The rate
The standard rate in Zimbabwe is 15.5%. Some goods and services carry reduced or zero rates and others are exempt. The difference matters: zero-rated sales still let you reclaim the tax on your purchases, exempt sales do not.
Raised from 15% on 1 January 2026 by section 34 of the Finance Act (No. 7) of 2025.
Who must register
US$25,000, or the ZiG equivalent, in taxable supplies over any 12 months. Registration is compulsory once you exceed that or expect to. The threshold was cut from US$40,000 on 1 January 2024. Traders dealing only in exempt supplies do not register, nor do hobbyists or employees. Voluntary registration below the threshold is possible subject to a minimum turnover set by the Commissioner. Non-resident suppliers of electronic services into Zimbabwe register under VAT Act s.13A read with s.23 on the same threshold.
How to register
Registration is done in TaRMS. Open your taxpayer profile, add VAT as a tax type, choose local or export sales, enter the effective date (ZIMRA's page gives this as the first day of the month after you pass the limit), choose compulsory or voluntary registration, enter the sales schedule, and attach your supporting documents.
ZIMRA's page lists what to have ready: a TIN, payments up to date on every tax head, your sales history since you started, sample invoices showing customer details or signed contracts, a projection of sales for the next twelve months, current bank statements, a letter appointing a public officer, and a lease agreement or title deed for your premises. For a compulsory registration the schedule covers the past twelve months of sales in US dollars; for a voluntary one it covers the next twelve.
The Act requires you to apply within thirty days of becoming liable to register (VAT Act, section 23(2)). If you leave out particulars or documents the Commissioner asks for, you are treated as not having applied until you supply them. ZIMRA's page does not state a processing time.
Filing and paying
Registered and filed with Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA).
Filed in TaRMS at mytaxselfservice.zimra.co.zw. Your category decides the tax period. Category A is two-month periods ending on the last day of January, March, May, July, September and November. Category B is two-month periods ending February, April, June, August, October and December. Category C is monthly, and is mandatory above a turnover set in the Act. Category D is for periods the Commissioner approves on written application, used for seasonal trades. Everyone not in C or D falls in A or B, and ZIMRA assigns which so the two are roughly equal in number. Since Statutory Instrument 81 of 2025 the return and the payment have different dates: the return is due by the 10th of the month after the period ends, the payment by the 15th. ZIMRA's older Tax Payment Dates web page still says the 25th; the monthly public notices are current and the web page is not. From 1 January 2026 there are no manual input tax schedules — fiscal tax invoices auto-populate from FDMS into the Invoice Management Module in TaRMS, and only invoices showing Valid with the buyer's details correctly transmitted can be claimed.
Penalties for getting it wrong
Two separate penalties stack. Failing to register, or failing to comply with VAT Act s.28 on returns and payments, carries a civil penalty of US$30 for each day you remain in default, capped at 181 days, after which it becomes a criminal offence (VAT Act s.62(2)). Separately, paying late triggers a penalty equal to the whole amount of tax due, plus interest at the prescribed rate for each month or part month from the first day of the following month (VAT Act s.39). The Commissioner may waive or remit either where the default was not wilful and the State lost nothing.