Cambodia is one of the easiest places in Asia to stay long term. You arrive on an ordinary visa, extend it in the country for up to 12 months at a time, and keep renewing. Salary tax tops out at 20%, and until this year individuals paid no capital gains tax.
That last point has now changed. This guide covers Cambodian personal tax for the 2026 tax year (the calendar year): residence, tax on salary, freelancing, the new capital gains tax, treaties and the long-stay visa route.
The key question is simple. Are you resident? Residents pay 0% to 20% on salary from anywhere in the world, and capital gains tax on assets in Cambodia and abroad. Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Cambodian salary and are only taxed on Cambodian assets.
What's changed: capital gains tax finally took effect on 1 January 2026 under Prakas 1130 of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, dated 31 December 2025, after several postponements. It applies at 20% to gains on investment assets (shares, securities and other financial assets), leases, goodwill, intellectual property and foreign currency. On 2 January 2026 the General Department of Taxation (GDT) announced that tax on gains from land and buildings is postponed for one more year, to gains made from 1 January 2027. The salary tax bands stay as set in March 2024.
📋 Cambodia tax at a glance for 2026
Topic | Details |
|---|---|
Tax system | Residents are taxed on salary and capital gains from Cambodia and abroad. Non-residents are taxed on Cambodian income and assets only |
Top income tax rate | 20% on monthly salary above KHR 12.5 million (about US$3,070). The first KHR 1.5 million a month is tax free. Non-residents pay a flat 20% |
All-in on a US$100k salary | About 16% as a resident (KHR 407 million). 20% as a non-resident |
Foreign income | Foreign salary is taxed for residents. Foreign pensions, dividends and interest aren't taxed in practice |
Dividends, interest, capital gains | Capital gains: 20% from 2026 (land and buildings from 2027). Interest from Cambodian banks: 4% or 6% withheld. Non-residents: 14% withholding on Cambodian payments |
Crypto gains | Not named in the rules. 20% if treated as an investment asset |
Residence at a glance | Getting in: easy (more than 182 days in any 12 months, or a home you habitually live in). Leaving: a clean break with no exit tax, but the 12-month window rolls |
Double tax treaties | 11 in force, all in Asia and Turkey |
Figures in riel are converted at KHR 4,070 to US$1. The National Bank of Cambodia's official rate was KHR 4,067 on 16 October 2026.
👉 National Bank of Cambodia: official exchange rate
Cambodia's new capital gains tax
Why does capital gains tax matter so much in Cambodia? Because it was postponed for years, so individuals paid no tax on selling shares, funds or a flat. From 2026 that's over for most assets, and property follows in 2027.
Image 1 — Cambodia's capital gains tax arrives in two stages
Capital gains tax is charged at a flat 20% on the gain. It covers six kinds of asset: land and buildings, leases, investment assets, goodwill, intellectual property and foreign currency. Investment assets means shares, securities and other financial assets, including shares in Cambodian and foreign companies.
Residents pay on gains from assets in Cambodia and abroad. That includes a portfolio held with a broker in London or New York.
Non-residents pay only on assets located in Cambodia.
Costs: you deduct the purchase price and the costs of buying and selling, backed by invoices. For land and buildings only, you can instead deduct a flat 80% of the sale price, which makes the tax 4% of the price.
Losses on one asset can't be set against gains on another, and aren't refunded.
Some sales are exempt. The main ones for individuals are your main home, if you've owned it for at least 5 years before you sell, transfers of property between parents and children, spouses and grandparents and grandchildren, and farmland worked by Cambodian citizens.
Gains on foreign currency are on the list too, so keep records if you move savings between currencies.
You file a return and pay within 3 months after each sale.
👉 Ministry of Economy and Finance: Prakas 1130 on Capital Gains Tax (in Khmer)
👉 GDT: Notification 041 postponing capital gains tax on immovable property to 2027 (in Khmer)
When you become tax resident in Cambodia
You're a Cambodian tax resident if you meet any one of three tests:
A home (domicile). You have a home in Cambodia, owned or rented, that's available to you and where you habitually live. The Prakas names houses, flats and rented rooms.
Principal place of abode. Cambodia is the centre of your life, judged on the facts: where your economic interests are, how long you stay, where your family lives and where you're socially active.
More than 182 days. You're in Cambodia for more than 182 days, in one visit or several, in any 12-month period ending in the current tax year. Any part of a day counts as a full day.
The 12 months don't have to match the calendar year, so days you spent in Cambodia late last year can count towards this year.
The home test is the one that catches people. Sign a long lease on a flat in Phnom Penh, live in it and you can be resident without reaching 182 days.
