How do you set up a company in St. Barths? Steps and costs

Setting up a company in St. Barths works the same way as anywhere in France: company law is national, the filing goes through the French one-stop business portal, and the company is registered in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe. What changes is the tax treatment, and only once the residency condition is met.

Which company law applies in St. Barths?

The island’s government sets taxes in St. Barths, but the French State has kept authority over civil and commercial law. The French Civil Code and Commercial Code therefore apply without adaptation. All the usual forms are available: the SAS (simplified joint-stock company), the SARL (limited liability company), the SCI (a civil company typically used to hold real estate), partnerships and sole proprietorships. The rules on share capital, officers, shareholder meetings and annual accounts are those of France. The social security side is covered in our insight on executive pay and social security.

The steps to set up a company in St. Barths

Step	Where	Good to know
Company name	Business and trademark databases	Filing a trademark is optional
Capital deposit	A bank on the island	Deposit certificate; proof of the origin of funds
Articles of association	Private or notarial deed, signed on the island	For an SAS, the breakdown of share capital need not appear
Legal notice	A publication authorized for Guadeloupe and St. Barths	Publication certificate added to the file
Registration	One-stop business portal (INPI)	Basse-Terre court registry; one to three weeks
Beneficial owners	One-stop portal	At registration, then on every change
Registration of the articles	St. Barths registration office	Within one month; flat duty of €125
Local filings	The Collectivity, the economic chamber (CEM), the waste service	Annual contribution, enrollment, waste tax

A beneficial owner is any individual who holds more than 25% of the capital or voting rights, or who exercises control by any other means; failing that, it is the company’s manager.

The Kbis, the official registration certificate, reads “RCS Basse-Terre.” The company has no VAT number: the island is outside the territorial scope of VAT. On that point, see our insight on invoicing clients in France from the island.

Registering the articles

This is the step most easily overlooked. The articles of a company headquartered in St. Barths must be presented to the registration office within one month, whoever drafted them. The tax code revision of September 26, 2024 removed the former voluntary filing.

The flat duty is €125 when contributions are made purely in exchange for shares. Contributions made for other consideration, such as one with liabilities assumed by the company, carry transfer duties that depend on the asset. See also our insight on selling company shares in St. Barths.

How much does a St. Barths company cost each year?

A service company with no employees and no real estate carries a minimum recurring tax cost of €470 per year:

• €350 for the flat annual business contribution;
• €120 for the waste disposal tax, for an office of fewer than two people.

The contribution is owed even with no revenue. In the year of creation, it is payable within 90 days of the start of business if the company is created between January 1 and September 30; nothing is owed for that year if it is created after September.

Non-tax costs come on top: accounting fees, filing the accounts with the registry, insurance. Annual accounts are approved within six months of year-end, then filed with the registry within one month of approval (two months when filed electronically).

Does the five-year rule apply to companies too?

Registering a company on the island is not enough to bring it under local tax rules. It qualifies in only two cases:

• its place of effective management has been in St. Barths for at least five years;
• or its place of effective management is in St. Barths and it is controlled, directly or indirectly, by individuals who have been island residents for at least five years.

Otherwise, the company is treated as tax resident in France and pays French corporate income tax: 15% on the first €42,500 of profit for small and medium-sized companies, 25% above that. The French tax authorities confirmed this in a ruling published on October 23, 2024. See our insight on the five-year rule.

Example: a consulting SAS set up after two years of residency

Take Marie, who has lived on the island for two years. In April she sets up a consulting SAS of which she is the sole shareholder and which she manages from St. Barths, with no employees, no real estate and cash contributions. This is a simplified example, for illustration only.

What she pays to the Collectivity

Item	Year of creation	Following years
Registration of the articles	€125	None
Annual contribution (fixed portion)	€350	€350
Waste tax (office of fewer than two people)	Not quantified here	€120
Total	€475, excluding waste tax	€470

The first-year contribution is payable within 90 days of the start of business, since the company is created before September 30. For the waste tax in the year of creation, the amount should be checked with the island’s waste service.

What she pays in France

Marie has not reached five years of residency, so her company remains subject to French corporate income tax. On a profit of €100,000, at the rates for small and medium-sized companies:

1. €42,500 × 15% = €6,375;
2. €100,000 - €42,500 = €57,500, taxed at 25%, or €14,375;
3. total: €6,375 + €14,375 = €20,750.

The same company, set up and managed on the island by Paul, a resident for more than five years, would fall under local tax rules, which include no corporate income tax. The formalities and the local costs would be identical.

Setting up a company in St. Barths: common mistakes

• Confusing an address with management. A registered address with no real management on the island is not enough.
• Forgetting to register the articles. The filing is mandatory within one month.
• Assuming a company with no activity owes nothing. A holding company or a dormant company owes the annual contribution.
• Placing real estate in the company without weighing the effects. Any company that owns real estate on the island becomes a real estate entity for tax purposes: see holding property through a company.
• Carrying on a regulated business without a license. Financial advice, insurance, real estate brokerage: the national licenses are required on the island as everywhere else in France.

Setting up a company in St. Barths: the bottom line

Setting up a company in St. Barths follows French company law: the French Civil Code and Commercial Code apply without adaptation, and registration, with the court registry in Basse-Terre, takes one to three weeks. The articles of association must be registered within one month, for a flat duty of €125. A service company with no employees and no real estate carries a minimum recurring tax cost of €470 per year. It only falls under local tax rules if it meets the five-year residency condition; otherwise it pays French corporate income tax, at 15% on the first €42,500 of profit for small and medium-sized companies and 25% above that. Formation is straightforward; what calls for professional advice is the reality of management on the island and the five-year timeline.

A note for U.S. readers: this article covers French and St. Barths rules only. U.S. citizens and green card holders remain subject to U.S. tax on their worldwide income wherever they live.