Ghana
Ghana: 7 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Ghana
The 7 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Ghana is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s3rdWorld-leading exports Manganese oreManganese ores and concentrates, including ferruginous manganese ores and concentrates with a manganese content of 20 % or more, calculated on the dry weightUS$556 m · 8.7% of world exports of 83 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Ghana. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Ghana.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Ghana: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Ghana belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- African Continental Free Trade Area
- Free trade area · since 30 May 2019
Covers goods, services.
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means a Member State that has ratified or acceded to this Agreement and for which the Agreement is in force
- ECOWAS
- Customs union · since 28 May 1975
Covers goods, a common external tariff, movement of people, establishment.
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Cabo Verde joined the union in 1977.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 25%Official gra.gov.gh as of 2026-10-14 · the rate for the Private Company Limited by Shares
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The general Corporate Income Tax rate is 25%.
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Annual financial statements go to members with the auditors' report (Act 992 s.128); a consent letter from a chartered accountant is lodged at incorporation. No small-company exemption was read.Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-14
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Mandatory filing of Annual Returns at a fee of GHS 175 together with a financial statement after 18 months of incorporation and subsequently every year.
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- GHS 175
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Ghana, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 15%
VAT of 15% is charged together with the National Health Insurance Levy of 2.5% and the GETFund Levy of 2.5%, all calculated on the same base, so 20% is added to the price under the Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151) in force since 1 January 2026.
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Value Added Tax (VAT) Rate = 15% National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) = 2.5% Ghana Education Trust Fund Levy (GETFund) = 2.5%
- Other rates
- 0% Locally manufactured sanitary towels
- 0% Locally manufactured textiles, until 31 December 2028
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the supply of locally manufactured textiles will also be subject to a VAT rate of 0% until the 31 st December 2028
- Registration threshold
- GHS 750,000
the authority's threshold for businesses that deal in goods
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The threshold for businesses that deal in goods has been raised from GHS 200,000 to GHS 750,000
- A foreign company
- The same threshold applies
The GHS 750,000 threshold applies to taxable supplies generally, but a non-resident supplier of electronic services for use or enjoyment in Ghana is required to pay VAT and register, and files by the last working day of the month after the return period. The authority's pages read do not state whether a fiscal representative is required.
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Non – Resident persons that provide digital services for use and enjoyment in Ghana are required to pay VAT in accordance with the Value Added Tax Act 2013, Act 870.
- Returns filed
- Monthly
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Taxpayers are to file their returns and make payments by the last working day of each month immediately following the month to which the returns relate.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Ghana, tax year 2026, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 4 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
Every registered company files an annual return for each year of assessment, not later than four months after the end of the basis period (30 April for a December year end).
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All Taxpayers must file a return on income not later than four (4) months after the end of the year. The return must be in a prescribed form indicating the assessable income, chargeable income, the tax payable, tax paid and any remainder to be paid.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 4 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
The balancing payment is made when the annual return is submitted: the outstanding difference between the tax in the final accounts and the self-estimated tax already paid, within four months after year end.
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When annual returns are submitted, payment must be done on taxes not-in-dispute i.e. the outstanding of the difference between the tax in the final account and the self-estimated taxes paid.
- Corporate tax, instalments
- 31 March · each quarter
Four quarterly instalments, each on or before the last day of the quarter: 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December of the year of assessment (the rule records the first). Every company also submits a provisional self-assessment within the first quarter, revisable until the last day of the basis period.
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First payment: on or before the last day of the 1st quarter of the year i.e. 31st March of each year of assessment
- Personal income-tax return
- 30 April · each year
The return for a calendar-year individual is due within four months after year end, i.e. 30 April of the following year. The GRA banner states 30 April 2026 for 2025 income; the general four-month rule is stated in the domestic-tax FAQ.
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Remember, deadline for filing of 2025 Tax Returns for Personal Income Tax (PIT) is 30th April, 2026.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 30 April · each year
The return, which states the tax payable and any remainder to be paid, is due not later than four months after the end of the year (30 April for a calendar-year individual). Where instalments or withholding exceed the liability the difference is refunded.
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All Taxpayers must file a return on income not later than four (4) months after the end of the year. The return must be in a prescribed form indicating the assessable income, chargeable income, the tax payable, tax paid and any remainder to be paid.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- 31 March · each quarter
Self-employed individuals pay income tax in four equal instalments, due on or before the last day of each quarter (31 March, 30 June, 30 September, 31 December), on an estimate of income and liability filed at the beginning of the year (forms DT 104/DT 104A). The rule records the first instalment. Employees whose income is fully taxed through PAYE have no such instalments.
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All individuals with income from self-employment are required to pay income tax in four instalments per year ... the tax amount is divided into four equal instalments due on or before the last day of each quarter.
- VAT return
- 1 month after the end of the month · each month
The return and any payment are due by the last working day of the month immediately following the month to which the returns relate (for example, October returns by the last working day in November). The rule records one month after the period end, i.e. the last day of the following month.
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Taxpayers are to file their returns and make payments by the last working day of each month immediately following the month to which the returns relate.
- Payroll withholding
- Day 15 of the following month · each month
The monthly PAYE return is filed by the employer, and the tax paid, on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the deduction was made. The GRA Tax Calendar lists the 15th for 'Pay PAYE and Withholding Taxes'.
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Monthly PAYE returns must be filed by the employer on behalf of the employee on or before the fifteenth day of the month following the month in which the deduction was made.
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Ghana yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Ghana exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Ghana’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold (including gold plated with platinum), unwrought or in semi-manufactured forms, or in powder form HS 7108 | 46.8% | 44.6% | 37.0% | US$5.9 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude HS 2709 | 27.7% | 23.6% | 23.5% | US$3.7 bn |
| Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted HS 1801 | 5.6% | 6.9% | 9.2% | US$1.5 bn |
| Cocoa paste, whether or not defatted HS 1803 | 2.3% | 2.3% | 4.4% | US$702 m |
| Manganese ores and concentrates, including ferruginous manganese ores and concentrates with a manganese content of 20 % or more, calculated on the dry weight HS 2602 | 2.4% | 2.7% | 3.5% | US$556 m |
| Cocoa butter, fat and oil HS 1804 | 1.3% | 1.4% | 2.6% | US$416 m |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 0.57% | 1.1% | 1.5% | US$244 m |
| Natural rubber, balata, gutta-percha, guayule, chicle and similar natural gums, in primary forms or in plates, sheets or strip HS 4001 | 0.93% | 1.00% | 1.4% | US$228 m |
| Coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled HS 0801 | 2.4% | 3.0% | 1.3% | US$214 m |
| Other fixed vegetable or microbial fats and oils (including jojoba oil) and their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified HS 1515 | 0.57% | 0.74% | 1.0% | US$161 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$15.9 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.