Services · Trusts & private foundations

BVI trust

Updated 6 October 2026

Open pricing. The final quote is fixed in writing before work starts.

The BVI is one of the leading trust jurisdictions: its legislation is rooted in English common law and built for structures holding international assets. A BVI trust is used for asset protection, succession planning and holding shares in companies, including through a private trust company (PTC) where a family wants to stay involved in management.

We advise on the structure, draft the trust deed and supporting documents, and arrange trustee services and annual maintenance of the trust. Where needed, we incorporate a BVI company to hold the trust assets, assist with opening a bank account and register a PTC. Everyone involved in the structure goes through compliance checks - a standard requirement, with the fee depending on the number of persons and the risk level.

How a British Virgin Islands trust works

An ordinary BVI trust is governed by the Trustee Ordinance. A trust does not have to be registered and there is no public register of trusts, according to the BVI Financial Services Commission. For holding island companies there is a separate 2003 Special Trusts Act: shares of a BVI company go into such a trust, the trustee holds them regardless of the financial advantage of selling and does not intervene in management, and directors are appointed and removed under the trust instrument. One of the trustees of such a trust must be a BVI licensed trust company or a private trust company, according to the Commission's guidance.

Families choose this when they want to pass a family company to the next generation while keeping management with their own directors.

How the setup works

1. Defining the task: which assets, who the beneficiaries are, whether a trust of family company shares is needed.
2. Choosing the trustee: a licensed trust company or your own private trust company.
3. The trust deed and the letter of wishes.
4. Transferring assets and company shares into the trust.
5. Ongoing administration: trustee reports, annual fees, changes.

What documents you need

Under anti-money laundering law the trustee identifies the settlor and beneficiaries and checks the source of funds: a passport and proof of address for each person involved, a description of the assets, source of funds documents and tax residence details. Documents not in English are translated and copies certified.

Trust duration and taxes

• For trusts created after 15 May 2013 the trustee law allows a duration of up to 360 years, so a trust can be planned for several generations of a family.
• The British Virgin Islands have no income tax, capital gains tax or inheritance tax, so a trust that holds no local property usually pays no tax on the islands.
• Taxes on distributions to beneficiaries and the duty to report the trust are determined by the country where the settlor and beneficiaries live. In many countries a trust effectively controlled by the settlor is treated as their controlled structure.
• If the trust owns a company on the islands, the company itself keeps accounts and files beneficial ownership details under local rules.
• Trustees on the islands are licensed by the Financial Services Commission.

How much a BVI trust costs

The first year of a trust with a BVI company - establishment, documents, the company and due diligence on one participant - costs from $10,200, then from $4,830 a year for the trustee's work. The exact quote depends on the number of participants, the assets and the risk level, and we fix it in writing before work starts.

Who a BVI trust suits and who it does not

A BVI trust is chosen by families with companies and accounts in several countries who need to decide in advance who receives the assets and on what terms. The special trust for company shares suits owners of a family business: the company is still run by the family's own directors, and the trustee does not interfere in its affairs.

A trust does not suit those who want to hide assets from creditors or from the tax authority of their country of residence: the trustee checks the source of funds, and account information goes to the country of tax residence through automatic exchange. It is also excessive for modest capital: annual trustee fees cost more than a will or a marriage contract.

Private trust company: when the family wants to manage itself

A private trust company is a BVI company that acts as trustee only for one family's trusts. Its board is formed by the family together with a licensed agent, so decisions on the assets are taken by people the family knows rather than by staff of an outside trustee. Registering such a company costs $1,500 and renewal $1,500 a year. It is needed when the assets are large and the family is not ready to hand decisions to an outside organisation.

Sanctions restrictions in 2026

The British Virgin Islands apply UK sanctions against Russia through the order for the overseas territories. Since 16 December 2022 it has been prohibited to provide trust services to persons connected with Russia: creating a trust, acting as trustee, providing an address or management. The connection is determined mainly by where a person lives, or by a company being registered in Russia, not by citizenship. Citizenship alone does not decide it: someone who has long lived and paid tax in another country can be a settlor, but the trustee will check their status especially carefully. We check this before preparing documents.

Taxes in the settlor's and beneficiaries' countries

Many countries tax residents on structures they control: a settlor who keeps control may be treated as a controlling person, and the trust's income taxed in their country of residence, while distributions are taxed in the beneficiary's country. We work this out before the trust is set up.

Trust or foundation, and how long it takes

If the family needs a legally independent owner with a charter and a council rather than a trust arrangement, a trust is compared with a private foundation. The difference is covered in the review of offshore private foundations and in the article trust or foundation: which to choose.

The deed itself is drafted in a few days, but the whole process usually takes several weeks: the trustee spends the longest checking the settlor, beneficiaries and the source of assets. A BVI company for the trust's assets is registered in parallel, as described on the BVI company registration page.

Fees

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