ABB Bonaire: rates, returns and deadlines explained

ABB (algemene bestedingsbelasting) is the general sales tax on Bonaire. If you run a business on the island, you charge 6% on services, 7% on insurance and — only if you are a producer — 8% on goods, and you report it to the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland every quarter, within 15 days after the quarter ends. Below: who charges what, when ABB becomes due, how reverse charge and the small-business exemption work, what a company deals with at year-end, and the mistakes that are easiest to make.

What is ABB, and how is it different from VAT?

ABB is the sales tax of the three BES islands: Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba. The rules are the same on all three; the rates differ per island. It is collected by the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland, and everything is in US dollars, the currency of the island. ABB is charged on services, on insurance, on goods supplied by a producer, and on goods when they are imported. Unlike VAT in the Netherlands, it is not a system where every business charges and then deducts: apart from a producer, a business cannot deduct the ABB it pays on its purchases. For most businesses, ABB on purchases is simply part of the cost.

What are the ABB rates on Bonaire?

• Services: 6%
• Insurance: 7%
• Goods: 8% — only when supplied by a producer, and on import
• Exports by a producer: 0%
• Exempt supplies: no ABB

Two situations are easy to mix up. A service to a business outside the BES — a client on Curaçao, in the United States or in Europe — falls outside Bonaire ABB altogether, so you charge nothing. A service to a tourist does not: the dive course, the island tour or the boat trip you sell to a visitor is taxed at 6%, even though the customer lives abroad.

Who counts as a producer on Bonaire?

A producer makes goods from raw or auxiliary materials and sells them mainly to other businesses, from a space used for that purpose. Depending on how they sell, a bakery supplying restaurants or a workshop building furniture for hotels can be producers.

Only a producer charges ABB on goods. A shop or trader that resells imported goods charges no ABB on those goods, because ABB was already paid when they were imported. In return, a producer is the one business that may deduct: the ABB on raw materials, auxiliary materials and semi-finished goods, bought from another producer or paid on import, comes off its return.

When is ABB due, and what must be on the invoice?

ABB is due when you issue the invoice — at the latest 15 days after the month in which you delivered — and in any case no later than the moment you receive payment, or part of it. A deposit or advance payment therefore already makes ABB due, even before the work is done.

• Every ABB entrepreneur must issue invoices.
• On an invoice above USD 5,000 for goods or USD 200 for services, the CRIB number of both you and your customer must be shown.
• Taxed goods and services may not be offered at prices exclusive of ABB.

How does reverse charge work on Bonaire?

When you buy a service from a business outside the BES, that supplier charges no ABB. The ABB is shifted to you: you report it on your own return and pay it. The tax office uses this example: an adviser on Curaçao invoices USD 800, and the Bonaire business reports 6%, or USD 48. Because ordinary businesses cannot deduct ABB, that USD 48 is a real cost, not a balance you get back. On the return it goes in its own column, for ABB reverse-charged to you.

When do you file the ABB return on Bonaire?

By law the period is a month, but the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland issues ABB returns per quarter; a monthly or yearly period applies only if the tax office tells you so. The return and the payment are both due within 15 days after the quarter. Amounts go in whole dollars, with the cents rounded down. And if you had no sales at all, you still file: a nil return is required.

Is there an ABB exemption for small businesses?

Yes, for a sole trader or a partnership of natural persons whose turnover stays at or below USD 32,000 a calendar year, excluding ABB. A BV or NV cannot use it. The exemption is not automatic: it applies only after the tax office has granted it in a decision (beschikking). With it, you charge no ABB and file no periodic returns. Two things remain. ABB reverse-charged to you on services from outside the BES must still be reported and paid. And once your turnover for the year goes above USD 32,000, the exemption no longer applies: you tell the tax office and charge ABB again.

Does a company on Bonaire pay profit tax?

Not if it has a residence ruling (vestigingsplaatsbeschikking). A BES company with that ruling pays no profit tax. Without it, the company is treated as established in the Netherlands, and Dutch corporate income tax and dividend tax apply. The ruling can be requested, with up to 24 months' retroactive effect, if the company is small (turnover up to USD 80,000 and assets up to USD 200,000), holds at most 50% investments, or has at least three employees and real estate on the BES.

Instead of profit tax there are two other taxes. Distribution tax (opbrengstbelasting) of 7.5% — 5% before 2025 — is withheld by the company on dividends and paid within 15 days after the quarter of the distribution. In a quarter without a distribution there is nothing to file, and dividends from a participation are exempt. Real estate is subject to property tax (vastgoedbelasting), which the tax office assesses without a return from you.

When are the annual accounts due?

Every company established on the BES prepares its annual accounts within eight months after the year-end, and files them, certified by a director, with the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland within nine months — 30 September for a calendar year. Publication and an audit are not required, except for a large NV. Keep your records for ten years.

Common ABB mistakes on Bonaire

• Charging 8% on goods you only resell. If you did not produce them, there is no ABB on the sale.
• Forgetting reverse charge on an invoice from an adviser or designer on Curaçao or in the Netherlands.
• Waiting for payment before counting ABB. It is due on the invoice, or earlier when a deposit comes in.
• Leaving ABB off a service to tourists because they live abroad, or charging it on a service to a business outside the BES.
• Skipping the return in a quiet quarter. A nil return is still required.
• Filing with cents, or rounding up instead of down.
• Missing CRIB numbers on larger invoices, or quoting prices exclusive of ABB.
• Assuming the small-business exemption applies before the tax office has granted it.

How CORA helps with ABB on Bonaire

CORA is online accounting software built for the Caribbean, including the BES. When you choose Bonaire, the rates and rules above are already set up:

• ABB at 6%, 7% and 8%, 0% for exports by a producer, and a separate code for services to a business outside the BES. Your position moves with every invoice you book.
• Your quarterly return prepared in whole dollars, with the deadline on your dashboard.
• ABB reverse-charged to you on services from outside the BES added to the return, as a cost.
• A producer switch, so the ABB on your raw materials comes off; and with the small-business exemption, your turnover tracked against the USD 32,000 limit.
• A warning when an invoice above the threshold lacks your CRIB number or your customer's.
• For companies: a warning when the residence ruling is missing, distribution tax booked with each dividend, and a filing pack with director-certified annual accounts for the nine-month deadline.
• Bank statements read from the PDF or export your bank gives you, and a free read-only login for your accountant.

CORA prepares the return; it does not file it. You copy the amounts into the return of the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland, mark the period as filed, and CORA warns you if the books change afterwards. Payroll and property tax are not part of it. Read more on the Bonaire page, or start your 14-day free trial — plans start from $20 a month.

This article explains the general rules. For your own situation, check the details with the Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland or an accountant.