What is the 2026 tax annex in Côte d’Ivoire?
The tax annex is the document that, every year, accompanies the finance law and sets the new tax rules applicable to businesses and households. For 2026, this is the tax annex to finance law no. 2025-987 of 19 December 2025 establishing the State Budget for 2026. According to the sources consulted, it was published in the Official Journal (special issue of 24 December 2025) and its measures came into force on 5 January 2026. Its guiding thread: supporting purchasing power, encouraging private investment and, especially for SMEs, modernising and digitising tax procedures while strengthening revenue collection. This article is educational: it does not replace reading the official texts or the advice of your tax advisor.Source: tax annex to finance law no. 2025-987 of 19 December 2025 establishing the 2026 State Budget, published in the Official Journal (special issue of 24 December 2025), in force on 5 January 2026.
The flagship measure for SMEs: electronic transmission of financial statements
The most structuring change for SMEs concerns the electronic transmission of financial statements and their annexes via the e-Impôts portal (e-impots.gouv.ci). Beware of a misconception: this is not a full switch of all businesses on 1 January 2026, but a progressive extension, by category. Businesses under the Large Enterprises Directorate (DGE) and the Medium Enterprises Directorate (DME) are concerned from the 2026 framework; micro-enterprises from 1 January 2027; the entreprenant State tax from 1 January 2028; and the generalisation of transmitting statements and annexes electronically only is set for 1 January 2028. For an SME, the message remains the same: prepare up-to-date accounting and reliable data now, because electronic transmission requires structured, consistent financial statements.✅ Key takeaway: progressive extension of electronic transmission of financial statements (DGE/DME from 2026, micro-enterprises in 2027, entreprenants and generalisation in 2028) — not a switch of all businesses on 1 January 2026. Confirm your deadline on e-impots.gouv.ci or with your tax office.
Bank accounts in financial statements: what is true (and what is not)
A piece of information has circulated widely: Côte d’Ivoire would require businesses to disclose their bank account numbers. This is accurate, but with a precise scope that must be understood. The 2026 tax annex provides that financial statements transmitted electronically (and their annexes) include the taxpayer’s bank account number(s). This therefore concerns financial statements, not all tax declarations. This requirement follows the same progressive timeline as electronic transmission (DGE/DME from 2026, micro-enterprises in 2027, entreprenants in 2028). However — and this is important to dispel rumours — we have not identified any text creating automatic, generalised access by the tax administration to bank accounts. The annex also strengthens the administration’s access to databases, backups and IT documentation during audits, which remains distinct from direct, permanent access to bank accounts.🔎 In short: yes, your bank account numbers will have to appear in financial statements filed online (per the 2026-2028 timeline); no, this does not create direct, permanent access by the administration to your accounts. Always rely on the official text and your accountant.
Reinforced electronic audit and penalties
The 2026 tax annex follows a logic of modernising audit procedures. The digitisation of declarations (e-Impôts) and of invoicing (the electronic normalised invoice, FNE) gives the administration far finer visibility over transactions and declarations. For an SME, this means that discrepancies between collected VAT, deductible VAT and declared turnover become more easily detectable. The best protection remains accounting kept continuously, archived supporting documents and declarations consistent with one another. The precise nature and amounts of penalties should be checked in the tax annex text in force, as they may change.Electronic normalised invoice (FNE): the brick that completes the system
You cannot talk about fiscal modernisation in Côte d’Ivoire without mentioning the DGI’s electronic normalised invoice (FNE). Combined with electronic transmission, the FNE lets the administration trace sales: each certified invoice carries a normative number, an FNE visual and a QR code. For an SME, consistency is key: the FNE feeds collected VAT, which must in turn be declared on e-Impôts. A single tool that issues the normalised invoice and keeps the accounting in parallel is therefore preferable to separate entries exposed to discrepancies. We detail how the FNE works in our dedicated guide (link at the end of the article).2025 financial-statement filing dates: what to remember
Important point: according to the notice to taxpayers published by the DGI, the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025 must be filed no later than 30 June 2026 for companies subject to certification by a statutory auditor, and no later than 1 June 2026 for other companies (prior-visa procedure). The DGI calendar historically mentioned 30 May for companies without a statutory auditor; as 30 May 2026 falls on a Saturday, the practical date relayed is 1 June 2026. We deliberately state these dates rather than a generic deadline: they may, however, be subject to extensions announced by the DGI, subject to official communications.⚠️ Subject to DGI extensions: these deadlines (30 June / 1 June 2026) come from a 2026 notice to taxpayers and concern the 2025 financial year. Always check the latest DGI communication before filing.
Other measures an SME should know
Beyond digitisation, the 2026 tax annex includes several measures worth knowing. Mobile Money payments are not treated as cash payments: they therefore remain deductible even beyond the cap applicable to cash settlements — a point favourable to small structures’ cash flow. Foreign online commerce platforms, without a professional establishment in Côte d’Ivoire, are taxed on a flat-rate profit set at 10% of the turnover achieved in the country (i.e., with a 30% corporate tax, an economic effect of about 3% of turnover), beyond a turnover threshold of around 50 million FCFA according to available analyses. For property tax, the rates mentioned are 9% of the rental value for certain income-producing buildings and 11% for businesses and legal entities, with a mechanism capping increases compared to 2024. On VAT, certain exemptions were removed (inputs and packaging related to animal feed and fertilisers), before a January 2026 ordinance applied a reduced 9% rate to them from 17 January 2026. Finally, the withholding tax on non-commercial profits (BNC) already exists in doctrine (a 7.5% rate on certain gross amounts); we have not identified a general overhaul of the BNC regime in 2026, this point being to verify article by article.💡 Each business is in a different situation (sector, regime, size): have the real impact of these measures, their thresholds and rates validated by your accountant and against the full text of the 2026 tax annex (DGI/DGBF).