Your Bahamas trust cost follows the structure, not a fixed tariff: companies and accounts below it, the drafting and the trustee's yearly work. We publish the set-up fee for a standard trust or foundation in the Bahamas on this page; annual administration, event-based work and third-party charges are quoted after we review your case.
The set-up fee for a Bahamas trust is shown under the key facts. The other groups of cost depend on the structure and are quoted after we review your case.
Set-up
Structure design and onboarding checks
Trust deed drafting by the law firm
Trustee acceptance and account opening
Ongoing
Annual trustee fee
Accounting, minutes and records
Reporting to authorities
Third party
Bank and custodian charges
Tax and legal advice in other countries
Registry or stamp duty where it applies
Key facts
Trust structure
Foundations Act 2004 and Purpose Trust Act 2004 widened the options[1]
Governing law
Trustee Act 1998 sets trustee powers and beneficiary rights[1]
Perpetuity period
2011 reforms include the Rule Against Perpetuities (Abolition) Act[1]
Numbers in brackets point to the Sources list at the end of this page.
Set-up fee
Standard trust
USD 6,000
Trust set-up in the Bahamas: the fee is fixed for the standard scope listed below.
Includes
Client onboarding, KYC and due diligence
Structure design
Trust deed or foundation charter drafted through a partner law firm
Acceptance of trusteeship by a local partner trustee, coordinated by One Pacific Trust
Filing of any registration the law requires
Excludes
Government fees, initial and annual (passed through at cost)
Stamp duty
Holding or underlying companies
Bank account opening
Tax advice in other countries
Annual trustee, administration and event fees (quoted separately)
VAT or GST where applicable
Standard foundation
USD 7,000
Foundation set-up in the Bahamas: the fee is fixed for the standard scope listed below.
Includes
Client onboarding, KYC and due diligence
Structure design
Trust deed or foundation charter drafted through a partner law firm
Acceptance of trusteeship by a local partner trustee, coordinated by One Pacific Trust
Filing of any registration the law requires
Excludes
Government fees, initial and annual (passed through at cost)
Stamp duty
Holding or underlying companies
Bank account opening
Tax advice in other countries
Annual trustee, administration and event fees (quoted separately)
VAT or GST where applicable
This fee includes the local partner trustee's acceptance fee as agreed with One Pacific Trust.
Set-up fees shown are One Pacific Trust fees in US dollars for the standard scope described, before government, registry, bank and other third-party charges, which are passed through at cost or billed to you directly.
Annual administration, event-based work and anything outside the standard scope are quoted after we review your case.
A published fee is not an offer and is not tax or legal advice; the terms that apply are those set out in writing when you engage us.
Set-up costs: what they cover
Illustration, not a real client.
Before a Bahamas trust is live, several people do paid work, and each line of that work has a different payer.
The Bahamian law firm that drafts the deed, or the foundation charter if a foundation is chosen instead.
The trustee’s acceptance work and its own checks on you.
Identity and source-of-funds checks.
The registered agent and government charges for any company the trust owns.
Our coordination fee, which we state in the quote.
The set-up fee shown on this page covers the standard scope. Every other line depends on your structure, and the quote lists each with its assumptions. Every figure in a quote comes from the written terms of the trustee and the law firm.
Compare those terms line by line, noting which items repeat each year.
Ongoing trustee and administration costs
After signing, the trustee keeps working, and the yearly items are these:
Accounts and records of the assets it holds.
Resolutions that record each distribution.
Meetings and a yearly review with you.
Support for the records that a company under the trust keeps with its registered agent.
Such companies may bring their own yearly charges for those records. The reporting duties, with their sources, are set out on the overview page.
Ask the trustee what a normal year includes. A change of beneficiary, an extra meeting or a court matter is often billed on top.
Third-party costs
Not every invoice comes from us or the trustee. Several sit with outside parties:
Your own lawyer and tax adviser in your home country.
The registered agent for each company below the trust.
A bank or custodian that holds the assets.
Certified translations, notary charges and courier costs for signing at a distance.
A person who agrees to act as protector or foundation council member may also set terms. Ask for them in writing before the deed is final.
