Zimbabwe Switches On Its 2026 Tax Changes: Five New Taxes Now Live in ZIMRA's TaRMS, and What They Mean for You

• Five new tax types in TaRMS: Gaming Operators Tax (20% of gross takings, with 25% punters tax on winnings); Presumptive Rental Income Tax (15%); Withholding Tax on Digital Services; Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (15% minimum for groups with revenue of EUR 750m or more); and Special Capital Gains Tax at 20% on transfers of interests in land-holding entities.

• Action required: register for each applicable tax type on the TaRMS self-service portal, and complete in TaRMS any returns filed manually since January.

• Minerals: the levy on specified minerals rises to 3% and now covers coal. Gold royalty for "other miners" is 5% for prices above US$1,200 and up to US$5,000 an ounce and 10% above.

• VAT: a 10% rate line for export taxes on unbeneficiated lithium, platinum, chrome and antimony. The general VAT rate is now 15.5%.

• Other changes: a CGT exemption for specified sales of state-enterprise shares, and a new corporate tax credit of up to US$10,000 for sports expenditure.

• Removed: Bookmakers Tax and Withholding Tax on punters' winnings, replaced by the gaming regime.

• Transport: larger buses, goods vehicles and commercial vessels leave presumptive tax for self-assessment, and need tax clearance to be licensed.

On 4 September 2026, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) issued Public Notice 50 of 2026. It confirms that the 2026 legislative changes have now been configured in TaRMS, the Tax and Revenue Management System that serves as ZIMRA's online registration, filing and payment platform.

The legal source. The changes come from the Finance Act, 2025 (No. 7 of 2025), gazetted on 29 December 2025 alongside the Appropriation (2026) Act. Most of its provisions took effect on 1 January 2026, or for the year of assessment beginning on that date. It amends the Finance Act [Chapter 23:04], the Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06], the Value Added Tax Act [Chapter 23:12] and the Capital Gains Tax Act [Chapter 23:01].

Why the notice matters eight months later. The law has applied since January, but several new taxes had no dedicated tax type or return in TaRMS, so some taxpayers filed manually. The notice closes that gap. Taxpayers now have to register for the new tax types, and returns filed on paper need to be captured in the system.

Before looking at each tax, it helps to be clear on the vocabulary the notice and the Act use.

1. Gaming Operators Tax (and Punters Tax)

The Act repeals the old bookmakers regime and replaces it with a single framework for all gaming operators: bookmakers, casinos and lottery operators, whether or not licensed and whether physical or online.

The definitions expressly reach offshore betting platforms, online casinos and virtual lotteries serving Zimbabwean punters. That is why the old "Bookmakers Tax" and "Withholding Tax on punters' gross winnings" tax types have been removed from TaRMS.

In plain terms: every betting or gaming business serving Zimbabweans now hands 20 cents of every dollar staked with it to ZIMRA each month. It also keeps back a quarter of each punter's winnings for the taxman before paying out. A punter who wins US$100 receives no more than US$75.

2. Presumptive Rental Income Tax

A new 15% tax on rent paid by tenants who are themselves presumptive taxpayers, such as informal traders and small operators renting business premises. It is paid by the registrable proprietor: the owner, lessee or sub-lessee who receives the rent.

• Returns are due by the 5th, and payment by the 10th, of the month after the tax falls due.

• Agents who collect rent for a proprietor must withhold the tax if the proprietor has not paid it.

• Where neither has paid, ZIMRA can require the tenant to pay. A tenant who does so is protected for three months from rent escalation and from eviction on that ground alone.

• Registrable proprietors must register once the Minister prescribes a notice, and non-residents must appoint a resident representative.

• The penalty for non-payment is the unpaid tax plus 15%.

In plain terms: if you let a shop, stall or workshop to a small or informal business that pays presumptive tax, 15% of the rent you collect goes to ZIMRA. On US$500 a month in rent, that is US$75. If you or your agent do not pay it, ZIMRA can ask your tenant to pay, and the law protects that tenant from being evicted or hit with a rent increase for doing so.

3. Withholding Tax on Digital Services

A new section 13A of the VAT Act deems goods and services supplied from outside Zimbabwe, and electronic services supplied by offshore e-commerce operators to Zimbabwean residents, to be supplied in Zimbabwe. Financial institutions acting as intermediaries must withhold the tax from amounts remitted abroad for those supplies. They must pay it to ZIMRA within 30 days, file a return and give the payer a certificate. An intermediary that fails to withhold is personally liable for the tax plus 15%.

In plain terms: when a Zimbabwean person or business pays a foreign company for goods, services or online subscriptions, the bank processing the payment must now deduct tax before the money leaves the country. Customers may see the deduction on their statements, and banks carry the risk if they fail to collect it.

4. Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT)

Zimbabwe has introduced a domestic minimum top-up tax modelled on the OECD Pillar Two global minimum tax rules. It applies to members of multinational groups with consolidated revenue of EUR 750 million or more in at least two of the four preceding fiscal years.

• Where the combined effective tax rate of the group's Zimbabwean entities falls below 15%, they pay a top-up tax on excess profit.

• Excess profit is net income less a substance-based carve-out of 5% of eligible payroll and 5% of eligible tangible assets.

• Covered entities are jointly and severally liable.

• A designated local entity files an information return with the income tax return, unless a GloBE Information Return is exchanged under a qualifying competent authority agreement.

In plain terms: this affects only very large international groups, those with global revenue of about EUR 750 million or more. If their Zimbabwean operations end up paying less than 15% tax on profits, for example because of incentives or special economic zones, Zimbabwe now collects the difference itself rather than leaving it to the group's home country.

5. Special Capital Gains Tax on Land-Holding Entities

A new section 30C of the Capital Gains Tax Act targets indirect transfers of Zimbabwean land, where the land stays in a company's name but the company changes hands.

The tax applies to the transaction value, not the gain, and it reaches transactions concluded offshore. Cross-border M&A involving companies with Zimbabwean real estate now needs specific structuring and pricing advice.

In plain terms: selling the company that owns a farm, hotel or office block in Zimbabwe is now taxed much like selling the property itself, even if the deal is signed abroad. Because the 20% applies to the full price, not just the profit, a US$10 million share sale could trigger US$2 million in tax, payable by the buyer within a month.

The wider VAT context. The notice focuses on the new export-tax rate line, but the same Act made a bigger change. From 1 January 2026, Zimbabwe's general VAT rate rose from 15% to 15.5%. Taxpayers should also note two related changes. A valid tax invoice is now one produced by an approved fiscal device, verifiable on ZIMRA's Fiscalisation Data Management System (FDMS). And tax invoices must now show the taxpayer identification number and a QR or authentication code.

Gold royalty framing. Because the rate steps up at US$5,000 an ounce, "other miners" should check the price basis used for each sale. The royalty moves to 10% once that threshold is exceeded.

For years, many transport operators in Zimbabwe have paid a fixed presumptive tax per vehicle or vessel instead of computing tax on actual profits. The Finance Act narrows that regime. Section 22C(4) of the Finance Act [Chapter 23:04] now requires the following operators to file self-assessment returns under section 37A of the Income Tax Act from 1 January 2026:

What changes for these operators:

• Profit-based tax. Income tax is now computed on actual taxable income, so operators need proper accounting records of revenue, fuel, maintenance, wages and depreciation.

• Registration and returns. Operators must be registered for income tax in TaRMS and file self-assessment returns and provisional tax payments on the normal schedule.

• Tax clearance for licensing. Under an amended section 80A, operators of goods vehicles, omnibuses, taxicabs and commercial vessels cannot be certified, registered or licensed by ZINARA or the inland-waters authority, or obtain vehicle insurance, without a tax clearance certificate issued no earlier than 30 days before it is produced.

The practical effect is that compliance for these fleets now runs through the licensing system. An operator without a current tax clearance certificate cannot keep its vehicles on the road lawfully.

Betting companies, casinos and lottery operators

A complete rewrite of how gaming is taxed. Operators pay 20% of monthly takings as a final tax and must withhold 25% from punters' winnings. Both returns are due monthly in TaRMS. Online and offshore platforms are expressly covered, so operating from outside Zimbabwe no longer places a business beyond reach. Operators need betting systems that record takings and winnings by punter and month, and payout processes that deduct tax automatically.

Punters

Every winning payout is now reduced by 25% at source. Punters do not file anything themselves: the operator withholds and pays the tax. Advertised odds and "potential winnings" are therefore worth less than they appear.

Landlords, property managers and estate agents

Owners who rent space to informal traders, market stall holders or small businesses on presumptive tax must account for 15% of that rent monthly and register as "registrable proprietors" once the Minister's notice is issued. Estate agents who collect rent become collectors of the tax if the owner does not pay. Foreign owners must appoint a local representative. The tenant-protection rules also mean a landlord cannot evict or penalise a tenant who pays the tax on the landlord's behalf.

Small traders and informal businesses (tenants)

Tenants are not charged the tax directly, but they may be asked to pay it if their landlord does not. If they do, the law shields them from rent increases for three months and from eviction for that reason. Some landlords may try to recover the cost through higher rents over time.

Banks and other financial institutions

Banks now act as tax collectors on outbound payments for foreign goods, services and digital subscriptions. They must build withholding into their payment systems, issue certificates, file returns and pay within 30 days, and they are personally liable, plus 15%, for tax they fail to deduct. Operationally, this means identifying which cross-border payments are in scope and explaining the deductions to customers.

