Accounting, payroll and tax filings, for foreign founders
Accounting, payroll and tax filings in Rwanda, run from one desk
We keep your Rwandan company's books under IFRS for SMEs, run payroll and file every monthly and annual return through our licensed partners in Kigali. You hold a filed calendar, clean accounts and one report in English each month.
- VAT, PAYE, RSSB and withholding tax filed by the 15th, every month
- Annual tax return, accounts and annual return filed on time
- A monthly English report your board and your group auditor can use
Scope
What we do for you
Each item below is a task we take off your desk. The quote lists the ones that apply to your company and leaves out the rest.
- Monthly bookkeeping under IFRS for SMEsSales, purchases, payroll journals, bank and mobile money reconciliations, accruals, fixed assets and depreciation. Books in Rwandan francs amafaranga (money; also francs), with foreign currency balances revalued at month end.
- EBM invoicing set-up and checksWe choose the right route on the Electronic Billing Machine system (EBM 2.1, Online EBM or a certified VSDC integration) and check every purchase invoice for a valid EBM receipt with your TIN, so input VAT stays recoverable.
- VAT returnsDeclared on E-Tax by the 15th, monthly or quarterly where turnover is RWF 200 million or less. We watch the RWF 20 million a year and RWF 5 million a quarter thresholds and register you within the 7-day window.
- Payroll, PAYE and RSSBGross to net under the 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% monthly bands, pension, maternity, occupational hazards and CBHI, filed through RRA's unified declaration by the 15th. Every new umukozi (employee) enrolled with RSSB in the month they start.
- Withholding tax15% on service fees, interest, royalties and dividends, or the treaty rate where a tax residency certificate is on file. Remitted within 15 days after the month of payment.
- Advance corporate income taxThree instalments in the sixth, ninth and twelfth months: 30 June, 30 September and 31 December for a calendar year. We compute each one and tell you the amount two weeks ahead.
- Annual tax return and accountsCorporate tax return within three months of year-end with audited financial statements and transfer pricing documentation; annual accounts to the Registrar General within seven months.
- Annual return at the Registrar GeneralFiled in the month allocated to your company, confirming shareholders, directors and beneficial owners. We confirm the month from the registry at onboarding.
- Investor and group reportingThe financial report to RDB for registered investors, and a reporting pack reconciled to your group's standard, such as HGB or the Plan General Contable, for consolidation.
Process
How it works
Four steps from the first email to a routine month. Timings are our planning allowances unless marked as a legal deadline.
- Within 2 working days
Written quote
You tell us the activity, expected transactions, staff and currencies. We reply with the scope, the filings that apply and a fixed monthly fee in writing.
- Allow 1 to 2 weeks
Onboarding
Engagement letter, E-Tax access, EBM route, unified payroll declaration, chart of accounts and the year's filing calendar. Planning allowance, not an official time.
- Every month
The monthly close
You send statements and invoices in the first days. We post and reconcile by the 10th, you approve, and payment goes out by the 12th. The legal deadline is the 15th.
- Months 1 to 7 after year-end
The annual close
Closing entries and audit in months 1 and 2, tax return and RDB report by month 3, accounts at the Registrar General by month 7.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, tax administration and other taxes (reviewed 23/09/2026); RRA, "About EBM" and "Declare Employment tax (PAYE)", rra.gov.rw (accessed October 2026); Law N° 020/2023, Arts. 15 and 80–82 (EY Tax News, 2023); Law N° 007/2021, Arts. 142–143 as amended by Law N° 019/2023 (Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr; ENSafrica).
Who stands behind it
One adviser, a network behind them
Voixa Rwanda is a brand of Voixa Consultors S.L., Barcelona. Its founder, Alexander Baranov, has spent more than 15 years on cross-border company and tax work across the BCA Group's network. We manage your books from Europe in English or Russian. Declarations are submitted in Rwanda by our licensed partners in Kigali, who also handle RRA queries and the visits that still happen.
The first month is the one that goes wrong. A salary is paid in week two, nobody files PAYE and RSSB for the partial month, and the 15th passes. We fix the first payroll date in the onboarding plan before any salary is paid, and we ask for a copy of every foreign invoice before it is settled, because that is where withholding tax slips.
Compare
Doing it yourself, or with us
Some founders run Rwandan compliance themselves or with a local bookkeeper. This is an honest view of where that works and where it tends to break.
| Task | On your own | With Voixa |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly filings by the 15th | Feasible on E-Tax, if someone in the team owns the date every month, including quiet months with nil returns. | Prepared by the 10th, paid by the 12th, confirmed in your monthly report. |
| EBM invoicing from a group ERP | Group software rarely issues certified Rwandan invoices; a VSDC integration needs RRA certification and clearances. | Online EBM or EBM 2.1 from day one, with the integration planned alongside. |
| Payroll for expatriates | Housing, school fees and split salaries change the PAYE base and are easy to under-declare. | Benefits valued and added; annual PAYE statements for the home tax office. |
| Treaty rates on withholding | A reduced rate without a tax residency certificate is a 15% exposure in an audit. | Certificate collected before payment and filed with the declaration. |
| Advance CIT | The formula looks back at last year's tax; second-year instalments often surprise. | Computed in advance and placed in your cash plan. |
| Annual return month | Allocated per company, unrelated to year-end, and often missed. Non-filing can lead to strike-off. | Confirmed from the registry and filed in the allocated month. |
| Group consolidation | Local accounts in a format the parent cannot consolidate without rework. | Reconciliation to your group standard in every monthly pack. |
Sources: RRA, "About EBM" (accessed October 2026); Law N° 020/2023, Art. 22 on residency certificates (EY Tax News, 2023); Law N° 027/2022, Art. 33; Law N° 007/2021, Art. 143 as amended.
