Corporate Income Tax in Suriname

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.

Suriname has no separate corporate tax act. Companies and other bodies (lichamen) pay the same income tax as individuals, under the Wet Inkomstenbelasting 1922, at a flat rate on their taxable amount (IB art. 36(1)). This skill covers the 2026 book year: the calendar year 2026, or a book year that the body keeps instead (IB art. 38(2)).

Which text of the law. The Wet Inkomstenbelasting 1922 (G.B. 1921 no. 112, text G.B. 1960 no. 84, as last amended by S.B. 2024 no. 3) and the Wet Dividendbelasting 1973 (G.B. 1973 no. 8, as last amended by S.B. 1984 no. 109), both as published by the Suriname Tax Administration (Belastingdienst Suriname). No 2025 or 2026 amendment of either act was found on the Tax Administration's law pages or among the laws passed by De Nationale Assemblée (DNA) when read on 11 November 2026. The solidarity levy of 46% on taxable amounts above SRD 150,000 ran from 1 February 2021 to 1 January 2022 and no longer applies (IB art. 36(2)).

Linked skills: individuals and wage tax in sr-income-tax; VAT in sr-vat-gst; employer withholding in sr-payroll-social; setting up an NV in sr-company-formation.

Who this applies to

• Resident bodies (in Suriname gevestigd), taxed on their whole profit (IB art. 1(2)(b), art. 19):
  1. naamloze vennootschappen (NV), limited partnerships with shares and other companies whose capital is divided into shares;
  2. co-operatives and associations on a co-operative basis;
  3. mutual insurers and associations acting as insurer or credit institution on a mutual basis;
  4. other private-law legal persons (for example foundations) and associations without legal personality, if and so far as they run a business other than solely for a general social interest;
  5. statutory bodies, if and so far as they run a business. These may be exempted by staatsbesluit (art. 1(4)). Bodies 1 to 3 are deemed to run their business with all their assets (art. 2(1)). An NV exists for tax as soon as a business is entered in the trade register as belonging to it (art. 2(2)). Where a body is established is judged on the facts (art. 3(1)).
• Non-resident bodies (buitenlandse belastingplichtigen) with Surinamese-source income: legal persons, limited partnerships with shares, other companies with share capital, associations without legal personality and special-purpose funds (IB art. 1(3)(b)). They are taxed on their binnenlands belastbaar bedrag (art. 30bis): mainly profit of a permanent establishment in Suriname, Surinamese real estate and mortgage-secured debts on it (art. 27).
• Out of scope, refer to a specialist: mining, oil and gas concessions and their contracts; bodies with a staatsbesluit exemption; banks and insurers (special reserves); the use of a foreign functional currency (art. 36(4), see below); mergers and conversions; transfer pricing documentation; any Pillar Two minimum tax (no Surinamese act found).

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Rate or amount	Year	Source
Income tax rate for bodies, on the belastbaar bedrag (resident) or binnenlands belastbaar bedrag (non-resident) (IB art. 36(1)); tax computed on whole SRD (art. 36(3))	36%	2026	https://belastingdienst.sr/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wet-Inkomstenbelasting.pdf
Loss carry-forward, start-up losses: losses of the first three book years after the business began, if regular books with annual closings have been kept in Suriname since then (IB art. 20(3)(a))	No time limit; set off first	2026	same
Loss carry-forward, other losses (IB art. 20(3)(b))	Losses of the seven preceding book or calendar years	2026	same
Profit shares (tantièmes) paid to supervisory directors (commissarissen) for work in the business, resident or taxable in Suriname (IB art. 23(1°)(b))	Deductible up to 2% of profit per commissaris	2026	same
Profit shares paid to managing directors (bestuurders) for work in the business (IB art. 23(1°)(b))	Deductible up to 10% of profit per bestuurder	2026	same
All director and commissaris profit shares together (IB art. 23(1°)(b)); "profit" for these caps is profit before profit shares to commissarissen, directors and staff	At most 20% of profit and at most SRD 12,000	2026	same
Participation exemption for dividends from a non-resident body (IB art. 25(3)); the holding is always treated as part of normal business at 10% or more of the nominal paid-up capital; the payer must be subject to a profit tax where it is established (art. 25(4)(d))	Dividend left out of profit	2026	same
Car kept by the business, other than a truck with more than 1,000 kg payload, unless a complete mileage log proves business-only use (IB art. 7a(3), (5), (6), applied to bodies by art. 20(2))	At least 2% of the catalogue price a year treated as not incurred for the business	2026	same
Taxable profit of a non-resident insurer (IB art. 30(1))	15% of total income (premiums on Surinamese risks, investment income, other income)	2026	same
Dividend tax on distributions by a body established in Suriname (Wet Dividendbelasting art. 5)	25% of the distribution; if the company bears the tax, 25% of the distribution times 100/75	2026	https://belastingdienst.sr/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wet-Dividendbelasting.pdf
Dividend tax exemption (Wet Dividendbelasting art. 4), on conditions set by the Minister: a resident investment company, or a resident company that has held shares in the payer without a break since the start of the year whose profit is distributed, if the holding is not reciprocal	No withholding	2026	same
Refund of dividend tax to a resident body not subject to income tax (Wet Dividendbelasting art. 9a)	On request, if more than SRD 25 in a calendar year	2026	same
Late payment interest (IB art. 73(1); rate set by S.B. 1995 no. 98 per the footnote in the published text)	45% a year, simple, from the day after the due date	2026	https://belastingdienst.sr/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wet-Inkomstenbelasting.pdf

