St. Maarten Property Taxes: What You Pay and What You Do Not

On the Dutch side of St. Maarten there is no annual property tax and no capital gains tax when you sell. You pay a 4 percent transfer tax once, at closing, plus the notary at roughly 1 to 2 percent. After that the government does not send you a bill for owning the property.

That is unusual, and it is one of the reasons this island keeps attracting buyers who already own property in higher tax jurisdictions. It also gets misunderstood. No property tax does not mean no costs. Association dues, windstorm insurance, GEBE electricity and water and maintenance are all real, recurring and in some buildings substantial.

Below is the complete picture: what you pay once, what you pay every year, what you never pay, how the French side differs, and what a ten year hold looks like against a high tax jurisdiction. Tax rules change, so confirm your own position with a local tax adviser and with the notary handling your purchase.

The Dutch side tax picture in one table

When	What	Amount
At purchase	Transfer tax	4 percent of the purchase price
At purchase	Notary fee	Roughly 1 to 2 percent
At purchase	Mortgage deed and registration, if financing	Pushes the total to about 6 to 7 percent
Every year	Annual property tax	None
Every year	Association dues, insurance, GEBE, maintenance	Varies by property, budget for it
On sale	Capital gains tax	None

What you pay once, at closing

Transfer tax at 4 percent

The transfer tax is 4 percent of the purchase price, paid through the notary at closing and remitted to the government. On a 500,000 purchase that is 20,000. On a 1,200,000 villa it is 48,000. It is a single payment on a change of ownership, not a recurring charge, and in normal practice the buyer pays it.

The notary

Roughly 1 to 2 percent, with the percentage generally falling as the value rises. This is a fee rather than a tax, but it is unavoidable, because the transfer only becomes effective when the deed is registered at the Kadaster. The notary is a neutral officer of the law who verifies title, searches for mortgages and liens, checks that taxes and GEBE accounts on the property are settled, and registers the transfer.

Together those two items are why total entry cost on the Dutch side is about 5 to 6 percent, or about 6 to 7 percent where a local mortgage adds a mortgage deed. You can model your own figure with the buyer cost guidance in our property tools suite.

What you do not pay

No annual property tax

There is no yearly tax levied on the ownership of residential property on the Dutch side. Whether you own a studio behind Maho Plaza or a house above Dawn Beach, no annual assessment arrives. For owners used to a percentage of assessed value every year, this is the single biggest structural difference in the numbers.

It also changes how a holiday home behaves financially. A property that sits empty for five months of low season, roughly late August to October and the shoulders around it, is not accruing a tax liability while it waits for the high season that runs from mid December to mid April.

No capital gains tax on resale

If you sell at a profit, Sint Maarten does not tax that gain. This matters most on a long hold and on a property bought before improvements, because the entire uplift stays with you locally. It also affects how buyers think about renovating: money spent improving a property is not competing with a future tax bill on the same appreciation.

Two cautions. First, this is the local position only. Your own country may still tax the gain. Second, tax treatment can differ where property is held in a company or where a pattern of buying and selling looks like a trade rather than an investment. Take advice on your specific structure.

What you do pay every year

These are not taxes, but they are the real annual cost of ownership and they are where budgets slip.

• Association dues. In a condo building this is usually the largest recurring line. It typically funds common area maintenance, landscaping, pool, security, management and very often the master insurance policy. Ask for the current figure in writing, the last accounts, the reserve balance and any discussed special assessment.
• Insurance, including windstorm. Premiums depend on construction, roof, shutters, elevation and claims history. Hurricane Irma made landfall on 6 September 2017 as a category 5 storm and reset both the building stock and the insurance market here. Hurricane season runs 1 June to 30 November.
• Utilities. GEBE supplies power and water on the Dutch side and both are expensive by regional standards. Air conditioning drives the bill. TelEm provides fibre in many areas. Ask for twelve months of actual bills.
• Maintenance. Salt air is relentless, particularly on anything facing the water at Guana Bay or Dawn Beach. Set aside a fixed annual sum rather than reacting to failures.

If you rent the property out

Rental income is a different subject from property tax. Where a property is rented, income and business related obligations can apply, and the position depends on how you hold the property, how you rent it and how much you rent it. Do not assume that because there is no property tax there is nothing to declare. Speak to a local tax adviser before you take your first booking, and to your own accountant about how the income is treated at home.

