Africa

Malawi

Corporate rate
30%
Top personal rate
40%
VAT / GST rate
16.5%
One-sentence summary Malawi's corporate tax position: 30% standard rate. Personal income tax: Top marginal rate 40%. VAT/consumption tax: 16.5% standard rate.

Corporate Tax Rate

30% standard rate.

Personal Tax Rate

Top marginal rate 40%.

VAT / GST Rate

16.5% standard rate.

Residency

A company is resident in Malawi if incorporated in Malawi; a trust, estate, or partnership is resident if established/organized under Malawian written law; where a permanent establishment exists, tax residence follows. Malawi operates a source-based (territorial) system: corporations are taxed only on Malawi-source income - taxable income comprises Malawi-sourced receipts and accruals (including capital gains), with both Malawi-source and foreign-source dividend income specifically excluded from taxable income.

CFC (Controlled Foreign Company) Rules: No

No CFC rules were identified in available sources - consistent with Malawi's underlying territorial/source-based tax structure, where foreign-source income generally falls outside the Malawian tax net for corporations regardless of any CFC-style attribution mechanism.

Thin Capitalization

Malawi introduced thin capitalization rules effective July 1, 2018, limiting the debt-to-equity ratio to 3:1 for all controlled transactions (not limited to shareholder loans).

Foreign Bank Account / Foreign Financial Asset Reporting

No domestic Malawian equivalent to the US FBAR/Form 8938 regime was identified in available sources.

Treaty Network

Malawi has entered double tax treaties with France, Kenya, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK - though the Kenya treaty is not operational, and the Netherlands treaty was suspended effective January 1, 2014 (a new treaty was under negotiation as of the most recent verification). A Denmark treaty has been concluded but not yet promulgated, and Malawi-Mauritius treaty negotiations were ongoing. Malawi has not yet ratified the OECD's Multilateral Instrument (MLI).

Sources: Trading Economics - Malawi tax rates (Malawi Revenue Authority). Page last verified: August 07, 2026. General information only - confirm current rates with a licensed advisor in this jurisdiction before relying on this page.