The finance law 2026 Morocco companies must apply (Law No. 50-25) does not overhaul corporate taxation: it closes the corporate income tax reform launched in 2023, completes the VAT reform started in 2024 and concentrates its new measures on three fronts — the extension of withholding tax, stronger tax enforcement and the digitalisation of compliance obligations. For a company established in an industrial acceleration zone (IAZ) in Tangier, the regime specific to free zones is not modified; it is the general measures, applicable to all companies, that change day-to-day practice. This article details, tax by tax, what the Finance Law 2026 really changes, based on Circular Note No. 737 of the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI).
In brief. Finance Law No. 50-25 for 2026: target corporate income tax (CIT) scale (art. 19 of the General Tax Code) fully in force — 20%, 35% where net profit ≥ MAD 100 million (IAZ and CFC companies excluded), 40% for banks and insurers; extension of withholding tax for CIT and VAT to services rendered by legal entities and to business rents; 24-month extension of the VAT exemption on capital goods for projects under an agreement with the State; VAT reverse charge on new industrial waste; mandatory statement of non-resident suppliers; family allowance tax reduction raised to MAD 600; additional registration duty of 2% on transfers paid in cash from 1 July 2026. No change to the IAZ regime (art. 6-II-B-8° of the General Tax Code).
A question about your own situation? Message us on WhatsApp or book a consultation — reply within 24 hours.
What does the Finance Law 2026 contain for companies?
Finance Law No. 50-25 follows on from Framework Law No. 69-19 on tax reform. Circular Note No. 737 of the DGI recalls the timeline: the CIT reform was rolled out over four years (2023-2026) to unify rates, reduce the burden on SMEs and increase the contribution of large companies; the VAT reform, rolled out over three years (2024-2026), established two rates, 20% and 10%, and generalised the exemption of basic products; the 2025 income tax reform revised the scale for employees.
According to the DGI, the new measures for 2026 are organised around four pillars: integration of the informal sector and the fight against fraud; improvement of the business environment; adaptation and harmonisation of tax rules; consolidation of social cohesion. For a company director, this translates into few rate changes, but into new collection obligations (withholding taxes), new reporting obligations (statements, annexed schedules) and new formal requirements (electronic bookkeeping and electronic address).
CIT 2026: is the target scale definitively in place?
Yes. The Finance Law 2023 had organised a gradual convergence of rates over the 2023 to 2025 financial years (art. 247-XXXVII of the General Tax Code). For financial years opened from 2026 onwards, the scale of article 19-I applies without any transitional mechanism, and the Finance Law 2026 does not modify it.
| CIT rate 2026 | Scope (art. 19-I of the General Tax Code) |
|---|---|
| 20% | Standard rate, applicable to all companies not falling within the cases below |
| 35% | Companies whose net profit is equal to or greater than MAD 100,000,000, excluding service companies with CFC status, companies operating in industrial acceleration zones (art. 6-II-B-8°) and companies committing by agreement to invest at least MAD 1.5 billion |
| 40% | Credit institutions and similar bodies, Bank Al-Maghrib, CDG, insurance and reinsurance companies |
| 8% | Flat-rate tax on the amount of contracts excluding VAT, for non-resident companies awarded works contracts that have opted for this regime (art. 19-III) |
The MAD 100 million threshold is assessed over three consecutive financial years for the purpose of retaining the 20% rate, and an overrun due to non-recurring income does not move the company to the 35% rate. Details of withholding taxes and instalments can be found in our article on corporate income tax in Morocco in 2026.
The three CIT measures proper of the Finance Law 2026 are targeted: exemption from the 10% withholding tax on rental fees and similar remuneration paid to non-residents for the chartering, leasing and maintenance of vessels used in international maritime transport (art. 6-I-C-6°) — a competitiveness measure for port operators; transitional application of the standard rate (20% or 35%) to microfinance institutions converted into public limited companies (art. 19-I-C); and the obligation, for non-resident companies without an establishment in Morocco, to declare and pay CIT on their capital gains from the sale of real estate within thirty days following the month of the sale, electronically (art. 20-III and 170-VIII).
Withholding tax: the real novelty of the Finance Law 2026?
This is the structuring project of the year. The circular note presents the extension of withholding tax as a preventive approach: rather than waiting for the service provider’s tax return, a fraction of the tax is deducted by the payer at the time of settlement.
