Cross Border in Guyana

General reference only. This skill is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.

Which text of the law. The Income Tax Act, Chapter 81:01 (ITA) and the Corporation Tax Act, Chapter 81:03 (CTA), in the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) consolidations "revised April 1, 2026". The ITA consolidation also reproduces, as subsidiary legislation under s. 89, the Double Taxation Relief Orders for Canada (Reg. 61/1987), the United Kingdom (Ord. 51/1992) and the United Arab Emirates (Ord. 29 of 2023), and the United States exchange of information agreement (Ord. 35/1992). The CARICOM agreement of 1994 is read from the text published by the CARICOM Secretariat, the depositary (Article 27). Withholding tax under the ITA binds every payer, companies included; CTA s. 15 applies ITA s. 89 and 90 to corporation tax.

Quick reference (2026).

Payment to a non-resident	Domestic rate	Rule
Dividends and other distributions	20% of the gross amount	ITA s. 39(1)(a)
Interest, rent, royalties, management charges, personal and technical services, commissions, fees, annuities (recipient not trading in Guyana)	20% of the gross payment	ITA s. 39(1)(b), s. 40
Branch profits remitted or deemed remitted	20% of after-tax profits not reinvested	ITA s. 39(7) to (9)
Contract for goods, services or work (non-resident company)	10% of each gross payment, a credit against its corporation tax	CTA s. 10B
Treaty rate	only if the payer satisfies the Commissioner-General that it applies; otherwise 20%	ITA s. 39(3)

Related skills: individuals in gy-income-tax; companies in gy-corporate-income-tax; payroll of foreign employees in gy-payroll-social; imported services and VAT in gy-vat-gst; branch or subsidiary set-up in gy-company-formation.

Who this applies to

• Payers in Guyana (companies, individuals, the State) making a distribution to a non-resident, or a "payment" within ITA s. 40 to a non-resident not engaged in trade or business in Guyana. The payer accounts for the tax (s. 39(1), (2)).
• Non-residents with Guyana income. An individual is resident if they reside permanently (or intend to) apart from accepted temporary absences, or reside in Guyana more than 183 days in the year; a company is resident if its business is controlled and managed in Guyana (ITA s. 2). A non-resident is chargeable in the name of a trustee, agent, branch or manager in Guyana (s. 49(1), (2)). Pay for employment exercised in Guyana is Guyana income wherever it is paid (s. 6).
• Branches of non-resident companies carrying on business in Guyana: corporation tax on Guyana profits, plus the remittance tax (ITA s. 39(7)).
• Anyone paying a non-resident company under a contract undertaking (supply of goods or services, or work, including sub-contracts): CTA s. 10B.
• Residents with foreign income claiming credit for foreign tax (ITA s. 89, 90; CTA s. 15).
• Out of scope: petroleum agreements and their own tax clauses, the withholding tax on gold and diamond miners (ITA s. 33E), VAT on imported services (see gy-vat-gst), and capital gains of non-residents.

