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I am a digital nomad and it is not possible for me to become a tax resident in the countries that I travel in, nor in my home country. However, not being a tax resident anywhere creates all kinds of difficult situations so I actually would like to become a tax resident, somewhere. Ideally, in a place that:

  • Does not require me to have strong links with their country. Or the most minimal type of links (I don't mind setting up a company, bank account, or visiting every now and then, but the fewer obligations, the better).
  • Preferably has a low income tax rate / capital gains tax rate
  • Preferably allows for me to declare and pay taxes online

So basically I am looking for a country that is happy to take my taxes, but doesn't make my life too difficult. Are there any such countries?

Please assume that I get my money either from dividend payouts or I could put myself on the payroll of my own company formed in any location. I am a Western European citizen.

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  • If you marry a US citizen you can elect to be treated as a resident even if you are not (this enables your US citizen spouse to file a joint tax return with you and get a lower tax rate). I suspect that this route doesn't meet your requirement to avoid strong links with the country, however.
    – phoog
    Jul 7, 2017 at 17:16
  • I am baffled by the close vote. Can the voter explain how this is off topic?
    – phoog
    Jul 7, 2017 at 17:17
  • Thanks @phoog but marrying a US citizen would be quite a lot of hassle, and would also greatly upset my non-US partner.
    – user32421
    Jul 8, 2017 at 15:42
  • What's your country of citizenship? Might affect the outcome
    – Mark Mayo
    Jul 12, 2017 at 4:16
  • @MarkMayo are there any countries that have different tax residency rules based on the person's citizenship?
    – user32421
    Jul 12, 2017 at 8:40

1 Answer 1

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There are services that will give you a physical street address and hold or forward mail for you. At least one of them has addresses in many countries, including Spain. As an EU citizen, it is easy for you to get in an out of Spain, and you don't even need NIE to open a bank account.

You can then file empadronamiento in the jurisdiction where your address is. This should not be hard to do: the local group should be glad to increase their headcount, because even if you don't pay taxes, the head count affects how much they get for certain programs.

However, I would suggest consulting an immigration lawyer on the risks and nuances. I paid only €50 for a one-hour Q&A session with a lawyer in Madrid.

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  • Thanks @WGroleau! Do you have a source for this option? I have tried looking it up but for instance here some other requirements are mentioned to be able to be a tax resident in Spain (either living in Spain more than 6 months a year or having economic interests in Spain).
    – user32421
    Jul 31, 2017 at 4:26
  • Unfortunately, I can't find again the one with "three hundred addresses in twenty countries" but a general discussion about the idea is technomadia.com/2012/07/…
    – WGroleau
    Jul 31, 2017 at 12:04
  • OK too bad, it sounded like an interesting option. I will go through that site and maybe there's something about Spain there. Although at first sight it's about options for US citizens.
    – user32421
    Jul 31, 2017 at 16:10
  • Yes, I don't know whether that's because an American made the page or that the majority of them cater to traveling Americans. TravelMail, I think has other countries but it is not the big one I saw a few weeks ago. I know that one had an address in Madrid. Perhaps you could apply for U.S. resident alien and pick a state with no state income tax. You'd have national tax liability, but most income from non-U.S. sources wouldn't be taxed if you do the right paperwork. Though maybe the paperwork would be enough of a hassle to negate the benefit of having a residence.
    – WGroleau
    Jul 31, 2017 at 18:20
  • A U.S. resident alien can under some circumstances obtain a U.S. passport. Not sure why you'd want one, though. :-) But some other countries, like South Africa, have similar options.
    – WGroleau
    Jul 31, 2017 at 18:25

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