Morocco cross-border tax

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 position or professional obligations. Verify figures against the cited primary sources or with a licensed professional before relying on them.

Who this applies to

Moroccan businesses paying non-residents, non-resident companies with Moroccan income, and Moroccan companies or individuals with foreign tax to credit. Companies are taxed on income from property held, activity carried on and profit operations done in Morocco, even occasional, and on income a treaty gives Morocco to tax, wherever the seat is (Art. 5-I).

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Amount	Conditions	Tax year	Source
Withholding on Art. 15 gross income	10%	Gross, excl. VAT, paid to non-resident persons or companies	2026	CGI Art. 19-IV-B (companies), 73-II-B-1 (individuals) https://www.tax.gov.ma/wps/wcm/connect/08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e/CGI+2026+FR.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e-pM5DEs1
Dividends	11.25%	Art. 13 income, including profits distributed by a non-resident company's Moroccan establishment (Art. 13-IV), on amounts distributed from 1 January 2026; 10% from 1 January 2027	2026	CGI Art. 19-IV-B, 73-II-B-7, 247-XXXVII-C https://www.tax.gov.ma/wps/wcm/connect/08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e/CGI+2026+FR.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e-pM5DEs1
Foreign contractor flat tax	8% of the contract excl. VAT	Option by a non-resident company awarded works, construction or assembly contracts; replaces the Art. 4 withholding	2026	CGI Art. 16, 19-III-A https://www.tax.gov.ma/wps/wcm/connect/08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e/CGI+2026+FR.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e-pM5DEs1

The base

Art. 15 list. Withholding applies to amounts paid, made available or credited to non-residents for: copyright royalties, including film and television (I); patent, design, plan, formula, secret process and trademark licences (II); scientific, technical or other information and studies, in or outside Morocco (III); technical assistance and personnel provided to businesses in Morocco (IV); artistic or sporting activities (V); rental of any equipment (VI); interest and other fixed-income investments, except those in Art. 6-I-C-3 and Art. 45 (VII); road transport from Morocco abroad, for the part of the price for the trip in Morocco (VIII); commissions and fees (IX); and services of any kind used in Morocco or supplied by non-residents (X).

Exempt from the list. For non-resident companies, interest on loans to or guaranteed by the State, on foreign-currency or convertible dirham deposits, on foreign-currency loans of 10 years or more, and on EIB foreign-currency loans for government-approved projects (Art. 6-I-C-3); aircraft charter, rental and maintenance for international transport (Art. 6-I-C-4). Non-resident individuals have their own interest list in Art. 45.

Who withholds. Any taxpayer paying or involved in paying (Art. 160-I). If one non-resident is paid by another, the client in Morocco owes the tax (Art. 160-II).

Branches. Art. 5-II does not apply where a Moroccan branch does the work without the foreign head office intervening; that income falls in the branch result, taxed like a Moroccan company. Work the head office does for its own branch is caught by the withholding. Branch profit distributed is taxed under Art. 13-IV at the dividend rate above.

Art. 16 flat tax. The option is made with the Art. 148-III declaration or after each contract is signed. For a turnkey contract the base includes materials and equipment, whoever supplies them, however billed. The company pays within the month after each receipt (Art. 170-VI). Payment at 8% discharges the Art. 4 withholding, which includes the tax on distributed branch profit (Art. 19-III-A, 4-I, 13-IV).

Non-resident capital gains. Non-resident companies are exempt on gains on securities listed on the Casablanca exchange, except shares in real-estate-rich companies under Art. 61-II (Art. 6-I-A-10). A non-resident company with no Moroccan establishment files the Art. 20-III return for gains on real estate and securities realised in Morocco within 30 days after the month of sale, and pays with it (Art. 20-III, 170-VIII).

Foreign tax credit. Companies credit foreign tax on foreign income taxed in a treaty country, if paid and proved, up to the share of Moroccan tax on that income (Art. 19 bis). Individuals have the same limit under Art. 77. A treaty tax-sparing exemption counts as payment, with a certificate from the foreign authority. Without a treaty with the source country, Art. 19 bis and Art. 77 give no credit.

