Egypt Corporate Tax Rate and Filing Requirements (2026 Guide)

Egypt has moved faster on tax digitisation than almost anywhere else in the region. While Gulf states were introducing VAT, Egypt was already building mandatory electronic invoicing and receipt systems that now govern how businesses document nearly every transaction. For any company operating there, understanding both the rates and the reporting infrastructure is essential.

The corporate tax rate

Egypt's standard corporate income tax rate is 22.5 percent on net taxable profits. It applies to resident companies on worldwide income and to non-resident companies on Egyptian-sourced income attributable to a permanent establishment.

A materially different regime applies to oil and gas exploration and production, where rates are substantially higher and governed by concession agreements rather than the general law. The Suez Canal Authority and Central Bank operate under their own arrangements.

The administering body is the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA).

The SME regime that many businesses miss

Egypt operates a simplified tax regime for small and micro enterprises under dedicated SME legislation. Rather than the standard 22.5 percent on profit, qualifying businesses are taxed on a turnover-based schedule, with the liability scaling by annual revenue band.

For a genuinely small business, this is usually simpler and often cheaper: it removes much of the profit-computation burden and the associated audit exposure. Eligibility depends on turnover thresholds and registration under the relevant law.

If your Egyptian revenue is modest and you are being taxed under the standard regime, ask an accountant whether you qualify. Businesses default into the standard regime through inaction rather than assessment.

VAT: 14 percent

Egypt's value added tax standard rate is 14 percent. Reduced rates apply to specific categories, and a schedule of exemptions covers basic foodstuffs, certain medical supplies and education among others. A separate table tax (schedule tax) applies to particular goods and services at specified rates.

Registration is mandatory above a turnover threshold, with voluntary registration available below it.

E-invoicing: mandatory and enforced

This is the part that distinguishes Egypt. The ETA operates a national electronic invoicing system for B2B transactions and an electronic receipt system for B2C, and both have been rolled out in mandatory phases.

What compliance requires in practice:

• Registration on the ETA portal and possession of a valid electronic signature
• Invoices issued in the prescribed structured format, not as a PDF or paper document
• Submission to the ETA system, which validates and returns a Unique Identification Number (UUID) for each document
• Use of standardised item coding — GS1 or the ETA's own coding scheme — rather than free-text descriptions

The consequences of non-compliance are commercial before they are legal. A buyer cannot deduct input VAT on an invoice that was not issued through the system. So a supplier who is not compliant is a supplier whose invoices cost their customers money — and those customers stop buying.

The item-coding requirement catches people out most. "Consulting services" as a free-text line will not validate; the item must map to a recognised code. Setting up your item catalogue correctly at the start saves considerable pain.

Withholding tax on local payments

Separately from the tax on non-residents, Egypt applies withholding at source on domestic payments between resident businesses. Rates are modest — commonly ranging from around 0.5 percent to 5 percent depending on the nature of the supply — but they apply broadly, including to services, contracting and supplies of goods.

As with any withholding regime: invoice the gross, expect the net, and collect the withholding certificate. The amounts are creditable against your own corporate tax liability, but only if you hold the documentation.

A worked example

A Cairo software company has EGP 5,000,000 revenue and EGP 3,200,000 of deductible costs:

• Revenue: EGP 5,000,000
• Deductible expenses: EGP 3,200,000
• Taxable profit: EGP 1,800,000
• Corporate tax at 22.5%: EGP 405,000

On a single client invoice of EGP 200,000 for services:

• Service value: EGP 200,000
• VAT at 14%: EGP 28,000
• Invoice total: EGP 228,000
• Withholding deducted by the client at the applicable rate on the service value
• Net cash received is correspondingly lower, with the withheld amount creditable later

The VAT calculator separates the 14 percent component cleanly, and the profit margin calculator helps you see the profit figure the 22.5 percent actually applies to.

The currency dimension

The Egyptian pound has undergone significant devaluation in recent years, and this has direct consequences for how you contract:

• Long-term EGP contracts carry real erosion risk. A twelve-month fixed-price agreement can lose meaningful value in real terms.
• Imported input costs move faster than your prices. If your costs are dollar-linked and your revenue is pound-denominated, margin compresses without any operational change.
• Foreign-currency invoicing may be restricted depending on the transaction and counterparty; banking rules around foreign currency have been tightened at various points.

Practical responses: shorten pricing validity periods on quotations, include a currency-adjustment clause on longer contracts, and re-run your break-even regularly rather than annually. The currency converter and break-even calculator are both relevant here.

Common mistakes

1. Treating e-invoicing as optional or deferrable. It is neither, and your customers will enforce it before the ETA does. 2. Using free-text item descriptions. They fail validation. Map your catalogue to proper codes. 3. Missing the SME regime. Many small businesses pay standard-regime tax unnecessarily. 4. Not collecting withholding certificates. The credit is worthless without documentation. 5. Fixed-price long-term EGP contracts without adjustment clauses. Currency movement does the damage silently. 6. Assuming VAT registration covers e-invoicing registration. They are separate enrolments.

Frequently asked questions

Does e-invoicing apply to small businesses? The mandate has been extended in phases and now covers a very broad population of registered taxpayers. Assume you are in scope and verify with the ETA rather than assuming exemption.

What is the deadline for filing the corporate tax return? Annual returns are generally due within four months of the financial year end. Late filing attracts penalties and interest.

Can foreign companies invoice Egyptian clients without a local entity? Yes, but consider permanent establishment risk, withholding on payments to non-residents, and your client's ability to process a non-ETA invoice. Many Egyptian companies now find it administratively difficult to pay suppliers outside the electronic system.

Is there a tax on dividends? Egypt applies tax on dividend distributions, with rates depending on shareholder type and listing status. Check current treatment before planning a distribution.

Does the SME regime remove VAT obligations? No. The simplified income tax regime does not exempt you from VAT registration and compliance if you exceed the VAT threshold.

Practical next step

If you operate in Egypt: verify your e-invoicing enrolment status, confirm your item catalogue is properly coded, and ask whether the SME regime applies to you. Those three checks address the majority of avoidable problems.

For documentation, the free invoice generator produces invoices in EGP, in Arabic or English, with 14 percent VAT handled automatically (you type each invoice number yourself) — useful for quotations, proformas and internal records alongside your ETA-submitted documents.

This guide explains the framework, not your specific filing obligations. Egyptian tax rules and e-invoicing phase coverage change with ministerial decree; confirm your position with a local accountant.

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