Which country has the lowest corporate tax?

Excluding zero-tax offshore centres, Hungary, the UAE and Barbados share the lowest headline corporate rate at 9%, followed by Ireland at 12.5%. Several offshore jurisdictions charge 0%.

What is Ireland's corporate tax rate?

Ireland's headline trading rate is 12.5% on active business income, with a higher 25% rate on passive income. A 15% effective rate applies to multinational groups with turnover above EUR 750 million under the OECD global minimum tax.

Does the global minimum tax end low corporate tax?

No. The OECD's 15% minimum applies only to very large multinational groups. Smaller companies still benefit from low headline rates like Ireland's 12.5% or Hungary's 9%.

Lowest corporate tax countries (2026)

For businesses choosing where to incorporate, the headline corporate income tax rate is the first number that matters. Here are the lowest in 2026.

Not tax advice. Headline rates ignore incentives, surcharges, local taxes and the OECD minimum tax. Get professional advice before structuring a business.

Lowest corporate tax rates (countries with a positive rate)

Country	Corporate tax	Top income tax
Hungary	9%	15%
United Arab Emirates	9%	0%
Barbados	9%	28.5%
Ireland	12.5%	40%
Liechtenstein	12.5%	22.4%
Cyprus	15%	35%
Bermuda	15%	0%

Plus the 0% jurisdictions: the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Jersey and Guernsey (for most companies). See the live lowest corporate tax ranking.

Why these rates exist

Low corporate tax is a deliberate strategy to attract foreign investment and headquarters. Ireland’s 12.5% turned it into Europe’s hub for US tech and pharma. Hungary runs the EU’s lowest rate at 9%. The UAE introduced a low 9% corporate tax in 2023 — its first ever — while keeping personal income tax at zero.

The 15% global minimum tax

The OECD’s Pillar Two reform sets a 15% minimum effective corporate tax for multinational groups with global revenue above EUR 750 million. If such a group is taxed below 15% in a country, a top-up is collected. This is why even traditional zero-tax centres like Bermuda have introduced corporate tax. But the floor only touches the largest groups — most companies still enjoy the low headline rates above.

Headline vs effective

A low headline rate is not the whole story. Deductions, R&D credits, patent boxes and special economic zones can pull effective rates well below the headline — or surcharges and minimum taxes can push them up. Always read each country page and compare with the calculator.

Sources

Rates from PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, cross-checked with the OECD and Tax Foundation. Statutory headline rates as of June 2026. See our methodology.