Calendar of Business Tax Obligations in Morocco in 2026

A business’s tax obligations in Morocco in 2026 are not limited to the well-known 31 March deadline. Depending on its activity, legal form, turnover and workforce, a business must follow several calendars: corporate income tax, VAT, payroll withholding tax, business tax and other withholding taxes. The deadlines arise primarily from the General Tax Code, as updated by the Finance Law for 2026, and from Law No. 47-06 on local authority taxation, which was substantially reorganised by Law No. 07-20.

Finance Law No. 50-25 for the 2026 budget year must be read together with the transitional provisions already introduced by previous finance laws. This applies in particular to the gradual reform of corporate income tax rates scheduled through 2026 under Article 247 of the GTC. In practice, the 2026 version of the Code and the circular note published by the General Tax Directorate must be used, rather than reusing the tax settings from a previous financial year.

For corporate income tax, the trajectory initiated in 2023 should in principle result in a standard rate of 20% for companies whose net taxable profit is below 100 million dirhams. The target rate is 35% where that profit reaches or exceeds 100 million dirhams, subject to special regimes and smoothing rules. Credit institutions, Bank Al-Maghrib, CDG and certain insurance companies are subject to the specific 40% rate provided for in Article 19 of the GTC.

Be cautious about calendars shared on social media. A date announced by a firm or media outlet does not replace either the GTC or an official DGI notice. Accordingly, a financial year ending on 30 June 2026 normally results in a filing deadline of 30 September 2026, because Article 20 allows three months following the year-end. 1 October becomes a valid date only if an official extension or an effectively applicable rollover rule has been published.

Article 170 of the GTC provides for four advance instalments, each equal to 25% of the tax payable for the latest completed financial year, known as the reference financial year. For a company subject to the minimum contribution, the reference amount used is the tax actually payable in accordance with the rules of that article. If the financial year coincides with the calendar year, the 2026 deadlines fall on 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. A non-calendar financial year results in different dates.

Consider a company whose reference corporate income tax is 120,000 dirhams. Each instalment amounts to 30,000 dirhams and must be paid before the end of each three-month period of the current financial year. This business will therefore pay 120,000 dirhams over the year and then compare this amount with the final corporate income tax upon final assessment. The calculation must be based on the validated return, not on a provisional estimate of accounting profit.

Where a business estimates that the final tax will be lower than the instalments normally payable, the GTC allows certain payments to be reduced or suspended, subject to the conditions of Article 170. This decision is risky if the forecast proves overly optimistic: penalties for late collection will then apply to the shortfall. In practice, turnover, expenses, tax loss carryforwards and exceptional transactions must be documented before reducing an instalment.

A recently incorporated company generally pays no instalments during its first financial year because it has no reference financial year. It must nevertheless assess the corporate income tax or any minimum contribution payable when filing its first return. Another pitfall is that settlement of the annual balance does not eliminate previous late payments of instalments. Each late payment retains its own due date and may generate surcharges calculated from that date.

The employer calculates income tax on taxable wages, salaries, allowances and benefits in accordance with Articles 56 to 60 and the schedule in Article 73 of the GTC. It deducts the exemptions and deductions permitted by law and then withholds the tax when the salary is paid. The tax calculation must not be confused with CNSS and AMO contributions, which are subject to separate declarations and deadlines with the National Social Security Fund.

The amounts withheld are paid to the DGI during the month following the month of payment, in accordance with Article 174 of the GTC. Accordingly, income tax withheld from January 2026 salaries must be paid by the end of February 2026. The employer uses the withholding tax return available through Simpl-IR. Even where a service provider prepares the payslips, the tax liability and filing responsibility remain with the employer.

Article 79 of the GTC also requires an annual wages and salaries return to be filed before 1 March of the following year. For remuneration paid in 2025, the statutory deadline is therefore 28 February 2026. This employee-by-employee return states, in particular, each employee’s identity, identification number, gross remuneration, exempt items, deductions and tax withheld. It remains mandatory even if all monthly withholdings have already been paid.

