What changed in Iceland

Iceland does have controlled foreign company rules, and an earlier draft of this corridor left them out entirely

Moving your company

The post-2008 capital controls that some stale guides still warn about were fully lifted in March 2017

Crypto tax and legal status

Mining income is taxed as business income at receipt, not treated like a capital gain

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto disposals are taxed as capital income at 22 percent, and the full year-end portfolio value must be declared too

Crypto tax and legal status

Getting money out through dividends still costs 20 percent corporate tax plus 22 percent on the payout

Moving your company

Signing contracts or making management decisions from Iceland creates real permanent establishment exposure

Permanent establishment risk

An ordinary remote employee without signing or management authority creates low permanent establishment risk

Permanent establishment risk

A company is Icelandic tax resident if it is actually managed from Iceland, wherever it is incorporated

Permanent establishment risk

An ehf pays 20 percent corporate tax, other entity forms pay 37.6 percent

Moving your company

Paid sick leave grows sharply with tenure, from 2 days a month up to 6 months a year

Sick leave

Icelandic law requires justifiable grounds for dismissal, and arbitrary or discriminatory termination can be challenged

Dismissal protection

Notice periods run from 12 days to 6 months, set mainly by collective agreement, not a single national rule

Employment law

Non-EEA visitors need private travel or medical insurance, EHIC is not available

Healthcare coverage

Full public health insurance has a 6-month waiting period after registering legal domicile, unless an S1 bridges it

Healthcare coverage

EHIC covers medically necessary care in Iceland on the same terms as for residents

Healthcare coverage

Without an EEA nationality or a bilateral agreement, double social security contributions are a real risk

Social security

Mandatory pension contributions run 15.5 percent, split 4 percent employee and 11.5 percent employer

Social security

Tryggingagjald is a 6.35 percent payroll charge the employer pays, not a deduction from your paycheck

Social security

An ordinary posting to Iceland with an A1 certificate still works exactly as it would anywhere else in the EEA

Social security

Iceland has not signed the EU telework framework, so the 25 percent rule applies at full strength with no relief

Social security

EU social security coordination reaches Iceland through the EEA Agreement, confirmed since 2012

Social security

VAT runs 24 percent standard, 11 percent reduced, relevant the moment you invoice locally

Personal income tax

Iceland levies no annual net wealth tax, unlike Norway's 1.0 to 1.1 percent

Personal income tax

Under the residency threshold, only Icelandic-source income is taxed at all

Personal income tax

Reiknad endurgjald sets a minimum salary you must pay yourself, Iceland's version of the Dutch gebruikelijk loon

Personal income tax

The treaty's 183-day article can keep a short posting taxed only at home

Personal income tax

Dividends, interest and capital gains are taxed separately at a flat 22 percent, not the wage bands

Personal income tax

Foreign experts get 25 percent of salary tax-exempt for 3 years, but the application deadline is only 3 months

Personal income tax

The personal tax credit knocks the effective rate down substantially at lower incomes

Personal income tax

Three tax bands run from 31.49 to 46.29 percent, and that figure already includes municipal tax

Personal income tax

If both countries claim you as resident, the Netherlands-Iceland treaty tie-breaker decides which one wins

Tax residency

Becoming resident today creates a 3-year tail of Icelandic tax liability after you eventually leave

Tax residency

Domicile turns on where you actually live, not on owning or leasing a home here

Tax residency

Iceland's residency test is six calendar months, not the 183 days almost everyone repeats

Tax residency

Staying under the threshold keeps you a limited taxpayer, taxed only on Icelandic-source income

Tax residency

Nothing in Iceland works without a kennitala, get it early

Local registrations

Without a qualifying permit, a non-EEA visitor is not authorised to work a normal remote job from Iceland

Right to work

EEA nationals can work remotely for any employer from Iceland without a work permit

Right to work

A Dutch national does not need the remote-work visa at all, EEA free movement already covers it

Immigration and visa

The advertised long-term remote-work visa could not be confirmed as currently live

Immigration and visa

Visa-free entry for up to 90 days in any rolling 180, shared across all of Schengen

Immigration and visa

Registration becomes optional at 3 months and mandatory at 6

Immigration and visa

EEA nationals get automatic free movement into Iceland even though Iceland is not in the EU

Immigration and visa