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Rate or rule	Year	Source URL
Distributions to non-residents, ITA s. 39(1)(a), Third Schedule	20% of the gross distribution	2026	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Income-Tax-Act-Revised-April-1-2026.pdf (s. 39(1)(a), Third Schedule)
Payments to non-residents not engaged in trade or business in Guyana, ITA s. 39(1)(b), s. 40	20% of the gross payment of interest, rentals, royalties, management charges and charges for personal services and technical managerial skills, premiums (not to insurers or pension funds), commissions, fees, licences, discounts, annuities and other periodic payments; no withholding on income arising outside Guyana	2026	same, s. 39(1)(b), s. 40
Not a "payment", ITA s. 40(g)(i)	interest on a temporary bank loan or on a trade account	2026	same, s. 40
Savings account interest, any person, ITA s. 39(1)(c)	20%; none where an individual's total interest income does not exceed G$10,000 a year	2026	same, s. 39(1)(c)
Interest on bonds and similar instruments; treasury bill discounts, ITA s. 39(1)(d), (e)	20%; commercial banks exempt (s. 39(11)(c))	2026	same, s. 39(1)(d), (e), (11)(c)
Branch remittances, ITA s. 39(7) to (9)	20% on profits (after corporation tax) a branch or agency of a non-resident company remits or is deemed to remit; all profits are deemed remitted except those reinvested in Guyana to the Commissioner-General's satisfaction (not replacement of fixed assets, nor securities held under 13 months)	2026	same, s. 39(7), (8), (9)
Withholding tax is final, ITA s. 39(6)	income tax under s. 5 or corporation tax is not payable on a payment or distribution that bore withholding tax	2026	same, s. 39(6)
Companies exempt from corporation tax, ITA s. 39(12)	also exempt from withholding tax	2026	same, s. 39(12)
Payments to non-resident contractors, CTA s. 10B	10% of each gross payment to a non-resident company for a contract undertaking (payments to its Guyana branch count, s. 10B(5)); credited against that company's corporation tax for the next year of assessment (s. 10B(4))	2026	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Corporation-Tax-Revised-April-1.-2026.pdf (s. 10B)
Head office expenses, ITA s. 18(i) proviso	deduction capped at 1% of sales or gross income; head office expenses are charges by a non-resident parent, associate or head office for managerial, administrative, technical or professional services (s. 2)	2026	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Income-Tax-Act-Revised-April-1-2026.pdf (s. 2, s. 18(i))
CARICOM agreement: dividends, Art. 11	taxed only in the payer's State, rate 0% (preference share dividends: interest rate)	2026	https://caricom.org/wp-content/uploads/Agreement-Among-The-Member-States-of-The-CARICOM-for-the-Avoidance-of-Double-Taxation-and-the-Prevention-of-Fiscal-Evasion-........pdf (Art. 11)
CARICOM agreement: interest, royalties, management fees, Art. 12 to 14	taxed only in the source State, at no more than 15% of the gross amount; interest owned by another Member State's Government exempt	2026	same, Art. 12, 13, 14
Canada treaty: dividends, Art. 10	15% of the amount actually distributed (Guyana side); branch tax capped at 15% (Art. 10(5))	2026	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Income-Tax-Act-Revised-April-1-2026.pdf (Double Taxation Relief (Canada) Order, Art. 10)
Canada treaty: interest, Art. 11	Guyana may tax up to 25%, so the domestic 20% applies	2026	same, Art. 11(2)(b)
Canada treaty: royalties and management fees, Art. 12, 13	10% of the gross amount	2026	same, Art. 12(2), 13(2)
United Kingdom treaty: dividends, Art. 11	10% where the beneficial owner is a company controlling at least 10% of the voting power; 15% otherwise	2026	same (Double Taxation Relief (United Kingdom) Order, Art. 11(2))
United Kingdom treaty: interest, royalties, technical fees, Art. 12 to 14	interest 15%; royalties 10%; technical, managerial or consultancy fees 10%	2026	same, Art. 12(2), 13(2), 14(2)
United Arab Emirates agreement: dividends, interest, royalties, Art. 12 to 14	dividends 10%; interest taxable only in the State of residence of the beneficial owner (0% in Guyana); royalties 10%. Apply only once the agreement is in force: it enters into force on receipt of the later of the two States' notifications (entry into force article), and that date was not found; until it is confirmed, withhold 20%	2026	same (Double Taxation Relief (United Arab Emirates) Order, Ord. 29 of 2023, Art. 12, 13, 14)
United Arab Emirates agreement: management and technical fees, Art. 16	5% of the management fee; same entry-into-force condition as the row above	2026	same, Art. 16(2)
Withholding tax not paid over, ITA s. 39(5), s. 93(4), s. 99(1)	an offence; the amount carries the late payment penalty of 2% a month or part of a month as if it were tax	2026	same, s. 39(5), 93(4), 99(1)
Contractor withholding not paid over, CTA s. 10B(6)	a penalty equal to the withholding tax in default, on top of the tax	2026	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Corporation-Tax-Revised-April-1.-2026.pdf (s. 10B(6))

Treaty rates are caps on Guyana's own tax. A treaty never raises the tax: where the cap is above 20% (Canada interest, 25%), the domestic 20% applies.

The base

What counts as a payment (ITA s. 40). A payment "without any deductions whatsoever" of the items in the table, other than a distribution and other than employment income under s. 93 (which goes through PAYE). The tax is on the gross amount. Where the gross payment is of the nature of expenses under s. 29(d), the tax withheld in a year equals the tax on the amount allowed to the company under that section (s. 39(2A) proviso).

Who is outside s. 39(1)(b). A non-resident engaged in trade or business in Guyana is taxed by assessment on its Guyana profits instead (corporation tax for a company, through its branch or agent, s. 49). A company that has an office, place of business, branch or agency in Guyana is treated as carrying on business there (CTA s. 2(2)). A non-resident company paid under a contract undertaking suffers the 10% CTA s. 10B tax whether or not it has a branch.

