Mauritius sells itself to movers on three promises: a low, simple income tax, a legal route for foreigners to buy a home, and a menu of permits that let you live there without a local employer. The 2026-27 Budget touched all three. The Budget Speech was delivered on 19 June 2026, and much of what it announced is now law.
That last point matters, because a budget speech is not a statute. Reading the 10% property measure as a duty on every foreign property buyer does not match what Parliament enacted. The useful question for anyone planning a move is narrower: what did the Acts actually say when they were passed, and what has changed for a newcomer since 1 July 2026?
From speech to statute
The Budget was implemented through two Acts. The National Assembly passed both on 31 July 2026, and the President assented to both on 12 August 2026:
- The Finance Act 2026, Act No. 14 of 2026, which amends the Income Tax Act, the Land (Duties and Taxes) Act, the Registration Duty Act and some twenty other laws.
- The Economic and Financial Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2026, Act No. 13 of 2026, published in the Legal Supplement to Government Gazette No. 59 of 13 August 2026. Among almost sixty amended laws, it rewrites the permit criteria in the Economic Development Board Act and amends the Immigration Act 2022 to match.
Many provisions carry their own start dates in the commencement sections (section 28 of the Finance Act, section 61 of Act 13), and several reach back to dates before the Acts were passed. The tax rate changes, for example, apply to the income year that began on 1 July 2026. Mauritius taxes individuals by income year running from 1 July to 30 June.
The new income tax scale
Until June 2026, the Income Tax Act taxed individuals in three steps: nothing on the first MUR 500,000 of chargeable income, 10% on the next MUR 500,000, and 20% on everything above MUR 1 million.
The Finance Act replaces Part I of the First Schedule with four steps:
| Chargeable income | Rate |
|---|---|
| First MUR 500,000 | 0% |
| Next MUR 500,000 | 10% |
| Next MUR 11 million | 20% |
| Remainder (above MUR 12 million) | 35% |
Under section 28(12) of the Finance Act, the new scale is deemed to have come into operation for the income year commencing on 1 July 2026 and every later income year. For most people moving to Mauritius on a salary or a pension, nothing changes: the 35% band only begins at MUR 12 million of chargeable income.
What happened to the Fair Share Contribution
The 35% band did not appear from nowhere. The Finance Act 2025 introduced a Fair Share Contribution for individuals in sections 16B and 16C of the Income Tax Act. It charged 15% on the part of an individual's "leviable income" above MUR 12 million, on top of income tax, and the law said it applied to the income year starting 1 July 2025 "and for the subsequent 2 income years".
The Finance Minister told Parliament in paragraph 280 of the Budget Speech that the new band "will replace the fair share contribution for individuals". The Finance Act does this in a quiet way: section 7(b) deletes the words "and for the subsequent 2 income years" from section 16C(3). The contribution therefore applies only to the 2025-26 income year, and still has to be settled with that year's return.
On straightforward chargeable income, the arithmetic barely moves. Twenty percent plus a 15% surcharge above MUR 12 million came to 35% at the margin; now it is simply 35%. The difference lies in the base. The Fair Share Contribution was levied on a wider measure that also counted dividends paid by resident companies and an individual's share of dividends in resident sociétés. The new band applies to chargeable income. For a high earner whose Mauritian income is mostly salary, the change is neutral. For one whose income is mostly local dividends, it is worth reading the Act with an adviser before assuming the bill went up.
A small gain for retirees
The Finance Act also raises the exemption for lump sums received by way of commutation of pension, retiring allowance or severance from MUR 3 million to MUR 3.5 million, deemed in force from 19 June 2026. The Budget Annex presents it as relief on pensions and retiring allowances.
Residence and the remittance basis did not change
The rules that decide whether you are taxed in Mauritius at all were not amended. Under section 73 of the Income Tax Act, an individual is resident for an income year if they:
- have their domicile in Mauritius, unless their permanent place of abode is outside Mauritius;
- are present in Mauritius for 183 days or more in that income year; or
- are present for an aggregate of 270 days or more across that income year and the two preceding income years.
