North Korea

{"ftc_utility":"none","fbar_trigger_notes":"North Korean banks are subject to extensive US Treasury OFAC sanctions. Opening or maintaining a bank account in a North Korean financial institution would likely constitute a sanctions violation independent of FBAR reporting obligations. The $10,000 FBAR threshold would technically apply to any such account, but the primary legal concern is sanctions compliance, not FBAR.","ftc_utility_reason":"North Korea imposes no income tax on individuals, so no creditable foreign taxes arise. The Foreign Tax Credit provides no shelter. Additionally, US persons cannot legally reside there, making the entire analysis theoretical.","presence_day_count_notes":"US passports are not valid for travel to North Korea without a special State Department validation, which is not granted for ordinary residence purposes. The US Embassy in Pyongyang has been closed since 1953 and there is no US consular presence. Legal bona fide residence by a US citizen is not achievable under current policy. The 330-day physical presence test cannot be practically satisfied given travel restrictions and the inability to enter or remain legally.","typical_qualifying_method":"physical_presence","housing_exclusion_available":false,"physical_presence_test_applies":false,"estimated_housing_exclusion_usd":null,"local_tax_rate_on_earned_income":0,"bona_fide_residence_test_applies":false}

{"pension_income":{"notes":"No individual income tax on pension income exists under DPRK domestic law. The question is academic given that legal residence by US citizens is not feasible.","tax_rate":null,"locally_taxed":false},"social_security":{"notes":"No US-DPRK totalization or tax treaty exists. North Korea imposes no individual income tax that would reach US Social Security benefits.","locally_taxed":false,"treaty_protection":false},"roth_distributions":{"notes":"No individual income tax framework exists in North Korea that would tax Roth distributions. Residence by US citizens is legally prohibited under current US travel restrictions.","locally_taxed":false},"us_401k_ira_distributions":{"notes":"The United States has no tax treaty with North Korea. No formal individual income tax is imposed on residents under domestic law. In practice, US expats cannot legally reside in North Korea - the US State Department prohibits use of US passports for travel to North Korea without a special validation, and ordinary residence is not possible. Any tax treatment is therefore entirely theoretical.","tax_rate":null,"locally_taxed":false,"treaty_protection":false}}

{"rate":0,"notes":"North Korea does not have a formal capital gains tax regime accessible to private individuals under its socialist economic structure. The state controls most productive assets, and private capital markets do not exist in any recognized legal form.","details":{"tax_type":"Capital Gains Tax","country_name":"North Korea","country_iso_code":"PRK","source_references":["DPRK Joint Venture Law (1984, amended 1994)","DPRK Foreign Enterprise Income Tax Law","UN DPRK Country Reports","Academic literature on DPRK taxation"],"last_verified_date":"2026-06-03","general_description":"North Korea operates a centrally planned economy with no private capital markets, stock exchange, or formal property investment sector accessible to ordinary residents or foreigners. Capital gains as understood in market economies do not arise in any legally recognized domestic context. The 1993 Joint Venture Law and associated regulations impose taxes on foreign joint ventures, but a standalone capital gains tax law does not exist in published form.","corporate_capital_gains":{"rate":0.25,"tax_treatment":"Foreign-invested enterprises operating in special economic zones may be subject to enterprise income tax of up to 25% on profits, which could include asset disposal gains. Domestic state enterprises do not file capital gains in any conventional sense."},"individual_capital_gains":{"rate":0,"tax_treatment":"No individual capital gains tax exists in domestic law. Private ownership of capital assets is legally constrained. Any gains realized by foreign individuals through authorized joint ventures would fall under enterprise-level taxation rather than individual CGT."}}}

{"notes":"No publicly documented domestic dividend tax applies to North Korean residents. Foreign investors in authorized special economic zones or joint ventures may face withholding on profit remittances at rates specified in joint venture agreements, typically cited at 10-20% in academic sources, but no officially published withholding tax schedule is verifiable. North Korea has no income tax treaty with the United States.","rates":[{"rate":0.2,"type":"withholding","notes":"Estimated withholding on profit remittances from foreign joint ventures under DPRK Foreign Enterprise Income Tax Law. Rate is uncertain and varies by agreement. No official published rate schedule is publicly available."}]}