Tax in Qatar

01Five routes and their tax treatment

The route decides the corporate tax. Qatar has five routes: the State regime, the QFC, the QFZA, QSTP and Media City Qatar. Each has its own rate and its own rules.

• Salaries, wages and allowances of employed individuals are not subject to income tax in Qatar.
• The General Tax Authority (GTA) administers tax. In the State regime all filing runs through the Dhareeba portal.
• QFC returns are due within six months of year end.
• The minimum top-up tax in section 07 covers entities in the QFC, QFZA, QSTP and Media City Qatar.

02Corporate income tax in the State regime

The Income Tax Law No. 24 of 2018 taxes entities on Qatar-source income at a flat 10%. The tax is charged on the foreign-owned share of an entity's taxable profit.

03Qatar Financial Centre regime

The QFC has its own tax regime. QFC entities pay 10% on local-source profits.

• Passive interest income counts as local-source.
• Qualifying shareholding gains and dividends are exempt where at least 10% is held for at least 6 months.
• A 0% concessionary rate applies to unregulated LLCs that are at least 90% Qatari-owned, captive insurers, reinsurers and investment managers.
• Losses carry forward without a time limit.
• QFC returns are due within six months of year end.

04Qatar Free Zones and other zones

Entities in the Qatar Free Zones, at Ras Bufontas and Umm Alhoul, pay 0% corporate tax in renewable 20-year periods. QSTP and Media City Qatar carry separate exemptions.

05Filing, payment and penalties

The State regime corporate return is due four months after year end and the tax is due on the same day. QFC returns are due within six months of year end.

State regime

• The tax year is the calendar year unless the GTA approves another.
• All filing runs through the Dhareeba portal. Dhareeba filing has been mandatory since 1 November 2020.
• A tax card application is made within 30 days of commencing activities or of registration in the MOCI Commercial Register.
• Audited statements are required with the return if capital exceeds QAR 200,000, total income exceeds QAR 500,000 or the head office is outside Qatar.
• Withholding statements are filed monthly through Dhareeba.

Penalties under the Income Tax Law

QFC

• QFC returns are due within six months of year end.

Advance rulings

• The GTA runs an Advance Tax Ruling Service. Its first phase covers income tax, withholding tax, excise tax, permanent establishment status and Pillar Two.

06Withholding tax

Under the Income Tax Law, State regime, withholding tax is 5% on gross payments to a non-resident without a Qatari permanent establishment. The law charges no withholding tax on dividends.

• Rate: 5% final tax on gross payments.
• Scope: interest, royalties, technical fees, commissions, brokerage fees and other services used or benefited from in Qatar, even if the service is performed outside Qatar.
• Dividends: no withholding tax.
• Due: by the 16th of the month after payment, through Dhareeba.
• Late payment: 2% a month, capped at the tax due. A payer who fails to withhold owes the tax itself.
• QSTP: exempt QSTP entities still withhold tax on payments to non-residents.
• Qatar Financial Centre: the QFC Tax Regulations contain no withholding tax. No withholding tax applies to dividends, interest and royalties.
• Temporary branches: a foreign branch opened for a contract with the State or a state-owned company is subject to a retention. The retention is the higher of 3% of contract value (less supplies and work performed abroad) or the final contract payment. It stays until the GTA issues a no-objection letter.
• Treaty relief at source: from 16 March 2026 eligible Qatari payers with GTA Trusted Entity status can apply treaty rates at source. Eligible applicants are ministries, public bodies, financial institutions and companies listed on the Qatar Exchange.

07Minimum top-up tax

Qatar applies a 15% effective minimum rate to groups with consolidated revenue of at least €750 million in at least two of the four preceding fiscal years. It applies to fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2025.

• Law No. 22 of 2024 introduced a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax and an Income Inclusion Rule.
• The scope covers entities in the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), the Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA), QSTP and Media City Qatar.
• No undertaxed profits rule applies.
• In-scope groups had to register on Dhareeba by 2 November 2026.
• The GloBE information return is due 15 months after year end.

08VAT

Qatar has no VAT.

09Excise tax

Excise tax has applied since 1 January 2019 under Law No. 25 of 2018. It is 100% on tobacco, energy drinks and special purpose goods, and per litre on sweetened drinks.

• Law No. 2 of 2026 amended the Excise Tax Law. It was published in Official Gazette No. 6 on 7 April 2026 and took effect on 6 July 2026.
• Carbonated drinks stopped being a separate excise category on 6 July 2026. The former 50% rate no longer applies to them. They are taxed under the sugar-based bands.
• Businesses that had registered carbonated drinks under the 50% model had to amend their registrations to the sweetened drink classification.
• Importers, exporters and operators of tax warehouses for excise goods must register.
• Holders of excise goods in commercial quantities on 6 July 2026 had to file audited stock declarations within 90 days, by 4 October 2026, and settle the tax within 30 days after that.

10Customs duty

Qatar is part of the GCC customs union. The rate is 5% on goods of non-GCC origin.

• Higher rates apply to specific goods such as tobacco.
• The 5% is charged on the customs value of non-GCC goods at the first point of entry.
• The Foreign Investment Law gives project exemptions from customs duty on machinery, equipment and raw or semi-finished inputs not available locally.
• Free zone goods pay no duty while they stay in the zone. Duty is charged when they enter the Qatari market.
• Media City Qatar has an import and export duty exemption.
• Customs procedures run through the Al Nadeeb platform.

11Tax treaties with Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark

Norway is the only one of the four countries with an income tax treaty in force with Qatar. Finland is the only one with an investment treaty.

Treaty rates with Norway

Sweden, Finland and Denmark

Under the Income Tax Law, State regime, Qatar's domestic withholding rules apply to payments to companies in Sweden, Finland and Denmark. The rate is 5% on interest, royalties, technical fees, commissions, brokerage fees and services used in Qatar, paid to a payee without a Qatari permanent establishment. Qatar charges no withholding tax on dividends.

Multilateral agreements

• Qatar joined the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters with effect from 1 January 2019.
• Qatar has signed the OECD Multilateral Instrument.