Fit
Who this is for
Three illustrative profiles. Your quote is built on your own figures.
A European subsidiary in its first year
A small team in Kigali, a parent abroad, management fees and an intra-group loan. The first-year calendar and the 2% fee cap matter most.
Read the first-year guide → Icyemezo cy’ishoramariA registered investor on an incentive rate
An exporter on 15% or a holding on 3%. The RDB report, the substance file and clean returns protect the regime.
Open the compliance calendar → UmusoroA service company with few transactions
A consultancy or software firm with a handful of invoices a month, foreign suppliers and one or two staff. Online EBM and WHT on foreign invoices are the points to watch.
Read the tax overview →Your country changes the withholding side of the file. Payments to Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom or Russia bear 15% because Rwanda has no treaty with them. Payments to the UAE carry 7.5% on dividends and to Luxembourg 10%, each with a residency certificate. Rwanda has 13 treaties in force; our overview of Rwanda's tax treaties lists them with the ones signed but not yet usable. There are no local income taxes, so a payroll in Kicukiro, in the Kigali Special Economic Zone in Gasabo or at a lodge in Rubavu on Lake Kivu follows the same rules.
Sources: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda, withholding taxes (reviewed 23/09/2026); entry-into-force records in Rwanda's double tax treaties (13 treaties in force, October 2026).
FAQ
Questions before you sign
How is the monthly fee set?
By volume: the number of transactions, employees, bank accounts and currencies, and whether you are registered for VAT. The fee is fixed, quoted in writing within two working days, and changes only if your volume changes. Government charges, such as the district trading licence declared by 31 January, are shown separately.
How soon can you start?
We plan one to two weeks for onboarding after the engagement letter is signed. If a deadline is close, we file the urgent declaration first and complete the set-up after.
Do I need to be in Rwanda?
No. The books are managed from Europe and declarations are filed online on E-Tax. Our licensed partners in Kigali handle submissions and any visit to RRA or a bank. Avoid planning your own visits for the last Saturday morning of the month, when umuganda (monthly community work) pauses most businesses.
What if a filing is late or RRA raises a query?
Declared tax paid late carries 5%, 10% or 20% depending on the delay, plus interest under Law N° 020/2023; we confirm the rate in force for a specific item. Our partners in Kigali answer RRA queries, and we explain the position to you in writing. If you join us with arrears, we list them in the quote and regularise them first.
What do you need from me each month?
Bank statements, sales and purchase invoices, payroll changes and copies of foreign invoices before payment. We send a short checklist on the first working day of each month.
Do you arrange the statutory audit?
Audited financial statements accompany the tax return. We confirm at onboarding whether your company needs a statutory audit under company law, introduce an auditor and keep to a timetable that ends before 31 March.
In which language do I receive reports?
Reports are in English. Advice is available in English and Russian. Records may be kept in Kinyarwanda, English or French, and we keep yours in English.
What happens after the first year?
The cycle repeats with a new calendar, updated for pension rates rising to 7% plus 7% from 1 January 2027, your annual return month and any new registrations. We review the fee once a year against actual volume.
Sources: Law N° 020/2023, Arts. 80 and 82 (EY Tax News, 2023); Presidential Order N° 086/01 of 12/12/2024; Law N° 048/2023 of 05/09/2023 on the trading licence (RRA); PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda (reviewed 23/09/2026).
Fixed quote
Tell us about your plan
We reply within two working days with the steps, the government fees and our fixed fee in writing.
Your enquiry
Read first
Guides behind this service
Accounting and payroll
IFRS for SMEs, EBM, the payroll worked example and the pension path to 2030.
Read more → IcyemezoCompliance calendar
Every monthly, annual and event deadline for any financial year-end.
Open the tool → UmusoroTaxes in Rwanda
CIT, VAT, withholding, treaties and local taxes in one overview.
Read more →Sources for facts on this page: PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries, Rwanda (reviewed 23/09/2026); RRA, rra.gov.rw (accessed October 2026); Law N° 020/2023 of 31/03/2023; Law N° 027/2022 of 20/10/2022 as amended; Law N° 049/2023 of 05/09/2023 as amended by Law N° 009/2025; Law N° 007/2021 of 05/02/2021 as amended by Law N° 019/2023; Law N° 006/2021 of 05/02/2021, Art. 26; Presidential Order N° 086/01 of 12/12/2024; IFRS Foundation, jurisdiction profile Rwanda.