Most tax pages tell you what the rates are. This one is a calendar: the registration you do once, the dates that come round every month, quarter and year, and one made-up trader's twelve months laid out so you can see which tax lands when. The rate tables live elsewhere (the Modified Taxation Scheme bands, the vehicle sticker table); here every date and threshold is linked to GRA or to the best published report, with the day it was read.
First written 19 September 2026. Updated 8 October 2026. Read on 8 October 2026: GRA's Modified Taxation Scheme, Tax Stamp, TIN, PAYE and Offences pages; TaxLawGH deadlines (its own review date 22 September 2026); PwC Tax Summaries (reviewed 11 March 2026); EY Tax News (12 January 2026); ModernGhana (23 September 2026), RegFollower (13 August 2026) and Adom/MyJoyOnline (13 September 2026) on Act 1178. Not tax advice; GRA's office has the last word on your case.
The five dates a market trader or shop on the tax stamp and annual return cannot miss. Everything else on this page (quarterly instalments, PAYE, VAT) only applies if you have employees, a provisional-tax arrangement or sales above the VAT line.
| When | What falls due | Applies to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Jan, 15 Apr, 15 Jul, 15 Oct | Tax stamp, up to GH₵ 45 a quarter (GNA, Jul 2025) | Informal trades | GRA |
| Same four dates | Vehicle Income Tax sticker | Commercial vehicle owners | VIT guide |
| 15th of every month | PAYE return and payment for last month's salaries | Anyone with staff | GRA PAYE; TaxLawGH |
| 14th of every month | SSNIT first-tier and second-tier contributions for last month | Anyone with staff | TaxLawGH |
| Last working day of every month | VAT return and VAT payment for last month | VAT-registered only | TaxLawGH, reviewed 25 Jul 2026 |
| 31 Mar, 30 Jun, 30 Sep, 31 Dec | Provisional income tax instalments (25%, 50%, 75%, 100% of the estimate), last day of months 3, 6, 9, 12 of your year | Taxpayers on provisional (estimated) assessment | TaxLawGH, reviewed 22 Sep 2026 |
| 30 April | Annual return, within four months after your year end (30 April for a calendar year) | Everyone filing | TaxLawGH; GRA MTS (annual returns with actual sales) |
Two things GRA does not publish, so we do not guess: the quarterly amount per trade for the lowest Modified Taxation route (GNA reported "up to GH₵ 45", July 2025) and the menu behind *880#. Ask at the office or dial and follow the prompts.
Example (made-up numbers, replace with yours). Ama sells provisions from a shop. In a calendar year she sells GH₵ 240,000 and spends GH₵ 190,000 on stock, rent and transport, so her profit is GH₵ 50,000. She has one helper on GH₵ 1,500 a month.
| When | What Ama does | GH₵ |
|---|---|---|
| Once | Uses her Ghana Card number as TIN and registers for the scheme in the app | 0 |
| Every month, by the 14th and 15th | Pays SSNIT (employer 13% of 1,500 = 195; the helper's 5.5% = 82.50 is deducted from pay) and PAYE of about 128 on the helper (taxable pay 1,417.50 after SSNIT, on the monthly bands) | 195 + 128 |
| Year end 31 Dec, return by 30 Apr | Files the year's sales of 240,000 in the app | |
| Route A: 3% of sales | 240,000 x 3% | 7,200 |
| Route B: bands on profit | 0 on the first 7,056; 5% of 960 = 48; 10% of 1,200 = 120; 17.5% of 34,800 = 6,090; 25% of the last 5,984 = 1,496 | 7,754 |
With a 21% profit margin the flat 3% is GH₵ 554 cheaper for Ama; if her costs had been GH₵ 215,000 (profit 25,000) the bands would come to about GH₵ 2,930 and win. Which route is cheaper turns on margin, and the calculator below does the sum on your numbers. The workings for the helper use the monthly bands as reported from GRA's 24 September 2026 notice (GH₵ 588 free, then 5% on 80, 10% on 100, 17.5% on 2,900) and the PAYE rule that SSNIT is deducted first (GRA PAYE); the SSNIT rates are from PwC Tax Summaries, reviewed 11 March 2026, read 8 Oct 2026.
Annual bands from 1 September 2026, resident individuals (see 2026 changes): first GH₵ 7,056 at 0%, next 960 at 5%, next 1,200 at 10%, next 34,800 at 17.5%, next 192,000 at 25%, next 363,984 at 30%, above 600,000 at 35%. Before 1 September the tax-free amount was GH₵ 5,880 (PwC, reviewed March 2026). The full band table, with the scheme routes, is on the Modified Taxation Scheme page.
