Egypt's July 2026 tax package: seven laws and what each changes

Executive summary

• Seven tax laws were published in the Official Gazette, issue No. 30 bis (A), on 28 July 2026, all taking effect on the following day: Laws No. 148 to No. 154 of 2026.
• Letting a building or unit taken as an independent premises for managing an activity is now subject to VAT at the general rate of 14%, where the letting of non-residential property had been exempt without qualification (Law No. 149).
• No new application to settle a tax dispute will be accepted after 31 December 2026 (Law No. 152).
• Resident investors on the exchange have moved from capital gains tax to a duty on gross proceeds at 0.5 per thousand, due even where the trade is at a loss (Laws No. 151 and No. 153).
• Businesses with turnover up to ten million pounds may settle their non-final tax for periods from 2022 to before March 2025 at a fixed amount or a percentage of turnover (Law No. 151).
• The executive regulations for these amendments had not been issued as at the date of this bulletin, and several articles refer to them.

The seven laws

What reaches every business

VAT on rent. Law No. 149 replaced item 28 of the exemption schedule. The letting of non-residential buildings and units had been exempt without qualification; the exemption is now confined to what is not taken as an independent premises for managing an activity. The text adds the words "even if they take on a commercial character and have a connection with customers", so a unit is not taken out of charge by being a shopfront. This provision is treated separately in VAT on commercial leases.

Bad debts. Under the replaced text, deduction requires serious recovery steps and the passing of twelve months from the due date, and a first-instance judgment suffices. A debt not exceeding ten thousand pounds is excepted, provided total bad debts do not exceed 1% of the debtors balance at year end. The detail is in Egypt income tax after Law No. 151.

Books. Law No. 150 confirms that the regular accounting books required by Commerce Law No. 17 of 1999 may be kept manually or electronically, settling the position of electronic records.

What carries a deadline

Law No. 152 renewed Law No. 79 of 2016 until 31 December 2026, after which the committees will not hear a new application. Law No. 79 of 2016 is temporary on its own terms — its article 8 provides that it "shall apply for one year" — which is why it has needed a series of renewals since 2016, and why a further renewal should not be assumed. The detail is in Egypt tax dispute settlement extended to 31 December 2026.

Law No. 151 carries two transitional provisions of its own: settlement of non-final tax for businesses with turnover up to ten million pounds for periods from 2022 to before March 2025, and a waiver of unpaid capital gains tax on listed shares for the period from 16 June 2023 until the law came into force.

What reaches investors on the exchange

Law No. 153 replaced article 83 bis of the Stamp Duty Law. The duty is charged on the gross value of sales of securities listed on the Egyptian Exchange, other than listed investment certificates, with no costs deducted. Seller and buyer each bear 0.5 per thousand, or 0.25 per thousand each where the purchase and sale take place on the same day.

Because the base is the gross sale value and not the gain, the duty is due even where the trade is at a loss.

The amendment does not move in one direction. Against the previous text enacted by Law No. 199 of 2020: the scope narrowed from "securities of all kinds, Egyptian or foreign, listed or unlisted" to listed Egyptian Exchange securities alone, and the non-resident rate fell from 1.25 per thousand to 0.5 — but same-day trades were entirely outside the charge and now carry 0.25 per thousand on each side.

The larger change is for resident investors. Article 5 of Law No. 199 of 2020 had taken them out of this duty once the postponement of capital gains tax ended, so they paid capital gains tax and no stamp duty. Law No. 153 repealed that article, bringing residents back within the duty at 0.5 per thousand, while Law No. 151 exempted their capital gains on listed securities. The detail is in Law 153 of 2026: one stamp duty rate for residents and non-residents.

It does not apply to transactions by companies licensed to act as an accredited market maker under Capital Market Law No. 95 of 1992. The body responsible for settling the sales must withhold and remit the duty within five days of the beginning of the following month, and is jointly liable with seller and buyer for the duty and the late payment charge.

What reaches businesses being incorporated

Law No. 150 added article 27 bis: on the taxpayer's application the Egyptian Tax Authority (the ETA) may grant a temporary tax card valid for eight months to complete incorporation and licensing, and any amounts falling due to the ETA during its validity must be settled from the date it expires.

The restriction that decides its practical value: the temporary card may not be used to issue electronic receipts or invoices. A business whose activity requires electronic invoicing from day one gains nothing operational from it; its use is confined to completing formalities. The decision of the Head of the ETA setting the form of the card had not been issued as at the date of this bulletin.

What reaches particular sectors

Cement producers. Law No. 148 replaced item 19 of article 1 of Law No. 147 of 1984: EGP 35 per tonne of cement produced, with factories obliged to remit the fee to the Egyptian Tax Authority for what they produce. The fee attaches to production, not sale, so its base is output and it is due whether or not the cement is sold. The replaced item 5 unifies the fee on leaving the country at EGP 100, removing the reduced rate of EGP 50 that applied to foreigners arriving for tourism to certain governorates, and excluding drivers of public passenger and goods vehicles, Egyptian or foreign, and workers on routes or trucks that habitually cross the border.

State-owned companies. Law No. 154 requires the boards of companies wholly owned by the State or by public juridical persons to set aside 5% of distributable net profits, after covering carried-forward losses and before setting aside any reserves. Where the State participates partially at more than 50%, the rate is 4%, taken after the general assembly approves the financial statements, not exceeding the State's share, and deducted in full from that share. Proceeds pass to the Treasury within four months of the financial year end.

The words "before setting aside any reserves" mean the levy is computed and set aside ahead of the legal reserve and any other reserve, which has to be reflected when the appropriation of profit is proposed.

What this requires

• Schedule leases of non-residential units, identify those over a unit taken as an independent premises for managing an activity, and review the lessor's registration position.
• Schedule live tax disputes and decide each file before the end of December 2026.
• Review the bad debt policy against the twelve-month period, the ten-thousand exception and the 1% cap.
• For groups: schedule non-residents' permanent establishment profits against the sixty-day deeming rule.
• For businesses under ten million turnover: compare the fixed settlement with ordinary assessment for each year of the period.
• For cement producers: base the fee on output rather than on sales.

Because the executive regulations for these amendments have not been issued, a number of procedural details remain pending, among them the rules for suspending tax on machinery, the form of the temporary tax card, and the designation of national infrastructure projects. The firm's Tax Department assesses the effect of this package case by case, prepares what follows from it, and tracks the implementing decisions as they are issued.

Mahmoud Nassef, CA, ESAA, MEST — Founder Partner
Member of the Egyptian Society of Accountants & Auditors (ESAA) and of the Egyptian Tax Society (MEST)
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Disclaimer: This bulletin is prepared for general information on the legislation in force at the date of its publication. It does not constitute a professional opinion or tax or legal advice on any particular matter, and it should not be relied upon in place of advice based on an examination of the circumstances of each case. Nassef & Partners International accepts no responsibility for any action taken, or refrained from, in reliance on its contents. The positions stated remain subject to subsequent legislation and decisions.