Corporate tax in Qatar: who pays, how much, and how to file

The standard rate of corporate income tax in Qatar is 10% of taxable income, applied to the share of profit attributable to non-Qatari ownership under Income Tax Law No. 24 of 2018. Returns are filed electronically through the General Tax Authority's Dhareeba portal within four months of the financial year end. Wholly Qatari and GCC-owned companies are generally exempt from the charge but must still register and file.

Who has to pay corporate tax in Qatar

Liability follows ownership rather than activity. Where a company has foreign shareholders, the profit attributable to that foreign share is taxable at 10%. Where a company is wholly owned by Qatari or GCC nationals, that profit is exempt from the charge, but the obligation to register with the General Tax Authority and to file an annual return still applies.

That distinction catches out more businesses than any other part of the regime. An exemption from tax is not an exemption from filing, and the penalties below apply to a late nil return exactly as they apply to a late payment.

• Mainland companies with foreign shareholders pay 10% on the foreign-attributable share of profit.
• Wholly Qatari or GCC-owned companies are exempt from the charge and file to confirm the position.
• Branches of foreign companies are taxed on profit attributable to the Qatar branch.
• Qatar Financial Centre entities operate under the separate QFC tax regime, not the state regime.
• Oil and gas operations are taxed under their own agreements, typically at a substantially higher rate.

Filing deadlines and the Dhareeba portal

The annual return is due within four months of the end of the accounting period. For a company with a 31 December year end, that is 30 April. Filing is done through Dhareeba, the General Tax Authority's online portal, and the return must be supported by financial statements.

Companies above the revenue and capital thresholds set by the Authority must submit audited financial statements signed by an auditor licensed in Qatar. Below those thresholds, unaudited statements may be accepted, but a bank or a tender body will usually want audited accounts regardless.

Withholding tax

Payments to non-residents for services used in Qatar attract withholding tax at 5%. The obligation sits with the payer, not the recipient: the company making the payment deducts the tax and remits it by the 16th of the following month. Unremitted withholding is a common finding in a first tax audit, and it is one where the liability lands on the local entity.

Penalties for late filing and late payment

The regime penalises lateness in two separate ways, and they run concurrently:

• Late filing attracts a daily penalty from the day after the deadline, subject to an annual cap.
• Late payment attracts a monthly percentage of the unpaid tax, again subject to a cap.

Both are calculated automatically by Dhareeba. Neither is negotiated down in practice, so a return filed on time with an estimated figure, corrected later, usually costs less than a perfect return filed late.

Where companies most often go wrong

In our experience the recurring issues are not complex technical points. They are administrative:

• Treating a tax exemption as an exemption from filing.
• Missing the withholding tax obligation on invoices from overseas suppliers.
• Filing without audited statements where the thresholds required them, and having the return rejected.
• Claiming expenses that were not incurred in generating taxable income, which are disallowed on review.
• Leaving related-party transactions undocumented, which becomes a transfer-pricing problem later.

What to do next

If you are unsure whether you are registered, whether your last return was accepted, or whether your statements need auditing before you file, those three questions can usually be answered in a short conversation. We handle registration, preparation and filing for companies across Doha, and we will tell you plainly if you do not need us.