Quick overview
| Standard Rate | Reduced Rate | Other Rates |
| 18% | N/A | Zero-rated (0%) and exempt |
The local name for VAT in Uganda is Value-added tax (VAT).
There is basically 1 VAT rate in Uganda:
- Standard VAT rate is 18%
Recent developments
For more information about (recent) rate change developments in Uganda, please click HERE.
Standard rate: 18%
This rate applies for all transactions that take place in Uganda, unless an exception applies (such as a reduced rate, the zero rate or an exemption, or a reason to treat the transaction as outside scope of VAT).
Zero rate (0%)
Zero-Rated Transactions with the Right to deduct VAT
- Exports of goods or services from Uganda
- International transport of goods or passengers and tickets for their transport
- Drugs, medicines and medical sundries manufactured in Uganda
- Educational materials
- Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and hoes
- Sanitary towels and tampons and inputs for their manufacture
- Leased aircraft, aircraft engines, spare engines, spare parts for aircraft and aircraft maintenance equipment
- The supply of cereals grown and milled in Uganda
- The supply of handling services provided by the National Medical Stores in respect of medical supplies, funded by donors
Exempted transactions, no VAT due and no Right to deduct VAT (examples)
- Livestock, unprocessed foodstuffs and unprocessed agricultural products except wheat grain
- Postage stamps
- Financial services
- Services related to health insurance, life insurance, micro insurance, reinsurance and aircraft insurance services
- Land
- Sale, letting or leasing immovable property, excl.
- Sale, lease or letting of commercial premises, parking or storing cars or other vehicles, hotel or holiday accommodation, for periods not exceeding three months, service apartments
- Education services
- Veterinary, medical, dental, and nursing services
- Imported drugs, medicines and medical sundries
- Social welfare services
- Betting, lotteries, games of chance
- Goods as part of a transfer of a business as a going concern by one taxable person to another taxable person
- Burial and cremation services
- Precious metals and other valuables to the Bank of Uganda for the State Treasury
- Passenger transportation services (other than tour and travel operators)
- Petroleum fuels subject to excise duty (motor spirit, kerosene and gas oil), spirit-type jet fuel, kerosene-type jet fuel and residual oils for use in thermal power generation to the national grid
- Dental, medical and veterinary goods, including equipment, Ambulances, Contraceptives of all forms, Maternity kits (mama kits), Medical examination gloves, Mosquito nets, acaricides, insecticides and mosquito repellent devices, Diapers, Disposable medical face masks, …
- Selected machinery, tools and implements suitable for use only in agriculture
- Deep cycle batteries, composite lanterns and raw materials for the manufacture of deep cycle batteries and composite lanterns • Menstrual cups
- Solar power
- Life jackets, life-saving gear, headgear and speed governors
- Movie production
- Bibles and Qur’ans and textbooks
- Services to conduct feasibility study, design and construction
- Earth moving equipment and machinery for development of an industrial park or free zone to a developer of an industrial park or free zone
- Wet processing operations and garmenting, cotton lint, artificial fibers for blending; polyester staple fiber, viscose rayon fiber yarn other than cotton yarn, textile dyes and chemicals garment accessories, textile machinery spare parts, industrial consumables for textile production, textile manufacturing machinery and equipment
- Fabrics and garments made in Uganda by vertically integrated textile mills that operate spinning, weaving/knitting, wet processing operations and garmenting
- Production inputs into iron ore smelting into billets for further value addition in Uganda
- Production inputs into limestone mining and processing and processing into clinker in Uganda and the supply of clinker for further value addition in Uganda
- Production inputs necessary for processing of hides and skins into finished leather products in Uganda and the supply of leather products wholly made in Uganda
- Imported mathematical sets and geometry sets used in educational services
- Woodworking, welding and sewing machines
- Imported crayons, colored pencils, lead pencils, rulers, erasers, stencils, technical drawing sets, educational computer tablets, educational computer applications or laboratory chemicals for teaching science subjects used in educational services
- Supply of Software and equipment installation services to manufactures, Services incidental to telemedical services, Royalties paid in respect of agricultural technologies
- Accommodation in tourist hotels and lodges located upcountry: Liquefied gas and Processed milk
- Supply of locally developed computer software, its maintenance and software licenses
- Supply of services to conduct a feasibility study, design and construction; the supply of locally produced materials for construction of premises, infrastructure, machinery and equipment or furnishings and fittings that are not available on the local market to a hotel or tourism facility developer
A global VAT/GST rate overview can be found here (note this is a work in progress).
This post was last updated on September 6, 2021.
