Egypt — Business Formation & Registration for the Self-Employed
Asked about how to register, form, or set up a business in Egypt as a self-employed person, freelancer, professional, sole proprietor, or small company.
Key facts — Egypt, 2026
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Egypt (EG) |
| What this covers | Registering as a self-employed individual / sole proprietor and (briefly) forming an LLC |
| Currency | EGP (Egyptian Pound) |
| Authorities | ETA (Egyptian Tax Authority — tax card, tax file, VAT, e-invoicing); GAFI (companies / LLCs); Commercial Register (السجل التجاري / GAFI); NOSI (National Organisation for Social Insurance — التأمينات الاجتماعية); relevant professional syndicate (نقابة) |
| Tax card | البطاقة الضريبية — mandatory ETA tax identification document |
| Income tax law (general) | Income Tax Law No. 91 of 2005 (as amended) |
| Simplified regime | Law No. 6 of 2025 turnover-based system for turnover ≤ EGP 20,000,000 (see eg-sme-tax) |
| VAT law | VAT Law No. 67 of 2016 (as amended) — standard rate 14% |
| VAT registration threshold | Historically EGP 500,000 turnover; lowered to EGP 250,000 effective 1 Jan 2026 per Resolution No. 281 of 2025 — verify current value with ETA |
| Social insurance | Law No. 148 of 2019 — self-employed contribute (commonly cited) ~21% of a chosen reference wage — verify current rate/bands |
| Quality tier | Research-verified — pending sign-off by an Egyptian accountant |
| Version | 1.0 |
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Research-verified
Drafted from authoritative sources (tax authority sites, Big-4 summaries). Awaiting credentialed sign-off.
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About
Use this skill whenever asked about how to register, form, or set up a business in Egypt as a self-employed person, freelancer, professional, sole proprietor, or small company. Trigger on phrases like "register a business Egypt", "tax card Egypt", "how to start a business Egypt", "sole proprietor Egypt", "freelance registration Egypt", "GAFI LLC Egypt", "commercial register Egypt", "open a tax file Egypt", "register with the ETA", "البطاقة الضريبية", "السجل التجاري", "تسجيل منشأة فردية", "فتح ملف ضريبي", "تأسيس شركة ذات مسؤولية محدودة", "نقابة مهنية", "التأمينات الاجتماعية للعمل الحر". Covers obtaining a tax card and tax file with the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA), the commercial register, professional syndicate (نقابة) membership, choosing the simplified vs general regime at registration, VAT and e-invoicing registration, social insurance registration, and forming an LLC via GAFI. AI replies in the user's language (English or Arabic).
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