Deadlines and filing

Duty	When	Source
Art. 15 withholding	In the month after the payment, to the tax receiver for the payer's seat	CGI Art. 174-III
Dividends and other Art. 13 income	In the month after the month paid, made available or credited, to the tax receiver for the payer's seat or tax domicile	CGI Art. 158, 174-II-A
Art. 16 flat tax	Within the month after each receipt	CGI Art. 170-VI
Art. 16 annual turnover declaration	Before 1 April, listing clients, contracts, receipts and transfers	CGI Art. 20-II
Declaration of Art. 15 payments	With the payer's tax return	CGI Art. 154

Penalties and interest

Anyone who has not paid over the sums they are liable for on time owes them personally, whether or not withheld, plus the Art. 208 penalty and surcharges (Art. 198). The figures sit in company tax.

Cross-border points

Treaties can reduce these rates, and treaty rates are not in this skill: read the treaty. VAT on services from non-residents is in VAT. Related party pricing is in transfer pricing.

Two worked examples that recompute

Example 1: royalty. A Casablanca company pays a non-treaty licensor a trademark royalty of MAD 1,000,000 excl. VAT. Art. 15-II applies. Withhold MAD 100,000 and pay it in the following month; the licensor gets MAD 900,000.

name: Art. 15 royalty withholding
inputs:
  royalty: 1000000
steps:
  - tax: royalty * 0.10
  - net: royalty - tax
expected:
  tax: 100000.00
  net: 900000.00

Example 2: should a foreign contractor opt for the flat tax? The contract is MAD 10,000,000 excl. VAT. The flat tax is MAD 800,000 and discharges the withholding on distributed branch profit. If the profit stays in Morocco, normal tax at 20% costs the same on profit of MAD 4,000,000, a 40% margin. If all after-tax profit is distributed in 2026, the normal regime costs 20% plus 11.25% of the remaining 80%, or 29% of profit, and break-even falls to MAD 2,758,620.69, a 27.59% margin. Below the break-even the normal regime is cheaper; above it, the option is. Assume profit under MAD 100,000,000, no other Moroccan income and no treaty; a treaty rate on branch profit moves the second figure.

name: Art. 16 option break-even
inputs:
  contract: 10000000
steps:
  - flat: contract * 0.08
  - breakeven_profit: flat / 0.20
  - margin: breakeven_profit / contract
  - normal_rate_distributed: 0.20 + (1 - 0.20) * 0.1125
  - breakeven_distributed: flat / normal_rate_distributed
  - margin_distributed: breakeven_distributed / contract
expected:
  flat: 800000.00
  breakeven_profit: 4000000.00
  margin: 0.40
  normal_rate_distributed: 0.29
  breakeven_distributed: 2758620.69
  margin_distributed: 0.2759

Ask the client first

1. Is the payer in Morocco, and is the payee resident, and where?
2. What exactly is paid for, so which Art. 15 line?
3. Is there a treaty, and has the payee shown residence?
4. Is there a Moroccan branch, and did the head office intervene?
5. For contractors: contract value, type, expected margin, and how much profit will leave Morocco.
6. Date of the payment or distribution.

Sources

Source	URL	Read on
DGI, Code General des Impots 2026 (French); Art. 4, 5, 6-I-A-10, 6-I-C, 10-I, 13, 15, 16, 19, 19 bis, 20-II, 20-III, 45, 73-II-B, 77, 144, 148-III, 154, 158, 160, 170-VI, 170-VIII, 174-II-A, 174-III, 198, 208, 247-XXXVII-A and C read from the PDF	https://www.tax.gov.ma/wps/wcm/connect/08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e/CGI+2026+FR.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-08712531-1e81-4e28-a38b-2bd9edf8e09e-pM5DEs1	2026-11-01

Not yet confirmed: treaty list and treaty rates; proof of residence needed for treaty rates; Art. 20-III form; form numbers and the SIMPL portal path for the withholding; other exemptions in Art. 6-I-C; whether foreign tax with no credit is deductible as an expense under Art. 10; the base for Art. 13-IV on branch profit, which the Art. 16 example takes as after-tax profit.