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

Egypt's July 2026 tax package consists of seven laws, and its principal changes are that 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%, that no new application to settle a tax dispute will be accepted after 31 December 2026, and that resident investors on the exchange have moved from capital gains tax to a duty on gross proceeds. They are Laws 148 to 154 of 2026, published in the Official Gazette, issue 30 bis (A), on 28 July 2026, all taking effect on the following day.

Their provisions reach businesses generally in the rent of their premises, the deduction of bad debts, the keeping of books and any live tax disputes. Others are specific to businesses with turnover up to EGP 10 million, investors on the exchange, businesses being incorporated, cement producers and state-owned companies.

The seven laws

Provisions for businesses generally

On VAT, Law 149 replaced item 28 of the exemption schedule. By its terms, item 28 had exempted the letting of non-residential buildings and units whatever their use; the exemption is now confined to what is not taken as an independent premises for managing an activity, and to premises of religious, charitable, social, educational and health activities and others designated by decision of the Minister of Finance. The text adds the words "even if they have adopted a trade sign and have a connection with customers" (unofficial translation), so a unit is not taken out of charge by being a shopfront. The provision is covered in full in Egypt VAT: commercial leases now taxable at 14% (Law 149 of 2026).

Under the text substituted by Law 151, deduction of a bad debt requires serious recovery steps and the passing of twelve months from the due date, and a first-instance judgment suffices. A debt not exceeding EGP 10,000 is excepted, provided total bad debts do not exceed 1% of the debtors balance at year end. Law 151 also replaced article 56 bis of Law 91, under which the profits that non-resident legal persons earn through a permanent establishment in Egypt are deemed distributed within sixty days of the end of the permanent establishment's financial year. The detail is in Egypt income tax amendments 2026.

Law 150 removed from the first paragraph of article 38 of Law 206 the condition that annual turnover exceed EGP 500,000. Every taxpayer carrying on a commercial, industrial, craft or professional activity must now keep the regular accounting books required by Commerce Law 17 of 1999 whatever its turnover, manually or electronically as before, without prejudice to Law 6 of 2025. That law is covered in Egypt's Simplified Tax Regime for Small Enterprises.

Law 152 renewed Law 79 of 2016 until 31 December 2026, after which the committees will not hear a new application. Law 79 is temporary on its own terms: its article 8 provides that it is to 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 151 also carries a transitional provision for businesses with turnover up to EGP 10 million: settlement of their non-final tax for periods from 1 January 2023 to before March 2025 (under the correction notice published in the Official Gazette, issue 32 bis, on 8 August 2026), at a fixed amount or a percentage of turnover.

Investors on the exchange

Law 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 when the current text is set against the previous text enacted by Law 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 199 of 2020 had taken them out of this duty once the postponement of capital gains tax ended, so they were subject to capital gains tax and not to stamp duty. Law 153 repealed that article, bringing residents back within the duty at 0.5 per thousand, while Law 151 exempted their capital gains on listed securities. Law 151 carries a further transitional provision: a waiver of unpaid capital gains tax on listed shares for the period from 16 June 2023 until Law 151 came into force. The duty is covered in detail in Egypt share-sale stamp duty.

The duty does not apply to transactions by companies licensed to act as an accredited market maker under Capital Market Law 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.

Businesses being incorporated and particular sectors

Law 150 added article 27 bis to Law 206: 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 temporary card may not be used to issue electronic receipts or invoices, and that restriction decides its practical value. A business whose activity requires electronic invoicing from day one gains nothing operational from it; its use is confined to completing formalities. As at 23 October 2026 we had found no decision of the Head of the ETA setting the form of the card. The detail is in Egypt temporary tax card.

On cement, Law 148 replaced item 19 of article 1 of Law 147 of 1984, which now sets a fee of EGP 35 per tonne of cement produced, with factories obliged to remit the fee to the ETA for what they produce. As substituted by Law 153 of 2018, the item had charged EGP 100 per tonne of clay used by cement factories, at one third of a tonne for each tonne of cement, with a minimum of EGP 35 per tonne of cement produced, so on that text's own terms the amount due per tonne was also EGP 35. The fee attaches to production, not sale, so its base is output and it is due whether or not the cement is sold.

The text substituted for 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. Drivers of public passenger and goods vehicles, Egyptian or foreign, and workers on routes or trucks that habitually cross the border are excluded from it. The detail is in Law 148 of 2026.

Law 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. The detail is in State-owned companies in Egypt.

What we recommend

• 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, and, for businesses with turnover up to EGP 10 million, compare the fixed settlement with ordinary assessment for each year of the period.
• Review the bad debt policy against the twelve-month period, the EGP 10,000 exception and the 1% cap.
• In groups, schedule non-residents' permanent establishment profits against the sixty-day deeming rule (article 56 bis of Law 91).
• For cement producers, base the fee on output rather than on sales.

As at 23 October 2026 we had found no executive regulations issued for these amendments, to which several articles refer, so a number of procedural details remain pending, among them the rules for suspending tax on machinery. Other points await separate decisions, among them the form of the temporary tax card, by decision of the Head of the ETA, and the designation of national infrastructure projects, by decree of the Prime Minister.

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, Founder Partner
Chartered Accountant, Ministry of Finance, Egypt

Member, Egyptian Society of Accountants & Auditors
Member, Egyptian Tax Society
Member, Egyptian Society for Public Finance and Taxation

Partner profile · Book a consultation

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.