Bermuda · purchase process
Buying in Bermuda as a non-Bermudian: the full checklist.
Bermuda's entry costs are among the highest in the world and its use restrictions are stricter than most buyers expect. The three big numbers below are now computed from the statutory schedules themselves — the land-holding charge from the Schedule to the 2007 Regulations, and conveyance duty and land tax from the rates the Office of the Tax Commissioner publishes — not from rules of thumb. Legal, survey and insurance lines remain estimates, and everything here still needs confirming with Bermuda counsel for your specific transaction.
The entry cost stack
Set the price, your buyer category and the property's annual rental value. Duty is applied band by band exactly as published, so the effective rate falls out of the calculation rather than being guessed. Defaults are the Bacardi on the Rocks listing.
Any restricted person other than a spouse, child or parent of a Bermudian, or a permanent resident, acquiring a residential valuation unit that is not a condominium: 12.5% after expiry of the statutory period (8% during it). Schedule, 2007 Regulations
- Purchase price$5,850,000
- Licence to acquire land (12.50%)$731,250
- Conveyance stamp duty (6.61% effective)$386,925
- Legal fees (1% assumption)$58,500
- Survey, valuation, registry, insurance setup (estimate)$25,000
20.5% above the purchase price. None of the licence fee is recoverable on resale, and a further ~5.5% in commission and legal costs applies on exit.
Licence, duty and land-tax lines are computed from the published statutory rates. The legal, survey and registry lines are ValueAtlas estimates for modelling only — replace them with written quotations.
How the duty is built: band by band
Official rates ↗| Band of value | Rate | Value in band | Duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| first $100,000 | 2.10% | $100,000 | $2,100 |
| $100,000 – $500,000 | 3.15% | $400,000 | $12,600 |
| $500,000 – $1,000,000 | 4.20% | $500,000 | $21,000 |
| $1,000,000 – $1,500,000 | 6.30% | $500,000 | $31,500 |
| over $1,500,000 | 7.35% | $4,350,000 | $319,725 |
| Total | 6.61% | $5,850,000 | $386,925 |
These are the gross rates the Tax Commissioner publishes for a conveyance or transfer on sale of land — 2.10% / 3.15% / 4.20% / 6.30% / 7.35% across the bands. Because duty is marginal, the effective rate on a large purchase sits below the top band. Mortgage duty, and duty on any non-Bermuda property in the same transaction, are charged separately.
Your scenario: budget, parish, holding period
Enter the cash you have to deploy, the parish you want and how long you would hold. The calculator works backwards through the statutory licence fee and progressive duty to the headline price you can actually afford, then solves for the annual appreciation you would need to beat renting a luxury home and leaving the money in equities.
The largest stock of three-plus bathroom homes of any parish and the second-highest median income. Home of the subject listing. Estate-scale lots, low turnover. Modelled affluent-household growth 2.9% a year — ValueAtlas judgement, not a measured price index, used here as the parish appreciation proxy.
At the parish proxy of 2.9% a year, owning ends at $5.55M of net wealth against $8.44M from renting at $18,000/month and compounding $6,825,000 at 7.0% — a shortfall of $2.88M.
- Headline price your budget supports$5,662,433
- Licence to acquire (12.50%)$707,804
- Progressive conveyance duty$373,139
- Legal (1%) + survey/registry/insurance$81,624
- ARV proxy at 2.36% of value$133,633
- Annual land tax at that ARV$27,354
- Total annual carrying cost$117,953
69% cumulative over 5 years.
Gap to break-even: 8.2 pts.
What that budget buys against listed peers
Asking prices only — Bermuda publishes no sold-price register. Median asking price per square foot across the tracked luxury set is $1,068.
| Property | Parish | Ask | $/sq ft | vs your price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bacardi on the Rocks (subject) | Smith's | $5.85M | $1,068 | +3% |
| Walsingham | Smith's | $4.95M | $779 | -13% |
| Glebe House | Hamilton | $7.50M | $915 | +32% |
| Caper Collis | Hamilton | $6.90M | $1,150 | +22% |
| Te Koko | Warwick | $8.75M | $1,346 | +55% |
| Shoreby House | Paget | $3.25M | $1,192 | -43% |
| Inverurie Executive Suites | Paget | $5.00M | $385 | -12% |
2 tracked listings sit in Smith's. Break-even assumes 5.5% selling costs, 2.5% cost inflation, no mortgage and no rental income. The ARV and operating-cost ratios are calibrated to the Bacardi on the Rocks listing and are assumptions, not statutory figures.
The eight steps, in order
0 / 8 marked complete- 01
Confirm the property is even open to you
Non-Bermudians can only acquire property above prescribed annual rental value (ARV) thresholds, and buyer category matters as much as the number.
- Houses: ARV generally $126,000 or above.
- Condominium units: ARV generally $25,800 or above.
- Further restrictions apply by buyer category (ordinary non-Bermudian, PRC holder, spouse of a Bermudian, EIRC/residential certificate holder).
- Get the current ARV in writing from the Land Valuation Department before making an offer — ARV is assessed rental value, not sale price.
- 02
Appoint Bermuda counsel and agree the sale contract
Bermuda conveyancing is lawyer-led. Contracts for non-Bermudian buyers are made conditional on the licence being granted.
