DR Congo expat tax 2026: new IRPP and 30% cap

From 1 January 2026, the DR Congo taxes its residents in a completely new way. The old schedular taxes on salaries (IPR), business profits and investment income have been replaced by a single personal income tax, the impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques (IRPP), charged on your worldwide income. The scale climbs to 40%, but the law says your total tax can never be more than 30% of your taxable income.

This guide covers DRC personal tax for the 2026 tax year, which runs with the calendar year from 1 January to 31 December 2026. It's the first year of the new tax. Amounts are in Congolese francs (FC, or CDF).

The key question is simple. Do you run a small business, or is your income a salary, pension or investments? Freelancers with turnover up to FC 300 million pay just 2% of turnover. Almost everyone else with a good income ends up paying 30%.

What's changed: Law 23/053 of 30 November 2023, which created the IRPP (and the IS for companies), came into force on 1 January 2026, 24 months after the end of the year it was signed. It repealed the professional and movable capital income taxes in the 1969 schedular tax law, the 1969 ordinance on the tax on expatriates' pay (IERE) and the 2013 small business regime. Residents are now taxed on foreign income too. The 3% to 40% scale and the 30% cap carry over from the old IPR, and employers of expatriate staff still pay a 25% levy on their gross pay. The Finance Law for 2026 (Law 25/060 of 29 December 2025) amended the 2023 law, and the DGI's IPR pages still describe the old taxes, so expect further guidance.

👉 DGI: the Finance Law 25/060 for 2026 and its changes to Law 23/053 (in French)

📋 DR Congo tax at a glance for 2026

The 30% cap and the 2% small business rate

Two rules shape almost every DRC tax bill, and they pull in opposite directions.

Image 1 — from 2026 DR Congo taxes worldwide income, capped at 30%

The 30% cap. Under article 118 of Law 23/053, the IRPP is worked out on your net global income using a four-band scale. The 40% band starts at FC 43.2 million, which is only about US$19,000. But the same article says that in no case can the total tax exceed 30% of taxable income. The scale overtakes the cap at about FC 78 million (about US$34,000), so above that you simply pay 30% of your taxable income.

The 2% rate. Individual businesses, including people in the professions, are taxed under one of two regimes (article 105). A business with turnover between FC 25 million and FC 300 million, excluding taxes, falls in the small business regime (article 109). Its income tax is 2% of turnover for services and 1% for sales (article 127). Below FC 25 million, a micro-enterprise pays a fixed amount set by the Finance Minister.

At about FC 2,265 to the dollar, FC 300 million is about US$132,000. If your turnover goes above it, you move straight to the normal regime and pay tax on your profit on the scale. The Minister can adjust both limits by order.

👉 DGI: Law 23/053 of 30 November 2023 on IS and IRPP, Journal Officiel, articles 105 to 109, 118 and 127 (in French)

When you become tax resident in the DR Congo, and how you stop

Under article 59 of Law 23/053, anyone who has their habitual residence in the DRC pays IRPP on all their income, whatever their nationality or the source of the income. Article 60 says you have your habitual residence in the DRC if any of these applies:

• your permanent home (foyer d'habitation permanente) or your main place of stay is in the DRC

• you carry on a professional activity in the DRC, employed or self-employed, unless you can show it's only incidental

• you stay in the DRC for at least 183 days, in one go or not, over a period of 12 months

Taking a job in the DRC makes you resident straight away, even if your family stays abroad. The 183 days are counted over any 12 months, not just the calendar year, so a stay that straddles two years can still count. If you're also resident somewhere else, only the treaties with Belgium and South Africa have a tie-breaker.

Non-residents are taxed only on income from the DRC. That includes the pay of someone living abroad whose work is done in the DRC for an employer resident or established there.

To stop being resident, you need to give up your home in the DRC, stop working there and stay under 183 days in any 12 months. We found no exit tax in the 2026 law.

👉 DGI: impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques (IRPP), who pays and the scale (in French)

Income tax rates for 2026

Salaries, pensions, investment income, gains and business profits are added together and taxed on one scale. Your income is rounded down to the nearest FC 1,000 first.

DR Congo income tax (IRPP) rates for 2026

Source: Law 23/053, article 118. Total tax can never exceed 30% of taxable income.

