Gibraltar offers English-style trust law, private foundations, private trust companies and holding companies, with no capital gains, inheritance or wealth tax and a 15% corporate rate. These guides explain how each structure works, how it is taxed and what must be reported, as of October 2026.
Who these guides are for
They are written for families with significant assets, the lawyers and accountants who advise them, and the principals of family offices deciding where to base people, structures or both. Each guide assumes you will take Gibraltar legal and tax advice before acting. The aim is to help you ask the right questions and compare options before that conversation.
The four building blocks
- Family offices in Gibraltar covers single and multi-family offices, when a licence from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) is needed, the structures that usually sit underneath, and how the office connects to residence for the principal.
- Private foundations vs trusts sets the two main succession vehicles side by side: legal personality, control, registration, privacy and tax.
- Gibraltar trusts for international families explains discretionary, purpose and asset protection trusts, private trust companies, firewall rules and the trustee reporting rules introduced in December 2025.
- Investment holding companies explains why dividends and most interest received by a Gibraltar company are not taxed, where the exceptions are, and what substance and anti-avoidance rules mean in practice.
Suggested reading order
If you are starting from scratch, read the family office guide first, because it shows how the other structures fit together. Then read the foundations and trusts comparison to choose a succession vehicle, and finish with holding companies, which often sit under either.
Rules that apply across all four
A few points recur throughout. Gibraltar taxes on a territorial basis, so the source of income matters more than where a company is incorporated. Trusts and foundations are taxed by reference to whether any beneficiary is ordinarily resident in Gibraltar. Since 1 December 2025, trustees must report trust and beneficiary details to the GFSC. Companies must file beneficial ownership details with the Register of Ultimate Beneficial Owners. And the 2019 UK–Spain tax agreement can treat a Gibraltar entity as Spanish tax resident if it is mainly owned, managed or invested in Spain.
Related areas
If a family member intends to live in Gibraltar, read Category 2 residency explained alongside these guides. For the mechanics of forming the companies involved, see how to set up a company in Gibraltar.