Ghana Withholding Tax Calculator
The tax to withhold from a payment in Ghana, at GRA’s rate for the payee and the payment.
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Ghana · GRA withholding tax Rates for resident and non-resident payees · VAT withholding 7% · Sources
How the tax is worked out
| This payment | Amount |
|---|
Where the money goes
| Paid | Amount |
|---|
File the return and pay the tax withheld within 15 days after the end of the month, and give the payee a withholding tax certificate (a withholding VAT certificate for VAT withheld).
All of GRA’s withholding rates
| Payment | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Supply of goods Above GH₵2,000 a year | 3% | On account |
| Supply of works Above GH₵2,000 a year | 5% | On account |
| Supply of services by an entity (company, partnership, trust) Above GH₵2,000 a year | 7.5% | On account |
| Supply of general services by an individual | 7.5% | On account |
| Fees or allowances to directors, managers, board members and trustees | 20% | On account |
| Commission to insurance, sales, canvassing and lotto agents | 10% | On account |
| Fees to invigilators, examiners, part-time teachers or lecturers, and endorsement fees | 10% | Final |
| Dividends | 8% | Final |
| Interest (not to individuals or resident financial institutions) | 8% | On account |
| Rent on residential property | 8% | Final |
| Rent on non-residential (commercial) property | 15% | Final |
| Payments to petroleum subcontractors | 7.5% | Final |
| Payments for unprocessed precious minerals | 3% | On account |
| Royalties and natural resource payments | 15% | On account |
| Payment | Rate | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Goods, works or any services | 20% | Final |
| Management and technical service fees | 20% | Final |
| Royalties, natural resource payments and rents | 15% | Final |
| Income from a telecommunication or transportation business | 15% | Final |
| Payments to petroleum subcontractors | 15% | Final |
| Dividends | 8% | Final |
| Interest (not to individuals) | 8% | Final |
| General insurance premiums | 5% | Final |
| Repatriated branch after-tax profits | 8% | Final |
Payments to non-residents are final unless received through a Ghanaian permanent establishment.
Rules used and official sources
- Ghana Revenue Authority: Withholding Tax (WHT) — rates for resident and non-resident payees
- Ghana Revenue Authority: Practice Note on Withholding of Tax — threshold, tax base, due date, certificate
- Ghana Revenue Authority: VAT Administrative Guidelines for the Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151) — computation, tax fractions, registration, VAT withholding
- Ghana Revenue Authority: Value Added Tax (VAT) — VAT, NHIL and GETFund Levy on the same value
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Tax rules and rates change. This calculator follows the rules described on this page and may not cover every situation. Check the official source or a qualified tax professional before filing or invoicing.
How this tool is checked
- Based on
- the rules of Ghana.
- Sources
-
This guide cites 3 sources:
- Tests
- 13 automated tests check its results.
- Found an error?
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About the Ghana Withholding Tax Calculator
Work out the withholding tax to take from a payment in Ghana. Choose whether the payee is resident and what the payment is for — goods, works, services, directors' fees, commission, rent, dividends, interest, royalties, management fees and more — and the calculator applies the Ghana Revenue Authority's rate, leaves VAT, NHIL and GETFund out of the tax base, applies the GH₵2,000 threshold for supplies of goods, works and services, and can gross a payment up when the payer bears the tax.
It also works out VAT withholding for an appointed VAT withholding agent, what the payee receives and what goes to GRA, and says whether the tax is final or a credit for the payee. Nothing you type leaves your browser. Without a pass the page shows a free preview of your own result: the tax to withhold, with the first rows of each table, while every other figure stays hidden until you unlock it with a Pro pass.
How to use it
- Choose whether the payee is a resident or a non-resident, and what the payment is for.
- Enter the payment. Tick the box when it includes VAT, NHIL and GETFund; for goods, works and services, add the contracts already paid this year for the same supply.
- Open More options to gross the payment up or to add VAT withholding by an appointed agent.
- Read the tax to withhold, the working and where the money goes. With a Pro pass, or after unlocking this result, you can copy the summary or download the working as a CSV file; without one the page shows a free preview.
Examples
7.5%: GH₵750.00 withheld · GH₵9,250.00 to the company.
The third payment takes the year to GH₵2,800: 3% of GH₵2,800 = GH₵84.00 withheld from it.
Nothing was withheld from the first two: the year’s contracts were not over GH₵2,000 yet.
Withholding tax GH₵4,916.67 (5% of GH₵98,333.34) · VAT withheld GH₵6,883.33 · the contractor is paid GH₵106,200.00.
