Taxes in Benin

Benin’s tax system is based mainly on the Code Général des Impôts, updated for 2025 by Loi n°2024-34, and the 2026 finance law, Loi n°2025-22. Direct taxes include corporate income tax, business profits tax, payroll tax, tax on investment income, rental income tax and tax on real-estate gains. Indirect taxes include value-added tax (TVA), the Acompte sur Impôt assis sur les Bénéfices (AIB), excise taxes, charges on communications, petroleum products, accommodation, advertising, electricity and water, as well as registration and stamp duties. Communes and municipal councils levy separate local charges, including the taxe foncière unique (TFU), vehicle tax and certain transport or sanitation charges. The Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), under the Ministry of Economy and Finance, assesses, collects and audits most taxes and handles administrative objections. The Direction Générale des Douanes handles customs duties, import TVA and AIB. A person or legal entity with tax obligations generally needs an Identifiant Fiscal Unique (IFU), a 13-digit tax identification number. Registration through ifu.impots.bj is free; the published guide indicates an average processing time of about 72 hours, although the actual time can vary. The IFU appears on invoices, receipts, declarations and administrative documents. A sole proprietorship normally uses the promoter’s IFU, while a foreign company operating without a Benin branch needs a fiscal representative. Businesses must register, declare and pay on time, keep supporting documents and maintain accounting records in French under OHADA rules. Businesses subject to the relevant TVA invoicing rules must issue normalised invoices through MECeF or e-MECeF, and taxpayers should request a normalised invoice from suppliers. Electronic filing and payment are available through DGI e-services. The main business regimes are corporate income tax and business profits tax. Corporate income tax is generally 30%, with a 25% rate for industry and private schools. Its minimum tax is generally 1% of collected revenue, 3% for construction and public works, and 10% for businesses focused on real estate, subject to a minimum of 500,000 FCFA. Four advance payments are due by 10 March, 10 June, 10 September and 10 December; the annual declaration and remaining balance are generally due by 30 April. Business profits tax is generally 30%, or 25% for private schools, with minimum rates of 1.5%, 3% for construction and public works, and 10% for real-estate businesses, also subject to a 500,000 FCFA minimum and the same main deadlines. The taxe professionnelle synthétique (TPS) can replace business profits tax, the patente, the licence and the employer payroll contribution for eligible businesses below a ministerially determined turnover threshold. It is generally 5% of annual receipts, with a minimum of 10,000 FCFA plus 4,000 FCFA for ORTB, calculated per commune and establishment. The annual declaration is due by 30 April. A business that exceeds the threshold normally enters the business profits tax regime from the following month, or from the following year if the threshold is exceeded in December. New businesses receive a 12-month TPS exemption. Businesses with turnover up to 50,000,000 FCFA excluding tax that join a Centre de Gestion Agréé (CGA) may receive a 40% tax reduction in years one to four and a two-year audit exemption, subject to exceptions. Designated TIC start-ups with turnover up to 100,000,000 FCFA excluding tax may receive a 0% corporate income tax and employer payroll contribution rate in years one and two and a 50% rate in year three. Payroll tax, called Impôt sur les traitements et salaires (ITS), uses progressive monthly bands: 0% up to 60,000 FCFA, 10% from 60,001 to 150,000, 15% from 150,001 to 250,000, 19% from 250,001 to 500,000 and 30% above 500,000 FCFA. Employers withhold ITS when paying salaries and remit it with the monthly declaration by the 10th of the following month. The employer payroll contribution, VPS, is generally 4% and 2% for private schools; TPS taxpayers are exempt from VPS. ORTB contributions add 1,000 FCFA in March and 3,000 FCFA in June, with the lowest ITS band exempt from the June surcharge. Investment income is subject to IRCM, the tax on income from movable capital. Dividends are generally taxed at 10%, or 5% for non-resident or listed situations. Other securities income is generally taxed at 15%; bonds at 6%; UEMOA public bonds at 3% for maturities of five to ten years and 0% above ten years; and interest on claims or deposits at 15%. Withholding and payment are generally due by the 10th of the following month. A person receiving interest from abroad may have to pay the tax directly by that date. Rental income tax, IRF, is generally 12% of gross rent plus 4,000 FCFA for ORTB. The tenant usually withholds 12%, or 10% where the landlord is subject to corporate income tax or business profits tax. A rental list is due by 10 February, followed by four advance payments on the same March, June, September and December schedule used for business taxes. Tax on real-estate gains, TPVI, is generally 5% on the transfer of real estate, real-estate titles or mining titles, with a minimum of 1% of the sale price and payment at transfer. Municipal TFU rates are generally 3% to 7% for undeveloped land and 4% to 8% for buildings, with replacement rates