VAT went up to 15.5%
The tax fraction is now 15.5/115.5. Which rate applies is decided by the time of supply, not your invoice date. Deposits taken in 2025 still carry 15%.
100% Free For owners, directors and finance leaders
The Practical Zimbabwe Tax Guide 2026
Written for the people who sign the returns and carry the risk. What every business owner, director and finance lead needs to know about ZIMRA this year, in plain English, with worked examples you can copy. Verified against Finance Act No. 7 of 2025 and the 2026 ZIMRA public notices. 59 pages, updated 18 August 2026.
- VAT at 15.5%: the new rate, the tax fraction, and which supplies straddle year end
- The new 15% commercial rental tax: who is caught, and who is grandfathered
- PAYE tables in force for 2026: USD and ZiG, benefits, credits and mixed payrolls
- Fiscalisation and FDMS: the six reasons ZIMRA rejects an input tax claim
- A full compliance calendar: every return, every payment, every date
Income Tax PAYE VAT 15.5% Fiscalisation Withholding Rental Tax Digital Services Customs
Download your free copy today
The guide is free. We ask a few questions about your business so that what follows is useful to you rather than generic, and so the right consultant picks it up.
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10+Years experience
500+Clients served
50+Expert consultants
12Chapters, 59 pages
The headline
Five changes that will generate assessments in 2026
Finance Act No. 7 of 2025 commenced on 29 December 2025. These are the changes catching Zimbabwean businesses out right now. Each one is worked through properly inside the guide.
A new 15% tax on commercial rent
Presumptive rental income tax on gross rent from business premises. A final tax: no deductions, no capital allowances, and it does not replace VAT.
Your bank now taxes foreign digital services
Payments for cloud, hosting, online advertising, software, AI platforms and ride-hailing are withheld the moment you pay. You cannot avoid it by paying by card.
The filing calendar split in two
PAYE, the rental tax and most withholding run on the 5th and 10th. VAT and the digital services withholding run on the 10th and 15th. Mixing them up is now a penalty.
IMTT became deductible, and cheaper on ZiG
1.5% on local currency, 2% on foreign currency, and an allowable deduction from 1 January 2026. If your accounts still add it back, it is costing you money.
Contents
Twelve chapters, no filler
Every chapter answers the same four questions, in the same order: does this apply to me, how is it calculated, what must I do, and where it goes wrong.
1
Getting registered with ZIMRA
TaRMS, your TIN, tax heads and the public officer
2
Income tax for businesses
25%, the AIDS Levy, and profit that is not profit
3
QPDs, expenses, assets and records
Paying tax before you know the answer
4
PAYE and being an employer
Tables, benefits, credits and the 5th and 10th
5
VAT and fiscalisation
15.5%, the US$25,000 threshold, FDMS and rejected claims
6
Withholding taxes and tax clearance
Why your customer paid you 70%
7
Presumptive taxes and rental income
Including the new 15% commercial rental tax
8
Property and capital gains tax
Selling a building, selling shares
9
Digital services and other taxes
Foreign software, online ads, IMTT and levies
10
Importing and customs
VDP, duty, surtax and import VAT
11
Audits, assessments and objections
What to do when ZIMRA disagrees with you
12
Your 2026 compliance calendar
Every date, and a checklist to work through
Not theory
Twelve businesses you will recognise
Rather than abstract formulas, the guide follows the same twelve fictional Zimbabwean businesses from chapter to chapter. When a rule changes, you see exactly what it does to them, laid out as a ledger, from the top line down to the amount actually payable.
- A hardware retailer whose turnover creeps past US$25,000 mid-year
- An employee paid partly in USD and partly in ZiG, with a company car
- A landlord with three shops in Msasa, hit by the new rental tax
- An agency paying Meta and cloud software every month
Worked example · Peter Marange's three shops
Gross monthly rental received4,500.00
Presumptive rental income tax at 15%675.00
VAT at 15.5%, where the rental is VAT-able697.50
Monthly tax on one rent roll1,372.50
One transaction, two taxes, two returns and two different deadlines. The guide shows what he would have paid had he registered before 31 December 2025.
Start here
Which taxes apply to your business?
The most expensive misunderstanding in Zimbabwean business is assuming one transaction attracts one tax. It rarely does.
You run a company or trade as a sole trader
Income tax at 25% plus the AIDS Levy, quarterly payments and the annual return
You employ even one person
PAYE tables, benefits in kind, NSSA, ZIMDEF and the ITF16
Your turnover is near or above US$25,000
Compulsory VAT registration, VAT at 15.5% and fiscalisation
You rent out commercial premises
The new 15% rental tax, plus VAT at 15.5% on top where the rent is VAT-able
You pay foreign suppliers or import goods
Digital services withholding, non-residents tax, duty, surtax and import VAT
ZIMRA has raised an assessment
The 30-day objection window and the pay now, argue later rule
About the publisher
Written by the people who file the returns
M&J Consultants is a multi-disciplinary consultancy headquartered in Harare, with an office in Lusaka, working with businesses across Zimbabwe, Zambia and the wider region. We handle tax advisory and filing, ZIMRA audit support, accounting, payroll and company secretarial work every day. This guide is what we find ourselves explaining most often.
Every rate, threshold, form and deadline was checked tax-by-tax against primary sources. Where ZIMRA's own permanent web pages conflict with its 2026 public notices, the guide follows the notice and tells you so.
Verified against
- Finance Act No. 7 of 2025
- Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06]
- Value Added Tax Act [Chapter 23:12]
- Capital Gains Tax Act [Chapter 23:01]
- Customs and Excise Act [Chapter 23:02]
- SI 81 of 2025 on return due dates
- SI 59 of 2026 on import control
- ZIMRA 2026 public notices
Questions
Before you download
Is the guide really free?
Yes. There is no charge and no card required. Complete the form and the download starts on the next page.
How current is it?
Every figure was verified against Finance Act No. 7 of 2025, the relevant statutory instruments and ZIMRA's 2026 public notices, with a research cut-off of 18 August 2026. Where ZIMRA's own permanent web pages conflict with a 2026 notice, the guide follows the notice and says so.
Do I need an accounting background to use it?
No. It is written in plain English for the person who runs the business and signs the returns. Every chapter answers four questions: does this apply to me, how is it calculated, what must I do, and where it goes wrong.
Why do you ask about my business?
So we can send you what is actually relevant to you rather than everything, and so that if you ask for help we already understand your position. Your details are never sold or shared.
What happens after I download it?
You get the guide immediately. If you asked for a consultation we will call you to arrange a time that suits you. Otherwise you will hear from us occasionally when a change affects a business like yours.
Get the 2026 Zimbabwe Tax Guide, free
Fifty-nine pages, twelve chapters and a compliance calendar you can pin above your desk. No charge, no card, no catch.
Download your free copyUpdated to 18 August 2026 · Finance Act No. 7 of 2025 and the 2026 ZIMRA public notices