Grossed up to GH₵62,500.00: GH₵12,500.00 (20%) to GRA, GH₵50,000 to the payee.
How withholding works
A resident person other than an individual withholds tax on the gross amount of a payment to another resident for goods, works or services; every resident person, an individual too, withholds on service fees to resident individuals (directors' fees, part-time teaching and examining, endorsement fees, commission and other services); a resident person withholds on payments to non-residents for goods, works, services and insurance; and dividends, interest, rent, royalties and natural resource payments are withheld at source, except when an individual pays them outside a business or interest is paid to a resident financial institution (GRA: Practice Note on Withholding of Tax). The base is the gross amount without deducting expenses, and without the VAT in it. The withholding agent files a return and pays the tax within 15 days after the end of the month — a nil return in a month with nothing withheld — and gives the payee a withholding tax certificate.
Final tax or a credit
Withholding is final on dividends paid by a resident company, rent outside a business of letting, payments to petroleum subcontractors, fees for examining, part-time teaching and endorsements, and payments to non-residents unless they come through a Ghanaian permanent establishment (GRA: Withholding Tax). Any other tax withheld counts as paid by the payee, who takes a credit for it against their own income tax for the year.
The GH₵2,000 threshold
A payment for goods, works or services of GH₵2,000 or less attracts no withholding tax, and two or more contracts in the same year for the same goods, works or services count as one. Once they exceed GH₵2,000, tax is withheld on the whole of them: GRA's practice note shows contracts of GH₵1,000, GH₵900 and GH₵900 — the third payment is taxed on GH₵2,800, not GH₵900. Service fees to resident individuals have no threshold.
GRA’s main rates
For residents: goods 3%, works 5%, services by an entity and general services by an individual 7.5%, directors' and board fees 20%, commission to agents 10%, examining and part-time teaching 10%, dividends and interest 8%, residential rent 8%, non-residential rent 15%. For non-residents: management and technical fees and goods, works or services 20%, royalties, natural resource payments and rents 15%, dividends 8%, general insurance premiums 5%. The tool lists every rate under "All of GRA’s withholding rates".
VAT withholding
An appointed VAT withholding agent withholds 7% of the taxable value of a local taxable supply when it pays, pays it to GRA by the 15th of the next month and gives the supplier a withholding VAT certificate; the supplier is paid the taxable value, the other 8% and the levies (GRA: VAT Administrative Guidelines). The Commissioner-General can exempt a supplier with a good tax record from withholding, in writing.
Limitations
- Uses GRA’s published rates; a double taxation agreement may lower the rate on a payment to a non-resident, which is not applied here.
- The GH₵2,000 threshold is applied to the earlier contracts you enter for the same supply; whether two contracts are for the same goods, works or services is yours to judge.
- Gross-up is worked out for a payment without VAT, and not for a payment that first takes the year’s contracts over GH₵2,000.
- Payments GRA’s practice note exempts are not picked out: goods that are trading stock of both the seller and the buyer, premiums paid to a resident insurance company, interest paid to a resident financial institution, dividends a resident company pays to a resident company controlling at least 25% of its voting power, and payments to suppliers GRA has exempted in writing. No tax is withheld on them.
- When the tax on all of the year’s contracts is more than the payment that takes them over GH₵2,000, nothing is left for the payee and the payer pays GRA the rest itself; the calculator shows that part on its own line.
- An estimate from GRA’s published rules, not tax advice.
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Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Ghana Withholding Tax Calculator shows the tax to withhold in full, with the first rows of the working and of where the money goes (up to 3 each); every other figure is hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment unless you choose automatic renewal, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
What are the withholding tax rates in Ghana?
For residents: 3% on goods, 5% on works and 7.5% on services (above GH₵2,000 a year for each), 20% on directors' fees, 10% on commission, 8% on dividends and interest, 8% on residential and 15% on commercial rent. For non-residents, mostly 20%, with 15% on royalties and rents and 8% on dividends.
Is withholding tax worked out on the amount with VAT?
No. The tax base is the gross amount without any VAT (or Communications Service Tax) in the payment, so take VAT, NHIL and GETFund out first; the calculator does it when you tick the box.
Do I withhold on small payments?
Not for goods, works or services while the year's contracts for the same supply come to GH₵2,000 or less. Once they exceed it, withhold on all of them. Service fees to resident individuals, rent, dividends and the other investment payments have no threshold.
When must withholding tax be paid?
Within 15 days after the end of the month in which it was withheld, with the monthly return, and the payee gets a withholding tax certificate.
Is what I type sent anywhere?
No. Everything is worked out in your browser; nothing you enter is uploaded or stored on a server.