Tax residency
When Panama taxes you
A visa lets you stay. It does not decide who taxes you. In Panama that turns on a day count of about 183 days and the ties you keep, and it is the line that quietly reshapes what you take home.
When you become tax resident
Territorial system: foreign-source income never taxed; tax residency at 183+ days or a centre of vital interests, but even residents pay no tax on foreign income Holding a residency visa does not by itself create tax residency.
Territorial: foreign-source income is generally untaxed.
How your income is taxed
Territorial: foreign-source income exempt; Panama-source income taxed progressively (0/15/25% bands)
The trap below the day count
Staying under 183 days does not make you safe. A permanent home available to you, a partner or children living in Panama, or your centre of vital interests can create residence well below the count. And where two countries both claim you in the same year, a tax treaty tie-breaker decides, on your permanent home first, then your centre of vital interests, then where you habitually live. This is the part worth taking to a specialist.
Count your days against the threshold
The tracker counts the days you spend in each country and shows which cross their tax-residency line, Panama included.
Keep reading
Researched from public sources, checked Jul 2026. Not expert-reviewed, and not legal or tax advice. Rules change; the sources and dates above are how you judge whether to rely on this or take it to a professional.