Brunei Darussalam Tax Skill v2.0

Section 1 — Quick reference

Field	Value
Country	Brunei Darussalam
VAT/GST	NONE — Brunei does NOT have a VAT, GST, or any consumption tax
Personal income tax	NONE
Corporate income tax	18.5% on chargeable income
Return form	Corporate income tax return (annual)
Filing portal	MOFE Revenue Division
Authority	Revenue Division, Ministry of Finance and Economy (MOFE)
Currency	BND (Brunei Dollar, pegged 1:1 to SGD)
Filing frequency	Annual (corporate tax only)
Deadline	Within 6 months of financial year-end
Companion skill	vat-workflow-base v0.1 or later — MUST be loaded
Validated by	Pending local practitioner validation

CRITICAL: Brunei has NO consumption tax. There is no VAT return to prepare. This skill exists to prevent misclassification and to provide the corporate tax framework.

Conservative defaults:

Ambiguity	Default
Unknown tax obligation	No consumption tax; corporate tax only if company
Unknown withholding tax	Check if payment to non-resident triggers WHT

---

Section 2 — Required inputs and refusal catalogue

Required inputs

Minimum viable — financial statements for the year. Bank statements from: BIBD (Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam), Baiduri Bank, Standard Chartered Brunei, HSBC Brunei.

Brunei-specific refusal catalogue

R-BN-1 — Petroleum sector. Trigger: client in oil/gas under Petroleum Income Tax Act. Message: "Petroleum companies are taxed under a separate regime (55% + 20% on profits). Please escalate."

R-BN-2 — VAT/GST return request. Trigger: user asks for VAT/GST return preparation. Message: "Brunei does NOT have a VAT/GST or any consumption tax. No consumption tax return exists. If you need corporate income tax assistance, this skill can help."

---

Section 3 — Supplier pattern library

3.1 Brunei banks

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
BIBD, BANK ISLAM BRUNEI	Bank charges are a deductible expense	No VAT component
BAIDURI, BAIDURI BANK	Same	Same
STANDARD CHARTERED BN, HSBC BN	Same	Same
INTEREST	Interest expense — deductible if for business	No VAT

3.2 Government (exclude from expense claims where non-deductible)

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
MOFE, REVENUE DIVISION	Tax payment — not deductible	Corporate tax
TAP, EMPLOYEE TRUST FUND	Pension — deductible	Tabung Amanah Pekerja

3.3 Utilities

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
DES, DEPT OF ELECTRICAL SERVICES	Deductible expense	No consumption tax
DST, PROGRESIF, IMAGINE	Deductible expense	Telecoms

3.4 SaaS and international services

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
GOOGLE, MICROSOFT, META, AWS	Deductible expense; check WHT on non-resident services	No consumption tax; WHT may apply
ZOOM, SLACK, CANVA	Same	Same

3.5 Payroll

Pattern	Treatment	Notes
SALARY, WAGES	Deductible expense	No income tax on employees
TAP CONTRIBUTION	Deductible	Mandatory employee savings

---

Section 4 — Worked examples

Example 1 — No consumption tax applies

Input line: 05.04.2026 ; LOCAL CLIENT ; CREDIT ; Consulting fee ; BND 10,000

Reasoning: Brunei has no VAT/GST. This is revenue for corporate tax purposes. No consumption tax to charge or report.

Date	Counterparty	Gross	Net	Tax	Rate	Return field	Notes
05.04.2026	LOCAL CLIENT	+10,000	+10,000	0	N/A	Revenue	No consumption tax

Example 2 — Purchase from overseas vendor

Input line: 18.04.2026 ; AWS ; DEBIT ; Cloud hosting ; BND -500

Reasoning: No VAT/GST to self-assess. Check if withholding tax applies on payment to non-resident (typically 10% on management/technical fees, 15% on royalties).

Date	Counterparty	Gross	Net	Tax	Rate	Return field	Notes
18.04.2026	AWS	-500	-500	0	N/A	Expense	Check WHT

---

Section 5 — Tier 1 classification rules (compressed)

5.1 No consumption tax — Brunei has no VAT, GST, sales tax, or service tax.

5.2 Corporate income tax — 18.5% on chargeable income for companies.

5.3 No personal income tax — Individuals not taxed on income.

5.4 Withholding tax — 10% on management/technical fees to non-residents; 15% on royalties; other rates per treaty.

5.5 Stamp duty — Applies to certain documents (property transfers, share transfers).

5.6 Customs duty — Applies on imports (separate from any consumption tax, which does not exist).

---

Section 6 — Tier 2 catalogue (compressed)

6.1 WHT on non-resident payments — Default: flag. Question: "Is this a management/technical fee or royalty to a non-resident?"

6.2 Petroleum operations — Default: refuse (R-BN-1).

6.3 Tax treaty benefits — Default: flag. Question: "Does Brunei have a DTA with the recipient's country?"

---

Section 7 — Excel working paper template

Per vat-workflow-base Section 3, adapted for corporate tax: Revenue, Deductible expenses, Non-deductible expenses, Chargeable income, Tax at 18.5%.

---

Section 8 — Bank statement reading guide

BIBD and Baiduri exports CSV/PDF. BND primary (pegged to SGD). Malay language descriptions common. Internal transfers: exclude. No VAT extraction needed — all amounts are gross.

---

Section 9 — Onboarding fallback

9.1 Entity type — "Company, sole proprietor, or partnership?" (Only companies pay corporate tax.)

9.2 Financial year — "What is your financial year-end?"

9.3 Petroleum sector — "Are you in oil and gas?" (If yes, R-BN-1 fires.)

9.4 Non-resident payments — "Do you pay management fees or royalties to non-residents?"

---

Section 10 — Reference material

Sources

1. Income Tax Act (Chapter 35). 2. Companies Income Tax Act (Chapter 97). 3. Petroleum Income Tax Act. 4. MOFE Revenue Division guidelines.

Known gaps

1. Petroleum sector refused. 2. No consumption tax means most of the vat-workflow-base structure is inapplicable.

Change log

• v2.0 (April 2026): Full rewrite to Malta v2.0 ten-section structure. Emphasis on absence of VAT/GST.

---

Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. All outputs must be reviewed by a qualified professional before filing.

The most up-to-date version is maintained at openaccountants.com.

---

Disclaimer

This skill and its outputs are provided for informational and computational purposes only and do not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Open Accountants and its contributors accept no liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes arising from the use of this skill. All outputs must be reviewed and signed off by a qualified professional (such as a CPA, EA, tax attorney, or equivalent licensed practitioner in your jurisdiction) before filing or acting upon.

The most up-to-date, verified version of this skill is maintained at openaccountants.com. Log in to access the latest version, request a professional review from a licensed accountant, and track updates as tax law changes.