Ghana

A resident person's worldwide income is assessed for tax. Income from business and investment (from both Ghanaian and foreign sources) is included in determining the resident person’s assessable income.

The business and investment income of a non-resident person is included in the assessable income for a year of assessment if that income has a source in Ghana. Where a non-resident person has a Ghanaian permanent establishment (PE), any income connected with the PE is assessed to tax.

The general corporate income tax (CIT) rate is 25%.

Mining and upstream petroleum companies pay CIT at a rate of 35%, while companies principally engaged in the hotel industry pay a reduced rate of 22%.

The CIT rate for companies engaged in non-traditional exports is 8%, while banks lending to the agricultural and leasing sectors pay a CIT rate of 20% on income from those businesses. Lottery operators are also subject to a 20% income tax on gross gaming revenue. 

A person may pay tax on a minimum chargeable income of 5% of turnover where that person has been declaring tax losses for the previous five years of assessment. This excludes persons:

• within the first five years of commencement of operations, and
• engaged in farming.

Growth and Sustainability Levy (GSL)

The GSL applies to entities to raise revenue for growth and fiscal sustainability of the economy. Entities are categorised into three groups and are required to pay the levy as follows:

The GSL applies to an entity irrespective of any existing tax holiday or exemption granted to the entity under any agreement or enactment.

The levy is payable in four equal instalments and at the end of each quarter of the year of assessment (i.e. 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, and 31 December). An entity is required to file a return as determined by the Commissioner-General of the GRA. The amount payable is not a deductible expense for CIT purposes. 

The GSL is applicable to profits before tax or production for the 2023 to 2025 years of assessment. 

Financial sector recovery levy (FSRL)

The FSRL applies to banks (other than rural or community banks) to raise revenue to support the financial sector reforms.

It is a 5% levy on the profit before tax of the affected banks. The levy is not an allowable deduction in calculating the chargeable income of the bank. 

The FSRL is payable on a quarterly basis during the year (i.e. by 31 March, 30 June, 30 September, and 31 December). It is expected to expire at the end of 2024.

Local income taxes

Ghana has no local, state, or provincial government taxes on income. However, other local authority bodies (i.e. District Assembly/Municipal Authority) may also apply levies based on location of business properties.