Treaty claims (ITA s. 39(3)). Where the recipient is resident in a country with a double taxation agreement or a s. 91 Order, the payer still deducts 20% "unless the person making the payments satisfies the Commissioner-General that a reduced rate of withholding tax applies". Get that acceptance before paying at the treaty rate; otherwise withhold 20% and the recipient seeks relief.

Business profits under the CARICOM agreement. Profits of business activities are taxed only where the activities are undertaken (Art. 8(1)). An enterprise undertakes activities in a Member State if it has there, among others, an office, a factory, a construction project in progress, a mine or well, a sales agency, a warehouse, other premises for preparatory or auxiliary purposes, or an agent or representative (Art. 8(2)). This list is wider than the usual permanent establishment test. Employment income of a resident of another Member State is taxed only in that State if the employee is present in Guyana 183 days or fewer in the tax year, the employer is not resident in Guyana and the pay is not deducted by a business in Guyana (Art. 15(2)). Professional services are taxed where rendered (Art. 16).

Related-party pricing. Guyana has no transfer pricing article with methods or documentation. The ITA has older tools:

• Connected non-resident (s. 49(3), (4)). Where a non-resident does business with a resident under its substantial control and the business is arranged so the resident makes no profit or less than ordinary profit, the non-resident is taxed in the resident's name as if the resident were its agent; if its true profit cannot be found, on a fair and reasonable percentage of turnover, appealable to a judge.
• Group apportionment (s. 49(8) to (11)). The profits of a branch, subsidiary or associated company of a non-resident company are deemed to be not less than the group's consolidated profit multiplied by the company's share of consolidated turnover. The company is exempt if it proves no significant part of its business was done with or influenced by non-resident group members (s. 49(9)), or that its profits were not reduced by them (s. 49(10)). A company not exempted must give particulars of group profits and turnover with its return (s. 49(11)).
• Head office expenses capped at 1% of sales or gross income (s. 18(i) proviso).
• Artificial transactions (s. 74). The Commissioner-General may disregard a transaction that reduces tax and is artificial or fictitious.
• Treaty articles. CARICOM Art. 10 (associated enterprises) lets a State adjust profits where conditions between related enterprises differ from those between independent ones; the interest, royalty and management fee articles apply the treaty rate only to an arm's length amount (Art. 12(5), 13(5), 14(5)).
• Petroleum. The CTA return guide's schedules PR.08 and PR.09 ask petroleum companies to report each transaction with a non-resident associated company and the transfer pricing method used.

Foreign tax credit for residents (ITA s. 89, 90, Fourth Schedule; CTA s. 15).

1. Include the foreign income gross: no deduction for the foreign tax (Fourth Schedule Part I reg. 6(1)(a)).
2. Treaty country: credit the foreign tax charged under the treaty against Guyana tax on the same income (for example, Canada treaty Art. 20(2)). The person must be resident in Guyana for the year (reg. 3).
3. Limit: the credit cannot exceed the Guyana tax on that income at the person's average rate (Guyana tax before credit divided by total income), nor the total tax payable for the year (regs 4, 5).
4. No treaty: unilateral relief for foreign tax on income arising in that country, including pay for services performed there (Part II regs 1, 2), but the total credit may not exceed one half (prescribed Commonwealth countries) or one quarter (any other country) of the sum of the regs 4 and 5 limits (s. 90(2) proviso (a)).
5. A company holding at least 25% of a foreign company's voting power counts the underlying tax on the profits behind a dividend (CTA s. 15(2); Part II reg. 3 for unilateral relief).
6. Claim within six years from the year of the income (reg. 10). A person may elect not to take a credit (reg. 9).

Deadlines and filing

What	When	Rule
Withholding tax on payments and distributions made in a month	aggregate and pay by the 14th of the next month	ITA s. 39(2)
Return of withholding tax deductions (Seventh Schedule form)	on or before the prescribed day	ITA s. 39(2A); Income Tax (General) Regulations reg. 3A
Statement to the recipient	with each payment: gross amount, tax withheld, net paid	ITA s. 44(1)
Dividend certificate to shareholders	on each dividend, showing tax deducted and any treaty-reduced rate	ITA s. 46(2)
Contractor withholding tax (CTA s. 10B)	account for and pay within 30 days of each payment	CTA s. 10B(2)
Corporation tax return of a branch or of a contractor company (G0003)	30 April 2027 for the 2026 year of income, with schedule A.01 of contractor payments	see gy-corporate-income-tax
Foreign tax credit claim	within six years from the year of the income	Fourth Schedule Part I reg. 10

How to pay. Withholding tax is paid to the GRA and reported with the monthly withholding return; the payer reports gross payments to non-residents in its own return schedules (the individual return has Schedule 02; companies use the A.01 schedule for contractors). A treaty rate is used only after the Commissioner-General accepts it in writing (s. 39(3)).