One provider may charge by the hour and another by the task, so ask each for the same breakdown before you weigh them.
What changes the total
Four early choices move the total most:
Trust or foundation. The Foundations Act 2004 gives a second route, and a foundation has its own papers instead of a trust deed.
Asset protection clauses. A deed meant to hold up against creditor claims needs careful drafting and a clear record of timing.
Kinds of assets. Shares in a company need transfer papers, and cash needs bank steps.
Speed. The Bahamas follow Eastern time with daylight saving, so the gap with Hong Kong is twelve or thirteen hours.
Tell us the assets you expect to transfer and whether you are weighing a trust against a foundation. Those answers shape the quote most.
If you shop around, give every provider the same structure to price and file each reply with its date, so the totals line up.
How to get a quote
Send your plan in plain words and a written quote comes back. It is not an offer, and you read the trustee’s and the law firm’s terms before you commit to anything.
The enquiry form asks which assets you expect to transfer, whether a company holds them, whether a foundation is on the table and how many beneficiaries there are.
What do I pay for when I set up a trust in the Bahamas?
You pay for the Bahamian law firm that drafts the deed, the trustee's acceptance and set-up work, identity checks, any company below the trust with its registered agent, and government charges. Each charge is listed in the written terms before you commit, so you can compare them with other quotes.
Are there ongoing costs for a trust in the Bahamas?
Yes. The trustee bills for yearly work such as accounts, records, meetings and resolutions. A company held by the trust brings its own annual charges, and banks and advisers add theirs. Which items apply to your trust is spelled out in the trustee's written terms.
How do I get a quote for a trust in the Bahamas?
Send the assets you plan to transfer, the number of beneficiaries and whether a holding company is involved. A written quote follows. It is not an offer: you read the trustee's and the law firm's terms first, then decide whether to go ahead.
Pick a question for a short answer from our FAQ. Nothing you choose here is sent anywhere. This is a scripted guide from our FAQ, not live chat and not advice.
Setting up, the law and tax
What happens, step by step, when you set up an offshore trust?
First agree the purpose and who should benefit. Your lawyer drafts the deed under the chosen law while the trustee checks identity and the source of the assets. After signing, the assets move into the trustee’s name and are recorded. The guide shows each stage in more detail.
Usually the owner transfers the shares or membership interest to the trustee under the deed, after checking the company’s own documents and any consent a lender or partner must give. The trustee then holds the interest and the company carries on. Company, tax and local law checks come first, so involve your lawyer.
Yes, in the places whose law provides for them. A trust needs a lawful purpose, a valid deed under its governing law, and taxes and reporting dealt with where the people involved live. It cannot be used to hide assets, defeat existing creditors or evade tax. A trustee will refuse a trust whose purpose or funding it cannot confirm.
It depends on where the settlor, the beneficiaries, the trustee and the assets are, and on the law that governs the trust. Many countries tax trust income or distributions in the hands of the people they treat as owners or recipients, and exchange account data under international reporting rules. We do not give tax advice, so ask your own adviser before you sign.
How long does it take to appoint a Hong Kong trustee?
Time depends mostly on how quickly documents arrive and on checks by banks and registries outside our control, so we do not promise a date. Once you apply, the client portal shows each step and what is outstanding, and a 30-minute call sets out what to prepare first.
The cost depends on the structure, the places and assets involved, how many parties the trustee must check, and how much work the trust needs each year. We publish the set-up fee for each place; annual administration and event-based work are quoted after we review your case. Banking, legal and registry charges outside our control can add to it.
A trustee can borrow only if the deed and the governing law allow it. A lender will usually ask to see the deed, the trustee’s authority and the purpose of the loan. Some deeds limit borrowing or need a protector’s consent. Ask a lawyer before approaching a lender.
What is asset management, and is it what a trustee does?
Asset management means running investments for a client, usually under a licence. A trustee does something different: it holds the assets, checks instructions against the deed, approves distributions and keeps the record. A bank or licensed manager that the deed allows for can run the investments.
Hong Kong
Singapore
BVI
Jersey
