Tanzania payroll and tax overview.

Foreign Direct Investment in Tanzania

Tanzania provides foreign investors with a significant opportunity to invest in an expanding African economy. The government welcomes inward investment, with some restrictions upon entity structures.

Registering a Company and Establishing an Entity in Tanzania

In Tanzania, all companies must be registered with local authorities in order to process payroll.

Business Banking in Tanzania

It is not mandatory to make payments to employees and authorities from an in-country bank account, however, the inter-country bank charges for electronic transfers can be quite high.

What Are the Working Days and Working Hours in Tanzania?

The working week in Tanzania is Monday to Friday 0800 – 1700 hours and Saturdays 0800 – 1230 hours. Lunch breaks are between half an hour and one hour long.

Basic Facts about Tanzania

General Information

Full Name: United Republic of Tanzania

Population: 58.01 million (World Bank, 2019)

Capital: Dodoma (official), Dar es Salaam (commercial)

Primary Language: English, Swahili

Main Religion: Christianity, Islam

Monetary Unit: 1 Tanzanian shilling = 100 cents

Main Exports: Gold, Sisal, cloves, coffee, cotton, cashew nuts, minerals, tobacco.

GNI per Capita: US $1,080 (World Bank, 2019)

Internet Domain: .tz

International Dialing Code: +255

The tax year runs from 1st July to 30th June.

Apprenticeship and Training Tax in Tanzania

The due date for remitting PAYE is by the seventh of the following month.

A PAYE summary statement is due within 30 days after each six-month period.

The penalty for late payment is the statutory rate of the year + 5% of the total outstanding amount.

Social Security in Tanzania

NSSF (National Social Security Fund) is deductible from employees (10% of gross) with the employer paying the same amount on the employee’s behalf. Submissions to the NSSF authority are to be made within one month after the month of deduction.

Skills Levy: Employer is to pay 4% of the gross on behalf of the employee (only for a company with more than five employees).

New Employees in Tanzania

When an employee first starts employment with a company, they must be registered with the TRA (Tanzania Revenue Authority) and the pension scheme.

TRA will provide a TIN (Tax Identification Number) and the pension scheme will also provide a scheme number. All registrations must be made within the first month for the new start commencing work.

The only information that is required for setting up a new start is the employee’s personal data.

A new employee must be registered with the authorities within 80 days from the start date of employment, in which the company has to present its structure to the SII and await authorization to start operations.

The following information is required to set up a new start: -

• Full name
• RUT
• Date of birth
• Address
• Salary
• Pension insurance
• Health insurance
• Other information about hiring

Leavers in Tanzania

There are no legislative timescales for an employee’s final payment in Tanzania.

The payment timescale will depend on the terms of the employment contract.

It is legally acceptable in Tanzania to provide employees with online payslips. The payslips must be secured with restricted access.

By law, payroll reports must be kept for seven years.