Monthly tax filing in Uganda: VAT, PAYE, withholding tax and LST, filed by the 15th
If you employ staff, are registered for VAT or have been made a withholding agent, URA expects returns every month, by the 15th, even in months with nothing to declare. We file every one on time and keep your records matching, so penalties never start.
Which monthly taxes apply to you?
Most businesses don't pay one monthly tax. They pay several, each with its own rules, and each with its own return. Which ones apply depends on what you do: sell VAT-able goods or services, employ staff, or pay suppliers as a designated withholding agent.
| Tax | Applies to you if | Due |
|---|---|---|
| VAT | You are VAT-registered: you charge 18% on sales and claim back VAT on purchases | Monthly, by the 15th |
| PAYE | You employ staff earning more than UGX 335,000 a month | Monthly, by the 15th |
| Withholding tax | URA has made you a withholding agent, or you are a government body. Usually 6% of payments to suppliers above UGX 1 million | Monthly, by the 15th |
| Excise duty | You make, import or supply excisable goods or services, such as alcohol, tobacco, fuel, soft drinks or some telecom and financial services | Goods: by the 21st. Services: by the 15th |
| Local Service Tax | You employ staff above the LST income level. It is a local government tax, deducted from pay | In instalments, as your local government sets |
The monthly rules in four facts
- The 15th: returns and payments for VAT, PAYE and withholding tax are due by the 15th of the following month.
- Nil returns count: every tax you're registered for needs a return each month, even with nothing to declare.
- Late filing: the penalty is UGX 200,000 or 2% of the tax for the period, whichever is higher, plus interest on late payment.
- PAYE starts above UGX 335,000 a month for resident employees, then rises in bands to 30%, with an extra 10% on pay above UGX 10 million.
Sources: URA returns and PAYE guidance. Checked October 2026.
Same taxes, different details
Sole traders with staff
You deduct PAYE from your employees and file it monthly. What you take out of the business for yourself isn't salary, so no PAYE on it; it's taxed in your annual income tax return.
Companies
The company deducts PAYE on every employee, including directors who are paid a salary. It also files VAT, withholding tax and LST as they apply, and its own annual company tax return.
Where monthly filing goes wrong
- Missing nil returns for taxes you're registered for
- PAYE worked out on basic pay only, leaving out allowances
- Not deducting withholding tax when you should, so you owe it yourself
- VAT returns that don't match EFRIS
- Assuming your bookkeeper files with URA
- A backlog of months, each with its own penalty
The cost of waiting: Each late return carries its own penalty, at least UGX 200,000, and interest keeps building on anything unpaid. A few missed months quickly cost more than a year of filing.
We own your monthly tax calendar
We check
We look at which taxes you're registered for, what's been filed and what's missing.
We clear and set up
Any backlog is filed, and we set up a simple monthly routine for your records.
We file every month
VAT, PAYE, withholding tax and LST filed by the 15th, with proof of every filing.
- Every return filed by the 15th
- Proof of filing each month
- A monthly summary of what was paid
- A warning when a threshold or new tax applies to you
- Your TIN
- Payroll details each month
- Sales, purchases and supplier payments each month
Work out your monthly fee
Your fee depends on your turnover, the tax heads you file, how many staff you pay and how many sales you invoice.
Licensed Tax Agent, registered with TARC under URA · Helping clients since 2012 · Rated 4.7 on Google
Monthly tax questions, by situation
Jump to: Getting started · Your business · Behind on returns · Working with us
Getting started
It depends on your business: VAT if you're registered for it, PAYE if you employ staff, withholding tax if URA has made you a withholding agent, excise duty if you deal in excisable goods or services, and LST if you employ staff. Each needs its own return.
By the 15th of the following month, for VAT, PAYE and withholding tax. Payment is due by the same date.
A return showing nothing due for that month. If you're registered for a tax, you file every month, even when the answer is zero.
A penalty of UGX 200,000 or 2% of the tax, whichever is higher, for each late return, plus interest on unpaid tax.
Nothing on monthly pay up to UGX 335,000 for a resident employee. Above that it rises in bands to 30%, with an extra 10% on pay above UGX 10 million. Allowances usually count as pay.
Your business
If they earn more than UGX 335,000 a month, you need to register for PAYE and file it monthly. LST usually applies as well. We set both up.
Only if URA has designated you, or you're a government body. Designated agents usually withhold 6% on payments to suppliers above UGX 1 million and pay it to URA by the 15th.
URA taxes employees who work in more than one place at a flat 30%, applied by the secondary employer. We check how each employer should deduct.
Then you don't file VAT returns, but you may still have PAYE, LST or withholding tax. We list exactly what applies.
Behind on returns
Each month is a separate return with its own penalty. We file the backlog in the right order and agree a plan for anything you can't pay at once.
Send it to us. We file what's missing and reply to URA before the deadline in the letter.
Yes. Every return for every tax you're registered for must be filed before URA issues a Tax Clearance Certificate.
Working with us
Bookkeeping records what happened. Tax filing turns it into URA returns on time and answers URA when it asks. Many bookkeepers don't file, and nobody notices until penalties arrive.
Each tax is priced by its own size: VAT by monthly sales (URA now pre-fills it from EFRIS; sales outside EFRIS and mixed exempt or zero-rated sales add work), PAYE and LST by staff numbers, withholding tax by payments, excise by products. Filing two or more together earns a discount. Use the estimate above.
Payroll, sales, purchases and supplier payments, sent by a set date. We tell you exactly what and when.
Related reading: The 15th: VAT, PAYE and WHT in one checklist · Local Service Tax: the payroll deduction URA does not collect · The net is tightening: what URA already sees about your business
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