Taxes in Morocco for foreigners: income tax rates 2026

Tax rates in Morocco in 2026: the short version

Morocco's top income tax rate is 37%, and it starts at a taxable income of 180,000 dirhams a year, roughly 18,600 US dollars. In Spain that income is taxed at 19-24%, and the upper brackets begin at several times that amount. Morocco taxes an employee the European way on salaries that are far from European.

Business gets the opposite deal. A four-year reform ended in 2026, and companies with profits under 100 million dirhams now pay a single 20% rate: mid-sized firms came down from 31%, small ones went up from 10%. Dividend tax has dropped to 11.25% and falls to 10% in 2027.

Every amount in the General Tax Code (Code général des impôts, CGI) is set in dirhams (MAD). At the 2026 rate of the central bank, Bank Al-Maghrib, one US dollar is worth about 9.7 dirhams and one euro about 11 dirhams.

What changed in 2025-2026

Taxes in Morocco are changed by the annual Finance Law (loi de finances). The two latest are No. 60-24 for 2025 and No. 50-25 for 2026.

If a guide still shows a 38% top rate, a 30,000-dirham tax-free threshold, 31% corporate tax or 15% on dividends, those are pre-reform numbers that no longer apply in 2026.

Compare taxes in 146 countries: relocation taxes 2026

Who is a tax resident of Morocco

You can become a Moroccan tax resident without spending even half a year in the country: a permanent home is enough. Article 23 of the General Tax Code lists three tests, and meeting any one of them makes you resident.

The third test is trickier than it looks. Arrive in September and leave in April, and there are no 183 days in either calendar year, yet the rolling 365-day window contains them. Residency has been triggered.

The financial difference is large. A resident pays income tax on worldwide income: a salary from a foreign employer, dividends from an overseas company, rent from a flat in another country all go into the Moroccan return. A non-resident pays only on what was earned in Morocco.

The code offers no special status for new residents of the kind found in Portugal or in Turkey. There are two exceptions, foreign pensions and salaries at Casablanca's financial centre, both covered below.

Leaving quietly is not an option either. Anyone who ceases to be resident must file an income tax return no later than 30 days before departure (Article 85 of the code).

When two countries both claim you as a resident, the double tax treaty settles it, and Morocco has more than 50 of them. We explain how 183-day rules work across countries in our article on tax residency in 2026. How to get the right to stay in the country beyond 90 days is covered on the page about Moroccan citizenship and residence permits.

Morocco tax residency: counting 183 days in any 365

Morocco counts days in a rolling window: more than 183 days in any 365 days make you resident under Article 23 of the General Tax Code. But days are only one of three tests. A permanent home or main business in Morocco gives the status without them.

A resident pays 0-37% on worldwide income, a non-resident only on Moroccan income. A resident's foreign dividends and interest also go on the Moroccan tax return. A rolling window is trickier than a calendar: it does not reset on 1 January, however much you would like a clean slate. The calculator below shows the maximum days in any 12 months and the date you cross the threshold.

The law does not stop you from confirming the status on your own. But mistakes cost more: a flat rented for a year can become a permanent home, and if two countries claim you, only a double tax treaty settles it. Murblz support removes these risks: we count days, assess your home and centre of interests, obtain the tax residency certificate and apply treaties where they are in force. We guarantee professional work and a transparent process, and in most cases a result on the first filing.

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Income tax rates and brackets in Morocco in 2026

The first 40,000 dirhams of taxable income a year, about 4,100 US dollars, are tax-free in Morocco. After that the scale climbs fast: six brackets, with the last one, 37%, starting at just 180,000 dirhams a year. These figures are set by Article 73 of the General Tax Code and have applied since 1 January 2025.

The scale is progressive: each rate applies only to the slice of income that falls in its bracket. On a taxable income of 100,000 dirhams the tax is 12,000 dirhams, which is 12%, not 30%.

Income tax is called impôt sur le revenu in French, IR for short. It is collected by the General Tax Directorate (DGI, Direction générale des impôts). The scale applies to salaries, business income under the standard regime, rent and pensions from abroad. Moroccan basic pensions have been exempt from the tax since 1 January 2026 (Article 57 of the code).

What reduces tax on a salary

Not all of a salary reaches the scale. Social security contributions come off first, then professional expenses (Article 59 of the code). No receipts are needed: it is a fixed percentage.

