Urmia

Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

Taxed10%–30% progressive (2026-27 salary bands)

Salary tax covers pay a person receives for employment in Iran (Article 82). The test is where the work is done, not where the employer or bank is, so a foreign company's salary for work done from Iran falls within it. Non-Iranians are taxed on all income obtained in Iran (Article 1(5)). The law itself sets 10% above the yearly exemption up to seven times that amount and 20% above it (Article 85), but the exemption and bands are set each year (Article 84). For the Iranian year 1405 (21 March 2026 to 20 March 2027), the Tax Administration's circular 200/1005/ص of 20 April 2026 sets an exemption of IRR 4,800 million a year and bands of 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%, with 30% above IRR 16,800 million a year. That circular and the underlying law could not be loaded from an official site, so treat these figures as unconfirmed. Freelancers pay business-income tax on income obtained in Iran (Article 93) at 15%–25% (Article 131), after an exemption equal to the salary exemption if they file on time (Article 101). Whether fees from foreign clients for work done in Iran count as obtained in Iran is not spelled out, but the salary rule suggests they do. With no Iranian payer to withhold it, the tax falls on you. Social security and treaty relief were not verified.

On the nomad visa

Iran has no digital nomad or remote-work visa. Foreigners usually come on a tourist visa, and British nationals must travel on an organised tour or have a sponsor in Iran. The tax rules do not depend on the visa. Work done while in Iran is Iranian-source income from the first day, and foreign investment income stays untaxed. The UK FCDO advises against all travel to Iran, citing a very high risk of arbitrary detention of British and dual nationals. Non-Iranian bank cards do not work there and getting cash is hard. US persons are also bound by US sanctions (31 CFR part 560). Iran's foreign-ministry e-visa site could not be loaded.

Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

Not taxed

A non-Iranian is taxed only on income obtained in Iran (Direct Taxation Act, Article 1(5)), so dividends, interest, capital gains, rent and pensions from abroad are outside Iranian tax for a foreign national. Iranian citizens living in Iran are taxed on income from abroad too (Article 1(2)). Income from Iran is taxed differently. Interest on deposits with Iranian banks is exempt (Article 145). Rent from Iranian property is taxed after a 25% deduction for costs (Article 53) at 15%–25% (Article 131). A capital gains tax added in June 2025 covers sales of Iranian property, cars, gold, foreign currency and crypto-assets by private persons. Gains held one year or more are taxed at 15%–25% after an inflation adjustment, and gains held less than a year at 10 points above the top rate, so 35% (Articles 46–49). A home held over two years by someone with no other home and a car held over a year are exempt (Article 47), and listed securities are outside it (Article 46, note 7). The tax only applies once the government's e-invoice platform for these assets is running (Article 46, note 3). This profile could not confirm that it is.

Net wealth and inheritance

No wealth taxInheritance tax applies

Iran has no net wealth tax, and its annual tax on property values was repealed in 2002 (Direct Taxation Act, Book 2, Chapter 1). Owners of property in Iran, foreign or Iranian, are within inheritance tax (Article 1(1)). The rates in Article 17 are by asset: 3% on bank deposits and bonds, 2% on vehicles, 10% on other assets and rights, 1.5 times the 5% transfer rate on real estate and 1.5 times the stock-exchange rate on shares. For an Iranian decedent, assets abroad are taxed at 10% after credit for foreign inheritance tax. Higher multiples for more distant heirs were not checked here. Selling Iranian property carries a 5% transfer tax on the official transaction value (Article 59). It works alongside the newer capital gains tax: when it is higher, no capital gains tax is due (Article 49, note 5). A home in a city of more than 100,000 people left empty for over 120 days a year is taxed monthly at a multiple of the rental-income tax, six times in the first year (Article 54 bis).

Tax resident after

home or ties test

Top income tax rate

30%

When you become tax resident

The Direct Taxation Act has no day-count residency test. What matters is nationality (Article 1). A resident Iranian national is taxed on income from Iran and abroad, and an Iranian living abroad only on income from Iran. A non-Iranian is taxed only on income obtained in Iran (plus royalties, technical-service fees and film rights paid from Iran), however long they stay. For a foreigner on a tourist stay or a longer stay, the length of the stay does not change what is taxable. If you also hold Iranian nationality, the worldwide rule can apply to you.

Top income tax rate

Tehran: 30% on salary above IRR 16,800 million a year (IRR 1,400 million a month) under the bands for the Iranian year 1405 (from 21 March 2026). There is no city or provincial income tax, so the rate is the same everywhere. The salary figures come from the Tax Administration's 2026 budget circular, which could not be loaded from an official site. Business income and rent are taxed at 15% up to IRR 4,000 million, 20% up to IRR 8,000 million and 25% above that (Article 131, as indexed in December 2025). Short-term capital gains are taxed at 35%.