Taxes in Ivory Coast

The tax framework consists of the General Tax Code (Code général des Impôts (CGI)), the Tax Procedures Book (Livre de Procédures fiscales (LPF)) and the annual tax annex. For tax year 2026, the current reference is Loi n°2025-987 of 19 December 2025. National rules apply throughout the country, while local taxes, rates and recipients may depend on the responsible municipality, region or district. The DGI is responsible for assessment, audits, collection and tax disputes. The Local Tax Directorate (Direction de la Fiscalité locale) handles municipal, regional and district taxes, the General Directorate of Treasury and Public Accounting (Direction générale du Trésor et de la Comptabilité publique (DGTCP)) records payments, and customs handles import duties. A tax obligation may arise from residence or a source of income in Côte d’Ivoire, local employment or business activity, turnover, consumption, property ownership, imports or cross-border payments. The system is predominantly declarative: the taxpayer determines the tax base, files the return and pays under their own responsibility. Depending on the category, returns and payments are made through e-Impôts, telepayment, bank transfer, DGIMobile or card. Electronic procedures are mandatory for certain taxpayers. Employees usually pay the tax on salaries and wages (Impôt sur les traitements et salaires (ITS)) through a monthly payroll withholding by the employer. The monthly rate is 0 percent up to 75,000 FCFA, 16 percent from 75,001 to 240,000 FCFA, 21 percent from 240,001 to 800,000 FCFA, 24 percent from 800,001 to 2,400,000 FCFA, 28 percent from 2,400,001 to 8,000,000 FCFA and 32 percent above 8,000,000 FCFA. The family quotient affects the individual calculation. Employers may also owe employer contributions, including 1.2 percent for the national employment levy, 0.4 percent for the training levy and 1.2 percent for vocational training; for foreign employees, the employment levy rate is 9.2 percent, while local staff are exempt under the CGI. Self-employed people and other individuals may, depending on the type of income, owe tax on business and professional income, property income and investment income, among other categories. Companies generally pay 25 percent tax on their annual net income. A rate of 30 percent applies to telecommunications and information and communication technology as well as gambling. The minimum tax on turnover before tax may also apply: the general rate is 0.5 percent of turnover, with a minimum of 3 million and a maximum of 35 million FCFA; special rates apply, among others, to petroleum, water, electricity and butane gas, as well as banks and insurers. The applicable filing category depends, among other things, on turnover: the standard tax regime (régime normal d’imposition) applies above 500 million FCFA in turnover, the simplified tax regime (régime simplifié d’imposition) applies from 200,000,001 to 500 million FCFA, and the average real regime (régime du réel moyen) applies from 50,000,001 to 200 million FCFA. For smaller activities, depending on turnover, the entrepreneur regime (régime de l’entreprenant) applies with a 5 or 4 percent turnover tax, as well as the municipal entrepreneur tax (taxe communale de l’entreprenant) for turnover below 5 million FCFA. Income from non-business activities is generally taxed at 25 percent; the corresponding minimum tax is 5 percent of gross receipts, with a minimum of 400,000 FCFA. Withholding taxes of 7.5 percent are common for certain professional payments, while a targeted abolition of the flat 7.5 percent levy in 2025 changed some cases. The 2 percent deduction for the informal sector remains in place. Value-added tax is generally 18 percent of the net amount; a reduced rate of 9 percent applies to goods listed by law. Exemptions apply to certain exports, goods and activities. Value-added tax is declared and paid monthly: outside the major tax offices, the deadline is usually day 15 of the following month; for industrial, petroleum and mining companies it is day 10, for trading companies day 15 and for service companies day 20 of the following month. The tax on banking operations (taxe sur les opérations bancaires (TOB)) is generally 10 percent; a rate of 5 percent applies to certain loans to small and medium-sized enterprises and to microinsurance. Property income is generally taxed at 9 percent of rental value for individuals and at 11 percent for companies or other legal entities. Further property and local taxes may depend on the property value, the type of land and the local administration. For certain properties, a 2026 reform limits changes to the tax base. Local taxes may concern, for example, parking, transport, accommodation, use of public land or tourism; a rate from one municipality does not automatically apply throughout the country. Electronic invoices are governed, depending on the tax regime, by the electronic standardized invoice (Facture normalisée électronique (FNE)) or the electronic standardized receipt (reçu normalisé électronique (RNE)). These documents include, among other things, a QR code, the FNE security mark and sequential annual numbering. Registration takes place through the DGI, e-Impôts or FNE; statutory fees may apply to FNE and RNE depending on the document. Companies need the required tax and contact details and must retain books, invoices and supporting evidence. Overpaid value-added tax may be reclaimed through a standard or accelerated procedure. The standard procedure generally requires security equal to 25 percent of the amount claimed; in the accelerated procedure, security is waived if the statutory conditions are met. These include, among other things, prior approval, an application by 31 January, regular returns, an export share of at least 75 percent of turnover except for land exports, and the absence of a fraudulent tax assessment. The DGI generally decides on an objection within 45 days; after a rejection, judicial relief may be sought within two months. For international matters, applicable double-taxation treaties take precedence over domestic law. Payments to non-residents for services or rights of use may be subject to withholding tax unless a treaty provides otherwise. A permanent establishment or fixed business facility may trigger a tax obligation. Rules on the arm’s-length principle, documentation obligations and, depending on the group, country-by-country reporting apply to related international companies; in 2026, a procedure for advance pricing agreements also exists. Foreign digital platforms with at least 50 million FCFA in turnover from Côte d’Ivoire may, under the researched procedure, be taxed at 30 percent on a deemed profit of 10 percent of turnover, resulting in an effective gross burden of 3 percent; withholding tax under Article 92 is credited. For every specific return, the CGI, the annual tax annex, the current DGI guidance and the responsible tax office must be checked against one another.