Penalties and interest

• Failing to withhold or pay over ITA withholding tax is an offence (s. 39(5)); s. 93(4) then applies, so the amount bears the 2% a month late payment penalty of s. 99(1) as if it were the payer's own tax from the date it should have been paid.
• Contractor withholding tax not paid over: a penalty equal to the tax in default, recoverable like the tax (CTA s. 10B(6)).
• The payer is discharged against the recipient for the tax it withholds (s. 43), so withholding protects the payer.
• Penalties count as tax and may be reduced or waived by the Commissioner-General (s. 99(4), s. 108; see gy-income-tax).

Cross-border points

• Temporary residents. A person in Guyana for a temporary purpose only, without intent to settle, who did not reside there for six months in total in the year before the year of assessment, is not taxed on income arising outside Guyana (ITA s. 47).
• Residents' foreign income is taxable when it accrues, except foreign earned income and foreign income of a person not ordinarily resident or not domiciled, taxed only on the amount received in Guyana (s. 5 proviso; see gy-income-tax).
• United States. Guyana has an exchange of information agreement with the United States (Ord. 35/1992), not a double taxation treaty: payments to US residents bear the full 20%.
• Exchange of information. The GRA states that Guyana exchanges information under the Canada and United Kingdom conventions and the multilateral CARICOM agreement (GRA, FATCA Agreement page).
• CARICOM Member States listed in Schedule II of the agreement: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago.

Two worked examples that recompute

Example 1: royalty to a UK company, apply for the treaty rate or withhold 20%

Demerara Foods Inc., resident in Guyana, pays a UK resident company, the beneficial owner with no branch in Guyana, a royalty of G$10,000,000 for a trademark licence in March 2026.

• Without the Commissioner-General's acceptance: withhold 20% (ITA s. 39(1)(b), (3)), G$2,000,000; pay the UK company G$8,000,000. Pay the tax to the GRA by 14 April 2026.
• With acceptance of the UK treaty rate (Art. 13(2), 10%): withhold G$1,000,000; pay G$9,000,000. The UK company gains G$1,000,000 in cash flow.
• If the licensor were in Trinidad and Tobago (CARICOM Art. 13, cap 15%): G$1,500,000.
• If the tax is paid over late, say on 20 May 2026 (one month and part of a second late): 2% a month for two months, G$80,000 on the G$2,000,000 (s. 93(4), 99(1)).

The decision: the treaty claim is worth G$1,000,000 here, but only once the Commissioner-General accepts it; paying at 10% without that acceptance leaves the payer liable for the other G$1,000,000.

name: GY 2026, royalty G$10,000,000 to a UK company, domestic 20% vs treaty 10% vs CARICOM 15%
inputs:
  royalty: 10000000
  domestic_rate: 0.20
  uk_rate: 0.10
  caricom_rate: 0.15
  months_late: 2
steps:
  - wht_domestic: royalty * domestic_rate
  - net_domestic: royalty - wht_domestic
  - wht_uk: royalty * uk_rate
  - net_uk: royalty - wht_uk
  - treaty_saving: wht_domestic - wht_uk
  - wht_caricom: royalty * caricom_rate
  - late_penalty: wht_domestic * 0.02 * months_late
expected:
  wht_domestic: 2000000
  net_domestic: 8000000
  wht_uk: 1000000
  net_uk: 9000000
  treaty_saving: 1000000
  wht_caricom: 1500000
  late_penalty: 80000

Example 2: a Guyana company's Canadian royalties and the foreign tax credit

Essequibo Software Inc. is resident in Guyana and non-commercial (25% corporation tax). Its 2026 chargeable profits are G$20,000,000, which include G$4,000,000 of royalties from a Canadian licensee, counted gross. Canada withheld 10% under the treaty (Art. 12(2)), G$400,000.

• Guyana tax before credit: 25% of 20,000,000 = G$5,000,000. Average rate 25%.
• Limit (reg. 4): 25% of the G$4,000,000 royalty = G$1,000,000. Credit (treaty, Art. 20(2)): the lower of G$400,000 and G$1,000,000, so G$400,000.
• Tax payable: 5,000,000 - 400,000 = G$4,600,000.

