Relocation intelligence

🇰🇭 Moving to Cambodia: tax, residency and cost of living

Progressive monthly Tax on Salary rising to 20%; residents taxed on worldwide employment income. No wealth or inheritance tax, 10% VAT, 20% corporate tax. Heavily USD-dollarized economy with low cost of living.

Thinking of moving to Cambodia? Here is the tax, residency, property and quality-of-life picture in plain numbers, with sources.

Key facts

Top income tax
20%
Corporate tax
20%
Capital gains
20%
Wealth tax
No
Inheritance tax
No
Cost of living index
38
Safety
5/10
Internet quality
6/10
Visa-free destinations
56
Foreigners can own property
Yes
Residency in
6 months
Citizenship in
5 years

Taxes

Salary tax is withheld monthly on progressive bands (0/5/10/15/20%). Residents are taxed on worldwide salary; non-residents pay a flat 20% on Cambodian-source income. A relief of 150,000 KHR/month applies per dependent. VAT is 10% and corporate tax 20%. From 2026 a 20% capital gains tax applies to shares; on real estate only from 2027.

Residency and visas

Residency is easy via the annually renewable E-visa or the ten-year CM2H program. Naturalization is possible after roughly seven years of continuous residence, and a route via investment or donation to the state exists.

Property ownership

Foreigners cannot own land. They can buy condominium units (strata title) above the ground floor, up to 70% of a building. Land ownership in practice runs via long-term lease or a local nominee structure.

Cost of living and quality of life

Very low cost of living, a warm tropical climate and a growing expat community in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Watch points are basic public healthcare, variable internet quality and moderate road safety.

Passport and mobility

The Cambodian passport gives visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 56 destinations (Henley 2026), which is relatively weak. For residents, Cambodia itself is very accessible through easy e-visas.

Why people move to Cambodia

  • Low tax burden and low costs

    The 20% top rate is modest, the first 18,000,000 KHR per year is tax free, and there is no wealth or inheritance tax. Combined with very low living costs in a dollarized economy, take-home income stays high.

  • Easy long-term residence visas

    The E-class (ordinary/business) visa is indefinitely renewable each year and the Cambodia My Second Home (CM2H) program offers a ten-year residence visa. Residency thresholds are low compared with most countries.

Honest trade-offs

  • Buitenlanders mogen in Cambodja geen grond bezitten; alleen appartementseenheden (condo strata title) boven de begane grond zijn toegestaan, tot maximaal 70% van een gebouw.
  • Fiscaal inwoners worden belast op hun wereldwijde salaris, niet alleen op inkomen uit Cambodjaanse bron.
  • De kwaliteit van de publieke gezondheidszorg is laag en veel expats reizen naar Thailand of Vietnam voor ernstige medische behandelingen.
  • Vanaf 1 januari 2026 geldt een vermogenswinstbelasting van 20% op onder andere aandelenoverdrachten en andere kwalificerende activa.

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Sources

Other destinations

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