Services rendered by legal entities. Article 7 of the Finance Law 2026 amended articles 19-IV-A, 157-I and 117-V-c of the General Tax Code to extend withholding tax, for CIT and VAT purposes, to the remuneration of services rendered by legal entities subject to CIT. Until now, for legal entities, this withholding was applied only by the State, local authorities and public establishments. It is now also applied by credit institutions and insurance companies, then, progressively according to turnover excluding VAT for the last closed financial year, by other companies (transitional measure of art. 247-XXXXVI). The withholding party attaches a statement of amounts withheld to its remuneration return and pays the tax in the month following payment. For VAT, the withholding applies to the services listed in Schedule B annexed to the General Tax Code; the resulting tax credit for the service provider is refundable. The rates and the roll-out timetable appear in section VI of Circular Note No. 737.
Business rents. The same law extends withholding tax, for CIT and income tax purposes, to real estate rental income paid to legal entities subject to CIT and to individuals under the actual or simplified net income regime (art. 15 ter). The withholding is creditable against the tax due by the lessor; the tenant remits it in the month following payment, with a detailed statement, according to a progressive timetable based on its turnover.
In practice, a company invoicing a bank, an insurer or a large Moroccan principal will see part of its CIT and VAT withheld at source, with a cash-flow effect to anticipate; conversely, a company whose turnover exceeds the roll-out threshold itself becomes a withholding party on its service providers and its rents, with new monthly obligations. Our tax and social advisory team maps the flows concerned for each client.
VAT: which measures concern companies in 2026?
Beyond the social exemptions (short pasta, blood and blood derivatives, fertilising materials, imports of live animals), three VAT measures are of direct interest to companies.
Capital goods: additional period aligned at 24 months. The VAT exemption on domestic purchases and imports of capital goods (art. 92-I-6° and 123-22°) remains available for 36 months. The Finance Law 2026 aligns the additional periods, previously variable, at 24 months for all companies building their projects or carrying out a project under a valid agreement with the State. Condition: file, electronically and before the expiry of the 36 months, an extension request accompanied by the documents set out in Decree No. 2.25.1041 of 15 December 2025 (progress report or completion certificate from the architect, copy of the agreement, list of goods still to be acquired). The measure covers agreements signed from 1 January 2026 and projects that had not used up their 36 months as at 31 December 2025.
Reverse charge on new industrial waste. Since 1 January 2026, industrial processing companies subject to VAT must apply the reverse charge on their purchases of new industrial waste, metals and other recovered materials (art. 125 quinquies-II): they declare the amount excluding tax on their return for the month or quarter of payment, calculate the tax due and deduct it under the conditions of article 101; where there is a credit, the reverse-charged tax is nevertheless paid. The supplier invoices excluding VAT with the wording “Sale subject to the VAT reverse charge obligation in accordance with the provisions of article 125 quinquies-II of the General Tax Code”.
Statement of non-resident taxpayers. Where a non-resident service provider has not appointed a tax representative, its client established in Morocco declares and pays the VAT due (art. 115). The Finance Law 2026 requires it to attach to its return a statement of non-resident taxpayers in a format prescribed by the tax administration (art. 112), subject to the fines of article 204-III. Any company purchasing services from its parent company or from foreign providers is concerned. How the tax works in a zone is detailed in our article on VAT in free zones in Morocco.
Income tax and payroll: what changes for your employees?
The broadest measure affects every payroll: the income tax reduction for dependants increases from MAD 500 to MAD 600 per dependant per year, with the ceiling raised from MAD 3,000 to MAD 3,600, i.e. six dependants (art. 74-I), for income earned from 1 January 2026. The conditions are unchanged: children under 27 with no annual income exceeding the exempt bracket of the scale, i.e. MAD 40,000. Payroll software must have been configured from January; our article on payroll management in free zones in 2026 covers the full set of parameters.
Three other measures are of interest to employers and directors. Group supplementary retirement pensions paid by the CIMR to private-sector retirees are exempt from income tax (art. 57-27°), subject to the deduction conditions of article 28-III — individual contracts remaining excluded. Employees of companies with CFC status keep the 20% flat rate for ten years, whether continuous or not (art. 73-II-F-9°). Finally, income tax on gains from the sale of securities not held in an account with an authorised intermediary must be paid within thirty days following each sale (art. 84-I and 173-I), and foreign-source income from movable capital is subject to a specific annual return (art. 84 bis). An individual shareholder selling their SARL shares in 2026 is directly concerned by this deadline.
