Taxes in Myanmar

The Union Taxation Law 2026 took effect on 1 April 2026 alongside the Income Tax Law, Commercial Tax Law, Specific Goods Tax Law, Tax Administration Law and Myanmar Stamp Act. The IRD, Customs Department, relevant ministries, Township Revenue Offices, Medium Taxpayer Offices (MTOs) and Large Taxpayer Offices (LTOs) perform different administrative functions. An existing taxpayer normally deals with the assigned revenue office. A new company uses IRD e-Registration, obtains a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and then uses the e-Filing Management System and e-Payments System. A new individual generally begins with the relevant Township Revenue Office. Myanmar tax administration accepts filing in person, by mail or electronically. LTO and MTO taxpayers must file electronically. A new corporate e-filer must also send the original signed document to the assigned revenue office. Online payment uses an online tax payment account, while employers can use the PAYE Management Portal for salary withholding. The receipt date for an electronic filing is the date the department receives it; a filing received on a public holiday is treated as received on the next succeeding day. Personal income tax applies to salary, rent, capital gains and other taxable income. Annual salary of MMK 4,800,000 or less is exempt. When annual salary exceeds MMK 4,800,000, the total salary is used in the computation. After applicable reliefs, the progressive bands are 0% for MMK 1 to 2,000,000, 5% for MMK 2,000,001 to 10,000,000, 10% for MMK 10,000,001 to 30,000,000, 15% for MMK 30,000,001 to 50,000,000, 20% for MMK 50,000,001 to 70,000,000 and 25% from MMK 70,000,001 upward. Basic relief is 20% of each income type, subject to an annual cap of MMK 10,000,000. Other reliefs can cover a co-resident parent at MMK 1,000,000 each, a spouse at MMK 1,000,000, a child at MMK 500,000 each, qualifying life-insurance premiums and the taxpayer's Social Security contribution. A non-resident foreigner does not receive the section 6 or 6A reliefs and is taxed on salary using the progressive bands. Where salary is the only income, the IRD guide states that the individual does not file an annual return or obtain a TIN for that salary-only situation; the employer, office head or company manager deducts and remits monthly PAYE. Rental income has separate filing and payment rules. Income from land, buildings or rooms requires an annual return within three months after the end of the tax year. Commercial Tax does not apply to rent at or below MMK 50,000,000 per year. Above that threshold, the lessee collects Commercial Tax at 5%, while income tax of 10% applies to rent after reliefs. A resulting income-tax demand is payable within 21 days. Capital gains tax applies to a gain from selling, exchanging or transferring an asset. The rate is 10% in Myanmar kyat or in the foreign currency earned. An asset-disposal declaration is due within 30 days. No capital gains tax applies where the annual aggregate value of the assets disposed of is MMK 10,000,000 or less. Assessed tax is payable within 21 days. When an asset acquisition or its source cannot be explained, the current IRD guide lists undisclosed-income rates of 3% up to MMK 300,000,000, 5% from MMK 300,000,001 to 600,000,000, 10% from MMK 600,000,001 to 1,000,000,000, 15% from MMK 1,000,000,001 to 3,000,000,000 and 30% from MMK 3,000,000,001 upward. Source evidence and anti-money-laundering exceptions can affect the assessment. Business income tax depends on the legal form and activity. A Myanmar-registered company, non-resident alien earning non-salary income, MIC-permitted business and state-owned enterprise generally pay 22% of total net profit, with the listed categories not deducting the stated reliefs. A non-primary cooperative pays 22% after applicable reliefs. A public company listed on the Yangon Stock Exchange pays 17% of total net profit, while an oil and gas exploration or production company pays 25%. A partnership and a primary cooperative use the individual progressive bands after reliefs. Rental income is taxed separately at 10%. A new domestic-production MSME, cottage industry or small-scale industry can exempt annual net profit up to MMK 20,000,000 for three consecutive years, including the commencement year; profit above that amount is taxable. Commercial Tax (CT) is generally 5% on domestic production and sale, imports, trading and non-exempt domestic services. The base is the sale proceeds, including Specific Goods Tax where applicable, or the landed value of imports. Domestic production, taxable services and trading each have a MMK 50,000,000 annual threshold. Notable rates include 15% for internet services, MMK 20,000 per SIM card for sale and activation, 3% for hotels and