Family Office in Jersey: Rules, Costs and Tax in 2026

How is a family office licensed in Jersey?

Jersey has no licence or registration specific to family offices. The JFSC's FAQ (issued 12 May 2023, revised 30 November 2023) says family offices are not automatically in scope: a family office must register with the JFSC as a Schedule 2 business, for anti-money laundering supervision under the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999, only if it carries on a Schedule 2 activity (for example acting as trustee of an express trust) 'as a business'; the FAQ does not deal directly with a single family office serving only its own family. Registration under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 is needed only for financial service business carried on 'by way of business' (Article 2), and Ogier reports that a family office hosted by a regulated trust company, with no staff or real presence in Jersey, is generally exempt from it. A private trust company (PTC) need not register as a trust company business if it serves only a specific trust or trusts, does not solicit or serve the public, is administered by a JFSC-registered trust company business and its name is notified to the JFSC (paragraph 4 of the Schedule to the Financial Services (Trust Company Business (Exemptions)) (Jersey) Order 2000), but the JFSC treats a PTC as acting as a business, so it must register as a Schedule 2 business. [2, 3, 10, 11, 12]

What is the minimum wealth for a family office in Jersey?

No minimum family wealth in the JFSC's Schedule 2 FAQ and guidance or in the PTC exemption: whether a family office must register as a Schedule 2 business depends on whether it carries on a Schedule 2 activity as a business, and the conditions for the PTC exemption contain no asset or wealth test. A separate wealth test applies to High Value Residency (see residency). [2, 3, 11]

Compare: Family Office Minimum Net Worth by Country

Who counts as family?

No legal definition of 'family' applies, because there is no family office regime. The JFSC's Schedule 2 guidance (paragraph 2.4.10) says a trust and company service is not provided to a third party where the recipient is under the same legal and equitable ownership, the activities are part of a business under common direction, and no one outside that beneficial ownership and control receives the service. Its FAQ says an unpaid family member (or one receiving only a token reward) acting as trustee is not acting as a business, a paid immediate family member may be, and a family office employee who is also a trustee is not, if the salary is not specifically tied to the trustee role. A PTC keeps its exemption from trust company business registration only if it serves specific trusts and does not deal with the public. [2, 3]

Can one office serve several families?

No dedicated multi-family office licence was found. An office serving other families that carries on financial service business in or from Jersey, such as investment business, trust company business (for example acting as trustee or director, or providing a registered office) or fund services business, must be registered by the JFSC under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998; doing so unregistered is an offence punishable by up to 7 years' imprisonment, a fine or both (Article 7). Under the JFSC 2026 Fees Notice, the trust company business application fee is GBP 2,294 for a non-affiliated person, and the annual fee is GBP 3,257 plus GBP 1,318 times the average number of classes of business, plus GBP 693 for each of the first 10 employees and lower amounts for further employees. [10, 13, 14]

Which law and courts apply?

Jersey is a British Crown Dependency, not part of the United Kingdom: it is responsible for its internal affairs, has its own parliament (the States Assembly) and its own legal system, which the Government of Jersey says is based on Norman customary rather than English common law. Major cases are tried by the Royal Court, presided over by the Bailiff or his deputy, with appeals to the Court of Appeal; Carey Olsen (2026) says an appeal from the Court of Appeal to the Privy Council needs leave from the Court of Appeal or the Privy Council, which hears only points of law of general public importance, and that French ceased to be the language of legal practice after the Second World War. Financial services are supervised by the JFSC under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998. [1, 10, 15, 16, 17]

Reported by the sources named, not confirmed by an official source.

What substance is required?

No substance rule specific to family offices was found. Under the Taxation (Companies – Economic Substance) (Jersey) Law 2019, a Jersey tax-resident company or LLC carrying on a relevant activity, such as holding company business, fund management, finance and leasing or headquarters, must be directed and managed in Jersey, have adequate employees, expenditure and physical assets there and carry out its core income-generating activities in Jersey; a company with no gross income from the activity does not have to meet the test. For businesses registered under the 1998 Law, the JFSC's licensing policy expects local management and control (the balance of the board resident in Jersey) and resources such as Jersey staff and premises or a Jersey-based licensed manager. [13, 18]

Which holding vehicles are available?

Companies under the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 (including private trust companies), foundations under the Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009, limited liability companies under the Limited Liability Companies (Jersey) Law 2018, limited partnerships, separate limited partnerships, incorporated limited partnerships (Incorporated Limited Partnerships (Jersey) Law 2011) and limited liability partnerships, all registered with the JFSC Registry. Trusts under the Trusts (Jersey) Law 1984 can last for an unlimited period with no rule against perpetuities, and a settlor can reserve powers such as revoking or varying the trust without affecting its validity. [2, 8, 9, 19, 20, 21, 22]

What is the corporate tax rate?