The base

1. Profit. The belastbaar bedrag is the profit of the book year (or calendar year) less losses to be carried forward (IB art. 20(1)). Profit is worked out as for a business of an individual (art. 20(2), applying arts. 7, 7a, 10(1) and (2), and 11):

• by sound business practice (goed koopmansgebruik), on a consistent method that can change only for special reasons (art. 7(4));
• depreciation of business assets each year on the part of the unwritten-off cost that belongs to the year (art. 10(2)); spending on buying, building, improving or changing land, buildings, machinery and other business assets, and on taking over or extending the business, is capital, not a cost (art. 11(1)), except small items that sound practice treats as daily costs (art. 11(2));
• no deduction for reserves or for interest on own capital (art. 11(3)), except: an equalisation reserve for costs and for risks that are usually insured but that the body has not insured (art. 11(4)), and a pension reserve for a firm intention to give employees irrevocable pension rights (art. 21). Both need regular books with annual closings in Suriname (arts. 11(5), 21(4)); the pension reserve is released when the rights are granted or the intention lapses, and at the latest in the fourth book year after it was first formed (art. 21(3));
• costs of property used partly privately are not deductible for the private part (art. 7a(1)).

2. Not deductible (IB art. 23):

• any direct or indirect distribution of profit, under any name, owed or not, except payments to the State other than as shareholder, and profit shares to staff, directors and commissarissen for work in the business. Director and commissaris profit shares are deductible only up to the caps in the table: 2% per commissaris, 10% per director, 20% and SRD 12,000 for all of them together (art. 23(1°)). AUDIT FLASH POINT: a director's pay that depends on profit is a profit share subject to the SRD 12,000 cap; keep fixed salary and profit share apart in the books and contracts;
• interest and fees for the use of goods paid to persons or bodies in a special relationship with the taxpayer, unless the taxpayer shows the arrangement matches ordinary business financing between unrelated parties; even then, only the part not above an arm's-length amount is deductible (art. 23(2°)). AUDIT FLASH POINT: related-party loans and leases;
• the income tax itself, and foreign profit taxes where a double tax relief rule applies (art. 23(3°)).

3. Co-operatives may deduct profit shares paid to member businesses in proportion to their dealings with the co-operative (IB art. 24).

4. Participation exemption (IB art. 25). Left out of profit:

• dividends from resident bodies of art. 1(2)(b) (art. 25(1)(a));
• dividends from non-resident bodies that earned at least nine-tenths of their profit in Suriname in the year the profit relates to (art. 25(1)(b));
• dividends from non-resident bodies received on a shareholding that is part of the normal business; always so at 10% or more of nominal paid-up capital (art. 25(3)). Conditions for all three (art. 25(4)): the payer could not deduct the distribution; it is not a return of capital that sound practice deducts from book value; together with similar receipts of the last five years it exceeds the related costs of this year and the last five years; and for foreign dividends, the payer is subject to a profit tax where it is established. Dividend tax withheld on exempt distributions is still credited (IB art. 52e(2)).