The third test catches people who never reach 183 days in any one year but come back regularly. Someone who spends 100 days a year on the island for three years crosses 270 days in the third year.
The part of Mauritian law that most interests movers is section 5(3). It says income derived by an individual from outside Mauritius is deemed to be derived when it is received in Mauritius, or dealt with in Mauritius on the individual's behalf. In practice this is a remittance basis for foreign income: a resident individual is taxed on foreign income to the extent it is brought into the country. Income from Mauritian sources is taxed regardless. Foreign income that is remitted is taxed on the same scale as local income, so a large remittance can now meet the 35% band.
The Brief's list of countries that don't tax foreign income explains how territorial and remittance systems differ in practice. The distinction matters here: a remittance system rewards people who can live on money they keep abroad, and penalises people who need to bring everything in.
Premium visa and golden visa holders
Section 73B of the Income Tax Act gives holders of the Premium Visa a narrower rule for income from work performed remotely from Mauritius. That income is deemed to be derived in Mauritius only when it is remitted; spending in Mauritius with a foreign credit or debit card is not treated as a remittance; and deposits into a Mauritian bank account are not taxed if the holder declares that tax has already been paid on that income abroad.
The Finance Act extends section 73B, and the related section 74A for employers abroad, to holders of a golden visa, now defined in the Act as a visa issued under the Passports Act to a non-citizen on the recommendation of the Economic Development Board.
The 10% property levy: what the law actually says
The 10% measure is easy to read as a general duty on non-citizens buying property. The enacted text is far narrower.
The Budget Speech said, in paragraphs 180 to 182, that the government would stop granting leases that allow the sale of apartments built on State land and Pas Géométriques (the coastal strip owned by the State) under the G+2 route, and that "a special levy of 10 percent will be imposed on the sale of such apartments payable by the vendor".
Section 9 of the Finance Act turns that into a new section 4(11) of the Land (Duties and Taxes) Act. It imposes an additional duty of 10% on any deed transferring a residential property located on State land or on Pas Géométriques to a non-citizen under section 3(3)(c)(v) of the Non-Citizens (Property Restriction) Act. That provision is the G+2 route: an apartment used as a residence in a building of at least two floors above ground, at a price of at least MUR 6 million, with EDB authorisation. Three details matter:
- The seller pays. The Act says the additional duty "shall be paid by the transferor".
- It is limited to State land and Pas Géométriques. A G+2 apartment on private land, or a villa under an EDB scheme, is not covered by this provision.
- Pre-existing deals are protected. The duty does not apply where a notarised presale agreement, either a reservation contract for a property under construction or a promesse de vente, was signed before 19 June 2026.
A seller who must pay 10% will try to recover it in the price, so a buyer still feels the measure. But there is no general 10% duty on foreign buyers in the Finance Act, and the registration duty changes in section 16 mainly raise the first-time buyer reliefs. For the wider picture of what holding a home costs around the world, see the Brief's guide to countries with no property tax.
Buying your way to residence: USD 375,000
The property route to residence was not changed by the 2026 Acts. According to the Economic Development Board, a non-citizen who buys a residential property under the Integrated Resort Scheme or the Real Estate Scheme for at least USD 375,000 is eligible for a residence permit, together with dependants. The EDB's page on the Property Development Scheme uses the same figure and adds that the permit lasts for as long as the owner holds the property, with spouse and children under 24 also covered. The Smart City Scheme follows the same threshold.
The G+2 route works in two layers. A foreigner can buy a qualifying apartment from MUR 6 million, but a residence permit only follows if the price is at least USD 375,000. Holders of a residence permit under the IRS, RES or PDS do not need a separate occupation or work permit to invest and work in Mauritius, according to the EDB.