The standard rate of company income tax is 0%. Certain regulated financial services companies pay 10%, and 20% applies to utility companies, to income from Jersey property rental and development, importing or supplying hydrocarbon oils and quarrying, and to retail companies with retail turnover of GBP 2 million or more on profits above GBP 750,000 (sliding scale from GBP 500,000); Budget 2026-2029 keeps these 0%, 10% and 20% rates. For accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025, Jersey's 15% Multinational Corporate Income Tax may apply to Jersey entities of groups with consolidated annual revenue of EUR 750 million or more in at least two of the four preceding accounting periods. A family office or holding company outside these categories pays the 0% standard rate; whether a particular PTC or family office company counts as a financial services company taxed at 10% was not checked. [4, 23, 24, 25]

Are there tax incentives for family offices?

No tax regime specific to family offices was found in the Government of Jersey's company tax guidance or in Budget 2026-2029 (approved 11 December 2025), and the proposed Budget 2027-2030 (September 2026) contains no family office measure. Most companies pay the 0% standard rate. [4, 23, 24]

Is there personal income tax?

Personal income tax is at most 20%: tax is the lower of 20% of income and a marginal calculation at 26% after allowances, so no one pays more than 20% overall; for 2026 the low-income exemption threshold is GBP 21,250, and since 1 January 2026 everyone is taxed independently, so couples are no longer taxed jointly. There is no capital gains tax, and GST is 5%. High value residents approved from 14 July 2023 pay, in broad terms, 20% on the first GBP 1.25 million of income and 1% above it, with a minimum annual tax contribution of GBP 250,000; their Jersey land and property income is taxed at 20%. [5, 6, 23, 26, 27]

Compare: Countries With No Personal Income Tax

Is there inheritance or estate tax?

There is no inheritance tax and no capital gains tax, according to the Government of Jersey; no gift tax is mentioned in the sources opened. Mourant (February 2026) and Voisin report a stamp duty on a Jersey grant of probate or letters of administration, charged on the net movable estate: nil up to GBP 10,000, GBP 50 per GBP 10,000 or part up to GBP 100,000, then GBP 500 plus GBP 75 per further GBP 10,000 or part, capped at GBP 100,000 for estates above GBP 13,360,000; neither mentions an exemption for spouses or children. Registering a will of Jersey immovable property also bears stamp duty on the net value of the property devised, from 0.5% (minimum GBP 12) on the first GBP 50,000 up to GBP 449,500 plus 1.1% above GBP 6 million (Stamp Duties and Fees (Jersey) Law 1998, Schedule 1, item 46); Voisin reports no duty, only an administration charge, where the matrimonial home is left to the surviving spouse or civil partner or the estate passes on intestacy. [5, 24, 28, 29, 30]

Reported by the sources named, not confirmed by an official source.

Compare: Inheritance Tax by Country

How do wills and succession work?

Forced heirship (légitime) still applies to movable estate under Article 7(2) of the Wills and Successions (Jersey) Law 1993: if a spouse or civil partner and issue (children and their descendants) survive, the spouse may claim the household effects and one third of the rest of the net movable estate and the issue one third; if only a spouse survives, they may claim the household effects and two thirds of the rest, and if only issue survive, they may claim two thirds. Land can be left by will, but since 12 June 2026 the surviving spouse's or civil partner's dower is limited to a life enjoyment (usufruit) of the whole matrimonial home. Under Article 9 of the Trusts (Jersey) Law 1984, Jersey's légitime does not apply to questions about a Jersey trust's validity unless the settlor is domiciled in Jersey, and such questions are decided without regard to heirship rights under foreign law. [8, 31, 32]

Can the family get residence?

High Value Residency gives 'entitled' residential status, including the right to buy property, to economically active high net worth people approved by the Government; it is not a citizenship by investment scheme. Applicants need annual worldwide income well above GBP 1.25 million, guaranteed for at least 10 years, to support a minimum tax contribution of GBP 250,000 a year; Locate Jersey (Government of Jersey) also asks for personal wealth of more than GBP 10 million in assets, excluding the main residence, with some liquidity, and says a high value property is typically at least GBP 3.5 million for a house or GBP 1.75 million for an apartment; approved applicants must also have UK immigration clearance (a visa for people who are not British or Irish and hold no settled or pre-settled status). A spouse or civil partner usually gets 'Entitled for Work Only' status while the applicant keeps their status; dependent children under 25 in full-time education can get 'Registered Exempt' status in their first 5 years, then Entitled for Work Only, and Entitled status after 10 years of continuous residence. No investor visa with a set investment amount was found. [7, 27, 33, 34]

Compare: Residency by Investment by Country

How long does set-up take?