The dependant credit reduces the calculated tax, not the income. From 2026 it rose from 500 to 600 dirhams per person (Article 74 of the code). For a family with a non-working spouse and two children that is 1,800 dirhams a year, about 185 dollars: welcome, but it does not change the picture.

Flat rates on specific income

Dividends, interest and sales of assets stay outside the scale. Dividends from Moroccan companies are taxed at 11.25%, foreign dividends and interest at 15%, sales of listed shares at 15%, other securities and real estate at 20%. These rates are final: once the tax is withheld or paid, the amount is not added to other income.

The most expensive line is interest on deposits and bonds in Morocco: 30%. That is worth knowing before moving savings into a Moroccan bank.

Tax on a salary in Morocco: contributions and a worked example

On a salary of 15,000 dirhams a month, about 1,550 US dollars, a Moroccan professional takes home 12,324 dirhams and costs the company 17,355. The gap is income tax plus contributions to the National Social Security Fund (CNSS, Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale).

The CNSS pays pensions and benefits. Compulsory health insurance (AMO, assurance maladie obligatoire) is a separate line. Some contributions are charged on the full salary, others only on the first 6,000 dirhams a month, about 620 dollars.

Because of the cap, an employee's pension contribution never exceeds 268.80 dirhams a month. The flip side is that the CNSS pension is also calculated on those 6,000 dirhams.

Worked example: a salary of 15,000 dirhams a month

An employee with no dependants, salary without bonuses or exempt allowances. A simplified calculation under the 2026 rules.

The employee gives up 2,676 dirhams, or 17.8% of gross pay. Together with the company's contributions the state takes 29% of the total cost of the employee. The last dirhams of this salary are taxed at 34%, and the 37% bracket is not far off: it starts at a gross salary of about 18,600 dirhams a month.

At the other end of the scale there is no income tax at all. The private-sector minimum wage (SMIG) has been 17.92 dirhams an hour since 1 January 2026, about 3,423 dirhams a month. After contributions and the 35% deduction, taxable income comes to about 23,900 dirhams a year, below the tax-free 40,000. A minimum-wage worker pays only contributions and takes home about 3,190 dirhams.

Tax and contributions are withheld and paid by the employer. With a single employer in Morocco there is no return to file. A foreigner working from Morocco for an overseas company has nobody to withhold the tax: they calculate it themselves and file a return.

Corporate tax rate and dividend tax in Morocco

A small Moroccan firm with profits up to 300,000 dirhams paid 10% corporate tax in 2022 and pays 20% in 2026. A mid-sized company with profits of 5 million dirhams paid 31% and now also pays 20%. That is how the reform launched by the 2023 Finance Law (No. 50-22) ended: one rate for almost everyone instead of a scale based on profit.

Corporate income tax is called impôt sur les sociétés in French, IS for short. The 100-million-dirham threshold is about 10.3 million US dollars of net profit, far beyond most foreign-owned projects. The 35% rate does not apply to companies in free economic zones and Casablanca's financial centre, or to those that commit under an agreement with the state to invest at least 1.5 billion dirhams over five years.

Minimum tax: payable even on a loss

A loss-making company in Morocco still pays. Article 144 of the code imposes a minimum tax (cotisation minimale): 0.25% of turnover and other income, but no less than 3,000 dirhams a year, about 310 dollars.

New companies get a breather: no minimum tax for the first 36 months after starting operations. The relief lapses 60 months after incorporation, even if the company never started trading.

A surcharge on the profitable: the solidarity contribution

On profits from 1 million dirhams a company also pays the social solidarity contribution (contribution sociale de solidarité). It was designed as temporary but keeps being extended: the 2026 Finance Law stretched it to 2028.

The contribution is charged on the whole profit, not on the excess. Earn 1.1 million dirhams and you pay 1.5% on the full 1.1 million.

Dividends: 11.25% in 2026

When a company distributes profit, it withholds 11.25% and pays it to the treasury. The rate is coming down in steps: 12.5% in 2025, 11.25% in 2026, 10% from 1 January 2027. For a resident owner this tax is final and dividends do not go into the tax return.

A worked example. A company earns 500,000 dirhams of profit. Corporate tax at 20% is 100,000 dirhams. The remaining 400,000 is paid out to the owner, with 11.25% withheld, or 45,000 dirhams. In total the state takes 145,000 dirhams, 29% of the profit. From 2027, at the 10% rate, it will be 28%.

Owners of a Moroccan company who are tax resident in Russia should keep controlled foreign company notifications in mind; we cover them on the page about controlled foreign company reporting. For choosing a legal form and a country for a business, see our section on company registration abroad.

