Lira

Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

Taxed0%–40% progressive

Employment income or a fee for services exercised or rendered in Uganda is Ugandan-source income, whoever pays it and wherever it is paid (Income Tax Act, section 78(d)(i)), and a resident's business income is Ugandan-source unless earned through a branch abroad (section 78(a)). So a salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients for work you do from Uganda are taxed, and the two-year exemption for short-term residents does not help, because it covers only foreign-source income. From 1 July 2026 the resident rates are nil up to UGX 4,020,000 a year (UGX 335,000 a month), 20% up to UGX 4,920,000, 25% up to UGX 5,820,000, 30% above that, and an additional 10% on income above UGX 120,000,000 (Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2026). A foreign employer does not run Ugandan PAYE, so you pay provisional tax in four instalments by the end of September, December, March and June (section 121) and file an annual return. Non-residents are also taxable on pay for days worked in Uganda (section 17(2)(b)). Pay for work done abroad on which foreign tax was withheld is exempt (section 79), and other foreign tax is credited up to the Ugandan tax on that income (section 80). Uganda has few tax treaties, so check whether yours limits this. Freelancers with turnover below UGX 150,000,000 may use the small business regime unless they provide professional services (see regimes). The National Social Security Fund covers private-sector employees through their employers and offers voluntary saving; whether a foreign employer with no Ugandan presence must register was not confirmed.

On the nomad visa

Uganda has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Visitors who need a visa usually get a single-entry tourist visa (USD 50) granted for up to three months, which can be extended by 60 days in two intervals. Living and working in Uganda for longer needs a work permit. A tourist stay of up to five months does not by itself reach 183 days, but pay for work done in Uganda is Ugandan-source and in principle taxable even for a non-resident. If you become resident, your foreign investment income stays exempt for your first two years of presence.

Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

Not taxedNone on foreign-source income for the first 2 years; afterwards 0%–40% progressive

Foreign-source income of a short-term resident is exempt (Income Tax Act, section 21(1)(l)). A short-term resident is a resident individual, other than a Ugandan citizen, present in Uganda for a period or periods not exceeding two years (section 21(7)). So for your first two years foreign dividends, interest, rent from property abroad and gains on foreign assets are not taxed. After that, residents are taxed on income from all geographical sources (section 17(2)(a)), and foreign dividends, interest and rent are added to other income at 0%–40%, with a credit for foreign tax (section 80). A 2026 Bill clause (new section 150A) would have taxed foreign income at the rate for the same Ugandan income, but it is not in URA's summary of the Act as passed, so this profile assumes it was not enacted. Some income is exempt at any stage: pensions (section 21(1)(m)) and capital gains not included in business income, except gains on shares in a private limited company or on a commercial building (section 21(1)(j)). Ugandan investments are taxed differently: dividends from Ugandan companies bear a final 15% withholding tax (10% for listed companies), Ugandan bank interest a final 15%, and government securities 20% (10% for maturities of ten years or more) (sections 127, 128 and 139). Rent from property in Uganda pays a separate 12% rental tax once gross rent exceeds UGX 2,820,000 a year (section 5 and Schedule 4, Part II). The Act has no specific rule for crypto-asset gains, so this profile does not say how they are treated.

Net wealth and inheritance

No wealth taxNo inheritance tax

Uganda has no net wealth tax and no inheritance, estate or gift tax. Property acquired by gift, bequest or inheritance is exempt from income tax unless it is business, employment or property income (Income Tax Act, section 21(1)(i)). A land transfer pays stamp duty of 1.5% of the land's value as set by the Chief Government Valuer, which may differ from the price paid. A 2026 proposal to raise it to 3% is not in URA's summary of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Act, 2026. In Kampala, KCCA charges property rates of 6% of a property's rateable value (its net annual rental value) once a year. Owner-occupied homes are currently exempt, but landlords pay, including owners who rent out a home.

Tax resident after

183 days a year

Top income tax rate

40%

When you become tax resident

You are resident for a year of income (1 July to 30 June) if you have a permanent home in Uganda, or are present 183 days or more in any 12-month period that starts or ends in that year, or are present in that year and in each of the two previous years for an average of more than 122 days a year (Income Tax Act, section 9(1)). The Act does not define "permanent home", so renting a flat in Kampala for a long stay may be enough to make you resident before 183 days; this profile could not confirm how URA applies it. In the year you arrive you are resident only from the day you were first present, and in the year you leave only up to your last day (section 9(2)–(3)). A visitor on a three-month tourist visa with no home in Uganda normally stays non-resident.

Top income tax rate

Kampala: 30% plus an additional 10% on chargeable income above UGX 120,000,000 a year (UGX 10,000,000 a month), under Schedule 4, Part I as replaced by the Income Tax (Amendment) Act, 2026 from 1 July 2026. The rates are national, so the top rate is the same across Uganda. The 2026 Act raised the tax-free band from UGX 2,820,000 to UGX 4,020,000 a year removed the 10% band and added a 25% band, but left the top rates unchanged. URA's booklet was printed before the Act received assent, and the final gazetted Act was not found on an official site.