If you are underwriting a purchase on rental income, model it on full year occupancy. The Heineken Regatta in early March, Carnival in April and May and the mid December to mid April season are strong. September, in the middle of hurricane season, is not.

The ten year picture

The following comparison is an illustration only. It is designed to show the shape of the difference, not to predict your outcome. The figures for the comparison jurisdiction are assumptions we have chosen for the example and do not represent any specific country.

Assumptions: a purchase at 650,000, held for ten years, sold at 800,000, giving a gain of 150,000. The comparison jurisdiction is assumed to charge 2 percent in purchase taxes, 1 percent in legal fees, an annual property tax of 1.2 percent of value, and 20 percent on the capital gain.

Cost over ten years	Sint Maarten (Dutch side)	Illustrative high tax jurisdiction
Purchase taxes	26,000 at 4 percent	13,000 at 2 percent
Notary or legal at purchase	9,750 at 1.5 percent	6,500 at 1 percent
Annual property tax, ten years	0	78,000
Capital gains tax on a 150,000 gain	0	30,000
Total over the hold	35,750	127,500

The difference in this example is about 91,750, and note that Sint Maarten is more expensive at the front door. The 4 percent transfer tax is higher than the 2 percent assumed for the comparison. The advantage is entirely in the years that follow and at the exit.

The illustration is also conservative in one respect. Annual property taxes are usually assessed on current value, so in a rising market that 78,000 would grow rather than stay flat. It excludes rental income tax, inflation, currency movement and anything your home country charges.

How the French side differs

Cross to Marigot or Terres Basses and the tax structure changes completely. Notaire fees and transfer duties together generally run about 7 to 10 percent, so entry cost is roughly 8 to 10 percent rather than 5 to 6. Taxe fonciere, an annual property tax, applies. And a gain on resale can be taxed at up to 34 percent, with relief where the property was the seller’s main home.

That last point matters for how you use the property. A family making Saint Martin their main home is in a very different position from an investor holding a villa above Grand Case for a decade and then selling. The French side offers French law, the best beaches on the island and Tuesday nights at Harmony Nights. It does not offer the Dutch side’s tax arithmetic. Our Dutch versus French comparison in the property tools puts both sets of numbers on one screen.

What your home country may still charge

Local tax treatment is only half of your position. Many countries tax their residents on worldwide income and gains, and United States citizens are generally taxed on worldwide income regardless of where they live. Reporting obligations for foreign assets and foreign accounts can also apply. None of that is affected by Sint Maarten choosing not to levy a property tax.

Get this checked before you buy, not in the year you sell. It occasionally changes the sensible ownership structure, and structure is far easier to set at the start than to unwind against a 4 percent transfer tax.

Часто задаваемые вопросы

Is there an annual property tax in St. Maarten?

Not on the Dutch side. There is no annual property tax on residential property. On the French side, taxe fonciere applies every year.

Do I pay capital gains tax when I sell in St. Maarten?

Not on the Dutch side, where there is no capital gains tax on resale. On the French side a gain can be taxed at up to 34 percent, with relief where the property was the seller’s main home. Your home country may tax the gain in either case.

What is the transfer tax in St. Maarten?

4 percent of the purchase price on the Dutch side, paid once at closing through the notary, normally by the buyer.

If there is no property tax, what are my annual costs?

Association dues, insurance including windstorm cover, GEBE electricity and water, internet, and maintenance. In a condo the dues are usually the largest of these and they vary widely between buildings.

Does the tax position differ if I buy through a company?

It can. Company ownership brings its own filing and reporting obligations, and treatment can differ where activity looks like a trade rather than a passive investment. Decide the structure before you sign, with advice from your own tax adviser.

Run your own numbers

The tax position on the Dutch side is genuinely simple: pay 4 percent plus the notary once, then owe nothing annually and nothing on the gain. The complexity in your situation will come from your own country and from the property itself, meaning the dues, the insurance and the condition of the building.

Model the entry cost in our property tools, look at what is actually available in the current listings, then talk to us about the specific property. We will get you the real dues and the real insurance position. Nothing here is tax advice, and rates and rules change, so confirm your position with a qualified tax adviser and your notary before you commit.