Tax in Guinea-Bissau

Who is the tax authority and where do filings live?

Guinea-Bissau's Direccao Geral das Contribuicoes e Impostos (DGCI) under the Ministry of Finance administers Guinea-Bissau's tax system [SC1]. Substantive law: Codigo Geral Tributario, Codigo dos Impostos sobre Rendimento, WAEMU tax directives, OHADA framework, and successive amendments. Guinea-Bissau is a WAEMU, ECOWAS, CPLP (Lusophone), and AfCFTA member.

What is the tax year and when are returns due?

Individual tax year is the calendar year. IP withheld monthly. Corporate annual returns due 30 April for prior fiscal year [SC1]. IGV monthly returns. Provisional CIT through quarterly acomptes regime.

Who is a Guinea-Bissauan tax resident?

Under Codigo Geral Tributario, an individual is tax resident if (a) habitual residence in Guinea-Bissau, (b) physically present 183+ days, OR (c) Guinea-Bissau-source professional activity [SC2]. Residents taxed on worldwide income.

What are the personal income tax rates?

Progressive IP brackets: 1 percent up to XOF 100,000 monthly; ascending rates 4/8/12 percent ascending [SC1]. Top 12 percent above XOF 250,000 monthly. Personal allowance applies.

How does Guinea-Bissau's corporate tax work?

CIT 25 percent flat for resident companies [SC2]. Reduced rates for new investments under Investment Code. Withholding on dividends to non-residents 10 percent. Pillar Two not transposed. Tax losses 5 years.

What about VAT?

IGV 15 percent under WAEMU directive harmonisation framework [SC3]. Zero-rated on exports.

How are cryptoassets taxed?

BCEAO advisory: cryptoassets restricted under WAEMU framework [SC2]. Where declared, gains under existing income-tax categories.

What is the treaty network and what are the audit triggers?

Guinea-Bissau has approximately 1 active double tax treaty (Portugal) [SC4]. WAEMU Multilateral Tax Convention. MLI not yet ratified. Standard SOL 5 years; extended for fraud.

What are the common penalties and pitfalls for foreigners?

Penalty framework: late filings, failure to file, incorrect declarations [SC5]. Common pitfalls: (1) post-2018 political-instability-context affecting tax administration; (2) cashew-export economy concentration creates customs and excise complexity; (3) WAEMU framework with monetary union (XOF) and tax-directive harmonisation; (4) Pillar Two not transposed; (5) extremely limited treaty network (1 DTC - Portugal); (6) MLI not yet ratified; (7) lusophone tradition (Portuguese official language with mainly Crioulo de facto); (8) OHADA framework; (9) AfCFTA member; (10) parallel WAEMU/ECOWAS/CPLP framework membership; (11) Petroleum-sector emerging discoveries with sector-specific framework progressively developing.