Family charges. The tax is reduced by 2% for each dependant, up to nine: your spouse, unmarried children and, if they live with you, parents of either spouse. There's no reduction on the tax on income above the third band (article 123).

Salary deductions. Compulsory pension and health contributions, including your 5% CNSS, come off your pay before tax (article 71). Family allowances at the legal rates are exempt, and so are housing allowances up to 30% of pay, transport allowances within set limits and documented medical costs (article 69). From your global income you can also deduct life insurance premiums up to 5% and voluntary pension savings up to 10% of gross taxable income (article 116).

👉 DGI: IS and IRPP leaflet, October 2025, with the scale, the 30% cap and deadlines (in French)

Worked example

• You're single, resident and work for a Congolese employer for all of 2026, earning FC 226.5 million (about US$100k at FC 2,265 to the dollar).

• Your 5% CNSS pension contribution is FC 11,325,000, which is deductible, so your taxable income is FC 215,175,000.

• The scale gives FC 9,486,720 on the first FC 43.2 million plus 40% of the rest: FC 78,276,720, or 36.4% of taxable income. The cap cuts this to 30%: FC 64,552,500.

Your all-in bill is about FC 75.9 million, or 33.5% of your salary (28.5% for the income tax alone). Your employer pays its own 13% CNSS on top and, if you're an expatriate, the 25% levy on your gross pay.

Working remotely for a foreign employer? If you live or work in the DRC, you're resident and your salary is taxable there from 2026, even if it's paid from abroad. Your employer isn't set up to withhold, so you declare it on your annual return.

Freelancing in the DR Congo

Freelance and professional fees are non-commercial profits (bénéfices non commerciaux). Which regime you're in depends on your turnover, excluding taxes:

• Up to FC 25 million (about US$11,000): micro-enterprise, paying a fixed amount set by ministerial order.

• FC 25 million to FC 300 million: small business, paying 2% of turnover for services or 1% for sales. You can opt for the normal regime before 1 February, and the choice binds you for three years.

• Over FC 300 million: the normal regime. You're taxed on your profit, meaning fees less business expenses, on the scale with the 30% cap. The tax can't be less than 1% of turnover.

On US$100k of fees (FC 226.5 million), the small business regime gives tax of FC 4.53 million, about 2%. The DGI's leaflet says small businesses pay in two instalments of 60% and 40% in the year after the income is earned. CNSS is compulsory for employees, not the self-employed, who can join as voluntary members and pay the full rates themselves. The law doesn't exclude professions or foreigners from the small business regime, but you'll need the right immigration status to work for yourself in the DRC.

If you're not established in the DRC and invoice Congolese clients, they withhold 14% of your gross fees (article 144).

👉 DGI: Law 23/053, articles 93 to 113, 122, 127 and 142 to 144 on business profits, regimes and non-resident providers (in French)

Crypto, investments and pensions

Is crypto taxed in the DR Congo? There are no crypto-specific rules and the DGI hasn't published guidance. Article 82 taxes gains individuals make on movable or immovable property, or on rights of any kind, in managing their private wealth. In our reading that catches a crypto gain, which then goes on the scale with the 30% cap.

• Dividends and interest: dividends, interest on bonds, deposits and current accounts are taxable investment income (articles 72 and 73). A Congolese payer withholds 20%, which is credited against your tax on the scale, not a final tax (articles 120 and 121).

• Foreign dividends and interest: no one withholds in the DRC, so you declare them and they're taxed on the scale. There's no lower rate for them.

• Capital gains: taxed as part of your income, with 20% withheld where there's a Congolese payer. Gains on your main home, household furniture, cars and agricultural land are exempt (article 83).

• Pensions: pensions of any kind are taxable salary income (article 68). Pensions granted under the laws governing old-age pensions, and invalidity and survivors' pensions, are exempt (article 69). The law doesn't say whether a foreign state pension counts, so treat a private or workplace pension as taxable.

We found no wealth tax and no inheritance tax in the 2026 law or the DGI's published tax code.

👉 DGI: Law 23/053, articles 68, 69, 72 to 83, 120 and 121 (in French)

Social security

Employees are covered by the Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale (CNSS), whatever their nationality. That includes a foreign worker employed by a company abroad who works in the DRC for more than six months.

• Pensions: 10% of pay, split 5% from you and 5% from your employer.