Registration duties and procedures: what is new?
Additional 2% duty on cash payments. From 1 July 2026, deeds transferring real estate for consideration at a price above MAD 300,000, and businesses (fonds de commerce) whatever the price, bear an additional registration duty of 2% where the deed does not state the terms and references of payment or where the price is not paid by one of the means accepted under article 11-II (non-endorsable crossed cheque, bill of exchange, bank transfer, electronic process, documented set-off). If only part of the price is paid in cash, the duty applies only to that part (art. 133-III).
Corporate groups. Group restructurings benefit from an exemption from registration duties on the assumption of transferred liabilities and from a fixed duty of MAD 1,000 on transfers of current assets. Sales of shares in companies predominantly holding real estate are subject to a reduced rate, and the exemption of other share sales requires a certificate confirming that the company does not predominantly hold real estate.
Formal obligations. Accounts must be kept in electronic format in accordance with the regulations (art. 145-I); each taxpayer provides the tax administration with an electronic address of their choice to receive notifications; companies in difficulty file an electronic return before any application for safeguard, receivership or liquidation (art. 150-III); and the statute of limitations is lifted where the conditions of a tax benefit granted with guarantees are not met. The social solidarity contribution on profits and income is also extended.
Does the Finance Law 2026 modify the industrial acceleration zone regime?
No, and that is information in itself. The 2026 edition of the General Tax Code reproduces article 6-II-B-8° without modification: companies operating in industrial acceleration zones governed by Law No. 19-94 benefit from a total CIT exemption during the first five consecutive financial years from the start of their operations, and are then taxed according to the company’s situation. The footnote of the General Tax Code links this paragraph to the Finance Law 2020: no subsequent finance law has amended it. The exclusion of IAZ companies from the 35% rate (art. 19-I-B-2°) is also unchanged, as is the exemption of companies involved in the development and operation of the Tangier-Mediterranean special development zone (art. 6-II-B-9°).
The minimum contribution is not modified either: 0.25% of income, minimum of MAD 3,000, exemption for the first 36 months of operation capped at 60 months after incorporation (art. 144) — see our article on the minimum contribution in Morocco. Withholding tax on dividends is set at 11.25% in 2026, then 10% from 2027 (art. 19-IV-B), subject to tax treaties.
The Finance Law 2026 therefore contains few measures specific to IAZs: neither new exemption nor new restriction. On the other hand, several general measures affect them directly, because they concern flows — services, rents, purchases from abroad, industrial waste — rather than rates. Our page on tax and social benefits in free zones presents the full regime.
In concrete terms, what changes for an IAZ company in Tangier?
Take an industrial company established in Tanger Free Zone, an equipment supplier in Tanger Automotive City — zones developed and managed by Tanger Med Zones, a subsidiary of TMSA — or a project being set up in Tanger Tech, 467 ha of which have been designated as an industrial acceleration zone. The firm’s office is located in Tanger Free Zone (Espace N°27, Lot 43B), a few minutes from these sites.
| Finance Law 2026 measure | Impact for an IAZ company in Tangier | Action to take |
|---|---|---|
| Target CIT scale (art. 19) | Exemption for the first five financial years unchanged; beyond that, taxation according to the company’s situation, with exclusion from the 35% rate | Check the start-of-operations date used and the count of financial years |
| Withholding tax on services | A service company invoicing a bank, an insurer or a large Moroccan group suffers CIT and VAT withholding; a company exceeding the roll-out threshold becomes a withholding party on its service providers | Identify the clients and suppliers concerned, adapt invoicing and the monitoring of tax compliance certificates |
| Withholding tax on rents | Tenant in the zone: withholding to be applied on rents paid to a corporate lessor once within the timetable; lessor: withholding suffered, creditable | List the leases and integrate the withholding into the payment process |
| VAT reverse charge on new industrial waste | Directly applicable to processing manufacturers (automotive, wiring, textiles) buying offcuts, scrap and recovered metals | Configure the VAT return and the mandatory wording on invoices |
| Statement of non-resident taxpayers | Any company purchasing services from its parent company or from foreign providers | Keep a register of non-resident providers from the first invoice |
| VAT exemption on capital goods + 24 months | Industrial projects under an agreement signed in 2026 or under construction as at 31 December 2025 | File the extension request before the expiry of the 36 months |
| MAD 600 reduction for dependants | All payrolls | Check the January 2026 configuration |
| 2% registration duty | Acquisition of premises or businesses outside the zone | State the payment references in the deed |
| Electronic accounts and electronic address | All companies | Provide the electronic address; ensure the accounting system produces the accounting entries file |
Two points deserve particular attention in Tangier. First, the combination of the zone regime and withholding tax: an IAZ company most often invoices foreign clients, outside the scope of the withholding, but as soon as it renders services to a client established in Morocco that falls within the roll-out timetable, the withholding applies to it as to any legal entity. Second, the industrial nature of the local fabric: the reverse charge on new industrial waste affects precisely the dominant activities of Tanger Automotive City and Tanger Free Zone. A free zone chartered accountant in Tangier integrates both dimensions from the January review onwards.