Consumers and businesses buying from abroad

Paying a foreign supplier, streaming service or software platform may now cost more, because tax is taken at the point of payment. Businesses should check whether the deduction is recoverable and price their imported services accordingly.

Multinational groups

Only groups with revenue of EUR 750 million or more are affected. They should model their Zimbabwean effective tax rate under the Pillar Two rules, especially where incentives lower the local rate. They also need to designate a local filing entity and prepare the data needed for the information return. For many, this will align with work already done for the global minimum tax in other countries.

Investors, buyers and M&A advisers

Any deal to acquire a company, trust or joint venture that holds Zimbabwean land or buildings, even through an offshore holding structure, now carries a 20% tax on the full transaction value. That changes deal pricing, due diligence and contract terms: who bears the tax, whether the price is adjusted, and how the 30-day payment deadline is met. Sellers should expect buyers to negotiate hard, because the buyer is primarily liable.

Mining companies

Producers of coal, lithium, granite, quarry stone and dimensional stone pay a 3% levy on gross sales. For most of these minerals, that is triple the previous 1%, and coal is newly covered. Gold miners classed as "other miners" face royalty bands that step up at US$5,000 an ounce. Exporters of raw lithium, platinum, chrome and antimony pay a 10% export tax in US dollars, a clear push towards local processing.

Companies supporting sport

Corporate taxpayers that fund rural sports academies or registered youth development programmes can offset up to US$10,000 a year directly against their income tax bill, provided they are tax- and NSSA-compliant. It is a small but direct incentive for corporate social investment in sport.

Bus, truck and boat operators

Larger fleets move from a simple presumptive charge to full profit-based taxation. They now need proper books, annual returns and provisional payments. Without a current tax clearance certificate, they cannot license vehicles with ZINARA or obtain insurance. Smaller operators outside the listed categories remain on presumptive tax.

Tax practitioners and accountants

Practitioners should review every client for exposure to the new tax types, register those clients in TaRMS, and re-enter any returns filed on paper since January. They should also check for penalties that may have arisen while the system was not configured, and apply for waivers where appropriate.

Government and ZIMRA

The changes widen the tax net into gaming, informal-sector rental income, cross-border digital payments and offshore property deals, and align Zimbabwe with the global minimum tax. Putting them into TaRMS gives ZIMRA the data to monitor compliance. The use of banks, agents and licensing authorities as collection points reflects a deliberate strategy of collecting tax where money moves, rather than relying on voluntary filing alone.

Public Notice 50 sets out two direct instructions.

1. Register for each new tax type. Taxpayers liable for any of the five new taxes must register for that tax type through the TaRMS self-service portal. Registration is per tax type, so an existing TaRMS profile for income tax or VAT does not automatically cover them.

2. Capture manual returns in the system. Anyone who has been filing these returns manually since January must also complete them in TaRMS, so that they do not appear as outstanding. In a system-driven administration, an obligation that shows as "pending" can generate penalties, block refunds and prevent the issue of a tax clearance certificate, even if the return was filed on paper.

A compliance checklist by taxpayer type:

The penalty exposure. Several of the new regimes carry automatic penalties for late payment or failure to withhold. These are the unpaid tax plus 15% for presumptive rental income tax and digital services withholding tax, and the unpaid tax plus an equal amount for gaming taxes. Each is subject to the Commissioner's discretion to waive where there was no intent to evade. Taxpayers who were uncertain how to file before TaRMS was configured should document that history when requesting relief.

What is ZIMRA Public Notice 50 of 2026? A notice issued on 4 September 2026 confirming that the 2026 changes under Finance Act No. 7 of 2025 have been set up in TaRMS, with new tax types and returns now available.

Which new tax types are in TaRMS? Gaming Operator's Tax, Presumptive Rental Income Tax, Withholding Tax on Digital Services, Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax, and Special Capital Gains Tax on transfers of shares or interests in land-holding entities.

Do I need to register again? Yes, for each new tax type you are liable for. Registration is done through the TaRMS self-service portal.

I filed manually earlier this year. Is that enough? No. ZIMRA requires returns filed manually to be completed in TaRMS so that they do not show as pending.

What is the rate of the special capital gains tax on land-holding entities? 20% of the value of the transaction, payable in US dollars within 30 days of the transfer, by the transferee or, if it defaults, the transferor.

Which transport operators must now file self-assessment returns? Operators of buses with 25 or more seats, goods vehicles above specified capacities (from over 10 tonnes, or combinations over 15 tonnes), and commercial waterborne vessels carrying up to 25 passengers.

Did the VAT rate change? Yes. Under the same Act, the general VAT rate rose from 15% to 15.5% from 1 January 2026. The 10% rate line in TaRMS relates to export taxes on unbeneficiated minerals.