- Instruct a Bermuda law firm; overseas counsel cannot complete the conveyance.
- Contract should be conditional on grant of the licence to acquire land.
- Agree deposit size, deposit holder and the consequence if the licence is refused.
- Confirm whether the seller is Bermudian or non-Bermudian — it affects the marketing-evidence requirement below.
- 03
Apply for the licence to acquire land
A Ministerial licence under the Bermuda Immigration and Protection Act is required for any non-Bermudian acquisition.
- Prescribed application form.
- Banker's reference.
- Two personal references.
- Evidence that Bermudians had a fair opportunity to purchase (marketing history).
- Police / character disclosure as required.
- Ministerial approval is discretionary — the timetable is not guaranteed. Confirm current processing time with counsel.
- 04
Budget the land-holding charge — the single largest entry cost
The land-holding charge is set by the Schedule to the Bermuda Immigration and Protection (Land-Holding Charges) Regulations 2007, charged on the value of the land. Because the statutory period in that Schedule ended on 31 March 2021, the higher post-period column applies.
- 12.5% — restricted person acquiring a residential valuation unit that is not a condominium.
- 8% — condominium unit that is not tourist accommodation or a hotel residence.
- 6% — Permanent Resident's Certificate holder, house or condominium.
- 6.5% — tourist accommodation or hotel residence retained for private use.
- 0% — hotel residence placed on the hotel inventory; also nil for a spouse of a Bermudian taking a home jointly with the Bermudian spouse.
- 5% — any other land.
- The rate turns on how the property is classified as a valuation unit and on your exact buyer category. Confirm both with counsel: the classification, not the marketing description, sets the charge.
- 05
Compute stamp duty from the published bands, then the rest of the closing stack
Conveyance duty is marginal across five published bands, so the effective rate on a large purchase lands below the top rate. The checklist calculator applies the bands exactly as the Office of the Tax Commissioner prints them.
- Conveyance or transfer on sale of land: 2.1% on the first $100,000; 3.15% to $500,000; 4.20% to $1,000,000; 6.3% to $1,500,000; 7.35% thereafter.
- On a $5.85M purchase that is $386,925 — a 6.61% effective rate.
- Bands are set at budget time and can change; re-check them in the year you complete.
- Bermudian first-time-buyer relief does not apply to ordinary non-Bermudian buyers.
- Mortgage duty applies if you finance locally, and duty on non-Bermuda property in the same instrument is a flat 1% — confirm both with counsel.
- Legal fees, Land Title Registry fees, survey, valuation and agency commission: obtain written quotes; do not rely on rules of thumb.
- Note the difference from the ownership model: the Astra assessment assumed roughly half of progressive duty, which is lighter than the full statutory computation shown here.
- 06
Run the physical and title due diligence
The most expensive Bermuda surprises are unpermitted structures and water infrastructure, not title defects.
- Title search and register review via Land Title and Registration.
- Planning permission and building certificates for every structure, including cottages, garages and additions.
- Unauthorised or unregularised cottage: confirm it can be legally occupied and, separately, whether it may be let.
- Cistern capacity and water-storage compliance; plumbing inspection.
- Easements, rights of way, shared driveways and boundary walls.
- Termite, asbestos, roof and cedar-timber condition.
- Waterfront: Crown foreshore boundary, dock licences and erosion history.
- Insurance quotation, including hurricane deductible, before you commit.
- 07
Settle how the property may be used
Ownership does not imply the right to let. This directly determines whether a rental-yield thesis is even legal.
- Non-Bermudians generally need specific Ministerial permission to rent out property for profit.
- Exceptions exist for PRC holders and certain licensed hotel/tourist accommodation.
- Do not underwrite rental income until permission is confirmed in writing.
- Annual land tax is assessed on ARV and is a permanent carrying cost. The official private-dwelling schedule — $150 plus marginal bands rising to 55% above $120,000 ARV — produces exactly $29,756 a year at the subject listing's $138,000 ARV, payable in two instalments.
- 08
Finance, complete and register
Local lending exists but is conservative, and loan-to-value limits for non-residents must be confirmed with the bank.
- Bermuda Monetary Authority guidance sets supervisory LTV and debt-service expectations for banks — confirm the current numeric limits and non-resident eligibility directly with the lender.
- Source of funds and AML documentation should be prepared before the licence application, not after.
- Complete, pay duty, then register the transfer with Land Title and Registration.
- Budget an exit stack too: roughly 5% commission plus about 0.5% legal on sale, as used in the ownership model.
Unverified — confirm before you commit
These items could not be verified from a primary source at the time of writing. They are listed as open questions rather than presented as facts.
- Current numeric BMA loan-to-value limit applicable to a non-resident purchaser.
- Current licence processing time from application to grant.
- Whether the subject listing is assessed as a residential valuation unit or a condominium unit for land-holding-charge purposes.
- Whether the subject cottage is permitted for occupation, and separately for letting.
- Legal, registry, survey and insurance quotations in writing for this specific property.
Nothing on this page is legal, tax or investment advice. Primary references: acquisition guide, Land-Holding Charges Regulations 2007, Stamp Duties Act 1976, Land Title and Registration, water and plumbing inspection.