The other way: no treaty. If the same royalty came from a country outside the Commonwealth with no treaty, unilateral relief is capped at one quarter of the limit (s. 90(2) proviso (a)), reading the limit as the reg. 4 figure of G$1,000,000: credit G$250,000, tax payable G$4,750,000. A treaty is worth G$150,000 here.

name: GY YI 2026, foreign tax credit on Canadian royalties vs unilateral relief cap
inputs:
  profits: 20000000
  royalty: 4000000
  foreign_tax_rate: 0.10
  cit_rate: 0.25
steps:
  - tax_before_credit: profits * cit_rate
  - average_rate: tax_before_credit / profits
  - foreign_tax: royalty * foreign_tax_rate
  - limit: royalty * average_rate
  - treaty_credit: min(foreign_tax, limit)
  - tax_treaty: tax_before_credit - treaty_credit
  - unilateral_credit: min(foreign_tax, limit / 4)
  - tax_unilateral: tax_before_credit - unilateral_credit
  - treaty_value: tax_unilateral - tax_treaty
expected:
  tax_before_credit: 5000000
  average_rate: 0.25
  foreign_tax: 400000
  limit: 1000000
  treaty_credit: 400000
  tax_treaty: 4600000
  unilateral_credit: 250000
  tax_unilateral: 4750000
  treaty_value: 150000

Ask the client first

1. Where is the recipient resident, and is it the beneficial owner? Does it have an office, branch, agent or construction site in Guyana (trade or business in Guyana; CARICOM Art. 8)?
2. What exactly is the payment: dividend, interest, royalty, management or technical fee, rent, or a contract for goods, services or work (CTA s. 10B)?
3. Is the payment for something used or done in Guyana, or does it arise outside Guyana (no withholding on income arising outside Guyana)?
4. Has the Commissioner-General accepted a treaty rate in writing?
5. Are payer and recipient related? Head office charges (1% cap) and group apportionment (s. 49(8)) may apply.
6. For a resident's foreign income: country, foreign tax paid, and whether the country has a treaty with Guyana.

Sources

Source	URL	Read on
Income Tax Act, Cap. 81:01, GRA consolidation revised 1 April 2026: s. 2 (resident, head office expenses, associated companies), 5, 6, 18(i), 38(9), 39, 40, 43, 44, 46(2), 47, 49, 74, 89, 90, 91, 93(4), 99; Third Schedule; Fourth Schedule Parts I to III; Income Tax (General) Regulations reg. 3A; return Schedule 02	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Income-Tax-Act-Revised-April-1-2026.pdf	2026-11-11
Same consolidation, subsidiary legislation: Double Taxation Relief (Canada) Order, Convention Art. 10 to 13, 20, 26; Double Taxation Relief (United Kingdom) Order, Convention Art. 11 to 14; Double Taxation Relief (United Arab Emirates) Order (Ord. 29 of 2023), Agreement Art. 12 to 14, 16 and entry into force; Income Tax (Exchange of Information) (United States of America) Order	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Income-Tax-Act-Revised-April-1-2026.pdf	2026-11-11
Corporation Tax Act, Cap. 81:03, GRA consolidation revised 1 April 2026: s. 2(2), 10B, 15; return guide and schedules A.01, PR.08 and PR.09	https://www.gra.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Corporation-Tax-Revised-April-1.-2026.pdf	2026-11-11
Agreement among the Member States of the Caribbean Community for the avoidance of double taxation (signed 1994), text published by the CARICOM Secretariat: Art. 1 to 16, 27, 28, Schedules I and II	https://caricom.org/wp-content/uploads/Agreement-Among-The-Member-States-of-The-CARICOM-for-the-Avoidance-of-Double-Taxation-and-the-Prevention-of-Fiscal-Evasion-........pdf	2026-11-11
GRA, FATCA Agreement page, read for the statement that Guyana has conventions with Canada and the United Kingdom and exchanges information under the CARICOM agreement	https://gra.gov.gy/quick-links-2/fatca-agreement/	2026-11-11

Not yet confirmed: the Guyana Order giving the CARICOM agreement effect under ITA s. 89 and the date it took effect for Guyana (the Order is not in the GRA consolidation; the scanned agreement's Schedule I item for Guyana, read as income tax, corporation tax and capital gains tax, has an illegible letter heading); whether the United Arab Emirates agreement has entered into force (the Order was made in 2023; the date both States completed their procedures was not found); the "prescribed day" for the monthly withholding return under s. 39(2A); which countries are "prescribed Commonwealth countries" for the one-half unilateral relief cap (ITA First Schedule not read for this purpose) and whether the one-half or one-quarter fraction applies to the reg. 4 limit alone, as Example 2 reads it; GRA guidance or forms for claiming a treaty rate; any Order under s. 91 reducing withholding tax for particular persons; the treaty articles on pensions, students and capital gains (not summarised here).