Panama City (Panama)
🇵🇦 Panama · Address 88 of 100

Panama City, for a high earner.

The dollar, the canal, and a tax code that ignores whatever you earn outside the country. Permanent residence in about 9 weeks for the price of a flat, and Miami 3 hours north.

Rank Panama City on my numbers →

In short, current to October 2026

  • A person earning $1,000,000 and resident in Panama City pays an effective 0% of income tax on the Patrician.ch 2026 model, keeping $1M. At $300,000 the effective rate is 0%, and at $3,000,000 it is 0%.
  • Panama City taxes only Panama source gains, at 10% on local real estate and securities with 3% or 5% of the price paid in advance, so a gain on foreign securities is untaxed.
  • Inheritance: No inheritance tax. Panama levies no inheritance or estate tax.
  • On the passports most readers hold, the realistic route into Panama City is Residence by investment.
  • Cost of the life is 62 on the Patrician.ch index where Zurich is 100, safety 6 of 10, schools 6 of 10. These 3 are Patrician.ch editorial indices scored by us, not published statistics.
  • Figures are current to October 2026. Tax thresholds and residence routes move, so confirm with counsel before relying on any of them.

Official sources: Panama National Migration Service, Official Gazette of Panama, Council of the European Union. Checked against them on .

Source: the Patrician.ch board, an original ranking of 100 residence addresses across 47 countries and territories. Tax rates, thresholds and routes are sourced. Cost, safety, schools, sun and beauty are Patrician.ch editorial indices. Figures current to October 2026. Updated . Cite as: Patrician.ch, Panama City (Panama) tax and residence 2026 for a high earner, patrician.ch/cities/panama-city/, October 2026.

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By the Patrician.ch research desk · Updated 29 October 2026 · 12 min read
The numbers

What Panama City takes, and what it costs.

Effective tax at $1M0%$1M kept after tax
Capital gains0%on a $1M gain
Cost index62Zurich = 100
Inheritance, children0%No inheritance tax
Supercar street index#68of 100
Safety6/10 
Schools6/10international options
The Patrician.ch 10089thof 100, the ranking
Prestige of address4/10Patrician.ch editorial index
Corporate tax25%headline rate on profits
Sun hours a year1,780Capital friendly
Wealth mobility score71.5Henley 2026, out of 100

Tax on your bracket.

IncomeTaxEffectiveKept after tax
$300K$00%$300K
$1M$00%$1M
$3M$00%$3M
See these 2 places for your own income.Panama City and George Town, side by side on your income, passports and family. Free, in the ranking of all 100. Then the Dossier: a written report in 10 chapters on the 3 places that rank first for you. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 31 October.
Compare them on my income →

Tax note. Territorial tax: foreign source income is not taxed at all. Local income runs to 25%.

Out in front

Income kept after tax on $1M a year, US dollars, the 18 places in the Caribbean and Latin America on the board

  1. Punta del Este$1M
  2. Panama City$1M
  3. Virgin Gorda$1M
  4. Anguilla$1M
  5. Christophe Harbour$1M
  6. Providenciales$1M
  7. Nassau$1M
  8. George Town$1M
  9. St John's$1M
  10. Tucker's Town$888K
  11. Casa de Campo$752K
  12. Platinum Coast$732K

Note: single filer, not a US citizen. Panama City ranks 1 of 18 here, level with 8 others

Source: Patrician.ch 2026 tax model, built on official tax authority rates

Income tax on the published 2026 rules. Social contributions, most deductions and treaties are not modeled. Non-US single filer. Enter your own income, exit, passports, and family to see where Panama City ranks for you.

Rank Panama City on my numbers →

FIRE

The FIRE number in Panama City.

The capital whose yearly withdrawal, at 4%, pays for a year here after Panama City's tax on the gain part of each sale: 0% on a resident's listed securities, with half of each sale counted as gain.

A $100K year here $2.50M
A $150K year here $3.75M $4.26M for a US citizen
A $250K year here $6.25M

Price your own year in all 100 places →

Who gets in

The residence route.

Qualified Investor visa under Executive Decree 17 of 08.09.2026: permanent residence in up to 45 business days, 15 for the investment certificate and 30 for the migration decision, for US$300K in a new property bought from the developer, or US$500K in a resale property, in Panamanian securities, or on deposit at a state bank, each held 5 years. Friendly Nations visa for 51 nationalities with a US$200K property. The Council of the EU removed Panama from Annex I of its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions on 09.10.2026 and moved it to Annex II.

Residence by investment

Panama has a Henley 2026 Wealth Mobility score of 71.5 out of 100, a country level figure. The passport ladder on the engine compares 66 passports.

The life

An ordinary day in Panama City.

Panama City
🇵🇦 PanamaPanama City
  • Cinta CosteraRun the waterfront with the skyline at your back.
  • ObarrioThe banking district, coffee from the Boquete highlands, and the ships lined up for the canal.
  • Casco ViejoLunch in the old town. The colonial houses were bought by people who read the tax code.
  • Punta PacificaSunset over the Pacific from the 40th floor. The flight to New York is 5 hours 15.

Flight times.

FromFlightRouting
New York5h 30mNonstop to Panama City Tocumen
London13h 50m1 stop to Panama City Tocumen
Zurich13h 50m1 stop to Panama City Tocumen
Dubai20h 05m1 stop to Panama City Tocumen
Singapore23h 25m1 stop to Panama City Tocumen
Tel Aviv17h 30m1 stop to Panama City Tocumen

Scheduled gate to gate times on the fastest routing, with 1h 30m allowed for each connection. Airline schedules read October 17, 2026.

