Who must file
Anyone carrying out taxable income-generating activity: every company, every enterprise, every sole trader, including micro and small businesses on flat tax or lump sum. Three exemptions — annual turnover under FRW 2,000,000, or only employment income because PAYE has already collected it, or only investment income already taxed at source. Someone with two employers, or with incidental employment income, may file anyway to reclaim overpaid tax. Above a turnover fixed by ministerial order the declaration and financial statements must be filed through a qualified professional approved by RRA, and at FRW 600,000,000 the certified financial statements annexure has to be uploaded by the approved audit firm. A taxpayer who qualifies can apply to file provisionally on time and produce certified statements within three months.
Tax year and deadline
The tax year is the calendar year. The annual declaration and the payment are both due by 31 March of the following year. A corporate taxpayer with good reason can ask RRA for a different twelve-month period and then files three months after it ends. Three instalment quarterly prepayments fall due during the year, on 30 June, 30 September and 31 December. Each is last year's tax divided by last year's turnover, multiplied by this quarter's turnover, less withholding tax suffered in that quarter — and what you prepay comes off the annual bill. Where 30 June lands on a weekend or holiday it moves back to the previous working day. Trading licence tax is a separate return, due 31 January.
Filing step by step
- Work out your regime first. Turnover of FRW 2,000,000 to 12,000,000 is flat tax, a fixed FRW 60,000, 120,000, 210,000 or 300,000 by band. FRW 12,000,001 to 20,000,000 is lump sum, 3% of turnover. Above FRW 20,000,000 — and every liberal profession whatever the turnover — is the real regime. Under FRW 2,000,000 you still file, but pay nothing.
- Flat tax, lump sum and the quarterly prepayments can be declared from any phone on M-Declaration by dialling *800#, or in e-Tax. Only e-Tax lets you deduct withholding tax already paid on your behalf during the quarter, so use e-Tax if anyone withheld from you.
- For the real regime, log in at etax.rra.gov.rw, hover 'Annexure Downloads' and take the income tax annexure. It is a macro spreadsheet: enable content before anything else, enter dates as dd/mm/yyyy with your computer's date format matching, and validate and save each tab that applies. Eleven tabs, including the depreciation table and the purchase and expense rows that must be supported by an EBM invoice, a customs declaration or a declared withholding.
- Record anything you cannot support that way as it happens, under Income Tax Preparation > Daily Capture of Uncontrolled Expenses > Add Transaction. Since FY 2025, requests to extend the filing of financial reports, to be excused from certifying them, or to disclaim an incentive also go through e-Tax under online requests, CIT/PIT requests.
- Back in e-Tax go to Tax Declaration > New Declaration, click Submit, then open the document number for the right tax type and period on 'Document Details' and click 'Enter Declaration'. Upload the saved annexures, enter the period totals in the white boxes, click save so the grey boxes calculate the tax, and submit. Pay by 31 March. If your tax type or period is not listed, call 3004 and ask for it to be added.
Penalties for filing or paying late
Late tax carries interest of 0.5%, 1% or 1.5% per month depending on how late, calculated without compounding, with every month that has begun counted as full. Interest is capped at 100% of the tax and is payable even while you appeal (art. 80 of Law nº 020/2023); payments go first to the tax, then the fine, then the interest. Failing to file the certified annual financial statements when you must costs FRW 500,000 for every month until you submit them (art. 81). A fixed fine repeated within two years of notification is doubled, and a third time four times the basic amount. Understating your liability by 10 to 20% brings a fine of 10% of the understatement, doubling above 20%, but no understatement fine if you correct and pay before RRA's audit notice (art. 83). Evasion carries an administrative fine equal to the tax evaded.