Leaving is simpler. Cambodia has no exit tax for individuals. You stop being resident once you no longer meet any of the tests, but the rolling 12-month window means a long stay can keep you resident into the next year, and so can keeping your flat.
👉 Ministry of Economy and Finance: Prakas 575 on Tax on Salary, with the residence tests (in Khmer)
Tax on salary for 2026
Tax on salary is a monthly tax that your employer withholds from each payment. There's no annual return to file as an employee.
Cambodia monthly tax on salary rates for residents in 2026
Monthly taxable salary | Rate |
|---|---|
Up to KHR 1,500,000 | 0% |
KHR 1,500,001 to 2,000,000 | 5% |
KHR 2,000,001 to 8,500,000 | 10% |
KHR 8,500,001 to 12,500,000 | 15% |
Over KHR 12,500,000 | 20% |
Source: Sub-Decree 48 of 11 March 2024 (article 3) and Prakas 575 of 19 September 2024 (article 14), as quoted by the GDT.
Residents pay on salary for work in Cambodia and abroad, wherever it's paid. You can deduct an allowance for a dependent spouse and children before the rates apply.
Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Cambodian salary, with no allowances.
Fringe benefits such as housing or a car are taxed at 20% of their market value. Your employer pays this tax, not you. A free flat for a foreign employee counts as a fringe benefit.
👉 GDT: questions and answers on tax on salary and fringe benefits (in Khmer)
Worked example
You're single, resident and earn US$100k a year, about KHR 407 million, or KHR 33.9 million a month.
The quick formula is 20% of your monthly salary minus KHR 1,225,000. That gives KHR 5,558,333 a month.
Over the year that's KHR 66.7 million, about US$16,390.
Your bill is about 16.4% of your salary. As a non-resident, the same salary would cost a flat 20%, or KHR 81.4 million.
Freelancing in Cambodia
Freelancers and other self-employed people are taxed under the tax on income, not the tax on salary. As a sole proprietor registered for self-assessment, you pay tax on your annual profit at progressive rates from 0% to 20%, and file an annual return within 3 months of the end of the tax year.
We couldn't confirm the annual bands from an official source. If they mirror the monthly salary bands multiplied by 12, US$100k of profit costs about 16%, and the rate can't go above 20%.
If you're not registered and a Cambodian business pays you for services, it withholds 15% from the fee. You also need the right visa and a work permit: the EB extension doesn't give you the right to work on its own.
👉 GDT: annual tax on income return TOI 01, with the 0% to 20% progressive rate (in Khmer and English)
Crypto, investments and pensions
How is crypto taxed in Cambodia? There's no crypto-specific rule. Capital gains tax covers investment assets, defined as shares, securities and other financial assets. Crypto isn't named, so whether a crypto gain is caught is unclear. If it is, you'd pay 20% on the gain, filed within 3 months of each sale.
Investment income works mainly through withholding by Cambodian payers:
Bank interest paid by a Cambodian bank to a resident has 6% withheld on fixed-term deposits and 4% on savings accounts.
Rent has 10% withheld, and interest and royalties from Cambodian businesses that aren't banks have 15%.
Non-residents have 14% withheld from Cambodian-source payments, unless a treaty gives a lower rate.
Foreign dividends, foreign interest and a pension paid from abroad aren't on that list, and individuals who aren't in business don't file an annual return. In practice, that leaves this income untaxed. The GDT hasn't published guidance confirming it, so check your position if the amounts are large.
Cambodia has no inheritance tax and no wealth tax. Transfers of property within close family are exempt from capital gains tax.
👉 GDT: frequently asked questions, including withholding tax rates (partly in Khmer)
Social security
Employees covered by the Labour Law are registered with the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), which runs the pension, health care, employment injury and unemployment schemes. The NSSF also covers public sector staff and has schemes for the self-employed.
We couldn't confirm the current contribution rates and wage cap on an official NSSF page, so ask your employer what's deducted from your pay. Our ratings count tax on salary only.
👉 National Social Security Fund: the schemes and who they cover
Double tax treaties
Does Cambodia have double tax treaties? Yes, but not many. According to the GDT, Cambodia has 11 treaties in force: Singapore, China, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao and Turkey. There's no treaty with the UK, the United States, Australia or any EU country.
The treaties cover tax on salary, withholding tax and capital gains tax. To claim treaty relief, you apply to the GDT, and an approval runs for a full calendar year. Without a treaty, you rely on the other country's rules for relief, so check both sides before you move.