Healthcare

Care within reach.

Nearest emergency departmentunder 1 kmHospiten Paitilla
Best ranked within reachNoneNo hospital within reach is in the 2026 lists
Life expectancy, Panama79.8years at birth, 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people1.6Panama, 2022
Hospital beds per 1,0001.9Panama, 2023
Health spending per person$1,558US dollars a year, 2023
Care coverage index82WHO, out of 100, 2023

Newsweek's 2026 edition does not cover Panama. Hospital Punta Pacífica (JCI accredited, Johns Hopkins Medicine International affiliate) and Clínica Hospital San Fernando (JCI accredited) are within 3 km. Three private hospitals, Hospiten Paitilla, Hospital Punta Pacífica and Clínica Hospital San Fernando, are within 3 km of the city point.

HospitalRoleDistanceNewsweek 2026JCI
Hospiten PaitillaNearest emergency departmentunder 1 kmNot rankedNo
Hospital Punta Pacífica (Pacífica Salud)Nearest emergency department1 kmNot rankedAccredited

Mid-table

Life expectancy at birth, years, the 14 countries and territories in the Caribbean and Latin America on the board

  1. Bermuda82.5
  2. Puerto Rico81.9
  3. Cayman Islands80.5
  4. Panama79.8
  5. Uruguay78.3
  6. Turks and Caicos78.2
  7. Antigua and Barbuda77.8
  8. Argentina77.5
  9. British Virgin Islands77.4
  10. Barbados76.3
  11. Mexico75.3
  12. Bahamas74.7
  13. Dominican Republic73.9
  14. St Kitts and Nevis72.3

Note: Panama ranks 4 of 14. Latest year published for each, 2024.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, latest year for each country

Hospital ranks from Newsweek and Statista, World's Best Hospitals 2026. Accreditation from the Joint Commission International directory. Distances in a straight line from Panama City, from OpenStreetMap. Country figures from the World Bank and the WHO, the latest year each publishes. Checked 23.10.2026. Research, not medical advice.

Within reach

Near Panama City on the board.

George Town, Cayman IslandsGeorge Town🇰🇾 Grand Cayman, Cayman IslandsTulum, MexicoTulum🇲🇽 MexicoCasa de Campo, Dominican RepublicCasa de Campo🇩🇴 Dominican RepublicCancún, MexicoCancún🇲🇽 MexicoProvidenciales, Turks and CaicosProvidenciales🇹🇨 Turks and CaicosSan Juan, Puerto RicoSan Juan🇵🇷 Puerto Rico

Tap any frame to step into it.

Questions

How much income tax does a $1M earner pay in Panama City?

About $0 a year, an effective 0%, which leaves $1M of $1,000,000 on Patrician.ch's 2026 model.

At $300K the effective rate is 0%, and at $3M it is 0%. Income tax on the published 2026 rules. Social contributions, most deductions and treaties are not modeled. Territorial tax: foreign source income is not taxed at all. Local income runs to 25%.

Does Panama City tax capital gains?

Not on foreign gains. Panama taxes only income produced in Panama, so a gain on foreign securities is untaxed, while a gain on Panama real estate or Panama securities is taxed at 10%, with 3% or 5% of the sale price paid in advance.

The country you leave can still apply its own exit rules to a gain that accrued while you lived there.

Does Panama City have a wealth tax?

No. Panama levies no general annual wealth tax on a resident's net worth.

Does Panama City have an inheritance tax?

No. Panama levies no inheritance or estate tax.

What a child pays: nothing. Source: DGI, Panama, current to October 2026. The heir's own residence and the location of the assets can bring another country's tax into play.

How does a foreigner get residence in Panama City?

Qualified Investor visa under Executive Decree 17 of 08.09.2026: permanent residence in up to 45 business days, 15 for the investment certificate and 30 for the migration decision, for US$300K in a new property bought from the developer, or US$500K in a resale property, in Panamanian securities, or on deposit at a state bank, each held 5 years.

Friendly Nations visa for 51 nationalities with a US$200K property. The Council of the EU removed Panama from Annex I of its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions on 09.10.2026 and moved it to Annex II. Routes that matter for money: Residence by investment.

What is the cost of living in Panama City?

Panama City scores 62 on the Patrician.ch cost index, where Zurich is 100, and ranks 90 of 100 on cost, 1 being the most expensive.

Safety scores 6 of 10 and schools 6 of 10, with 1,780 sun hours a year. Cost, safety and schools are Patrician.ch editorial indices, not published statistics.

The Dossier on Panama City, on your numbers.A written report on the 3 places that rank first for you, compared line by line on your income, a sale, your passports and your family. 10 chapters, written the moment you pay. Every tax figure carries its official source and the date it was last checked. The Dossier is $500. The founding price, $250, holds until 31 October. Refunded in full within 7 days of delivery, no reason needed.
Read chapters 1 to 3, free →
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Income tax on the published 2026 rules. Social contributions, most deductions and treaties are not modeled. Figures are for a non-US single filer. Wealth tax, an exit and your passports are added when you run the engine on your own numbers. Not advice. Residence rules change often. Verify before acting.

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