tourism, 3% for pure gold and gold jewellery, and 3% for specified infrastructure construction, repair or sale under a long-term land lease or cooperation arrangement. Exported crude oil is taxed at 5%, exported electricity at 8% and other exported goods at 0%, with input CT credit or refund possible under the applicable rules. Thirty-four listed service categories are exempt, including education, public transport, specified health services, government services and diplomatic services. An input credit requires prescribed certificates and forms and registered counterparties. CT taxpayers file quarterly and annual forms. The exact 2026-27 quarterly deadlines were not located in the reviewed official material; the 2025-26 dates were 31 July 2025, 31 October 2025, 2 February 2026 and 30 April 2026. Specific Goods Tax (SGT) is an excise-like tax on scheduled goods. The 2026 schedule covers cigarettes, tobacco, cheroots, alcohol, wine, beer, vehicles, fuel, natural gas, timber and other listed goods. Examples include cigarette rates of MMK 15, 28 or 31 per cigarette by price tier, tobacco at 60%, cheroots at MMK 3 each, vehicle rates of 5%, 10%, 30% or 50% by vehicle and engine class, fuel at 5% and natural gas at 8%. The full item and price-tier schedule controls, including export treatment and any input offset. Withholding tax (WHT) is deducted from specified payments and remitted to the tax authority. For a resident citizen or resident foreigner, the rates are 10% on royalties and 2% on tender, contract, quotation or outsourced goods, work and services performed within Myanmar. For a non-resident foreigner, the rates are 15% on interest, 15% on royalties and 2.5% on tender or contract payments. No WHT applies to interest paid to a registered Myanmar branch of a non-resident foreigner assessed locally, and an individual payer has no WHT obligation for the tender or contract category. The MMK 500,000 threshold uses an aggregate financial-year test, but foreign-currency payments and payments to a non-resident citizen apply regardless of amount. A government administrative withholder remits on the same day; other withholders generally remit within seven days. The withholder issues WHT certificate patakha(wanga)-17 in three copies. Resident WHT is generally creditable against final assessment, while non-treaty non-resident WHT is generally final. Myanmar has double-tax agreements with the United Kingdom, Vietnam, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Lao PDR and Thailand. Treaty benefits require the applicable treaty conditions, evidence of residence and the relevant IRD or revenue-office process. A foreign tax credit can be available by income type under the Union Taxation Law. A treaty does not automatically remove local filing or WHT duties. Business-income treaty treatment may also require evidence that the recipient has no permanent establishment in Myanmar. For the 2025-26 reporting period, which ran from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, the IRD annual filing deadline was 30 June 2026. The 2026-27 annual deadline was not confirmed in the reviewed official notice. Prescribed forms must contain complete and correct information and the taxpayer's signature; a paid preparer also signs where applicable. Late filing triggers the greater of 5% of tax owing plus 1% for each month or part of a month until assessment by the Director General, or MMK 100,000. Late payment can trigger a penalty of 10% of unpaid tax when a statutory demand or instalment deadline is missed. A taxpayer can request an extension before the deadline when there is sufficient reason. Tax records should generally be retained for at least seven years, or longer where the relevant tax-period limitation extends beyond seven years. An overpayment may be refunded, credited against another liability or carried forward as advance tax when supported by evidence. Appeal rights exist under the relevant tax law, although the reviewed material did not specify all appeal deadlines. Stamp duty and customs duties apply to particular instruments and transactions. The IRD guide gives aggregate stamp duty of 4% for a real-estate purchase instrument based on assessed value. Lease duty is 0.5% for a lease of up to one year, 0.5% of average rent for a lease of up to three years and 2% of average rent for a lease longer than three years; long-lease and evergreen formulas can change the calculation, and the lessee pays lease stamp duty. A government or construction tender contract carries 1%, capped at MMK 150,000 according to the IRD FAQ. The exact instrument classification controls. Customs or import duties and sector taxes or royalties may also apply, so the goods, transaction and responsible authority must be identified before filing or payment.