👉 GDT: questions and answers on double tax agreements, with the list of 11 in force (in Khmer)
The long-stay visa route
Cambodia doesn't have a digital nomad visa, but its long-stay route is simple. You enter on an E (ordinary or business) visa, valid for 30 days, available from embassies or online through the e-Visa system. Before it runs out, you apply in Cambodia for an extension of stay. The main types are:
EB (business): 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, for employees, freelancers and the self-employed. Six and 12-month extensions allow multiple entries. You usually need a letter from a Cambodian employer or your own business registration.
ER (retirement): 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, renewable, usually from age 55, with proof you're retired and have enough money.
EG (job seeker): 1, 3 or 6 months while you look for work.
An extension isn't a work permit, so you need one of those too if you work in Cambodia. And once you've spent more than 182 days in any 12 months, or have a home here, you're tax resident.
👉 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Berlin): types of visa
Who is Cambodia good for?
How does Cambodia compare for different kinds of mover? Ratings are relative to the 150+ countries TaxPilot covers, based on 2026 rules and the all-in cost including compulsory contributions.
☑️ Who is Cambodia good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026
Expat profile | Cambodia rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
Employees | Good | About 16% all-in on a US$100k salary (KHR 407 million) as a resident: tax on salary at 0% to 20% a month, with the top rate starting at KHR 12.5 million a month. Non-residents pay a flat 20%. NSSF contributions are not counted (rates not confirmed officially). |
Freelancers (self-employed) | Good | About 16% on US$100k of profit as a registered sole proprietor, if the annual bands mirror the monthly salary bands (our estimate). The rate tops out at 20%. You also need a work permit. |
Retirees | Excellent | In practice 0% on a US$40k pension paid from abroad plus US$20k of foreign dividends and interest, as there's no Cambodian payer to withhold and no annual return for this income. There's no inheritance tax. GDT guidance doesn't spell this out. |
Crypto gains | Moderate | Unclear. Capital gains tax has applied to investment assets since 1 January 2026, defined as shares, securities and other financial assets. Crypto isn't named. If it counts, a US$100k gain costs US$20,000. |
Investment income | Good | About 10% in our example: gains on shares and funds, in Cambodia or abroad, are taxed at 20% from 2026, while foreign dividends and interest aren't taxed in practice. There's no wealth tax. |
Digital nomad visa | Moderate | There's no digital nomad visa. Most long-stayers enter on an E (ordinary) visa and extend it in Cambodia for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, renewable. You need a work permit to work locally. |
Filing and deadlines
The tax year is the calendar year. Most expats never file a personal return:
Employees: your employer withholds tax on salary every month and files by the 20th of the next month on paper, or the 25th online.
Sole proprietors: you file an annual tax on income return within 3 months of the end of the tax year, so by 31 March 2027 for 2026, and make monthly prepayments during the year.
Capital gains: you file a return and pay within 3 months after each sale.
Late filing or payment adds 10% of the unpaid tax, plus interest of 1.5% a month.
Frequently asked questions
When do you become tax resident in Cambodia?
You're resident if you have a home in Cambodia that you habitually live in, if Cambodia is your principal place of abode, or if you're in Cambodia for more than 182 days in any 12-month period ending in the tax year. Any part of a day counts as a full day.
What are the tax on salary rates in Cambodia in 2026?
Residents pay monthly rates of 0% up to KHR 1.5 million, then 5%, 10% and 15%, and 20% above KHR 12.5 million a month. Non-residents pay a flat 20% on Cambodian salary. Employers withhold the tax every month.
Does Cambodia have capital gains tax?
Yes, from 1 January 2026. Gains on shares, securities, leases, goodwill, intellectual property and foreign currency are taxed at 20%. Gains on land and buildings are taxed from 1 January 2027. Residents pay on assets in Cambodia and abroad.
Does Cambodia tax foreign income?
Residents are taxed on foreign salary and on gains from foreign assets. Pensions, dividends and interest paid from abroad aren't taxed in practice, because there's no withholding by a Cambodian payer and no annual return for this income.
Does Cambodia have a digital nomad visa?
No. Most long-stayers enter on an E visa and extend it in Cambodia for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, as an EB business extension or an ER retirement extension from age 55. You still need a work permit to work locally.
How many double tax treaties does Cambodia have?
Cambodia has 11 treaties in force, with Singapore, China, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Macao and Turkey. There's no treaty with the UK or the United States.
Where to go next
Important information
This article is general information and does not constitute tax, legal, immigration or financial advice, and does not create a client relationship. Tax outcomes depend on travel history, income sources, treaty status and the law applying to the relevant year. Rates, thresholds and regimes change, and some measures described may be proposed rather than enacted; this article reflects our understanding as at the date of publication. Obtain advice from a suitably qualified professional before acting or refraining from action.