VAT in Morocco: rates and registration thresholds

VAT in Morocco is 20%, the same as in France and 6 points higher than in Egypt. From 2026 only two rates remain, 20% and 10%: the intermediate 7% and 14% were phased out over three years by the 2024 Finance Law (No. 55-23) and are now gone for good.

At what turnover you must charge VAT

Morocco has no single registration threshold; the rules depend on who is selling. Manufacturers and service providers who are individuals are exempt from VAT as long as annual turnover does not exceed 500,000 dirhams, about 51,500 US dollars (Article 91 of the code). Retailers become liable at a turnover of 2 million dirhams, wholesalers from the first dirham.

The exemption has a price: VAT paid to suppliers cannot be recovered. For a tutor or translator with no expenses that does not matter; for a workshop with costly equipment it is a noticeable loss.

Companies with a turnover of 1 million dirhams or more in the previous year, and foreign sellers with no office in Morocco, file every month; everyone else files quarterly. Foreign suppliers of remote services follow their own procedure, covered below.

VAT on foreign digital services and withholding by the buyer

A foreign company selling subscriptions, apps and other remote services to customers in Morocco must pay Moroccan VAT even without an office in the country. The rule was introduced by the 2024 Finance Law, and such sellers file quarterly.

Inside the country, the buyer pays part of the VAT on a service provider's behalf: public bodies withhold 75% of the tax on the invoice, companies withhold 75% on invoices from individual service providers, or the full 100% without a recent tax clearance certificate. From 1 July 2026 banks, insurers and companies with revenue of 500 million dirhams or more also withhold VAT on invoices for services from other companies (Article 117 of the code); the revenue threshold drops to 350 million dirhams in 2027 and to 200 million in 2028.

Special regimes: self-employed, small business, the financial centre and retirees

The lowest rate in the Moroccan code is 0.5% of turnover. It is paid by the self-employed (auto-entrepreneur) in trade, manufacturing and crafts; for services the rate is 1%. The regime was built for small local businesses, and the limits make that obvious at once.

Self-employed: 1% only up to 80,000 dirhams from one client

The turnover cap for services is 200,000 dirhams a year, about 20,600 US dollars. For a programmer or designer that is less than two thousand dollars a month.

A second trap appeared in 2023. If a self-employed person receives more than 80,000 dirhams a year from a single client for services, the client withholds 30% on the excess (Article 73 of the code). That is how the state closed the scheme in which a company signed up a worker as self-employed instead of hiring them.

A flat health insurance charge is added to the tax: from 1,200 to 14,400 dirhams a year, depending on the amount of tax.

Single professional contribution: an example for a hair salon

Those who outgrow the self-employed regime can use the single professional contribution. The tax office ignores actual expenses: turnover is multiplied by a coefficient from a table in the code, and 10% is charged on the result. For food retail the coefficient is 6-8%, for a restaurant 20%. Some professions are excluded from the regime; the list is set by the government.

A worked example. A hair salon with a turnover of 400,000 dirhams a year falls in a line with a coefficient of 20%. Deemed income is 80,000 dirhams and the 10% tax is 8,000 dirhams. A health insurance charge of 4,200 dirhams is added. The total is 12,200 dirhams a year, about 3% of turnover. The 30% rule on amounts above 80,000 dirhams from one client applies under this regime too.

Casablanca Finance City and the free zones

An employee of a company with CFC status pays 20% on salary instead of a scale that goes up to 37%. The rate applies for up to 10 years from the date of hiring, and the Finance Law clarified how it works from 1 January 2026. On a modest salary the employee may opt for the ordinary scale by applying to the employer before 1 February. The company itself pays no corporate tax for five years, then 20%.

Foreign pensions: almost tax-free

A retiree is the one person the Moroccan code treats with real generosity. First 70% is deducted from the first 168,000 dirhams of pension a year and 40% from the rest, then the tax is calculated on the scale, and then it is cut by 80% (Article 76).

A worked example. A pension from abroad of 240,000 dirhams a year, about 2,060 dollars a month. After deductions taxable income is 93,600 dirhams and tax on the scale is 10,080 dirhams. The 80% reduction leaves 2,016 dirhams a year, about 208 dollars. That is under 1% of the pension.

The condition is strict: the reduction covers only amounts transferred to Morocco definitively, into dirhams that cannot be taken back out. The return must include a statement from the pension payer and a bank certificate showing the amount received in foreign currency and its value in dirhams.

