Lebanon

Taxable period

The fiscal year is the calendar year.

Tax returns

Income derived from personal business

The deadline for filing tax returns for those taxed on real profits is before 1 April of the following year. For those taxed on a fixed lump-sum basis, the deadline is before 1 February of the following year.

Payroll tax

It is the employer's responsibility to declare the payroll tax to the authorities on a quarterly basis during the first 15 days of the month following the end of the quarter. An annual declaration is also due by 28 February of the following year.

Tax on capital gains and investment income

Tax on moveable capital income is withheld at source by the relevant company or organisation and is to be declared within one month of the declaration of any dividends, interest, or share revenue, or after the maturity of interest on bonds.

If taxpayers fail to submit a tax return, realisation penalties will be due.

Payment of tax

The same deadlines for tax returns apply for tax payments.

If taxpayers fail to make payment, late payment penalties will be due.

Tax audit process

The most common ways for the tax authorities to select companies or individuals for tax audits are the size of the business, the type of business, and certain risk assessment measures.

Tax audits typically cover a single type of tax.

In a typical situation, a tax audit is likely to take less than one year from first information request to substantive resolution.

Statute of limitations

The tax administration has four years to collect its rights. The period is calculated from the end of the year that follows the current business year.

The taxable person may request a refund of excess tax within four years starting from the end of the year where the refund right was created.

The tax administration can exceed the statute of limitations in cases where a profit or revenue has been proven by a court order, arbitration, or inheritance clearance. The extension is limited till the end of the calendar year following the end of the year in which the tax administration was notified of such event.

The statute of limitations as per the Lebanese Tax Procedures Law is five years (e.g. 2017 will expire on 31 December 2022). However, due to the economic and financial crisis, as well as the lockdowns enforced by the pandemic's spread, the Lebanese Parliament approved and issued several laws suspending certain legal/tax liabilities and deadlines. Such laws were supported by additional application instructions and decisions issued by the MoF. As such, the MoF circulated an internal memo where it highlighted the deadlines for statute of limitations calculation purposes taking into consideration the above-mentioned suspensions. Under the statute of limitations, a company should keep its accounting books and documentation for ten years.