Botswana

The following developments are effective from 1 July 2021:

• The resident individual income threshold increased from 36,000 to 48,000 Botswana pula (BWP), with concomitant changes to tax paying brackets.
• The income threshold for non-residents has been updated.

Revised filing obligations for individuals for tax year 2021 and 2022

The Commissioner General of the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) has confirmed that tax returns are not required to be submitted by individuals:

• who earned gross income of less than BWP 480,000 for the year ended 30 June 2021
• where such gross income arose solely from employment from a single employer, and
• which gross income was subjected to correct pay-as-you-earn (PAYE).

The above shall remain in place until the Commissioner General advises otherwise.

The BURS has expanded e-services to personal income tax (PIT) for individuals.

Value-added tax (VAT)

The VAT rate was initially changed from 12% to 14% on 1 April 2021; however, in an effort to reduce the impact of increasing inflation on the Botswana economy, the Botswana government introduced a temporary measure to alleviate the pressure by reducing the rate from 14% to 12% from 3 August 2022 up to 31 March 2023. The VAT rate reverted to 14% with effect from 1 April 2023.