IT, remote work and digital nomads

The General Tax Code has no separate regime for IT specialists, remote employees or digital nomads. A developer who lives in Morocco for more than 183 days and is paid from abroad is taxed on the general scale up to 37% and files their own return.

Property taxes in Morocco, plus cars, investments and inheritance

Buying a flat for 1.5 million dirhams, about 155,000 US dollars, costs a further 82,500 dirhams in state charges, or 5.5% of the price. And if the buyer pays in cash, another 2% is added from 1 July 2026.

Buying: 4% registration duty and 1.5% for the land registry

The surcharge was introduced by the 2026 Finance Law (Article 133 of the code): it applies if the contract does not state the payment details or the money did not go through a bank. The buyer also pays the notary's fee. How to choose a property is covered in our section on investment property in Morocco.

Owning: housing tax and communal services tax

There are two annual taxes on a home, both local, under Law No. 47-06. They are based not on the price but on rental value: a commission estimates what such a home rents for in that district over a year.

The communal services tax (taxe de services communaux) is 10.5% of rental value in towns and 6.5% in the outskirts. For a main home the rental value is reduced by 75%, and a new house built for the owner's own use is exempt from housing tax for five years.

A worked example. A flat with a rental value of 60,000 dirhams a year. As a main home: the base after the 75% reduction is 15,000 dirhams, and the two taxes together come to 2,575 dirhams a year, about 265 dollars. As a second home for holidays, with no reduction: 17,800 dirhams, about 1,835 dollars. Almost seven times more.

Renting out

Rental income is reduced by 40% with no proof of expenses, and the rest is taxed on the general scale (Article 64 of the code). A flat let to a private individual for 8,000 dirhams a month brings in 96,000 dirhams a year and 57,600 dirhams of taxable income. With no other income in Morocco, the tax is 1,760 dirhams a year.

A corporate tenant withholds 10% of the rent when it is under 120,000 dirhams a year and 15% above that, and the amount withheld is credited in the return. On such rent the owner has been able since 2025 to opt for a final 20% on the full amount, which pays off for those whose other income has already reached the 34-37% brackets.

Selling: 20% of the gain, but at least 3% of the price

The gain is the difference between the sale price and the purchase price, which is indexed for inflation using tax office coefficients and increased by costs. The rate is 20%, but even on a loss-making sale at least 3% of the price is due (Article 144).

A main home is exempt after five years of occupation. If it sells for more than 4 million dirhams, 3% is charged on the amount above that mark. Small sales, up to 140,000 dirhams in a year, are not taxed either. The return is filed and the tax paid within 30 days of the sale.

Cars: the tax is due in January

The annual vehicle tax depends on fuel and on the engine's fiscal horsepower, a notional rating in tax horsepower (CV) shown in the car's registration documents.

It must be paid in January (Article 261 of the code). Electric cars and hybrids are exempt.

Investments, inheritance and gifts

Sales of securities are not taxed if no more than 30,000 dirhams' worth is sold in a year. From 2026 foreign investment income is declared separately, by 1 April, with a certificate from the foreign tax authority showing the tax paid (Article 84 bis of the code). Tax paid in a treaty country is credited.

The Moroccan code has no inheritance tax and no wealth tax. When an estate is settled, a 1% registration duty is charged on the inventory of assets, which excludes the main home of the deceased. A gift of real estate to a spouse, children, parents, brothers or sisters costs 1.5% in duty and is not subject to income tax.

Cryptocurrency

The 2026 General Tax Code does not say a word about cryptocurrency. Since 2017 the foreign exchange office (Office des Changes) has treated crypto transactions as a breach of exchange rules. Draft Law No. 42.25 on crypto-assets was published in November 2025, but in summer 2026 Bank Al-Maghrib reported only that work on it was continuing.

Tourist tax in Morocco

The tourist tax, or city tax (taxe de séjour), is paid by hotel guests on top of the room price. Law No. 47-06 sets a range of 2 to 30 dirhams per person per night, and the commune picks the exact amount. In Casablanca, according to the city portal, it is 25 dirhams in a five-star hotel and 30 in a guesthouse. Children under 12 do not pay.

Taxes for non-residents and Morocco's double tax treaties

On any payment for services to a foreign company or professional with no office in Morocco, the local customer must withhold 10%. The non-resident receives 90% of the invoice unless a treaty between the two countries says otherwise.

