tax shelter

American  

noun

1. any financial arrangement (as a certain kind of investment or allowance) that results in a reduction or elimination of taxes due.

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tax shelter British  

noun

1. commerce a form into which business or financial activities may be organized to minimize taxation

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tax shelter Cultural  

1. A type of investment that allows a reduction in one's taxable income. Examples include investments in pension plans and real estate.

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Other Word Forms

• tax-sheltered
  adjective

Example Sentences

After 1999, Ireland’s 12.5% corporate tax rate and English-speaking workforce made it a tax shelter for foreign companies—many of them American—similar to the Cayman Islands.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 7, 2025

At least one EY official, too, expressed concern that the tax shelter his colleagues had designed was overly aggressive.

From New York Times • Jul. 7, 2022

The island of Jersey, a British Crown dependency that has long served as a tax shelter for the wealthy, froze an estimated $7 billion in Abramovich accounts on April 12.

From Washington Post • May 5, 2022

Philanthropy has a reputation problem because it has been “abused” as a tax shelter by too many wealthy donors, said Alexander-Young, who previously served as vice president for strategy and equity at the Meyer Foundation.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 14, 2021

Over the past several decades, Ireland has served as a tax shelter for many large tech companies, thanks to its low corporate tax rate.

From The Verge • Oct. 7, 2021