Taxes in Mauritania

Mauritania has a declarative tax system. A taxpayer or business reports taxable income, transactions or activities, and the tax authority assesses or verifies the liability. The Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI) manages registration, the tax identification number (NIF), assessment, collection, audits and administrative appeals under the Code Général des Impôts (CGI). The Trésor Public and the Receveur des impôts receive payments. Douanes administers import and export duties, while communes collect local taxes and fees. National tax rules generally apply across Mauritania; local charges can differ by commune. The currency used in the tax rules is the Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU). A business or individual carrying out a taxable activity normally begins with a declaration of existence and registration for a NIF. DGI Téléservices, also referred to as STT, provides online tax returns, payments, access to the tax file, appeals and payment plans. Businesses should actively verify the supplier's NIF before treating an expense as a business deduction. A business that keeps accounts must use a separate business bank account and traceable payment methods under the 2026 supplementary finance rules. Employment income is subject to ITS, the tax on salaries, pensions and annuities. The taxable base starts with total compensation and adds 40% of benefits in kind, then deducts mandatory pension or social contributions and applicable allowances. A monthly allowance of 6,000 MRU applies, and certain allowances are limited to 1,000 MRU. The monthly rate is 15% up to 9,000 MRU, 25% on the portion above 9,000 and up to 21,000 MRU, and 40% above 21,000 MRU. The corresponding calculation formulas are RI multiplied by 15%, RI multiplied by 25% minus 900, and RI multiplied by 40% minus 4,050, where RI is the taxable monthly income. The employer withholds the tax from each payment, pays it by the 15th of the following month and submits the annual wage statement by 15 February. Income from rent or other real-estate income, including a gain from selling real estate, is subject to IRF at 10%. The annual declaration and payment are due by 1 March of the following year. Rent withholding is 18%, consisting of 10% IRF and an 8% contribution foncière, and the withheld amount is paid by the 15th of the following month. Dividends, interest and capital gains are subject to IRCM at 10%. IRCM is reported and paid quarterly by 15 January, 15 April, 15 July and 15 October. Companies and other legal entities are generally subject to IS. The tax base follows territorial rules connected with the company's seat or principal establishment in Mauritania. Under the réel normal regime, generally used above 5,000,000 MRU in turnover, the company pays the higher of 25% of net profit or 2% of taxable products, with a minimum of 100,000 MRU. Under the réel intermédiaire regime for turnover from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 MRU, the comparison is 25% of profit or 2.5% of the turnover base. Commercial fishing has a special regime. IBAPP applies to natural or legal persons outside the IS regime. The réel normal regime generally applies above 5,000,000 MRU and the réel intermédiaire regime from 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 MRU. In these real-accounting regimes, the tax is the higher of 30% of profit or 2.5% of taxable products, with a minimum of 125,000 MRU for the normal regime and 75,000 MRU for the intermediate regime. The forfait regime applies below 3,000,000 MRU and is calculated at 3% of turnover. The annual IBAPP declaration is due by 31 March of the following year. For IS and real-regime IBAPP, payments are normally split into 40% by 31 March, 30% by 30 June and the remaining 30% by 30 September. A forfait taxpayer pays when filing the declaration. A start-up or importer file may require a 30,000 MRU advance. Import and export activity can also require an advance of 2% of customs value plus due duties other than TVA; this advance is creditable. TVA applies to taxable goods, services and imports. Registration and invoicing generally begin at annual turnover of at least 3,000,000 MRU. A taxpayer below the threshold must normally remain registered for at least two years before requesting deregistration. Importers have TVA obligations regardless of turnover. The standard rate is 16%, while exports of goods and services are taxed at 0%. A registered business can deduct TVA on documented business inputs and imports, subject to the required evidence and a TVA certificate. The return and payment are due by the 15th of the following month, and import TVA must be paid before the goods are released. A foreign provider without an establishment in Mauritania generally needs a local representative, NIF registration and monthly TVA filing and payment. For digital services, the 2026 supplementary finance rules can treat use in Mauritania as established through factors such as a local customer, billing address, payment instrument, IP address or telephone number. A non-resident digital provider or platform may have to register and collect TVA from consumers. A platform becomes responsible where it controls the price, payment or contractual terms. Banks, payment institutions and electronic-money institutions provide monthly transaction data to DGI. After a warning, non-compliance can lead to blocking access or payments or to delisting from the relevant service. Other charges apply to specific activities. The normal TOF rate is 16%, while commissions on wallet transfers, cash withdrawals and payments are taxed at 20%. The TTE introduced by the 2026 finance law is 0.1% of the gross transaction, capped at 200 MRU per transaction. A 10% agent commission applies under that system. Public bodies and humanitarian transactions are exempt, as are individual transactions below 5,000 MRU. The collecting company pays the TTE by the 15th of the following month. Insurance tax is 10% generally, 5% for marine insurance and 0.1% for export credit insurance. The apprenticeship tax applies under the real regime based on the previous year's payroll. A business seeking a partial or full exemption submits its application by 1 February. Patente is a municipal business tax linked to turnover; its declaration is due by 28 February and payment by 30 April. TVM is an annual charge and applies, among other cases, to transport vehicles above two tonnes together with patente obligations. A business under the IBAPP forfait regime may owe a monthly municipal tax, payable when collected; non-payment can add 50%. Other local charges can include a housing tax, TEOM, municipal domain fees, registration duties, stamp duties, mortgage duties, excise taxes and customs duties determined by the goods and the Code des Douanes. Withholding tax applies to several payments. Payments to resident liberal professions are generally subject to 2.5% withholding. Payments for services by a non-resident or non-established provider are generally subject to 15%, including related incidental costs. Payments by the State are subject to 2%, and rent withholding is 18%. The payer submits these amounts by the 15th of the following month. Withholding is normally creditable where the CGI permits it, but failure to remit can create personal liability for the person responsible for the deduction. Late filing of a tax return can add 10% when the delay is less than two months and 25% when it exceeds two months. A late TVA return showing zero tax or a credit can incur 2,000 MRU per month, increased to 10,000 MRU where the previous year's turnover exceeded 30,000,000 MRU. After a payment notice, the payment period can be three working days. Tax fraud can lead to a fine from 50,000 to 1,000,000 MRU and imprisonment from six to 24 months. A missing or incorrect NIF or supplier report can trigger 1% of the relevant amount, with a minimum of 75,000 MRU. Tax-exempt legal entities must report suppliers by 31 March when the annual turnover with one supplier exceeds 500,000 MRU. A DGI field audit generally lasts no more than three months. The period can be extended when documents are missing, transfer pricing is involved or international administrative assistance is required. A taxpayer can file a réclamation with DGI, Domaines or the Maire, depending on the tax. The normal objection period is three months, and the authority has three months to decide. Silence is treated as tacite rejection. Payment suspension requires payment of the undisputed amount and a guarantee for the disputed amount; the matter can then proceed to the commission paritaire and the Chambre civile. A TVA refund can take up to three months from the decision granting it. Mauritania taxes foreign-source connections according to CGI territorial rules. A foreign company earning income from Mauritanian sources can be taxable in Mauritania, and services supplied by a non-resident can attract 15% withholding. An établissement stable is generally taxed under the ordinary rules. Tax treaties and assistance arrangements exist with countries and groupings including France, Senegal, Tunisia, the Arab Maghreb Union, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Kuwait and Algeria. Mining, hydrocarbons and fishing can follow special rules under sector codes, contracts and finance laws. A cross-border business therefore needs to check both the ordinary CGI rules and any applicable treaty or sector regime.