Remote work taxes in Ghana: GRA and foreign pay

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This guide is general information about personal income tax in Ghana for people who live there and work remotely for employers or clients abroad. It isn't tax advice. We quote the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and its published summary of the Income Tax Act. Thresholds and forms change, so check GRA's current pages and talk to a chartered tax adviser about your own case.

Residents are taxed on worldwide income

GRA's personal income tax page is clear: a resident person's assessable income is their worldwide income from all sources. A non-resident is taxed only on income from Ghana.

GRA's summary of the Income Tax Act says an individual is resident for tax purposes if they're:

a Ghanaian citizen, unless they have a permanent home outside the country and live in it
present in Ghana for 183 days or more in any 12-month period
an employee or official of the Government of Ghana posted abroad
a citizen temporarily away for no more than 365 continuous days who has a permanent home in Ghana

So if you live in Accra and work from home for a company in Toronto, the salary or fees count toward your Ghana income, even though the money comes from abroad.

Who has to pay

GRA says you must pay income tax if you're an employee, a sole proprietor or a partner, and you earn above GH₵490 a month. GRA's domestic tax FAQ still gives a lower figure, GH₵365 a month, so the pages aren't always updated together. Confirm the current threshold with GRA before you decide you're below it. The same FAQ says that with irregular income, tax is worked out on what you received over the year.

GRA also explains that income from employment, business and investment is put together at the end of the year and taxed as one. A remote salary plus a few freelance contracts all go into the same total.

Your TIN is your Ghana Card PIN

Since 1 April 2021, the personal identification number on your Ghana Card has replaced the separate Taxpayer Identification Number for individuals. You quote it on returns, forms and schedules. If you had an old GRA TIN, GRA asks you to link it to your Ghana Card PIN.

Use the same PIN with your bank and with any employer of record that pays you, so your records match.

Quarterly instalments when no tax is withheld

A Ghanaian employer withholds PAYE from your salary. A company abroad usually isn't set up to do that. GRA's summary of the Act covers this case: an instalment payer whose income comes from a business, from investments, or from an employer who isn't required to withhold tax pays tax in quarterly instalments.

How it works in practice:

File an estimate of the tax you expect to owe for the year by the date of the first instalment. GRA's forms page lists the self-assessment estimate as form DT 104, with DT 104A for a revised estimate.
Pay a share of that estimate each quarter.
Each instalment is credited against your final tax for the year.
If your income changes a lot, file a revised estimate rather than paying too much or too little.

GRA's summary also says an estimate may take account of foreign tax paid on the same income. Keep proof of any tax withheld abroad.

Your annual return

GRA's summary says taxpayers must file a return of income no later than four months after the end of the year. For the calendar year, that's 30 April. The personal income tax return is form DT 103. Attach any withholding certificates and supporting details.

The same summary notes that a resident individual with no tax payable is exempt from filing a return. Don't assume that's you just because no one withheld tax. If you earned above the threshold, there's tax to account for.

GRA's site links to its taxpayer portal for filing and paying personal income tax online.

A simple yearly routine

Here's a routine that fits the rules above for someone paid from abroad with no tax withheld:

At the start of the year, estimate your income for the year in cedis, work out the tax, and file your self-assessment estimate before the first instalment is due.
Every quarter, pay the instalment and keep the receipt. Each one is a credit against your final bill.
Whenever your income changes a lot, for example a new contract or a lost client, file a revised estimate.
By 30 April, file your return for the year before, showing what you actually earned, the instalments you paid and any balance due.

Move a fixed share of every foreign payment into a separate account as it arrives. Then the instalment money is there when the quarter ends.

Common mistakes

Assuming money paid into a foreign account or a payment app doesn't count. For a resident, worldwide income counts.
Waiting for GRA to send a bill. Instalments and returns are your job.
Keeping only dollar invoices. Record the cedi amount that actually reached you.

Records, and when to get help

Keep these for every year:

contracts and offer letters from foreign employers or clients
invoices and payment confirmations
bank statements showing the cedi amount received
receipts for business costs such as internet, power backup and equipment
any statement of tax withheld abroad

Talk to a chartered tax adviser if you have several foreign clients, had tax withheld abroad, moved into or out of Ghana during the year, or aren't sure whether you count as resident.