Business Taxes in Angola: Rates, Filings and Withholding

Target keyword: angola corporate tax · Last reviewed: 12 September 2026 Kwanza amounts converted at Kz 920 = US$1 (mid-market, September 2026).

Most companies in Angola pay 25% corporate income tax on profit, charge 14% VAT, withhold employment tax on any salary above Kz 150,000 a month, and lose another 10% when dividends leave the country. Agriculture pays 10%. Banking, insurance, telecoms and oil pay 35%. Everything else is detail — but the detail is where the money goes.

This page covers the taxes a foreign-owned company actually deals with. For the wider picture of setting up and operating here, see our guide to doing business in Angola.

The rates at a glance

Tax Rate Who pays it Industrial tax (corporate income tax) 25% general · 10% primary sector · 35% banking, insurance, telecoms, oil Resident companies and branches Provisional industrial tax 2% of first-half sales All companies, paid mid-year VAT (IVA) 14% standard · 7% hotels and restaurants · 5% staple food, agricultural inputs, industrial equipment · 1% Cabinda · 0% exports Registered businesses IRT (employment income tax) Exempt to Kz 150,000/month, then progressive to 25% Withheld by the employer IRT on independent contractors 6.5% Withheld by the paying company IRT on directors and board members 15% Withheld by the company Industrial tax on non-resident services 6.5% Withheld by the Angolan client IAC on dividends, royalties, shareholder interest 10% Withheld on payment IAC on general loan interest 15% Withheld on payment CEOC (foreign exchange contribution) 10% Charged by the bank on service transfers abroad

Industrial tax

Industrial tax (imposto industrial) is Angola's corporate income tax. It falls on profit from any commercial or industrial activity, whether that activity is continuous or one-off.

Residence decides the scope. A company with its domicile, registered office or effective management in Angola is taxed on worldwide income. A foreign company without either is taxed only on income generated in Angola — so a branch or permanent establishment pays tax on the profit attributable to the local operation, plus profit from other Angolan activities of the same nature.

The general rate is 25%. Income from exclusively agricultural, aquaculture, beekeeping, poultry, fishing, forestry and livestock activities is taxed at 10%. Telecoms operators, banks, insurers and Angolan oil companies pay 35%.

Payment happens twice. You pay a provisional charge of 2% on total sales for the first six months of the year — due in July for Group B taxpayers and August for Group A (general regime). That payment is a credit against the final bill. The annual return and final settlement fall due at the end of April for the simplified regime (Group B) and the end of May for the general regime (Group A).

Filing is electronic only. Industrial tax returns go through the AGT's Portal do Contribuinte, and paper filing is now prohibited outright.

Undocumented costs become a tax

This catches new arrivals more than any other rule. An expense without the legally required supporting document is disallowed as a deduction and charged a separate penalty tax on top:

• 2% where the document is defective — anomalies, or only the purchaser identified
• 4% where there is no valid document at all, even if the expense is clearly real
• 30% for confidential expenses, where nothing supports the operation and its nature cannot be substantiated
• 50% where those confidential expenses are incurred by an exempt or non-taxable entity

In practice, an expense you cannot document doesn't just fail to reduce your tax — it increases it.

Legal ways the rate comes down

Two routes matter. Projects registered through AIPEX under the special regime get industrial tax cut by 60% for four years in Zone B, 80% for eight years in Zone C, and to half the Zone C rate for eight years in Zone D (Cabinda) — the provisional 2% is reduced on the same basis. Companies operating in Angola's free zones pay 15% on activity aimed at the domestic market, and 8% where the activity is exclusively for export outside the customs territory. Both routes require audited, properly organised accounts; without them the reduction is lost. See Angola's private investment law and AIPEX.

VAT (IVA)

The standard rate is 14%, applying to most imports, supplies of goods and services. Exports are zero-rated, and the exporter keeps the right to deduct input VAT on local purchases — which makes Angola-based export operations more competitive than the headline rate suggests.

Reduced rates: 7% on hotel and restaurant services; 5% on staple foods, agricultural inputs, and on industrial equipment imported or supplied by the manufacturer itself (this one requires a formal application and prior AGT approval); 1% on goods imported into or supplied within Cabinda.

Which regime you fall into depends on turnover:

Regime Annual turnover How it works General ≥ Kz 350m (≈US$380,000), all large taxpayers, importers, and manufacturers above Kz 25m Charge 14%, deduct 100% of input VAT Simplified Kz 25m–350m (≈US$27,000–380,000) 7% monthly on actual receipts, deduct 10% of input VAT Exclusion < Kz 25m (≈US$27,000) No VAT charged; 1% stamp duty on receipts instead

Captured VAT

Certain institutional customers withhold your VAT and pay it to the state directly, which changes your cash flow rather than your tax. Sell to the State (public companies excepted), to local authorities or to oil investment companies, and 100% of the VAT on your invoice is captured. Sell to the BNA, commercial banks, insurers, reinsurers or telecoms operators, and 50% is captured — and you remain responsible for remitting the other half yourself.

