The Eleutheras Owner's Guide | Free 49-Page Property Guide — Eleuthera, Harbour Island & Spanish Wells

Beachfront home and pool from the air, Eleuthera

Why this exists

Most people arrive on holiday

Somewhere between the ferry and the second afternoon, the question quietly changes from where are we staying to what would it take.

This guide answers that properly. What you are allowed to own here as a foreign national. What the government charges, and at which point. What it actually costs to hold a house on an island where everything arrives by boat. What to check before you commit to land. And who to call for every single step of it.

There is not a single property price in it. Prices move; this guide should not.

Inside the guide

Eleven chapters, forty-nine pages

Pink sand beach, Harbour Island — Harbour Island · Pink Sands

Swing posts standing in shallow turquoise water — The bight · Eleuthera

Sapphire Blue Hole, Eleuthera — Sapphire Blue Hole

1	The Islands	Harbour Island, Eleuthera, Spanish Wells — and how to choose
2	Ownership & Title	Freehold, the Landholding Act, and how title is proved here
3	Taxes	VAT on conveyance and annual real property tax, with the rate tables
4	Buying	The eight-step process, closing costs, carrying costs, due diligence
5	Residency	Home Owner’s Card, annual permits, permanent residence, citizenship
6	Letting Your Property	Registration, TIN, VAT and the vacation-rental licence, step by step
7	Building & Renovating	Approvals, freight, timelines and named island contractors
8	Directory	Utilities, government offices, shipping, medical — with numbers
9	Owning	The year on an island, and a first-year transition plan
10	Selling	Preparing, pricing, what a sale costs, underwriting it as an asset
11	Working Together	The questions to ask before you buy

A few things most buyers learn too late

What’s actually in it

The classification trap

“Owner-occupied” is a tax classification, not a description. Letting your house moves it into a different class at a different rate — and for a non-Bahamian owner that can be materially more than you budgeted. Chapter 3 sets out both rate tables.

The five-acre line

Most private residences need no prior permission — you buy, then register. But undeveloped land of five acres or more, or property not intended as a private residence, needs a permit first. Without it the acquisition is void. Chapter 2.

Getting your money back out

Register the investment with the Central Bank at the time of purchase. That designation is what lets you remit sale proceeds and profit out in foreign currency later. It costs nothing then and is hard to remedy years afterwards.

The residency figure that changed

Since 1 January 2025 the minimum qualifying investment for economic permanent residence is $1,000,000, up from $750,000, with a ten-year holding period. A great deal of published material still quotes the old number. Chapter 5.

Airbnb doesn’t file for you

The Bahamas is not a jurisdiction where the platform collects and remits on a host’s behalf. Registration, TIN, VAT and the Ministry of Tourism licence are all yours. Chapter 6 walks the sequence.

Who to call, for what

A full directory: BPL, Water & Sewerage, REV, BTC, ALIV, Inland Revenue's Eleuthera office, the Administrators, shipping agents by port, clinics and police — plus a task-to-contact index. Chapter 8.

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Before you ask

Common questions

Can a foreigner buy property in Eleuthera or Harbour Island?

Yes. A non-Bahamian may own freehold title outright. Under the International Persons Landholding Act 1993, a single-family dwelling or vacant land intended for one requires no prior permit — the acquisition is registered with the Investments Board afterwards. A permit is required first where the land is undeveloped and five acres or larger, or where the property is not intended as a private residence. The guide covers both routes in full.

What is stamp duty on Bahamas property?

It is now called VAT on conveyance. The statutory schedule is graduated from 2.5% to 10% by value; the Bahamas Real Estate Association's guidance is that the graduated scale applies to Bahamian citizens and permanent residents, and all other purchasers pay 10% regardless of value. It is customarily shared equally between buyer and seller on a gross sale.

What are the closing costs for a buyer?

On a gross sale, budget roughly seven to eight and a half per cent of the purchase price: half the VAT on conveyance, the purchaser's legal fees of around 2.5% plus VAT on those fees, recording fees, and the Landholding Act permit fee where one applies. The guide includes worked illustrations.

Is there property tax, or capital gains tax?

There is annual real property tax — owner-occupied residences are exempt up to $300,000, then 0.625% to $500,000 and 1% above, capped at $120,000 a year. There is no capital gains tax, no income tax and no inheritance, estate or gift tax in The Bahamas.

Does buying property give me residency?

Not automatically. Any foreign homeowner may apply annually for a Home Owner's Card. Economic permanent residence is separate: since 1 January 2025 the minimum qualifying investment is $1,000,000, held for at least ten years. Neither confers citizenship.

Do I need a licence to run an Airbnb?

Yes. Register the property free with the Department of Inland Revenue's portal, obtain your Taxpayer Identification Number, then apply for a Short-Term Vacation Rental licence from the Ministry of Tourism's Hotel Licensing Department, which involves an inspection and a short training course. Airbnb does not collect or remit Bahamian taxes on your behalf.

Is the guide really free?

Yes. Complete the short form and it downloads immediately. I ask for your details because knowing what you are trying to achieve is what lets me be useful later — and because most of the people I end up working with started by reading this.

The EleutherasOwner’s Guide