5. Losses. Set off start-up losses first, then losses of the seven previous years (art. 20(3)).

6. Rate. 36% of the belastbaar bedrag, on whole SRD (art. 36(1), (3)). Credit dividend tax withheld (IB art. 52e) and provisional payments (art. 52d).

Functional currency. On request, a body meeting conditions set by staatsbesluit may keep its books in a currency named by the Minister; amounts in the act are converted at the Central Bank's unified rate, and the return, assessment and payment are then in that currency (IB art. 36(4), (5), art. 42(3)(3°)). The staatsbesluit conditions were not found; refer.

Bookkeeping. NVs, co-operatives and mutual insurers keep books from which the yearly profit can be drawn up; other bodies keep books for their business (IB art. 42(3)(1°)(a), (b)). Books are kept in Dutch (art. 42(3)(2°)).

Deadlines and filing

All returns are filed in the Tax Administration's online portal (portaal.belastingdienst.sr/OPO) with an electronic signature (IB art. 42(1)). From tax year 2025, paper returns from bodies are no longer accepted (Tax Administration news of 15 May 2026). For a calendar book year 2026:

Step	Date for calendar 2026	Law
Written, reasoned request to file the provisional return below the latest definitive tax (secinspectidb@belastingdienst.sr); attach the profit and loss account and balance sheet of the latest definitive return and show why 2026 profit will be lower. The inspector answers in two weeks; silence counts as yes	By 15 February 2026 (book year: within one and a half months of its start)	IB art. 42c(2), (3); Tax Administration notice on art. 42c
Provisional return (voorlopige aangifte), with a statement of last year's business income (art. 42b(5)); tax at least the latest definitive return's tax unless the request was granted	By 15 April 2026 (book year: within two and a half months of its start)	IB arts. 42a(1)(b), 42c(1)
Provisional tax in four equal instalments; the first with the return	15 April, 15 July, 15 October, 31 December 2026 (book year: then every three months)	IB art. 42b(2)
Definitive return (definitieve aangifte) with a signed, dated balance sheet and profit and loss account showing gross profit and the costs set against it; tax due is paid with the return	Within six months of the end of the book year: 30 June 2027	IB arts. 43(5), 44(2), 44(5)
Dividend tax: file and pay the tax withheld	Within one month after the dividend is made available	Wet Dividendbelasting art. 6(4)
Objection against an income tax assessment	Within 60 days of the date of the assessment notice	IB art. 54(1)

Portal steps (definitive return, Tax Administration manual for bodies, May 2026). Log in to the portal; in the green bar choose IB, then Aangifte IB; choose Definitieve aangifte and the tax year; fill seven rubrics in this order: 1 Winst- en verliesrekening (turnover and purchases, staff costs and depreciation, other costs and exceptional items, financial income and charges), 2 Balans activa (cost, opening and closing book value of intangible, tangible and financial fixed assets, stock and work in progress, receivables and cash), 3 Balans passiva (equity, tax reserves and provisions, long and short-term debt; total assets must equal total liabilities at both dates or the portal will not continue), 4 Onttrekkingen en stortingen, 5 Fiscaal niet aftrekbare kosten en vrijstellingen (the art. 23 add-backs and art. 25 exemptions), 6 Overig, 7 Verliesverrekening. Enter 0 where nothing applies. The portal then shows the summary with the belastbaar bedrag and the amount to pay or to be refunded; click Aangifte IB indienen, then Voltooien. A confirmation email follows. A refund is given by assessment; if the inspector does not set it within two months, the inspector must tell the body why in writing (IB art. 44(3), (4)).

Penalties and interest

• Assessment with a 100% increase. No provisional return or payment (IB arts. 42a, 42b, 42c), no definitive return (art. 44(1)), or no payment with the definitive return (art. 44(2)): the inspector sets an assessment and, after a reminder, increases the tax by 100%, or by 10% where the failure is not due to intent or gross negligence (IB art. 51(3), (5), (6)). Such an assessment is payable at once (art. 74(a)).
• Corrections. An incorrect definitive return may be corrected by assessment within two years of filing (art. 51(2)); a provisional return with income estimated too low within three months (art. 51(4)).
• Interest. Simple interest on late-paid tax and increase, from the day after the due date (IB art. 73(1)); 45% a year under S.B. 1995 no. 98 as noted in the published text.
• Liability and fines. Directors, managing partners and representatives in Suriname are jointly and severally liable for the body's tax unless they show they could not see to payment (IB art. 40(7)). A return without the required balance sheet and accounts, or unsigned, counts as not filed (art. 45(2)); failing to file or to attach them is punishable by a fine of up to SRD 500 (arts. 87, 88).
• Dividend tax. Tax not withheld or paid is collected by assessment increased by 100%, or 10% (at least SRD 0.05) where not due to intent or gross negligence (Wet Dividendbelasting art. 11); the assessment is payable within one month (art. 12).