The withholding covers royalties, technical assistance, consulting, equipment rental, commissions, loan interest and, broadly, any services that a non-resident supplies or that are used in Morocco (Article 15 of the code). The base is the gross amount, with no deduction for expenses.

Double tax treaties

Morocco has more than 50 such treaties, including with most EU countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, the UAE, Turkey, China, Russia and Ukraine. They cap tax at source and decide which country taxes a salary, a pension and business profits.

The lower of the two dividend rates goes to companies with a substantial stake, and each treaty sets its own conditions. The real benefit of the treaties lies in the rules rather than the rates: under most of them Morocco may withhold 10% only on royalties, while ordinary services by a foreign company with no permanent establishment are taxed in its home country. The definition of royalties in Moroccan treaties can be broad, so the specific text is read before an invoice is issued.

The treaty with Russia is in force

The agreement between the governments of Russia and Morocco was signed on 4 September 1997, entered into force on 31 August 1999 and has applied since 1 January 2000. In 2026 it operates in full. Russian Presidential Decree No. 585 of 8 August 2023 suspended certain articles of treaties only with states that Russia regards as unfriendly, and Morocco is not among them.

Dividends are taxed at source at no more than 5% if the recipient's investment in the company's capital exceeds 500,000 US dollars, and at no more than 10% otherwise. Tax withheld in one country on dividends, interest and royalties is credited by the other.

For those relocating in retirement, Article 18 matters. A pension from a state fund is taxed only by the country that pays it. A Russian state pension received while living in Morocco stays under Russian rules, and in Russia it is not taxed. The treaty makes an exception for Moroccan nationals.

Tax deadlines and late-filing penalties in Morocco

Filing a return one day late costs 5% of the tax in Morocco; 31 days late it is already 15%. On top comes the penalty for the payment itself: 10% at once, 5% for the first month and 0.5% for each month after that. The deadlines are worth knowing in advance.

No annual return is needed from those whose only income is a salary from one Moroccan employer, or whose income has already been taxed at final rates: dividends, interest on deposits, listed share trades through a local broker. But to claim a mortgage interest deduction or a dependant credit the employer did not apply, a return has to be filed.

Fines and late-payment charges

The minimum fine for a return is 500 dirhams, or 100 dirhams for the self-employed (Articles 184 and 208 of the code). The limitation period for income tax is four years.

Almost all reporting is electronic, through the portal of the General Tax Directorate. The forms are in French and Arabic, and filing requires a Moroccan tax number (identifiant fiscal). Murblz specialists help open an account and prepare the documents: the terms are on the pages about a personal account in Morocco and a business account.

What Morocco's taxes mean if you are relocating

Morocco is a good deal for a retiree and a poor one for a remote employee on a European salary: the gap between them reaches 36 percentage points. The first pays under 1% on a pension, the second 37% on the top slice of income.

On corporate tax Morocco sits next to Portugal and is noticeably cheaper than Spain and Turkey. On personal income tax it loses to Egypt and is not remotely comparable with the UAE. Figures for other countries are in our overview of taxes by country.

Who Morocco's taxes suit

Retirees with a foreign pension. A deduction of up to 70% and an 80% cut in the tax give an effective rate of about 1%. The price of the relief is that the money has to be transferred to Morocco for good.

Manufacturers and exporters. Five years with no corporate tax in a free economic zone, then 20%, and exports at a zero VAT rate.

Service and financial companies targeting Africa. Casablanca Finance City status brings five years with no corporate tax and 20% instead of the scale for employees.

Who they do not suit

Remote employees and freelancers earning from 2,000 dollars a month. A scale up to 37%, no special regime, and self-employment capped at 200,000 dirhams a year.

Anyone hoping to pay nothing on foreign income. A resident declares worldwide income, and foreign dividends and interest are taxed at 15%.

Anyone holding capital in cryptocurrency. There is no law, and the exchange regulator treats such transactions as a breach.

Buyers of a holiday home. Without the main-home reduction, annual local taxes are several times higher, and the exemption on sale does not cover such a home: 20% of the gain and at least 3% of the price.

Two things people learn too late

The dirham is only partly convertible. Transfers abroad are controlled by the foreign exchange office. The relief for retirees explicitly requires bringing the money into non-convertible dirhams, and taking it back out freely will not be possible.

You can become resident without 183 days. A flat in Morocco where the family lives permanently is already grounds to treat the owner as resident under the permanent-home test.

Related pages: all Morocco programmes, Moroccan citizenship and residence permits, company registration by country and legal support from Murblz.

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