Uzbekistan Digital Nomad Visa

Local tax picture for digital nomads in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s income tax system for individuals is broadly worldwide rather than territorial, but the exact treatment of foreign income under the Digital Nomad Visa is not publicly specified in the fact set. In practice, Uzbek tax residents face personal income tax at a flat rate of 12% on most income. That would generally cover remote salary from foreign employers, freelance income, pensions, and rental income, but whether foreign dividends and interest are taxed identically is not clearly spelled out in the visa materials linked above. Because the visa itself does not create a special “remote worker” tax regime, applicants should assume that once they are tax resident, foreign income streams can be brought into the Uzbek tax net.

For capital gains on foreign investments such as ETF or index fund sales through a US or European brokerage, there is no explicit exemption linked to this visa, and the digital-nomad–specific rules do not discuss capital markets income. There is no publicly specified rule in this dataset that clearly states whether such gains are exempt, taxed, or taxed only if remitted. A cautious planner should assume that, once tax resident, gains could be taxable and confirm treatment with a local advisor before realizing large portfolio sales while resident.

Tax residency status is not defined in the visa facts, but Uzbekistan generally follows a 183-day physical presence trigger for tax residency in a calendar year. That means spending more than 183 days in Uzbekistan in a year can make you a tax resident, independent of your visa label. The visa facts do not specify any special registration or reduced-obligation regime for digital nomads, so you should expect standard residency rules to apply and plan your day count accordingly if you want to avoid being fully on the Uzbek tax radar.

Local registration and filing requirements are not detailed in the visa fact block, and there is no disclosed tax status deadline, but tax residents are ordinarily required to obtain a tax identification number and submit annual returns. Because the digital nomad visa does not come packaged with a named preferential regime (such as Portugal’s NHR or Italy’s flat tax) or a separate deadline for tax status elections, compliance will track the ordinary Uzbek calendar-year filing cycle. The Tax Treaty with the US is listed as unknown in the facts, so US persons cannot assume relief under a treaty for double taxation or Social Security coverage without checking an up-to-date treaty list.

For US Citizens and Green Card Holders

US citizens and green card holders on the Uzbekistan Digital Nomad Visa remain fully taxable by the IRS on worldwide income. If you perform remote work from Uzbekistan, earned income (salary from a foreign employer, consulting fees, or self-employment profits) can potentially be sheltered using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion on Form 2555. For 2024 the FEIE limit is 126,500 USD of earned income per person. This exclusion does not apply to dividends, capital gains from ETF sales, rental income, Social Security, or pension distributions, which remain fully taxable in the US regardless of your Uzbek tax position.

To claim FEIE, you must qualify under either the Physical Presence Test (330 full days outside the US in any 12-month period) or the Bona Fide Residence Test. Given that the Uzbek Digital Nomad Visa is a 12-month stay and does not itself create a permanent residence track, most nomads will rely on the 330-day Physical Presence Test across Uzbekistan and other non-US countries. If you spend substantial time back in the US during the year, the FEIE becomes harder to use, and you may need to rely more on foreign tax credits.

If Uzbekistan taxes your foreign remote income or investment income once you become tax resident, you can use the Foreign Tax Credit on Form 1116 to offset US tax on those same income streams. The FTC only helps when Uzbek effective tax rates exceed zero. If, after planning your day count, you avoid Uzbek tax residency and pay no Uzbek income tax, then there are no foreign taxes to credit, and the FTC provides no benefit; your US liability will be calculated as if you never left.

Holding funds in Uzbek bank accounts or investment platforms can trigger US reporting. You must file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) if the aggregate value of all non-US financial accounts you control or have signature authority over exceeds 10,000 USD at any point during the year. FATCA Form 8938 has separate, higher thresholds but often also applies once your overseas asset base grows. Even though a local bank account is not explicitly required by the visa facts, many long-stay residents open one, which increases the odds that FBAR and FATCA apply. Non-willful FBAR penalties start around 10,000 USD per account per year, so this is not a form to ignore.

A robust plan involves two specialists: a US CPA experienced in expat returns (FEIE, Form 2555; FTC, Form 1116; FBAR and FATCA) and a local Uzbek tax advisor who understands residency rules and filing obligations. The 1,500–3,000 USD spent in year one on coordinated advice is often recovered through optimized FEIE/FTC strategies and by avoiding costly compliance mistakes and penalties on both sides.