Tax in Albania: The Basics

This is not tax advice

Tax is the area of this Atlas where general information is least useful and professional advice most necessary. Rates, brackets and residence tests change; treaty positions differ by country; and the interaction with your home tax system is specific to you.

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.