Common mistakes after a finance law
Confusing a new finance law with a new rate. The CIT scale did not change in 2026; it is the collection procedures that are evolving.
Ignoring withholding suffered. A company that does not track the withholdings applied by its clients loses credits against CIT and fails to claim the refund of its VAT credit.
Forgetting the statement of non-residents. The obligation is now expressly sanctioned; subsidiaries of foreign groups are exposed to it with every intragroup invoice.
Invoicing new industrial waste with VAT. Since 1 January 2026, the supplier invoices excluding tax with the legal wording; the industrial buyer applies the reverse charge.
Letting the 36-month deadline pass. The 24-month extension must be requested before the expiry of the initial period, with supporting documents.
Paying for premises in cash. From 1 July 2026, this means an additional 2% in registration duties.
Need advice on this topic? Cabinet Dami & Associés, chartered accountants with offices in Tangier and Casablanca, will reply within 24 hours.
How Cabinet Dami & Associés supports companies in 2026
From its office in Tanger Free Zone, the firm carries out a “finance law” review for its clients at the start of the year: mapping of flows subject to withholding tax (clients, suppliers, leases), payroll and VAT configuration, compliance of the electronic accounting system, follow-up of exemption extension requests. For companies in the process of being formed, the analysis is integrated from the choice of structure onwards; see our guide to company formation in Tangier.
FAQ — Finance Law 2026 and companies in Morocco
What is the corporate income tax rate in Morocco in 2026?
20% as the standard rate; 35% for companies whose net profit reaches 100 million dirhams, excluding IAZ companies, CFC companies and large investment agreements; 40% for credit institutions and insurers (art. 19 of the General Tax Code). The Finance Law 2026 did not modify these rates.
Does the Finance Law 2026 change the free zone regime?
No. Article 6-II-B-8° of the General Tax Code, which provides for a total CIT exemption during the first five financial years followed by taxation according to the company’s situation, has not been modified, nor has the exclusion of IAZ companies from the 35% rate.
What is the new withholding tax on services?
A CIT and VAT withholding applied by the client on the remuneration of services rendered by legal entities, first by the State, banks and insurers, then progressively by other companies according to their turnover. The rates and the timetable appear in Circular Note No. 737 of the DGI.
What must a manufacturer buying new industrial waste do?
Apply the VAT reverse charge on its own return for the month or quarter of payment and deduct it under the conditions of article 101; the supplier invoices excluding tax with the wording referring to article 125 quinquies-II.
When does the additional 2% registration duty apply?
To deeds executed from 1 July 2026 transferring real estate worth more than MAD 300,000 or businesses (fonds de commerce), where the price is paid in cash or without payment references in the deed; it applies only to the fraction paid in cash.
Conclusion
The Finance Law 2026 is a law of consolidation for Moroccan companies: CIT scale stabilised, VAT reform completed, industrial acceleration zone regime intact. Its real scope is measured in processes — withholding taxes to apply and to track, reverse charge, statements, electronic bookkeeping — far more than in rates. For a company in Tanger Free Zone, Tanger Automotive City or Tanger Tech, the challenge of 2026 is to integrate these obligations without losing the tax credits they generate. Cabinet Dami & Associés supports its clients through this update, under both regimes, from Tangier.
Official sources: Circular Note No. 737 on the tax measures of Finance Law No. 50-25 for the 2026 budget year (Directorate General of Taxes) ; General Tax Code, 2026 edition, articles 6, 19, 20, 74, 84, 92, 112, 115, 123, 125 quinquies, 133, 144, 145, 150, 157, 170 and 247.
The information in this article is provided for guidance only and may change as laws and regulations evolve. For an analysis tailored to your situation, contact Cabinet Dami & Associés — Tanger Free Zone: +212 539-39-81-18.