One point is often misread in marketing material. The EDB says owners "may" become tax resident. Owning the house does not make you resident for tax; the day-count and domicile tests in section 73 do.
The permits after the reform
Act 13 replaced the occupation permit criteria in the First Schedule to the Economic Development Board Act. The consolidated EDB Act published by the EDB records the amendment as in operation from 13 August 2026. The main routes now look like this.
Occupation permits
- Investor: an initial investment of USD 100,000, shown by a certified bank statement and an undertaking to transfer the money into a Mauritian bank account within 60 days of the permit being issued. Turnover must reach MUR 5 million from the third year of registration and MUR 8 million from the fifth year for renewal.
- Professional: a monthly basic salary of at least MUR 50,000. The former ProPass and Expert Pass sub-categories have been merged into this single category. A transitional rule in the amended Immigration Act, in force since 1 October 2026, lets an existing professional permit holder have the first renewal assessed under the old criteria; the EDB's professional permit page describes this as one renewal for holders on the earlier MUR 30,000 criterion.
- Self-employed: an initial investment of USD 50,000, restricted to the services sector, plus at least three letters of intent, two of them from potential local clients. Turnover must reach MUR 2 million from year three and MUR 3 million from year five.
- Young professional and innovative start-up categories remain.
The family occupation permit has been abolished, and its references were removed from both the EDB Act and the Immigration Act 2022. A new technical category for workers under government-to-government agreements is written into the law but waits for a Proclamation to start.
Retirees and the Premium Visa
The retired non-citizen permit is unchanged. Part III of the First Schedule requires an initial transfer of at least USD 2,000 into a local bank within 60 days of the permit, and then either USD 24,000 a year or USD 2,000 a month. The EDB's retiree page describes the route as open from age 50, with a 10-year permit.
The Premium Visa also remains: a renewable stay of up to one year for people whose income and business are outside Mauritius and who do not enter the local labour market.
The golden visa and permanent residence
The genuinely new route is permanent residence through the golden visa. The Budget Annex describes the golden visa as a visa for people who undertake to invest at least USD 1 million within their first 12 months in high-value sectors such as FinTech, global treasury, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and renewable energy. Act 13 adds it to the permanent residence criteria: a golden visa holder who has invested at least USD 1 million within 12 months of the visa being issued can qualify for a permanent residence permit. The Act expressly excludes buying a residential property under the EDB property schemes from counting towards that million.
The other permanent residence routes still require five years. Professionals need a monthly basic salary of at least MUR 400,000 over five consecutive years, and retirees need aggregate transfers of at least USD 200,000 over five years.
What it means for a move in late 2026
For most people weighing Mauritius, the 2026-27 Budget is less dramatic than the headlines. A retiree living on a foreign pension, or a remote worker on a Premium Visa, faces the same day-count rules and the same remittance basis as before, and will rarely come near MUR 12 million of taxable income. The changes that bite are elsewhere:
- High earners with Mauritian income now face a permanent 35% band rather than a temporary 15% surcharge, so the higher rate is no longer something to wait out.
- Buyers of G+2 apartments on State land or Pas Géométriques should expect sellers to price in a 10% duty, and the government announced in the Budget Speech that it will stop authorising new sales of such flats to foreigners.
- Investors and professionals need to plan around the new occupation permit thresholds, and families can no longer rely on a family occupation permit.
- Wealthy newcomers have a new path to permanent residence through the golden visa, but only through business investment, not through a house.
The Brief's 2026 shortlist of low-tax countries and the Mauritius country page set Mauritius against the alternatives. For people comparing remittance regimes, the Brief's look at Turkey's 20-year foreign income tax holiday shows a different way of shielding foreign income.
Work with Sebastian
If you are deciding between a property route, an occupation permit and a remittance-based plan for Mauritius, and want your home-country exit and foreign income lined up before you arrive, that is the kind of cross-border setup Sebastian works on with internationally mobile clients. Book a consultation.
