compare by criteria you can verify in an official source, not by "best of" lists. Each criterion below has a right place to check.

This guide has no cost table. Registration and maintenance fees are set by each jurisdiction, and only the registry's official table on the day of contracting counts.

Does the Revenue Service consider the jurisdiction a favored-taxation one?

It depends on the country and, sometimes, only on one regime within it. Normative Instruction RFB 1,037/2010 (Instrução Normativa RFB 1.037/2010, "IN RFB 1,037/2010") has two lists. Art. 1 lists countries and dependencies that do not tax income or tax it at a rate below 17% (previously 20%), or whose domestic law does not allow access to corporate composition, ownership or the beneficial owner. Art. 2 lists privileged tax regimes within countries.

What the text checked shows:

Why this matters: Law No. 14,754/2023 (Lei 14.754/2023) deals specifically with an individual's controlled entity that is in a favored-taxation country, or benefits from a privileged tax regime, or has its own active income below 60% of total income (art. 5, § 5). The profits of that controlled entity are taxed on December 31 of each year (art. 5, caput), at a rate of 15% (art. 2, § 1).

This classification changes with the rule. Check the current text of the IN before deciding. For a country-by-country comparison, see the article best jurisdiction for offshore. For the effect of an offshore being opaque or transparent, see opaque or transparent offshore. For the United States in particular, see the US LLC for ads.

Does Brazil exchange information with offshore jurisdictions?

Generally, yes, through a multilateral agreement. The OECD list of signatories to the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), as of March 13, 2025, shows these dates:

The BVI's list of CRS participating jurisdictions, published on January 29, 2026, includes Brazil. In practice, a foreign account of a Brazilian tax resident may have its data reported to the Revenue Service. The detailed workings are in the article on CRS and automatic exchange of information.

What is economic substance and who requires it?

It is the requirement that the entity have a real presence for certain activities. Each jurisdiction has its own rule, and Brazil has its own active income test.

In the BVI, the economic substance law says an entity carrying out a "relevant activity" must meet the substance requirements for it (section 5). Section 6 lists the relevant activities: banking, insurance, fund management, financing and leasing, headquarters, shipping, holding, intellectual property and distribution and service centre. The "holding" there is the entity that only holds equity participations and only receives dividends and capital gains.

That text is the revised edition of January 1, 2020. The law was amended later, so check the consolidated version in force.

In Brazil, the own active income test of Law 14,754 (60% of total income) applies to an individual's controlled entity, in any country. A controlled entity with own active income below 60% is taxed on December 31 even without distribution. See also the rules on CFC around the world.

What obligations remain in Brazil, whichever jurisdiction you choose?

• •Individual: report on the DAA, under Law 14,754/2023, the income from investments and the profits of controlled entities abroad.
• •CBE: a resident with assets abroad that add up to US$ 1,000,000.00 on December 31 files the Declaration of Brazilian Capital Abroad with the Central Bank. The legal basis is Law 14,286/2021.
• •Legal entity: Law 12,973/2014 requires including in taxable profit and in the CSLL base the portion of the investment in a foreign controlled entity equivalent to its profits (art. 77).

These obligations apply to all jurisdictions. Compliance enters the decision from the start, not afterward.

How do you choose the jurisdiction in practice?

1. •Define the purpose of the structure: investing, running a business, receiving from clients or protecting assets. Each points to different criteria.
2. •Check the Revenue Service classification (IN RFB 1,037/2010) and the effect of Law 14,754 in your case.
3. •Check information exchange in the OECD list and in the jurisdiction's list.
4. •Read the local substance law and see whether your activity is "relevant".
5. •Validate the bank before incorporating: depending on the type of structure, the bank decides whether to open an account. The article on bank accounts for offshores details this step.
6. •Build the calendar of obligations in Brazil and in the jurisdiction, with an owner and a deadline.

The final design belongs to corporate structures and tax planning. If the question is the individual's planning as a whole, see the guide to international tax planning.

What mistakes should you avoid when choosing a jurisdiction?

• •Choosing for the "lowest tax" without looking at the Revenue Service classification and Law 14,754.
• •Assuming an account abroad stays out of the Revenue Service's sight.
• •Incorporating the company before confirming the bank accepts the structure.
• •Ignoring the substance required by local law.
• •Copying someone else's structure without comparing goals and wealth.