of 5% and 6% where applicable. Half is generally due by 10 February and the remainder by 30 April. Vehicle tax ranges from 20,000 to 60,000 FCFA for private vehicles depending on horsepower, is 15,000 FCFA for three-wheel vehicles and 150,000 or 200,000 FCFA for company vehicles; payment is generally due by 30 April. TVA applies to taxable transactions carried out in Benin. The minister sets the turnover threshold; businesses below it are generally exempt, subject to exceptions for the state, communes and public companies, and some small businesses may opt into TVA. The standard rate is 18%, while exports are generally zero-rated. TVA declarations and payment are due monthly by the 10th. Input TVA can be deducted when supported by the required document or normalised invoice, and unused credits can be carried forward without a general time limit. Refunds may be available after a two-month period for producers, businesses exporting more than 50% of their turnover, investment goods above 40,000,000 FCFA including tax, or definitive cessation, provided tax arrears are cleared. Certain payments to small or exempt suppliers by the state or communes involve 100% TVA withholding, while other specified cases use 40% withholding. AIB applies to imports, commercial domestic purchases and payments to suppliers or service providers. Typical rates are 1% for imports or registered goods, 3% for registered services and 5% for suppliers without an IFU or certain non-normalised invoices. AIB is declared and paid monthly by the 10th of the following month. It can generally be credited against corporate income tax or business profits tax; for taxpayers outside those regimes it may be definitive. A separate 10% withholding can apply when a taxpayer is absent from the DGI file, and that withholding does not replace other registration, declaration or payment duties. For cross-border taxation, residence generally follows a permanent home, the centre of vital interests or at least 183 days in a 12-month period. Residents are generally taxed on worldwide income, while non-residents are taxed on Benin-source income. A permanent establishment can include a fixed place of business, a construction site lasting more than three months or services provided for more than 183 days in 12 months. Payments to non-resident service providers without a permanent establishment are generally subject to 20% withholding, payable by the 10th of the following month. A tax treaty may change the result only after checking residence documentation, beneficial ownership, effective taxation and the specific treaty rules. Related-party transactions follow the arm’s-length principle; transfer-pricing documentation is required when turnover or gross assets reach at least 1,000,000,000 FCFA or when the business has a qualifying group relationship. The DGI may request accounting records, bank information and third-party data. A field audit generally requires two days’ notice; a targeted audit is limited to three half-days within 15 days. A taxpayer may appoint a freely chosen tax adviser. A response to a proposed adjustment is generally due within 30 days, and failure to respond can amount to tacit acceptance. A good-faith self-correction before the adjustment notice may be possible with immediate payment and a 10% surcharge. A written rescrit requested before filing or payment can receive an answer within three months and binds the DGI for the same facts when the taxpayer acted in good faith. Taxpayers may request a quitus fiscal, an attestation de régularité fiscale or an attestation de résidence fiscale when the conditions are met. A written administrative position binds the DGI without retroactive disadvantage to the taxpayer. Qualified disputes may go before the commission fiscale. Collection requires an enforceable title; payment can be made in cash, by cheque, bank transfer or electronically, and a receipt is required. After a formal commandement, the taxpayer generally has five days before seizure and sale measures can proceed. A third-party payment notice may be issued directly after the debt becomes due. Late filing generally triggers a penalty of 20% of the tax due. Failure to remit or late remittance of withholding tax generally triggers 20%, rising to 40% after more than two months. Inadequate accounting can lead to a penalty of 1,000,000 FCFA per financial year, or 2,000,000 FCFA for repeat violations. Tax fraud can result in a fine of 100,000 to 2,000,000 FCFA and/or imprisonment for one to five years. Missing MECeF requirements or compromising invoice integrity can trigger substantial fixed or turnover-based penalties. For 2026, temporary customs and TVA exemptions apply from 1 January to 31 December to certain gas cylinders and accessories, new SME facilities for artisanal or industrial units, and equipment for filling stations; electric and hybrid motorcycles also receive a measure from 1 January. Some implementation details depend on an investment committee or further regulations. The 2026 supplementary finance law was approved by the National Assembly on 19 June 2026, but consolidated official changes should be checked against the Journal Officiel and current DGI publications before relying on them. There is no single nationwide registration fee for all tax matters: the amount and timing depend on the tax, taxable base, tax regime, commune and implementing measure.