If you run a business in Tanzania, you're not dealing with one tax deadline a year — you're dealing with a rolling calendar of monthly, quarterly, and annual filings across corporate tax, VAT, PAYE, and statutory contributions. Miss one and the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) doesn't wait: penalties and interest accrue automatically, often before you've even noticed the return is late.
This is the reference calendar we keep our own clients on. Bookmark it, or better, build it into your own compliance calendar so nothing depends on memory.
Monthly Deadlines
These recur every single month, regardless of your company's financial year-end.
| Obligation | Due Date |
|---|---|
| VAT return & payment | Last working day of the month following the tax period |
| PAYE (employee income tax) remittance | 7th day of the month following the payroll month |
| Withholding tax (WHT) remittance | 7th day of the month following the month of deduction |
| Skills Development Levy (SDL) | 7th day of the month following the payroll month (employers with 10+ employees) |
| NSSF employer & employee contributions | 30th day of the month following the contribution month |
| Workers Compensation Fund (WCF) contribution | Monthly, aligned with payroll remittance |
Quarterly Deadlines
Companies pay corporate income tax in advance through quarterly instalments, based on an estimate of annual taxable income filed at the start of the year on the Statement of Estimated Tax Payable.
| Instalment | Due Date (for a 31 Dec year-end) |
|---|---|
| 1st quarterly instalment | 31 March |
| 2nd quarterly instalment | 30 June |
| 3rd quarterly instalment | 30 September |
| 4th quarterly instalment | 31 December |
If your accounting period doesn't run to a calendar year, these instalment dates shift accordingly — each instalment falls on the last day of the 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th month of your accounting period.
Annual Deadlines
| Obligation | Due Date |
|---|---|
| Final corporate income tax return (with audited accounts) | Six months after the end of the accounting period |
| Statement of Estimated Tax Payable | Within three months of the start of the accounting period |
| BRELA annual return | Within 60 days of the company's AGM, or as prescribed for the company type |
What Happens If You Miss a Deadline
TRA's penalty regime is designed to make lateness expensive quickly, not to give you room to catch up:
- Late filing penalty — a fixed penalty applies per month or part-month the return is outstanding, calculated as a percentage of the tax due or a statutory minimum, whichever is higher.
- Late payment interest — interest accrues on unpaid tax from the due date until settlement, compounding the longer it's outstanding.
- Compliance risk — a pattern of late or amended filings is one of the signals TRA uses when selecting businesses for audit.
None of this is a one-time cost. A business that's chronically a week or two late on VAT and PAYE every month is quietly paying a recurring compliance tax that a proper calendar and reminder system would eliminate entirely.
Building This Into Your Own Compliance Calendar
The businesses that never miss a deadline don't rely on memory — they build the calendar above into whatever system they already use (shared calendar, accounting software reminders, or a dedicated compliance tracker), assign a named person as owner for each obligation, and separate "prepare" deadlines (a few working days before the due date) from "file" deadlines so there's always a buffer.
Never chase a deadline again.
We handle the filing calendar for our tax and audit clients as standard — you get a reminder before anything is due, not a penalty notice after.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I file VAT or PAYE late in Tanzania?
TRA applies a late-filing penalty and interest on the outstanding tax for each month or part-month the return remains unfiled or unpaid, in addition to the tax itself. Persistent late filing can also trigger a compliance audit.
When is corporate income tax due in Tanzania?
A final corporate income tax return is due six months after the end of a company's accounting period, with quarterly provisional/instalment tax payments due during the year based on estimated annual income.
How often is VAT filed in Tanzania?
VAT returns are filed monthly, due by the last working day of the month following the month of trading, with payment due at the same time as the return.
Related reading: PAYE, NSSF, SDL & WCF: the complete employer payroll guide and is your company legally required to be audited in Tanzania?
This calendar reflects filing frequencies and due-date rules published by the Tanzania Revenue Authority and BRELA at the time of writing, and is provided for general informational purposes rather than as tax or legal advice. Specific rates, penalty amounts and deadlines can change with each Finance Act; verify current requirements with TRA or with us before relying on any date for a specific filing. Contact Aligned Business Consultancy for a compliance calendar built around your specific accounting period.