Egypt share-sale stamp duty: one rate from Law 153 of 2026

Executive summary

• Law No. 153 of 2026, amending certain provisions of the Stamp Duty Law issued by Law No. 111 of 1980, was published in the Official Gazette, issue No. 30 bis (A), on 28 July 2026 and took effect on the following day. It replaced article 83 bis and repealed article 5 of Law No. 199 of 2020.
• Residents are back within the duty at 0.5 per thousand on each of seller and buyer. The repealed article 5 had taken them out of it once the postponement of capital gains tax ended; at the same time, Law No. 151 of 2026 exempted their capital gains on listed securities. The resident investor has therefore moved from a tax on the gain to a duty on gross proceeds.
• The non-resident rate fell from 1.25 per thousand to 0.5 per thousand, level with residents.
• The charge is now confined to securities listed on the Egyptian Exchange, other than listed investment certificates.
• Same-day purchases and sales are no longer outside the charge; they now carry 0.25 per thousand on each of seller and buyer.
• The base is the gross sale value with no costs deducted, so the duty is due even where the trade closes at a loss.

The law is one of seven tax laws published in the same issue of the Official Gazette; all seven are reviewed together in Egypt's July 2026 tax package.

The text before and after

The previous text of article 83 bis was enacted by article 1 of Law No. 199 of 2020, published in the Official Gazette, issue No. 39 bis (G), on 30 September 2020:

A tax is imposed on the gross sales of securities of all kinds, whether those securities are Egyptian or foreign, listed on the securities market or unlisted, with no costs deducted, as follows: 1.25 per thousand borne by the non-resident seller, 1.25 per thousand borne by the non-resident buyer; 0.5 per thousand borne by the resident seller, 0.5 per thousand borne by the resident buyer. The tax provided for in the first paragraph of this article shall not apply to purchases and sales of securities carried out on the same day.

Article 5 of the same law provided that:

A resident shall not be subject to the stamp duty imposed by article 83 bis of the Stamp Duty Law as from the day following the end of the postponement period provided for in article 4 of this Law.

The postponement in question was of capital gains tax on residents' gains from listed securities. Once it ended, residents were subject to capital gains tax and bore no stamp duty.

The current text of article 83 bis, enacted by Law No. 153 of 2026:

A tax is imposed on the gross sales of securities listed on the Egyptian Exchange, other than investment certificates listed on the exchange, with no costs deducted. The burden is borne by both seller and buyer as follows: 0.5 per thousand borne by the resident or non-resident buyer, and 0.5 per thousand borne by the resident or non-resident seller, as the case may be; or 0.25 per thousand borne by the buyer and 0.25 per thousand borne by the seller, resident or non-resident as the case may be, in respect of purchases and sales of securities carried out on the same day.

With article 5 of Law No. 199 of 2020 repealed, the rule that took residents out of the duty has gone.

Four differences

The amendment does not move in one direction. The non-resident rate fell to less than half its former level and the scope narrowed to listed securities, but residents came back within the duty and same-day trades moved from outside the charge to inside it. A trader who opens and closes a position on the same day previously bore nothing and now bears 0.25 per thousand on each leg.

The market maker exemption

The duty does not apply to transactions carried out by companies licensed to act as an accredited market maker under the Capital Market Law issued by Law No. 95 of 1992. That exemption was not in the previous text.

Who withholds, and when

The body responsible for settling the sales must withhold the duty and remit it to the competent tax office within five days of the beginning of the month following the month in which the transaction took place, on the prescribed form. It is jointly liable with the seller and the buyer for the duty and the late payment charge.

The obligation to withhold and remit therefore does not sit with the investor, but joint liability means a failure by that body does not discharge them.

The base is gross proceeds, not gain: stamp duty versus capital gains tax

The duty is charged on gross sales with no costs deducted. It is therefore due on the full sale value whatever the outcome of the trade, including a trade closed at a loss. That is what distinguishes it from capital gains tax, whose base is the gain.

Law No. 151 of 2026 dealt with capital gains separately: it exempted gains on the disposal of securities listed on the Egyptian Exchange while disallowing the deduction or carry-forward of losses on them, and waived unpaid amounts for the period from 16 June 2023 until it came into force. The detail is in Egypt income tax amendments 2026.

What this requires

• For residents: check that the duty is being applied at 0.5 per thousand to their transactions from 29 July 2026; they were outside it before then.
• For non-residents: review anything withheld at 1.25 per thousand on transactions from 29 July 2026.
• Review settlement statements for the rate applied to same-day trades, which now carry 0.25 per thousand.
• Exclude unlisted and foreign securities from the duty computation for transactions after the law came into force.
• Keep stamp duty separate from capital gains tax in the records; each has its own base and its own treatment.

The firm's Tax Department reviews the tax treatment of securities portfolios and what is withheld on them, and prepares any adjustments required.

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.