Relocation intelligence

🇵🇭 Moving to Philippines: tax, residency and cost of living

TRAIN law progressive income tax (0 to 35%) with a PHP 250,000 tax-free threshold

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

Key facts

Top income tax
35%
Corporate tax
25%
Capital gains
15%
Wealth tax
No
Inheritance tax
Yes
Cost of living index
37
Safety
6/10
Internet quality
7/10
Visa-free destinations
65
Foreigners can own property
Yes
Residency in
6 months
Citizenship in
5 years

Taxes

Progressive TRAIN rates from 0% (up to PHP 250,000) to 35% (above PHP 8m). Mandatory SSS (5%), PhilHealth (2.5%) and Pag-IBIG (2%) contributions are deductible before tax. 13th-month pay and bonuses up to PHP 90,000 are exempt. Resident citizens are taxed on worldwide income; foreign residents only on Philippine-source income.

Residency and visas

The SRRV retiree visa (from age 40, deposit from USD 15,000) grants permanent residency within a few months. Investors can use the SIRV. Citizenship by naturalization is rare and takes about ten years.

Property ownership

Foreigners may buy condominium units (up to 40% per building) but not land. Land can only be leased or held via a Filipino spouse.

Cost of living and quality of life

A tropical climate, English-speaking population and very low costs make the Philippines attractive for retirees and remote workers, though safety and infrastructure are uneven.

Passport and mobility

The Philippine passport ranks 72nd on the Henley 2026 index with about 69 visa-free or visa-on-arrival destinations, well below EU passports.

Why people move to Philippines

  • Low cost of living and a tax-free bracket

    The first PHP 250,000 of income is untaxed and living costs are over 55 percent lower than in the Netherlands, so a modest income stretches far.

  • Territorial taxation for foreigners and an easy retiree visa

    Foreign residents are taxed only on Philippine-source income, and the SRRV retiree visa is open from age 40 with a deposit from USD 15,000.

Honest trade-offs

  • Buitenlanders mogen geen grond bezitten in de Filipijnen. Je kunt alleen een condominium-unit kopen, met een maximum van 40 procent buitenlands eigendom per gebouw, of grond langdurig leasen.
  • De SRRV-pensioenvisum geeft permanent verblijf maar geen pad naar staatsburgerschap. Naturalisatie vereist doorgaans tien jaar onafgebroken verblijf en is in de praktijk zeer moeilijk.
  • Het Filipijnse paspoort is relatief zwak en staat 72e op de Henley-index 2026 met slechts 69 visumvrije of visum-bij-aankomst bestemmingen.
  • Het toptarief van de inkomstenbelasting is 35 procent boven 8 miljoen PHP, hoog voor een tropisch land, en er geldt daarnaast 12 procent btw op de meeste bestedingen.
  • De veiligheid en infrastructuur zijn matig. Numbeo geeft de Filipijnen een veiligheidsindex van slechts 56,6, en de internet- en verkeersinfrastructuur blijft achter bij regionale buren.

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Sources

Other destinations

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