Living in Rwanda: five residency requirements, annual fee schedule, and new resident status

In Rwanda, an individual is considered a resident if they meet one of five conditions: permanent residence, habitual residence, representation of Rwanda abroad, 183 days or more of presence in Rwanda, or presence in Rwanda during the tax year with an average of more than 122 days in each of the two preceding periods. Residents are taxed on their Rwandan and foreign income. The annual tax rate ranges from 0 to 30. A five-year exemption on foreign income is available for certain new residents. This page does not cover social security or visas.

Five conditions for being a resident

Article 4 of Law No. 027/2022 of October 20, 2022, published by the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA), stipulates that a natural person is a resident if they meet one of the following conditions:

1. She has permanent residency in Rwanda; ;
2. she has a usual place of residence there; ;
3. She is Rwandan and represents Rwanda abroad; ;
4. she is present in Rwanda during the taxation period, in one or more installments, for a total of 183 days or more; ;
5. She is present in Rwanda during the tax period and has been present on average for more than 122 days in each of the two previous tax periods.

The first two conditions do not specify a number of days in the text read. The law of May 27, 2025, which amends the 2022 law, does not alter this definition, according to the list of articles it modifies.

Resident or non-resident: what is taxed

Article 12 stipulates that, for each tax period, residents are liable for personal income tax on their income from all sources, both domestic and foreign. Non-residents are only liable for tax on income originating in Rwanda.

The same article provides an exception for new residents. A person who was not a resident of Rwanda for the previous five years, and who works as an expert or professional directly for an entity conducting business authorized by the Kigali International Financial Centre, is exempt from income tax on their foreign-source income for the first five years following the date they become a resident. The conditions for the entity's authorization are not detailed in the passage read.

No convention with Rwanda is included in the BOFiP list of conventions in force on January 1, 2026: our page on the absence of a convention describes what this changes if you remain domiciled in France.

Annual income tax scale

Article 14 sets out the applicable tax scale starting from the second year following the law's entry into force. Taxable income is rounded to the nearest thousand Rwandan francs. The RRA's 2025 "Income Tax" brochure uses the same thresholds and rates.

The 2025 law does not modify these scales, according to the list of articles it affects. The monthly employment income scale is not provided here: the tables in the RRA brochures are presented out of order, and we are not making any claim to this.

An annual result of 5,400,000 FRW: a numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Sophie, a fictitious profile, has permanent residence in Rwanda. Her annual taxable income as a natural person is 5,400,000 FRW (assumed amount).

Issue. She wants to estimate the annual tax according to the scale in article 14.

Strategy. She breaks down her result into slices: nothing up to 720,000, then 10 %, 20 % and 30 % on the following fractions.

Result. The 10% % bracket covers 480,000 FRW and yields 48,000. The 20% % bracket covers 1,200,000 FRW and yields 240,000. The 30% % bracket covers 3,000,000 FRW and yields 900,000. The total is 1,188,000 FRW, representing an average rate of 22.0% %. This calculation does not take into account deductions, social security contributions, or reporting requirements, which we have not determined.

Dividends and capital gains

The RRA indicates that dividends are subject to a withholding tax of 15 %, excluding dividends paid between resident companies, unrealized exchange gains on loans, and income distributed by collective investment schemes. Its page does not specify whether the beneficiary is resident or non-resident, nor whether the withholding tax is final; Article 40 of the 2022 law could not be reviewed.

The capital gains tax rate is 10% of the capital gain, according to Article 36 of Law 2022, as amended by Law No. 014/2025 of May 27, 2025. This law enters into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette. Declaration and payment must be made within 15 days of the month of the transfer. The "Income Tax" 2025 guide covers shares, licenses, debt securities, options, and similar assets. Law 2025 does not mention real estate; therefore, the treatment of real estate capital gains is not addressed here.

Real estate: rents and property tax

For rents on a building located in Rwanda, the RRA brochure (2024) stipulates a tax rate of 0 % up to 180,000 FRW, 20 % from 180,001 to 1,000,000 FRW, and 30 % above that, after a 50 % deduction from the gross rent for maintenance. Interest on a loan used to construct or purchase the property is deductible if properly documented.

Property tax on real estate is set at 0.5 % of the market value of the building and land for residential use, 0.3 % for commercial use, and 0.1 % for industrial use. Declaration and payment must be made no later than December 31st of the year corresponding to the first tax period. A building intended by its owner for their own residence is exempt, under the conditions specified in the brochure. An owner residing abroad may appoint an agent in Rwanda.

What this page does not cover

It does not provide information on withholdings of interest and royalties, the monthly salary scale, or the tax return schedule for individuals. It also does not address wealth tax, inheritance tax, Rwanda Social Security Board contributions, or residency permits: no reliable official source has allowed us to establish these details. Local tax information should be verified with a professional based in Rwanda. Matters pertaining to France, particularly the departure declaration and the accounts to be declared, are covered in our pages on tax residency and exit tax.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your situation with regard to the five conditions, period by period.
• Your arrival date and your situation during the previous five years.
• Your employer: an entity registered with the Kigali International Financial Centre or not.
• The nature of your income: employment, business, dividends, rent, capital gains.
• The location of your real estate and its use.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.