Indicative, from the JFSC 2026 Fees Notice (1 January to 31 December 2026): a company, foundation or LLC is registered within 5 business days for the standard fee, or within 3, 2 or 1 business days or 2 hours for higher fees. No official time was found for Schedule 2 registration or for JFSC registration under the 1998 Law. [14, 19, 20, 21]

What are the official fees?

Indicative, JFSC 2026 Fees Notice (1 January to 31 December 2026): incorporating a company, foundation or LLC costs GBP 205 within 5 business days, up to GBP 856 within 2 hours, and the annual confirmation statement costs GBP 220 including a GBP 145 Government levy, or GBP 339 including a GBP 175 levy if the entity is administered by a trust company or fund services business. Schedule 2 businesses registered directly in the general category (financial institutions, DNFBPs and VASPs) pay GBP 555 to apply and GBP 1,175 a year (GBP 205 and GBP 555 for a sole trader), or GBP 332 and GBP 665 through an anti-money laundering services provider; the notice does not list family offices or PTCs separately. There is no family office licence fee. [14, 19, 35]

Does a private trust company need a licence in Jersey?

Under Article 2 of the Financial Services (Trust Company Business (Exemptions)) (Jersey) Order 2000 and paragraph 4 of Part 1 of its Schedule (version in force since 1 September 2022), a company or limited liability company is exempt from the requirement in Article 7 of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 to be registered for trust company business if its purpose is solely to provide trust company business services for a specific trust or trusts (or that and also acting as a member of a foundation council, other than as a qualified member), it does not solicit the public for, or provide trust company business services to, the public, its administration is carried out by a person registered to carry out trust company business, and its name is notified to the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC). Paragraph 4A gives a matching exemption, on the same conditions, for a company acting as a member of a foundation council. Under Article 3 the exemption covers only Article 7, and Articles 12, 23 to 26, 28, 32 to 39 and 41 of the 1998 Law still apply to the PTC as if it were registered. The Order does not require a family link between the trusts. In 2023 the JFSC said that PTCs, historically exempt from anti-money laundering obligations, must now register as Schedule 2 businesses. [2, 10, 11, 36]

Who supervises it, and what must it file?

The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC). The PTC does not register for trust company business, but the exemption applies only once its name has been notified to the JFSC (the Order does not say when). The JFSC's FAQ on Schedule 2 business for private trust companies and family offices (issued 12 May 2023, revised 30 November 2023) says 'PTCs are now required to register as a Schedule 2 business', for anti-money laundering supervision under the Proceeds of Crime (Jersey) Law 1999, because a legal person set up to provide trustee services is treated as acting as a business unless shown otherwise. The JFSC gave family offices that do not use a PTC administered by a Jersey registered trust company business until 31 August 2023 to register. [2, 3, 11, 36]

What local requirements apply?

The PTC's administration must be carried out by a person registered by the JFSC to carry out trust company business (paragraph 4(c)); the JFSC's FAQ describes this as being administered by a trust company business regulated by the JFSC. As a Schedule 2 business it must comply with the Money Laundering (Jersey) Order 2008 and the JFSC's AML/CFT/CPF Handbook, including a risk assessment of its exposure to money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing and written policies and procedures that are reviewed as risks change, and it may appoint an anti-money laundering services provider (AMLSP) if all parties meet the eligibility criteria and the AMLSP has the JFSC's prior no-objection for its key persons. No economic substance rule specific to PTCs was found in the sources read. [2, 11]

What are the official fees?

No official PTC fee found: the 2026 JFSC Fees Notice (1 January to 31 December 2026) has no PTC category and no fee for notifying a PTC's name. Its Schedule 2 tables do not name PTCs; the general category (financial institutions, DNFBPs and VASPs) is GBP 555 to apply and GBP 1,175 a year, or GBP 332 and GBP 665 through an AMLSP, but which category the JFSC applies to a PTC was not confirmed. As a Jersey company, a PTC pays GBP 205 to incorporate within 5 business days and an annual confirmation statement fee of GBP 339, including a GBP 175 Government levy, when it is administered by a trust company business. [14]