Zm Tax Overview

---
name: zm-tax-overview
description: "Tax overview for Zambia, charge year 2026: which tax applies, headline rates, due dates and where to file with ZRA. Trigger on Zambia tax system, what taxes in Zambia, ZRA overview, tax year Zambia, TPIN. For anyone orienting before using a specific Zambia skill. Rates are owned by the linked skills."
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/zm-tax-overview"
  jurisdiction: "ZM"
  tax_year: "2026"
  last_updated: "2026-11-01"
---

# Zambia Tax Overview v0.2

> **General reference only.** This skill is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.

## Who this applies to

Individuals and businesses with income from a Zambian source. Residents are also taxed on foreign interest and dividends per the old file (see Not yet confirmed). Charge year: 1 January to 31 December. Currency: Kwacha.

## Rates, bands and thresholds

| Item | Amount | Tax year | Official URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top PAYE rate | 37% | 2026 | https://www.zra.org.zm/tax-information/ |
| Company standard rate | 30% | 2026 | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Introduction-to-Income-Tax.pdf |
| VAT standard rate | 16% | 2026 | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Introduction-to-VAT.pdf |
| Turnover tax | 5% up to K5,000,000 | 2026 | https://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Act%20No.%2017%20of%202025%2C%20The%20Income%20Tax%20%28Amendment%29%28No.%202%29%20Act.pdf |
| Rental income tax | 0%, 4%, 16% on turnover | 2026 | same |
| Minimum alternative tax | 1% of turnover | 2026 | https://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Act%20No.%2010%20of%202025%20-%20The%20Income%20Tax%20%28Amendment%29-Act.pdf |
| Property transfer tax | 8% land, shares, IP; 10% mining licence, processing licence | 2026 | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Property-Transfer.pdf |

Detail: [Income tax](zm-income-tax.md), [Corporate income tax](zm-corporate-income-tax.md), [VAT](zambia-vat.md), [Payroll](zm-payroll-social.md).

## The base

Authority: Zambia Revenue Authority. Register a TPIN within 30 days of starting business: www.zra.org.zm, login, register, captcha, fill in details, or dial *858#. Mobile money levy, tourism levy, insurance premium levy, excise and mineral royalty also exist.

## Deadlines and filing

PAYE and levy 10th; turnover, rental, WHT-related presumptive 14th; VAT 18th; provisional 31 March; annual return 21 June. File through the ZRA portal, TaxOnApp or TaxOnPhone (*858#).

## Penalties and interest

See the linked skill for each tax. One penalty unit is K0.40.

## Cross-border points

Remittances above USD 2,000 without tax clearance draw advance income tax. Zambia keeps treaties listed on ZRA's DTA table.

## Two worked examples that recompute

**Simple.** Turnover business K6,000 in January (ZRA method).

```oa-check
name: Turnover tax January
inputs:
  sales: 6000
steps:
  - tax: (sales - 2500) * 0.05
expected:
  tax: 175.00
```

**Decision: sole trader or company.** Turnover K6,000,000, profit K1,000,000, all profit taken out. Sole trader K341,512 on the annual bands. Company K300,000 plus 15% dividend WHT on K700,000: K405,000. If all profit is drawn, sole trading is cheaper by K63,488; MAT is creditable in both.

```oa-check
name: Sole trader v company
inputs:
  profit: 1000000
steps:
  - sole: 4800 + 7560 + (profit - 110400) * 0.37
  - cit: profit * 0.30
  - wht: (profit - cit) * 0.15
  - company: cit + wht
  - gap: company - sole
expected:
  sole: 341512.00
  company: 405000.00
  gap: 63488.00
```

## Ask the client first

- Individual, partnership or company?
- Annual turnover?
- Employees?
- Resident?
- Sector?

## Sources

| Source | URL | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act No. 17 of 2025, whole Act; read for the figures cited | https://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Act%20No.%2017%20of%202025%2C%20The%20Income%20Tax%20%28Amendment%29%28No.%202%29%20Act.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| Income Tax (Amendment) Act No. 10 of 2025, whole Act; read for the figures cited | https://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Act%20No.%2010%20of%202025%20-%20The%20Income%20Tax%20%28Amendment%29-Act.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| VAT (Amendment) Act No. 19 of 2025, whole Act; read for the figures cited | https://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Act%20No.%2019%20of%202025%20The%20Value%20Added%20Tax%20%28Amendment%29%20Act.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| Property Transfer Tax (Amendment) Act No. 21 of 2025, whole Act; read for the figures cited | https://www.parliament.gov.zm/sites/default/files/documents/acts/Act%20No.%2021%20of%202025%2C%20The%20Property%20Transfer%20Tax%20%28Amendment%29%20Act.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| ZRA Tax Information page, Turnover Tax and PAYE sections; read for the figures cited | https://www.zra.org.zm/tax-information/ | 2026-11-01 |
| ZRA leaflet Introduction to VAT (2026), OCR read; read for the figures cited | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Introduction-to-VAT.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| ZRA leaflet Introduction to Income Tax (2026), OCR read; read for the figures cited | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Introduction-to-Income-Tax.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| ZRA leaflet Post-Registration Requirements (2026), OCR read; read for the figures cited | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Post-Registration-Requirements.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| ZRA leaflet Property Transfer (2026), rates part; read for the figures cited | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Property-Transfer.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| ZRA DTA rates table; read for the figures cited | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/DTA-Rates.pdf | 2026-11-01 |
| ZRA Advance Income Tax on remittances leaflet (2026), first page; read for the figures cited | https://www.zra.org.zm/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Refunds-of-Advance-Income-Tax-on-Remittance.pdf | 2026-11-01 |

Not yet confirmed: resident taxation of foreign interest and dividends; whether individual dividend WHT is final in this comparison.

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-11-01. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `zm-tax-overview` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/zm-tax-overview. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.