Tanzania
Tanzania: 4 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Tanzania
The 4 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Tanzania 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 Coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashewsCoconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeledUS$628 m · 6.3% of world exports of 170 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 Tanzania. 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 Tanzania.
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 Tanzania: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Tanzania 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 17 January 2022
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
- SADC Free Trade Area
- Free trade area
Covers goods.
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13 SADC Member States are participating in the Free Trade Area (FTA) while three are not yet participating, namely Angola, DRC and the Comoros.
- East African Community customs union and common market
- Single market · since 7 July 2000
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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The Republic of Rwanda and the Republic of Burundi acceded to the EAC Treaty on 18 th June, 2007 and became full Members of the Community with effect from 1 st July, 2007.
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
- 30%Official tra.go.tz as of 2026-10-10 · the rate for the Private Limited Company
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Corporation Tax is a tax charged on taxable income (Profits) of entities such as limited companies
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Not in our records
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- TZS 22,000Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-15
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Gharama za kujaza taarifa ya mwaka (Annual Return) 22,000/=
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Tanzania, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- Not in our recordsThe tax authority’s pages have not been read for Tanzania.
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Tanzania, tax year 2026, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 6 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
TRA Corporation Tax page: the final return is submitted within six months from the end of the accounting period (for a December year end, 30 June of the following year). A company must file even if it has no taxable income.
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The final returns shall be submitted within six months from the end of the accounting period.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 6 months after the end of the accounting period · each year
TRA Corporation Tax page: the due date for payment of the self-assessed final tax is the due date for submitting the return, and the final return is due within six months from the end of the accounting period.
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The due date for the payment of tax as per return (Self assessed final tax) is the due date of submitting the return.
- Corporate tax, instalments
- 31 March · each quarter
TRA Corporation Tax page: the statement of estimated tax payable is submitted and the instalments paid on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December depending on the accounting period; the first instalment is paid when the statement is submitted. The rule records the first instalment date for a calendar accounting period; the Paying Taxes page confirms provisional assessed tax is paid quarterly, the instalments due by the end of March, June, September and December.
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The statement of estimated tax payable shall be submitted to TRA office either of the following dates depending on your accounting period: i. On or before 31st March ii. On or before 30th June iii. On or before 30th September iv. On or before 31st December
- Personal income-tax return
- 6 months after the end of the tax year · each year
TRA Income Tax for Individuals page: an individual files the return of income no later than six months after the end of each year of income; the page states the return may be filed between 1 January and 30 June. Individuals under the presumptive regime are not obliged to file.
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An individual is required to file a return of income with the Commissioner no later than six months after the end of each year of income
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 6 months after the end of the tax year · each year
TRA Paying Taxes page: the final return of income is filed and paid (where applicable) within six months after the end of the year of income to which it relates — 30 June for a calendar year. Where tax has been withheld or paid by instalment the balance may be nil.
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Final return of Income shall be filled and paid (where applicable) within six (6) months after the end of the year of income to which the final return relates.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- 31 March · each quarter
TRA Income Tax for Individuals page: the statement of estimated tax payable is filed within three months from the beginning of the year of income (calendar year) and the estimated tax is paid in a maximum of four instalments falling due after three months, on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. The rule records the first instalment date.
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The taxpayer is supposed to pay the estimated tax in a maximum of four installments each falling due after three months. The Due dates are as follows: On or before 31st March On or before 30th June On or before 30th September On or before 31st December
- VAT return
- Day 20 of the following month · each month
TRA Value Added Tax (VAT) page: VAT is payable on or before the 20th day of the following month, which is also the deadline for submitting the VAT return. A withholding agent files and remits VAT withheld within 10 days after the end of the tax period.
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VAT is payable by a registered person on or before the 20th day of the following month, which is also the deadline for submitting the VAT return.
- Payroll withholding
- Day 7 of the following month · each month
TRA Paying Taxes page: PAYE is payable within seven days after the end of the calendar month to which the taxes relate. The Withholding Tax page states the same for income tax withheld from employment and other payments.
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PAYE is payable within seven (7) days after the end of calendar month to which the taxes relate.
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Tanzania yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Tanzania exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Tanzania’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 | 31.8% | 41.9% | 37.5% | US$4.5 bn |
| 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 | 0.42% | 3.4% | 5.3% | US$636 m |
| Coconuts, Brazil nuts and cashew nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled HS 0801 | 3.0% | 2.2% | 5.2% | US$628 m |
| Unmanufactured tobacco; tobacco refuse HS 2401 | 2.4% | 3.5% | 5.0% | US$599 m |
| Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split HS 0713 | 2.4% | 3.1% | 3.7% | US$443 m |
| Coffee, whether or not roasted or decaffeinated; coffee husks and skins; coffee substitutes containing coffee in any proportion HS 0901 | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.9% | US$343 m |
| Rice HS 1006 | 2.0% | 1.2% | 2.3% | US$271 m |
| Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken HS 1207 | 1.6% | 2.3% | 2.2% | US$268 m |
| Articles of jewellery and parts thereof, of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal HS 7113 | under 0.05% | under 0.05% | 2.1% | US$256 m |
| Coal; briquettes, ovoids and similar solid fuels manufactured from coal HS 2701 | 2.6% | 3.5% | 1.9% | US$230 m |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$12 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.