Cross-border points

• Permanent establishment. A non-resident body's business profit is taxed only so far as it belongs to a permanent establishment in Suriname, which includes a permanent representative (IB arts. 27(2)(c)(1°), 28(1)). It is always a permanent establishment for insurance activity; construction, assembly, excavation, dredging or clearing work for more than 183 days in twelve months (counting successive contractors on one project); aerial surveys and natural-resource inventories (art. 28(2)); and exploration or exploitation on the Surinamese continental shelf under licence (art. 28(3)). The whole profit on goods of Surinamese origin whose ownership passes in Suriname belongs to the permanent establishment (art. 28(4)).
• International transport. Sea and air transport between Suriname and abroad by a non-resident body is not a business in Suriname unless it is managed from Suriname (IB art. 29).
• Dividends paid abroad. A Surinamese company withholds 25% dividend tax on dividends to any shareholder, resident or not (Wet Dividendbelasting arts. 1, 5, 6); the art. 4 exemption covers only resident investment companies and resident corporate shareholders.
• Interest and royalties paid abroad. The published tax laws read for this skill contain no withholding tax on interest or royalties. A non-resident is taxed on Surinamese interest only where the debt is secured by a mortgage on Surinamese property (IB art. 27(2)(b)(1°)), by assessment.
• Double tax relief comes only from a staatsbesluit or treaty (IB art. 37). Foreign profit tax is not deductible from profit where a double tax relief rule applies to it (art. 23(3°)); where none applies, the act does not bar the deduction. Treaty rates are out of scope here.

Two worked examples that recompute

Example 1: resident NV, calendar 2026. Accounting profit after all costs is SRD 2,000,000. The costs include a profit share (tantième) of SRD 150,000 to the one managing director and SRD 100,000 of interest to the parent company, of which the NV can show SRD 60,000 is arm's length. There is a 2020 loss of SRD 300,000 still open (within the seven years). Profit before the director's profit share is far above SRD 120,000, so the SRD 12,000 cap binds and SRD 138,000 is added back (art. 23(1°)). The SRD 40,000 of interest above arm's length is added back (art. 23(2°)). Profit: 2,000,000 + 138,000 + 40,000 = SRD 2,178,000. Less the 2020 loss: SRD 1,878,000. Tax at 36%: SRD 676,080.

name: Suriname NV, profit SRD 2,000,000 with add-backs and a loss (2026)
inputs:
  accounting_profit: 2000000
  director_profit_share: 150000
  related_interest: 100000
  arm_length_interest: 60000
  loss_2020: 300000
steps:
  - profit_before_shares: accounting_profit + director_profit_share
  - share_cap: min(profit_before_shares * 0.10, profit_before_shares * 0.20, 12000)
  - addback_share: max(director_profit_share - share_cap, 0)
  - addback_interest: max(related_interest - arm_length_interest, 0)
  - profit: accounting_profit + addback_share + addback_interest
  - taxable: max(profit - loss_2020, 0)
  - tax: floor(taxable) * 0.36
expected:
  addback_share: 138000
  addback_interest: 40000
  profit: 2178000
  taxable: 1878000
  tax: 676080.00

Example 2 (decision): ask to pay lower provisional tax, or not? The NV's definitive 2025 tax was SRD 360,000. A large contract ended, and it expects 2026 profit of SRD 500,000 (tax SRD 180,000). The figure that decides is the cash paid in 2026 against the risk of an underestimate.