Refunds and deadlines

General regime companies carrying a VAT credit for more than three consecutive months can claim a refund (twelve months under the simplified regime). The minimum claim rose from Kz 300,000 to Kz 700,000 (≈US$760). Input VAT can now be deducted up to twelve months after the invoice date, which gives some room when documents arrive late.

Returns are filed electronically by the last business day of the following month. Missing or late filing costs Kz 600,000 (≈US$650) per infraction, doubling every three months it stays outstanding.

Two newer points worth flagging: distance sales into Angola through e-commerce are now expressly taxable here, and transactions through mobile instant payment and transfer platforms authorised by the BNA are VAT-exempt.

IRT: employment income tax

IRT applies on the basis of where income arises, not nationality or residence — so it covers Angolan staff and non-resident expatriates alike, as long as the work is performed for an entity based in Angola. Income splits into three groups: Group A (employees), Group B (independent professionals, and also company directors and board members), Group C (sole traders and merchants).

Group A rates from the 2026 budget (Lei n.º 14/25):

Monthly income (Kz) ≈ US$ Fixed amount (Kz) Rate on excess 0 – 150,000 0 – 163 — exempt 150,000 – 200,000 163 – 217 12,500 16% 200,000 – 300,000 217 – 326 31,250 18% 300,000 – 500,000 326 – 543 49,250 19% 500,000 – 1,000,000 543 – 1,087 87,250 20% 1,000,000 – 1,500,000 1,087 – 1,630 187,250 21% 1,500,000 – 2,000,000 1,630 – 2,174 292,250 22% 2,000,000 – 2,500,000 2,174 – 2,717 402,250 23% 2,500,000 – 5,000,000 2,717 – 5,435 517,250 24% 5,000,000 – 10,000,000 5,435 – 10,870 1,117,250 24.5% Above 10,000,000 Above 10,870 2,342,250 25%

The exemption threshold rose from Kz 100,000 to Kz 150,000 in 2026. Note the step at the threshold: a salary of Kz 151,000 carries Kz 12,660 of tax, not Kz 160. Salaries are worth setting either at or clearly above the line.

The taxable base is gross pay less mandatory social security contributions. Holiday and Christmas bonuses are exempt up to 100% of base salary. Meal and transport allowances are exempt up to Kz 30,000 (≈US$33) each per month — pay more and the excess is taxable. Angolan nationals over 60, war veterans, and people with a certified disability of 50% or more are exempt entirely.

Two rules that surprise employers. You cannot absorb the employee's tax: guaranteed-net-salary contracts are expressly prohibited, and the tax must be deducted from the employee's remuneration. And expatriate headcount is capped — no more than 30% of your workforce may be non-resident foreign nationals. Both belong to the wider picture in hiring in Angola.

Directors and board members sit in Group B but are taxed at a flat 15%, with the taxable base calculated on Group A rules — they do not get the 30% standard deduction that independent professionals receive.

When your company buys services from Angolan sole traders or independent professionals (Groups B and C), and you keep organised or simplified accounts, you must withhold 6.5% of the gross invoice.

Deadlines: withheld IRT goes to the AGT by the end of the month following payment. The annual Modelo 2 return, listing all remuneration paid and tax withheld, is due by the end of February. Failing to remit withheld tax now costs a penalty equal to 100% of the missing amount, down from 200% — criminal liability still applies.

Paying non-residents

When you pay a foreign supplier for technical, management or consultancy services, Angola taxes the payment even though the supplier has no presence here. The mechanism inverts the liability: your Angolan company withholds and remits, and if you don't, the debt is yours.

Industrial tax withholding: 6.5% of the gross service value, cut from 15% by Lei n.º 27/22. It is a final tax — the non-resident has no further Angolan filing obligation. Remit by the end of the following month.

CEOC: a further 10% on the transfer itself. The Special Contribution on Foreign Exchange Operations applies to transfers abroad under service, technical assistance, consultancy and management contracts, and the 2026 budget keeps it in force. The bank charges it at the moment you submit the transfer, so your account needs cover for the net invoice and the contribution simultaneously.

A Kz 100 invoice from a foreign consultancy therefore costs closer to Kz 110 with Kz 93.50 reaching the supplier — unless you negotiate the gross-up in advance. Budgets built on the invoice face value are wrong before they start.

Different contract, different tax: payments for the use of trademarks, patents, software licences, secret processes or technology transfer are royalties, taxed under IAC at 10%, not under the 6.5% services rule.

IAC: investment income tax

IAC (imposto sobre a aplicação de capitais) is the tax that matters most at exit, because it taxes money leaving the business. Section A covers loan interest at 15% — and note that where a loan contract is silent on interest, the law presumes 6% a year. Section B covers dividends, shareholder loan interest, royalties and gains on the sale of shareholdings at 10%.

