VAT Calculator
Tanzania: standard rate: 18%
VAT Calculator calculates the VAT amount as well as the price with and without VAT. The VAT % is pre-filled, but you can change it or clear the value. The results are rounded to your desired precision. You can also make a currency conversion.
You can also choose the VAT% by clicking the percentages in the tables below.
Tanzania | |
| standard rate | 18% Most taxable goods and services supplied in or imported into Mainland Tanzania unless they qualify for zero-rating or an exemption. From 1 July 2026, air charter services are also subject to the standard rate following the expiry of their VAT exemption. |
The standard VAT rate in Mainland Tanzania is 18%. A 16% rate was legislated for certain standard-rated supplies to customers who are not VAT-registered where payment is made through a bank or an approved electronic payment system. The provision formally took effect on 1 September 2025, but practical application remains pending a separate notice from the Commissioner General specifying the eligible persons and implementation procedures, according to information checked in September 2026. Zanzibar, which is part of Tanzania, has its own VAT rates.
| Upcoming changes: | |
| 1 Jul 2027 | Under current legislation, the temporary VAT exemptions for supplies of double-refined edible oil manufactured locally from locally grown seeds and locally manufactured garments made from locally grown cotton expire after 30 June 2027. Clyde & Co, Finance Act 2026 |
| 1 Jul 2028 | Under current legislation, the temporary zero rating of locally manufactured fertiliser expires after 30 June 2028. EY, Tanzanian Finance Act 2025 |
| Past changes: | |
| 1 Jul 2026 | Locally manufactured garments made from locally grown cotton cease to be zero-rated and instead become VAT-exempt through 30 June 2027. The change removes the normal input VAT recovery associated with zero-rated sales. Clyde & Co, Finance Act 2026 |
| 1 Jul 2025 | The zero rate on locally manufactured fertiliser is extended through 30 June 2028. The zero rate on locally manufactured garments made from locally grown cotton is extended through 30 June 2026. EY, Tanzanian Finance Act 2025 |
| 1 Jul 2024 | Supplies of gold to the Bank of Tanzania and to licensed refineries in Mainland Tanzania become zero-rated. Several new sector-specific VAT exemptions are also introduced. EY, Tanzanian Finance Act 2024 |
Note! The VAT information on this page is general information, not tax advice. The information is not exhaustive. VAT rules include many exceptions and special cases. Check the treatment of your situation in the tax administration's guidelines. Information last checked 6 Oct 2026. If you find errors in the information, please let us know. Read our editorial principles.
Tanzania, Zanzibar | ||
| higher rate | 18% | |
| standard rate | 15% | |
Articles:
VAT rounding: the EU, the UK and other European countries
The EU VAT Directive and the Court of Justice of the European Union leave VAT rounding rules to be decided at national level. National rules vary. In the UK, HMRC allows VAT on B2B invoices to be rounded down to the nearest whole penny.
Roundings in VAT calculation: Mathematically impossible prices?
There are a whole range of VAT-inclusive prices that cannot be mathematically arrived at if the tax is calculated from the VAT-free price. One example is 3.99. These prices are also possible, but then the VAT-free price must be interpreted as rounded.
VAT Gap - How much VAT is left uncollected in EU countries?
9.5% of VAT was left uncollected in EU countries. See the list of EU countries and candidate countries.
In Europe there is VAT - in the US sales tax
In Europe, companies belonging to the production chain account for the VAT paid by the consumer to the state in proportion to their value added. The US sales tax, on the other hand, is billed entirely by the company that made the consumer sale. Sales tax is paid to local operators, not to the state.
Many of today's taxes were already in use in Antiquity. Deciding on taxation has moved from autocrats to parliaments and the level of taxation has risen. In earlier times taxes were used to wage wars, today taxes are used to maintain welfare states.