Is Panama a tax haven?

Panama left Annex I after reforming its regime for foreign income, through Law 526 of 2026 and Executive Decree 32 of September 2, 2026. It remains in Annex II because of the in-depth Global Forum review on exchange of information on request, requested on April 30, 2026 and planned for the first quarter of 2027.

Source: EU Delegation to Panama, note of October 9, 2026; Code of Conduct Group report to the Council of September 25, 2026

Law 526 of May 28, 2026 applies to entities that belong to multinational groups and earn passive foreign-source income. An entity that does not qualify pays a single, final rate of 15% on that income. The rule applies from fiscal year 2027.

It does not apply to individuals: the law speaks of entities of a group with members resident in different jurisdictions. A 25% rate does not appear in the law.

Source: Law 526 of 2026, articles 6, 707-A, 707-B and 707-D, Official Gazette 30534-B

A Spanish national who moves to a jurisdiction Spain treats as a tax haven remains a Spanish taxpayer for the year of the move and the four following years. Spain’s current list, Order HFP/115/2023 as consolidated on June 27, 2026, does not include Panama.

Source: Spain, Law 35 of 2006, article 8.2; Order HFP/115/2023

Colombia treats as resident a national who has tax residency in a jurisdiction its government classes as a tax haven. The current list, in Decree 1496 of 2024, has 25 jurisdictions and does not include Panama. Other rules of article 10 can still make a Colombian resident.

Source: Colombia, Tax Statute, article 10; Decree 1625 of 2016, article 1.2.2.5.1, as replaced by Decree 1496 of 2024

• The publication of the EU Council conclusions in the Official Journal, and the date of the next EU review.
• Panama’s status on FATF lists and on OECD lists other than the Global Forum review still to come.
• When and why Panama left Spain’s older list of 1991.

• Does Panama tax foreign income?
• Double tax treaties
• Bank accounts and CRS