Branch profits repatriated to head office are treated exactly like a dividend and taxed at 10%.

Dividends from shares traded on the regulated market drop to 5%. The 2026 budget removed the old 5% rate on Treasury bond and bill interest with maturities of three years or more; those are now taxed at 10%.

The general participation exemption — 25% holdings held more than a year, outside the stock market — has been revoked by the new tax benefits code. In its place: companies listed on BODIVA get a 50% IAC reduction for five years from admission, and a listed company distributing to a shareholder holding 25% or more for over a year is fully exempt. Non-resident deposits of Kz 50m (≈US$54,000) or more with a maturity of at least two years get a 60% reduction.

AIPEX-registered projects reduce IAC on outbound dividends too: 25% for two years under the prior declaration regime, and under the special regime 25%/2 years in Zone A, 60%/4 years in Zone B, 80%/8 years in Zone C, and half the Zone C rate for eight years in Zone D.

IAC is remitted by the last day of the month following withholding, with an annual Modelo 1 return due by the end of January.

Getting the net dividend out of the country is a separate problem from taxing it — see foreign exchange and getting your money out of Angola.

Double taxation treaties

Angola has treaties in force with Portugal (in force 22 August 2019, effective 31 December 2019), the United Arab Emirates (in force 28 March 2020, applying to events after 31 December 2020) and China. Portugal is currently the only EU country with both a double taxation treaty and an investment protection agreement with Angola, which is why so many European groups hold their Angolan subsidiaries through a Portuguese entity.

Treaty relief is not automatic. To withhold at the reduced rate you must file a Declaração de Conformidade with the AGT, accompanied by an original tax residence certificate issued by the beneficiary's home tax authority. Apply the treaty rate without that documentation and you have committed an infraction, not saved tax.

Two related obligations: Angola has an intergovernmental FATCA agreement with the United States, and transfer pricing rules apply to any transaction between related parties. If you invoice management fees, royalties or technical assistance from the parent company, be ready to document that the amounts are arm's length — the AGT can disallow the cost and adjust taxable profit if they aren't.

Electronic invoicing

Invoices produced in Word, Excel or on paper are no longer legally valid. Certified e-invoicing software became mandatory on 1 January 2026 for large taxpayers and for any company supplying the State, and extends to all remaining general and simplified regime taxpayers on 1 January 2027.

Certified software must generate invoices in a structured data format, apply a digital signature, include a QR validation code on every document, and integrate directly with the AGT portal. It must also invoice in kwanza only — foreign currency invoicing is prohibited for domestic supplies, with import and export the sole exception, and software vendors that don't enforce this lose certification. The AGT publishes a list of certified packages; 43 are approved, including Cegid Primavera, Cegid PHC, Cegid Vendus, Pssst! and Tlim.

One trap: voluntary early adoption is irreversible. Once you register your invoice series in the portal, you cannot go back to manual invoicing or monthly SAF-T submission.

Penalties run on invoice value: 7% for using uncertified software or failing to issue an electronic invoice, rising to 15% for repeat failures; 5% where mandatory elements are missing (tax number, price, the certified programme reference); 1% for lesser errors; 0.2% for invoices issued after the fifth business day following the transaction. SAF-T failures attract 7–15% of the reported turnover.

Tax calendar

Deadline Obligation End of January IAC annual return (Modelo 1) End of February IRT annual return (Modelo 2) End of March Group B Modelo 1 and Group C returns End of April Industrial tax return — simplified regime (Group B) End of May Industrial tax return — general regime (Group A) July Provisional industrial tax — Group B August Provisional industrial tax — Group A Last business day of each month VAT return for the previous month End of each month IRT, IAC and non-resident withholding for the previous month

Two things to get right from day one

Your tax number (NIF) is issued at an AGT office in about 30 minutes, but keeping it active is the real job. Filing blank returns or simply not filing — common among companies that haven't started trading yet — leads to fines and suspension of the NIF, which stops the business dead. Incorporation itself creates accounting entries (capital subscription, formation costs) that must be declared. Since 1 January 2026, a certified accountant registered with the OCPCA must be involved in company formation through the GUE, largely to stop exactly this.

The second is the certidão de não devedor, the tax compliance certificate, which is only issued when you have no outstanding returns or debts. You need a valid one to access bank credit, clear goods through customs, repatriate dividends and renew expatriate work visas. Treat it as a live requirement, not a document you obtain once.

Rates and deadlines here reflect the 2026 budget law and the current tax benefits code. Angolan tax law changes annually with the budget, and the practical application of incentives varies by project — take local tax advice before you structure anything.

Next: register a company in Angola · hiring in Angola · foreign exchange and profit repatriation