• No request. The provisional tax must be at least the latest definitive tax (art. 42c(1)): SRD 360,000 in four instalments of SRD 90,000. The SRD 180,000 overpaid comes back only by refund assessment after the definitive return (due 30 June 2027).
• Request by 15 February 2026, granted. Provisional tax SRD 180,000 in four instalments of SRD 45,000: SRD 180,000 stays in the business during 2026. The inspector may still raise an assessment within three months if the estimate is too low (art. 51(4)).
• Decision: make the request if the profit fall can be shown with the latest accounts; it frees SRD 180,000 of cash. A request after 15 February is not dealt with (Tax Administration notice).

name: Suriname provisional tax, with and without an art. 42c request (2026)
inputs:
  last_definitive_tax: 360000
  expected_profit: 500000
steps:
  - expected_tax: expected_profit * 0.36
  - instalment_no_request: last_definitive_tax / 4
  - instalment_request: expected_tax / 4
  - cash_freed: last_definitive_tax - expected_tax
expected:
  expected_tax: 180000.00
  instalment_no_request: 90000.00
  instalment_request: 45000.00
  cash_freed: 180000.00

Ask the client first

1. What kind of body is it (NV, foundation, co-operative, association, foreign company), and is it established in Suriname or only active here (permanent establishment, real estate)?
2. What is the book year, and does it differ from the calendar year? All deadlines run from it.
3. Does the body pay profit shares to directors or commissarissen, or interest and rent to related persons or companies? These are the main add-backs.
4. Are there losses from the first three book years or from the seven previous years, and have regular books with annual closings been kept in Suriname?
5. Does it receive dividends (from which companies, what percentage held, are they taxed where they are), or pay dividends (to whom, held since when)?
6. What was the latest definitive tax, and will 2026 profit be clearly lower? The art. 42c request must be made by 15 February.

Sources

Source	URL	Read on
Wet Inkomstenbelasting 1922, text published by the Suriname Tax Administration (as last amended by S.B. 2024 no. 3): read arts. 1 to 3 (bodies), 7, 7a, 10, 11, 19 to 25 (profit, losses, add-backs, participation exemption), 26 to 30bis (non-residents), 36, 37, 38, 40, 42 to 45 (returns), 51, 52d, 52e, 54, 73 with its footnote, 74, 87, 88	https://belastingdienst.sr/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wet-Inkomstenbelasting.pdf	2026-11-11
Wet Dividendbelasting 1973, text published by the Suriname Tax Administration (as last amended by S.B. 1984 no. 109): read in full (arts. 1 to 19)	https://belastingdienst.sr/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wet-Dividendbelasting.pdf	2026-11-11
Suriname Tax Administration, Inkomstenbelasting page: read for the bodies taxed, the fixed rate for bodies and online filing	https://belastingdienst.sr/belastingen/inkomstenbelasting/	2026-11-11
Suriname Tax Administration news of 15 May 2026: read in full (no paper returns for bodies from tax year 2025; definitive return 2025 due 30 June 2026)	https://belastingdienst.sr/belastingdienst-stapt-volledig-over-op-digitale-aangifte-inkomstenbelasting-voor-lichamen/	2026-11-11
Suriname Tax Administration notice on art. 42C for the 2026 provisional return: read in full (request by 15 February 2026, attachments)	https://belastingdienst.sr/artikel-42c-01/	2026-11-11
Suriname Tax Administration, manual Definitieve Aangifte Inkomstenbelasting voor lichamen (May 2026): read in full for the portal steps, the seven rubrics and the 30 June deadline	https://belastingdienst.sr/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Handleiding-IB-Lichamen_mei-2026_compressed.pdf	2026-11-11
De Nationale Assemblée, amendments after 2005 and approved bills: read the lists for any 2025 or 2026 change to the income tax or dividend tax (none found)	https://www.dna.sr/wetgeving/surinaamse-wetten/wijzigingen-na-2005/	2026-11-11

Not yet confirmed: whether any 2025 or 2026 staatsbesluit or act changed the 36% rate or the other amounts (none published by the Tax Administration or listed by DNA as of 11 November 2026; the Staatsblad is not online); the dividend withholding rates under the treaties with the Netherlands and Curaçao (the old version listed 7.5%, and 5% or 10%; no treaty text was found on a Surinamese official site, so they are left out); the AOV surcharge (opcenten) on bodies' income tax named in Wet AOV art. 18(b), whose rate was not found; the Minister's conditions for the dividend tax exemption (Wet Dividendbelasting art. 4) and the staatsbesluit conditions for a foreign functional currency (IB art. 36(4)); the current late-payment interest rate beyond the 45% footnote to S.B. 1995 no. 98.