The tax administration assigns a taxpayer identification number (TIN) to persons owning goods and services subject to taxation. When a company or an enterprise (individual trader) registers its business with Rwanda Development Board (RDB), the company code issued also serves as the taxpayer identification number. Any other person or organisation that requires a taxpayer identification number (for example if one wants to buy a vehicle or clear some personal belongings with the customs) may obtain it from Rwanda Revenue Authority. 

Any tax payer is obliged to keep a taxpayer identification number on tax declaration documents and on other correspondences that are related to tax payments.

Pay As You Earn (PAYE) is the tax that must be withheld, declared and paid to Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) by any employer that makes available employment income to an employee. It must be declared and paid by the employer within the 15 days following the end of the month in which the employment income was paid. 

However, if the employer is not required to withhold and pay the PAYE tax, the employee is responsible for registering, declaring and paying the tax themselves.

The law distinguishes three categories of employees (permanent employees, casual laborers and employees with second employer) with distinct tax rates. Still, a 0% rate is applied on the first RWF 30,000 employment income paid to permanent employees and casual laborers.

Withholding tax is part of the direct taxes on income and reduces the amount of income tax liability on the annual declaration. The law distinguishes three types of withholding tax: 15% withholding on other payments by resident individuals or entities including tax-exempt ones, 3% withholding tax on payments of Public Institutions and 5% withholding tax on imports. 

The first two are paid by the withholding agent within the 15 days following the end of the month in which the payments were made, while the latter is paid at customs before goods are released.

Consumption tax is collected on some imported and locally manufactured products determined by the law. Taxable export products are exempted from this tax. It is calculated on the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) value for imported products upon arrival in Kigali while on locally manufactured products it is calculated on the selling price exclusive of taxes. 

The tax is payable when taxable locally manufactured products are cleared out of the factory for consumer use, and when taxable imported products are due for clearing at the customs under the customs system. 

The consumption tax on imports shall be paid concurrently with custom duties, while declaration and payment of consumption tax on locally manufactured products is due three times per month: 

• from 1 to 10 of the month: latest on the 15th of the same month; 
• from 11th to 20th of the month: latest on the 25th of the same month; and 
• from 21st towards the end of the month: latest the 5th of the next month.

Registration for VAT:

Any individual trader or company wihose total sales exceed RWF 20,000,000 in the previous fiscal year or RWF 5,000,000 in the preceding calendar quarter is required to register for VAT with the tax administration within a period of 7 days from the end of the year or from the end of the quarter mentioned above. However, any person who is not required to register for VAT is welcome to voluntarily register.

Declaration and payment of VAT:

VAT declaration is due within 15 days after the end of the period of the VAT whether there is an output tax to pay or the balance is in favor of the taxable person or where the balance is zero.

For taxpayers whose annual turnover is equal or less than RWF 200,000,000, the tax declaration of VAT is quarterly and is deposited with payment of the tax due within 15 days after the end of the quarter to which the VAT is referred. However, voluntary declaration on a monthly basis by any taxpayer is still possible.

Income tax can be classified into two categories: 

Corporate Income Tax levied on business profits received by entities. Entities subject to corporate income tax include: companies established in accordance with Rwandan or foreign law, cooperative societies and their branches, public business enterprises, partnerships, entities established by Districts, towns, municipalities and the city of Kigali to the extent that these entities conduct businesses. 

Business profit is taxable at a rate of 30%. 

Personal Income Tax levied on income received by an individual. All resident tax payers are liable to income tax which has a source in Rwanda.