Termination payments, benefits in kind, directors’ remuneration, foreign employees and salary back payments require particular scrutiny. Their classification may change the tax base, the allocation month or the treatment of an exemption. For the 2026 parameters, the payroll department must check Article 73 in the updated GTC and the DGI circular note rather than automatically reusing an old schedule. An error repeated across twelve payslips can quickly become costly during an audit.

Articles 155 and 169 of the General Tax Code (CGI) respectively govern electronic filing and electronic payment. The former threshold of ten million dirhams, still mentioned on some pages, relates to an earlier deployment phase and should not be presented as the general rule in 2026. Companies and professionals covered by the widespread implementation requirement must use the DGI’s electronic services, unless an exemption or special procedure is expressly permitted by the tax authority.

The business must first activate its business portal account, link its tax identifier, designate authorised users and register the bank account to be used for electronic payments. It then accesses the Simpl-IS, Simpl-TVA and Simpl-IR services or their integrated interface on the tax portal. Authorisations must be reviewed whenever an accountant, employee or accounting firm leaves the business. In practice, allowing a former service provider to retain active access creates a risk of uncontrolled filings and access to confidential data.

For each return, the business must prepare the trial balance, journals, invoices, bank statements, material contracts and reconciliation schedules. The corporate income tax package also requires a reconciliation of accounting profit or loss with taxable profit or loss. VAT requires a reconciliation of invoices, receipts where required under the applicable scheme, deductions and supplier payments. For salaries, payslips, payroll records, contracts, exemption supporting documents and CNSS returns must be consistent.

A return is secure only once an acknowledgement of receipt bearing a reference number and date has been issued. A frozen page or a file remaining “under processing” does not prove that filing occurred. In the event of an incident, timestamped screenshots must be taken, the prepared file must be retained, a complaint must be submitted to the DGI and the competent tax department must be contacted before the deadline. An exceptional paper filing should be considered only with the tax authority’s approval or written instructions.

In January 2026, the business prepares the tax package for the financial year ending in December, files the monthly returns for December 2025 and, where applicable, the VAT return for the fourth quarter of 2025. It also reviews the obligations concerning professional tax assessment items before 31 January. In February, it deals with the January returns and files the 2025 annual salary return before 1 March. Waiting until the final week of March to begin preparing the tax package is rarely prudent.

31 March is the main deadline for companies closing their accounts on 31 December: filing of the tax return, payment of the balance and the first instalment for the 2026 financial year. The other instalments fall due on 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. VAT returns and salary withholding obligations continue monthly or quarterly. A company closing its accounts on another date must reconstruct the calendar based on the start of its own financial year.

The most common errors are very practical: overlooking the minimum contribution during a loss-making period, confusing the annual salary return with monthly payments, reducing an instalment without a reliable forecast, or believing that a rejected bank instruction constitutes payment. Another common mistake is for the business to amend its accounting return without filing the corresponding amended tax return. A monitoring table should assign each obligation to a responsible person and include an earlier internal deadline and proof of final filing.

A tax lawyer intervenes mainly where the issue goes beyond accounting data entry: determining the legal treatment of a transaction, cross-border withholding tax, permanent establishment, merger, restructuring, refund request, penalty waiver or response to a formal notice. The lawyer also verifies procedural safeguards during an audit. This assistance does not replace the accountant’s daily work, but it provides legal certainty regarding the interpretation of the law and contentious dealings with the tax authority.

The DGI’s electronic services do not charge administrative fees for filing a return. The fees charged by an accountant, accounting firm or lawyer are freely set and vary according to the volume of entries, turnover, number of employees and international complexity. An engagement letter should be requested specifying whether bookkeeping, the tax package, electronic payments, amended returns and assistance during an audit are included. The heaviest cost often remains that of a delay discovered several months after the deadline.