How to send money to Bermuda in 2026: dollars, the currency purchase tax and a home licence

In 2026 money goes to Bermuda in US dollars: the Bermuda dollar has matched the US dollar one to one since 1972, and banks keep accounts in both. An incoming transfer is not taxed, while a resident buying foreign currency pays 1.25%. A foreigner buys a home under a licence costing 6.5-12.5% of the price.

In detail

Routes for sending money to Bermuda: table in 2026

1 Bermuda dollar equals 1 US dollar, so every amount below is in both currencies at once. Money arriving on the islands is received by banks licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and every route in the table ends with crediting at one of them or on the transaction lawyer's account.

For a move or a home purchase the first row fits most often. If the sender's bank takes long to check a transfer to the islands, there are usually more options than it seems: tell a manager about your situation, and they will choose a route for your amount.

The sender's bank needs 4 details: the recipient's name as in the passport, the account number, the Bermudian bank's international code and its address in Hamilton. The islands have no long international account number, and the ordinary number goes in that field. Choose the transfer currency by the currency of the recipient's account: send US dollars to a dollar account, and the bank has nothing to exchange on crediting.

The Bermuda dollar and the US dollar: one price, two currencies

Since 1972 the Bermuda dollar has been pegged to the US dollar one to one, and it is issued by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. In shops, taxis and restaurants US dollars are accepted on a par with local ones.

For a transfer this means no conversion is needed: $200,000 from another country arrives as 200,000 Bermuda or US dollars, depending on the account currency. An exchange only comes in if you send euros, pounds or other currencies: then the bank converts them into dollars on crediting.

Deposits in Bermuda dollars are insured up to 25,000 per person at each bank, a protection introduced by a 2011 law. Capital above that amount is held at several banks or in securities on a separate account.

The 1.25% tax on buying currency: why money is kept in US dollars

Since 1 April 2019 a Bermuda resident who buys foreign currency for Bermuda dollars at a local bank pays a 1.25% tax. The bank withholds it itself on the exchange. Money arriving on the islands is not subject to this tax: it only applies to exchanging Bermuda dollars into other currencies.

Hence a simple rule for those moving: capital that may later leave the islands is kept on a dollar account, and only living costs are changed into Bermuda dollars. Example: a family sent $1 million and immediately exchanged it all into Bermuda dollars. If a year later it needs $600,000 for a home in the USA, the reverse exchange will cost $7,500 in tax. On a dollar account the same money leaves with no tax.

The tax also applies to transfers from the islands: if a resident sends money abroad from a Bermuda dollar account, the bank first buys currency with it and withholds 1.25%. That is why salary and rental income in Bermuda are received in Bermuda dollars, while savings for children's study or a home in another country are built up on a dollar account from the start.

Residents may hold foreign-currency accounts both in Bermuda and abroad. A manager will advise how to spread the money you send across currencies and accounts so that the currency purchase tax does not eat part of the capital at the next move.

A home in Bermuda: a licence and a fee of 6.5% to 12.5%

A buyer without Bermudian status obtains a government licence to purchase and pays a fee on the price: 12.5% for a detached house, 8% for a flat in a complex, 6.5% for a home in a hotel complex. The application costs about $1,710, and the licence is issued in 3-6 months.

Foreigners may buy houses with an annual rental value from $126,000 and flats with a value from $25,800. The annual rental value is the sum the home would let for in a year, and it is set in the tax register. A foreign buyer owns one property on the islands and uses it for their family.

Example: a house for $3.2 million. The 12.5% licence fee is $400,000, and it is sent together with the price through the transaction lawyer's account. Transfer terms for such a deal are available from a manager in advance, and properties are collected on the property in Bermuda page.

The deposit is sent to the lawyer after the contract is signed, and the rest of the price and the fee once the licence is ready. So a large transfer is split into 2 dates under the contract, and the recipient's bank checks each part against one file.

How much to send to Bermuda for residence

The economic investor and resident certificate gives the right to live in Bermuda for an investment from $2.5 million (2.5 million Bermuda dollars): in housing, a local business, government securities or island funds. The investment is held for 5 years, with at least 90 days a year spent on the islands, and the application costs about $2,760.

Those living on income from another country can use the annual residence permit: income from $75,000 a year, private health insurance and a $275 fee. How both routes work is described on the life and remote work in Bermuda page, and taxes on the taxes in Bermuda page.

Bermuda has no personal income tax and no capital gains tax, so deposit interest and income from selling securities are kept in full. Those working on the islands pay payroll tax, and the employee rate is shown on the same taxes page.

For an investor this is a plan of three transfers: the investment, the licence fee if the investment is a home, and living money. Documents on the origin of the whole 2.5 million are prepared once, and the bank on the islands checks every transfer against them.

Documents by level: what a bank in Bermuda will ask

• Up to $10,000. The bank checks the name, the account number and the payment purpose. For helping relatives or rent this is enough.
• $10,000-100,000. The bank asks for the sender's account statement and a document matching the purpose: a lease, a school invoice, a donor's letter.
• From $100,000. The bank looks into the source of the whole capital: the sale of a business or flat, an inheritance, income over the years. For a home and residence the file is prepared for the full sum at once.

When buying a home the documents are reviewed twice: by the bank on the islands and by the transaction lawyer who receives the deposit and the licence fee. One folder of documents translated into English works for both, so it is put together before the first transfer.

The general rules are in proof of source of funds and moving home sale proceeds abroad, and a plan for the whole capital is on the capital relocation page.

Onward from Bermuda: the USA, the United Kingdom, Switzerland

3 destinations come up more often than others: Bermuda is 2 hours' flight from New York, and the islands' insurance market is tied to London and Zurich.

• To the USA: a home, university and a brokerage account in New York.
• To the United Kingdom: the London insurance market and children's study.
• To Switzerland: wealth management in Zurich and Geneva.

Sending money to nearby countries

• How to send money to the Cayman Islands: duty on a home and a deposit for residence
• How to send money to the British Virgin Islands: a company, a trust and a villa
• How to send money to the Bahamas: a dollar one to one with the US dollar
• How to send money to Canada: family and work in Toronto

How to move capital to and from the islands as a whole is covered on the capital relocation page.

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