• Work accidents: 1.5%, paid by the employer.

• Family benefits: 6.5%, paid by the employer.

There's no ceiling, so contributions are charged on your whole salary, with the minimum wage as a floor. The 5% and 5% split is set by Decree 18/041 of 24 November 2018; the Social Security Law says your share can't be more than half. The self-employed aren't compulsorily covered but can join as voluntary members, paying the whole contribution themselves. Employers pay by the 15th of the following month.

👉 CNSS: which workers must be covered, including foreign workers (in French)

👉 CNSS: contribution return form showing the 10%, 1.5% and 6.5% rates (in French)

👉 CNSS: Law 16/009 of 15 July 2016 on the general social security scheme and its implementing texts (in French)

Double tax treaties

Does the DR Congo have double tax treaties? Only two. The DGI's tax code lists conventions with Belgium and South Africa, both ratified and published in the Journal Officiel. There's no treaty with the UK or the United States. Now that residents pay tax on worldwide income, income taxed abroad can be taxed again in the DRC. If you have foreign income from a country without a treaty, ask the DGI how it will treat the foreign tax before you rely on any relief.

👉 DGI: Code des impôts to 31 March 2021, including the conventions with Belgium and South Africa (in French)

Staying long term in the DR Congo

The DRC has no digital nomad visa. British citizens need a visa before they travel, applied for through the DRC embassy, and the UK government suggests a long-term visa if you plan to stay for a considerable time. The Directorate General of Migration's e-visa is for business trips and visits and covers a stay of up to 7 days, so it isn't a route for living there.

The UK government advises against all travel to parts of the DRC, and against all but essential travel to others, so check the latest advice before you plan a move.

👉 Directorate General of Migration: e-visa questions and answers (in French)

👉 UK government: DR Congo entry requirements and long-term visas

Who is DR Congo good for?

How does the DR Congo 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 CNSS contributions. We convert at about FC 2,265 to US$1, the Central Bank of Congo's indicative rate on 20 October 2026.

☑️ Who is DR Congo good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026

👉 Banque Centrale du Congo: indicative exchange rates (in French)

Filing and deadlines

The tax year is the calendar year, and 2026 is the first year of IRPP.

• Annual return by 30 April: declare and pay your IRPP for 2026 by 30 April 2027. Check with the DGI whether you need to file if all your income is salary taxed at source.

• Monthly, by the 15th: employers withhold IRPP from salaries each month and pay it over with a monthly return, together with the 25% expatriate levy.

• Small businesses: the 2% or 1% tax on turnover is paid in two instalments of 60% and 40% in the following year.

• Normal regime businesses: instalments of 30%, 30% and 20% of last year's tax by 25 July, 25 September and 25 November.

You'll need a tax number (NIF) from the DGI, which you can request online, and returns can be filed and paid through the DGI's online service.

Frequently asked questions

When do I become tax resident in the DR Congo?

You have your habitual residence in the DRC if your permanent home or main place of stay is there, if you work there (unless the work is only incidental), or if you spend at least 183 days there over a 12-month period. Any one of the three is enough.

Does the DR Congo tax foreign income?

Yes, from 1 January 2026. Law 23/053 taxes residents on income from all sources, whatever their nationality, so foreign salary, pensions, dividends, interest and gains are taxable. Before 2026 the schedular taxes mostly reached income from the DRC.

What are the income tax rates in the DR Congo for 2026?

3% up to FC 1,944,000, 15% up to FC 21.6 million, 30% up to FC 43.2 million and 40% above that. Total tax can never exceed 30% of your taxable income, so above about FC 78 million you pay a flat 30%.

How are freelancers taxed in the DR Congo?

If your turnover is between FC 25 million and FC 300 million (about US$11,000 to US$132,000), you pay income tax of 2% of turnover for services, or 1% for sales. Above that, your profit is taxed on the scale with the 30% cap.

Is crypto taxed in the DR Congo?

There are no crypto-specific rules and no DGI guidance. The 2026 law taxes gains on movable property and rights of any kind held privately, so a crypto gain is likely taxed on the scale, at up to 30% of your income because of the cap.

Does the DR Congo have a tax treaty with the UK?

No. The DRC has tax treaties with only two countries, Belgium and South Africa. There's no treaty with the UK or the United States.

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