Put in the year's sales and costs. The sum is done on your phone and sent nowhere.
| Change | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 1178): tax-free amount GH₵ 5,880 to 7,056, new bands | Assented 26 August 2026, per ModernGhana, 23 Sep 2026; Parliament passed the Bill on 28 July 2026 per RegFollower, 13 Aug 2026. Effective 1 September 2026 per the GRA notice reported in the press. We could not open the Act or the notice itself; these are secondary. |
| Upper sales limit for the 3% route, GH₵ 500,000 to GH₵ 750,000 | Two sources disagree. The Act as reviewed by ModernGhana and RegFollower raises it from 500,000 to 750,000. GRA's own scheme page, read 8 October 2026, still says "not exceeding GHC 500,000". A GRA speech on 9 September 2026 already uses GH₵ 750,000 (Adom/MyJoyOnline, 13 Sep 2026). 750,000 is most likely the law, but confirm with GRA before you file. |
| Proposed: scheme for small limited companies | GRA announced it is working with the Finance Ministry on amendments so that small companies with turnover up to GH₵ 750,000 can use the scheme. Proposed, not law (Adom, 13 Sep 2026). |
| VAT Act, 2025 (Act 1151), from 1 January 2026 | Goods registration threshold GH₵ 750,000 (from 200,000); no threshold for services; flat-rate scheme abolished (EY Tax News, 12 Jan 2026). GRA said businesses under the line go to the Modified Taxation Scheme (Ghana Business News, 26 Jan 2026). |
VAT. If you sell goods and your sales in a 12-month period pass GH₵ 750,000 you register; a seller of services registers from the start, with no threshold (EY, above). The standard rate is 15%, with the NHIL and GETFund levies at 2.5% each (EY, above). Then the monthly return, by the last working day of the next month. A provision shop, a food seller or a market stall sells goods; a hairdresser or a mechanic sells a service and should ask GRA.
Staff. The moment you pay someone you owe the 14th (SSNIT) and the 15th (PAYE) every month, whatever your own route is. Write wages down as they are paid, in your daily record or on paper with the daily sales sheet, so the monthly figure is a sum, not a memory.
From GRA's offences and penalties page, read 8 Oct 2026 (Revenue Administration Act, 2016): a late return is GH₵ 500 plus GH₵ 10 for each day it stays late; failing to keep proper records is 75% of the tax for the period if deliberate, otherwise the lesser of that or GH₵ 250; failing to register means the tax owed plus a fine of up to twice the tax or 1,000 penalty units, whichever is greater. A penalty unit is GH₵ 12 on that page. Penalties are in addition to the tax itself.
The records that keep you out of the second line: the daily sales and expense lines. See how to record daily sales, the debtors book for credit sales, and who owes me so unpaid sales are still counted as sales.
Say each day's sales; it adds the yearFree. No password, no MoMo PIN, no Ghana Card. The 12-month sales line is at the top of the record it sends to your WhatsApp.
Register with your Ghana Card number (it is your TIN), file on taxpayersportal.com or in the MTS Taxpayer App, and pay by the *880# short code, a MoMo wallet linked in the app, ghana.gov.gh, a bank or a GRA office. The annual return is due four months after your year end, so 30 April for a calendar year.
Use taxpayersportal.com (sign up with your Ghana Card number and an OTP) or the MTS Taxpayer App from the App Store or Google Play, then pay from a MoMo wallet linked in the app or on ghana.gov.gh.
GRA's Modified Taxation Scheme page lists *880# as the USSD route. GRA does not publish the menu, so dial it and follow the prompts; only the MoMo prompt should ask for your PIN.
Take the year's sales, subtract allowable costs to get profit, and apply the bands: the first GH₵7,056 is 0%, then 5%, 10%, 17.5%, 25%, 30% and 35%. If your sales are GH₵20,001 to GH₵750,000 you may instead pay 3% of total sales; the calculator on this page shows both.
Either the bands on profit, or under the Modified Taxation Scheme a flat 3% of sales (GH₵20,001 to GH₵750,000, per the Act as reported; GRA's own scheme page still shows GH₵500,000) or a fixed quarterly amount if sales are up to GH₵20,000.
Yes, above the tax-free amount of GH₵7,056 a year of profit, or through the tax stamp (GH₵3 to GH₵45 a quarter) that GRA lists for market traders, chop bar operators, tailors and other informal trades.
File the annual return on taxpayersportal.com or enter your year's actual sales in the MTS Taxpayer App. It is due within four months after the year end; a late return costs GH₵500 plus GH₵10 a day.
Annual returns for the calendar year are due 30 April. Provisional income tax instalments fall on the last day of March, June, September and December; the tax stamp falls on 15 January, 15 April, 15 July and 15 October; PAYE is due by the 15th of the next month.
Sources read 8 October 2026: GRA, Modified Taxation Scheme; GRA, Tax Stamp; GRA, TIN; GRA, PAYE; GRA, Offences and Penalties; TaxLawGH, deadlines and VAT returns; PwC Tax Summaries; EY Tax News; ModernGhana, RegFollower and Adom/MyJoyOnline on Act 1178. The text of Act 1178 and GRA's 24 September 2026 notice were not opened directly. General information, not tax advice.