Tax in Albania: The Basics

The main taxes

• Personal income tax — progressive bands on employment income, with separate treatment for self-employment and for some investment income.
• Corporate profit tax — with reduced or zero rates applied to some categories of small business and to certain sectors at various times.
• Value added tax — a standard rate with reduced rates for specified supplies, including some tourism services.
• Social and health insurance contributions — employer and employee.
• Property tax — levied on buildings, with rates set in relation to use and location.
• Property transfer tax on sales.

Residence

The usual test for tax residence is presence in Albania for more than 183 days in a calendar year, or having a permanent home or centre of vital interests there. Residents are generally taxed on worldwide income; non-residents on Albanian-source income.

Double taxation

Albania has a network of double-taxation treaties. Whether one applies to you, and what it does, depends on your country and your income type. This is exactly the question to put to a qualified adviser in both countries.

Where to check

The General Directorate of Taxes publishes current rates and the treaty list. Use it as the source, not a summary.