Corporate Income Tax in São Tomé and Príncipe

Sourced from the law, in part. Tax year 2026. The Finance Ministry site refused access on 1 November 2026, so the tax codes themselves were not read. Rows marked unverified carry older figures that no official page has confirmed. No accountant has signed this version and it has had no independent review yet.

Who this applies to

Companies, civil companies in commercial form, cooperatives, public enterprises and sports entities with a seat or effective management in STP, plus entities without one on income earned in STP (Q3 2025 report). The code is Law 16/2008 changed by Law 10/2009.

General regime (Group 1, art. 19): most taxpayers, including public companies, SA companies and non-residents with a permanent establishment. Simplified regime (Group 2, art. 20): small businesses without full accounts. Both come from a Ministry presentation of 2025.

Rates, bands and thresholds

Item	Amount / treatment	Tax year	Official source
Minimum IRC	2/1000 of turnover, at least Db 2,400	2026	debate of 11 Feb 2026, art. 8(10) as read and approved
Standard rate	unverified: older secondary source gave 25%	2026	unverified
New activity rate	unverified: older source gave 10%	2026	unverified
Agriculture, agro-industry, fisheries	unverified: older source gave 12.5% years 1 to 7, 20% years 8 to 9	2026	unverified
International trading; local trading	unverified: older source gave 5%; and 12.5% first 5 years	2026	unverified
Withholding on dividends, interest, royalties	unverified: older source said about 15% on dividends; others unstated	2026	unverified
Billing software	Required from turnover of Db 1,000,000, or if organised accounts are required	2026	2026 Budget art. 8(12)
Exempt bodies	Must still file annual returns if exempt under IRC code art. 16	2026	2026 Budget art. 8(14)
Cash limit	Db 10,000 or more barred with organised accounts; cost not deductible	2026	2026 Budget art. 9

The base

Tax base: older point, unverified: accounting profit adjusted for tax; residents on worldwide profit, non-residents on STP income.

The floor changed often: Db 2,544 in the 2024 Budget, then back to Db 1,244 after a Constitutional Court ruling, per the Minister; the Bill for 2026 proposed Db 5,000 and the Assembly replaced it with Db 2,400 (Decree-Law 6/2016 art. 3(2)). Software cost is written off in one year (art. 8(13)).

Incentives rest on Decree-Law 15/2016 (Tax Benefits Code) and Decree-Law 19/2016 (Investment Code) per the Ministry presentation. Their rates were not read.

Deadlines and filing

Older point, unverified: return within months of year end, commonly 31 March. Form and portal: unverified.

Penalties and interest

Unverified. The Tax Directorate is the first instance for tax enforcement, per the Ministry presentation.

Cross-border points

Non-residents with a permanent establishment fall in the general regime. Treaties: see income tax. Transfer pricing has no skill yet.

Two worked examples that recompute

Example 1. Turnover of Db 5,000,000 with a tax loss.

name: Minimum IRC, large
inputs:
  turnover: 5000000
steps:
  - minimum: max(turnover * 0.002, 2400)
expected:
  minimum: 10000

Example 2, edge. Turnover of Db 500,000: 2/1000 gives Db 1,000, so the floor applies. Whether the floor sits on top of or instead of normal IRC depends on Decree-Law 6/2016, which was not read.

name: Minimum IRC, floor
inputs:
  turnover: 500000
steps:
  - minimum: max(turnover * 0.002, 2400)
expected:
  minimum: 2400

Ask the client first

• Legal form and seat
• General or simplified regime
• Turnover and profit for the year
• Any incentive certificate
• Payments to non-residents

Sources

Source	URL	Read on
Assembly debate of 11 Feb 2026 on the Budget, art. 8 changes and final vote (pp. 315 to 321 read)	https://www2.camara.leg.br/saotomeeprincipe/diarios-da-an/xii-legislatura-8-11-22-a-8-11-26/i-serie/7.a-sessao-legislativa/DAN13-IS.pdf	2026-11-01
2024 Budget text, art. on revenue, nos. 10 to 13 (only this part read)	https://www2.camara.leg.br/saotomeeprincipe/diarios-da-an/xii-legislatura-8-11-22-a-8-11-26/ii-serie/3.a-sessao-legislativa/DAN25-IIS.pdf	2026-11-01
2026 Budget Bill 51/XII/7.a/2025, art. 8 to 9 (only this part read)	https://www2.camara.leg.br/saotomeeprincipe/diarios-da-an/xii-legislatura-8-11-22-a-8-11-26/ii-serie/7.a-sessao-legislativa-1/DAN14-IIS.pdf	2026-11-01
Budget execution report Q3 2025, tax laws summary (pp. 384 to 385 read)	https://www2.camara.leg.br/saotomeeprincipe/diarios-da-an/xii-legislatura-8-11-22-a-8-11-26/ii-serie/7.a-sessao-legislativa-1/DAN17-IIS.pdf	2026-11-01

The Assembly of Sao Tome and Principe publishes its Diario on www2.camara.leg.br, hosted by the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. The Ministry of Finance site (financas.gov.st) answered 403 by fetch and in a browser tab on 2026-11-01 and was not read.

Not yet confirmed: IRC code text; standard and incentive rates; withholding rates; filing date; penalties; Decree-Law 6/2016; Decree-Law 15/2016; published 2026 Budget law. Ministry presentation read 2026-11-01 at the link in Who this applies to.