PERSONAL INCOME TAX IN CAMEROON

A Personal Income tax in Cameroon is Tax, assessed on the basis of the income earned.

The following categories of income shall be considered as income referred to in Sub-section 1 above:

• Salaries, wages, pensions and life annuities;
• Income from stocks and shares;
• Income from real estate;
• Profits from handicraft, industrial and commercial activities;
• Profits from farming business;
• Profits from non-commercial and related professions.

PERSONS LIABLE

Subject to the provisions of international conventions and those of Section 27 of the tax code, the Personal Income Tax shall be payable by any natural persons whose residence is in Cameroon.

The following shall be deemed to have their tax domiciled in Cameroon:

1. Persons having a home or principal place of residence in Cameroon;
2. Persons engaged in a salaried or non-salaried professional activity in Cameroon, unless they can prove that this is being done only accessorily;
3. Persons who have the core of their economic interest in Cameroon;

• Civil servants or State employees working in a foreign country and who are exempt from taxes in the said country shall be considered as having their tax domicile in Cameroon;
• Persons whose tax domicile is situated out of Cameroon shall be liable to the Personal Income tax for any profits made in Cameroon;
• Persons of Cameroonian or foreign nationality, with or without a tax domicile in Cameroon, who earn profits or income taxable by Cameroon under the terms of an international convention to avoid double taxation, shall also be liable to the Personal Income Tax.
• The staff of international organizations, diplomatic and consular missions recruited locally or not and not having the status of diplomatic personnel pursuant in international conventions shall automatically be liable to Personal Income Tax in Cameroon.

Partners in general partnerships and active partners in limited liability partnerships who do not opt for the company tax system shall be personally liable to the Personal Income Tax for the proportion of the corporate earnings corresponding to their shares in the company.

The same shall apply to partners in non-trading companies (natural persons), joint-ventures and de facto firms not liable to company tax.

EXEMPTIONS

The following persons shall be exempt from the Personal Income Tax:

(1) The heads of diplomatic missions, consuls, personnel of diplomatic and consular missions of foreign nationality holding a diplomatic card issued by the Ministry of External Relations, only in so far as the countries represented by the said diplomatic and consular missions grant similar benefits to Cameroonian diplomatic and consular personnel;

(2) Staff members of international organizations with diplomatic status, insofar as the Established Convention or headquarters Agreement of such international organizations explicitly makes provision of such exemption;

(3) The administrative and technical staff of diplomatic missions, consular posts and international organizations where it is established that they are subject to income tax in their countries of origin;

(4) Natural persons, exclusively for their activities that are subject to the discharge tax.

PLACE OF ASSESSMENT

Where the taxpayer has a single place of residence in Cameroon, the tax shall be assessed at such place of residence.

Where he has several places of residence in Cameroon, he shall be assessed where he is deemed to have his principal place of residence.

Persons resident abroad, as well as civil servants and State employees working in a foreign country, who do not own a residence in Cameroon, shall be assessed at the place which has their main interest in Cameroon for the former, and at the Seat of their supervisory service, for the latter.