DOWNLOAD
- Basic Facts
- Statutory Labor Requirements
- Employee Income Tax In Brazil
- Employee Social Security In Brazil
- Deductible Expenses In Brazil
- Immigration In Brazil
- Value Added Tax (VAT) In Brazil
- Withholding Tax In Brazil
- Terminating Employee In Brazil
- Statutory Employee Benefits In Brazil
- Payroll In Brazil
- Ease Of Doing Business In Brazil
- Business Opportunities In Brazil Section
- Why Use Global Expansion To Hire Your Employees In Brazil
SHARE ON SOCIAL
BASIC COUNTRY FACTS
Rwanda
Kigali
- Kinyarwanda
- English
- French
- Swahili
12.3 million
Rwandan franc
.rw
+250
Rwandan franc
STATUTORY LABOR REQUIREMENTS
Probation Period
- Probation periods of up to six months are permitted.
Annual Leave
- In general, employees are entitled to 18 days of paid annual leave.
- An additional day of leave is given for every three years of continuous service, up to a maximum of 21 days.
Public Holidays
- New Year's Day (1st to 2nd January)
- National Heroes' Day (in Rwanda) (3rd February)
- Tutsi Genocide Memorial Day (7th April)
- Good Friday (10th April)
- Labor Day (1st May)
- Eid al-Fitr
- Rwanda Independence Day (1st June)
- Liberation Day (of Rwanda) (6th July)
- Eid al-Adha
- Umuganura (7th August)
- Assumption of Mary (17th August)
- Christmas Day (25th December)
- Boxing Day (28th December)
Maternity Leave
- Female employees are generally entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave.
- Leave may be taken up to two weeks before the due date.
Paternity Leave
- Fathers are entitled to four consecutive days of paternity leave
Sick Leave
- Employees are generally entitled to sick leave of up to six months, with medical certification.
- The first three months are paid and the last three months are unpaid.
Work Hours
- In general, the Rwandan work week is 45 hours.
Overtime
- Overtime is calculated as hours exceeding the weekly legal working hours (45 hours) or contractual working hours (if agreed as less than 45 hours per week).
- Overtime premium pay is calculated on the basis of basic salary, excluding allowances and other benefits.
- The modalities for extra hours and the rate of remuneration of overtime are determined under a collective labor convention. It must be revised annually.
Notice Period
- Indefinite term contracts may be terminated for just cause, and written notice should be given to the employee except if dismissal is due to serious misconduct.
- The notice requirements are as follows:
-
- Less than one year of service: 15 days’ notice
- Greater than one year of service: one-month notice
Severance
- Employees are generally entitled to severance pay after one year of service.
- Severance pay is given as follows:
-
- Less than five years of service: one month’s salary
- Five to 10 years of service: two months’ salary
- 10-15 years’ service: three months’ salary
- 15-20 years’ service: four months’ salary
- 20-25 years’ service: five months’ salary
- 25+ years’ service: six months’ salary
13th Month Salary in Brazil
- No
- There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or 14th month salary.
- Employees receive annual leave at the standard rate.
- Curiously a bonus scheme was introduced in the health sector.
- Pay for Performance and it is paid out regardless of seniority to health professionals that contribute in improving health.
INCOME TAX
- Rwandan resident individuals are taxed on their worldwide income.
- Non-residents are taxed on their Rwandan-sourced income.
- The same rates of tax are applicable to both residents and non-residents.
- The taxable income of a person for any year is the total of that person's income for the year less the total amount of deductions allowed to that person.
- Taxable income comprises the following:
-
- employment income
- business profits
- investment income
- The current monthly personal income tax (PIT) rates are as follows:
|
Bands of income (RWF) |
Taxable income (RWF) |
PIT rate (%) |
|
|
From |
To |
||
|
0 |
30,000 |
30,000 |
0 |
|
30,001 |
100,000 |
70,000 |
20 |
|
100,001 |
and above |
30 |
|
DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSES
- An individual may claim a deduction for any expense incurred wholly and exclusively in the production of employment income.
- There are no tax allowable personal deductions provided for in the law.
- There are no standard deductions provided for in Rwanda.
- There are no specific personal allowances provided for in the Rwandan law.
IMMIGRATION
- All foreign visitors must obtain valid entry visas to enter Rwanda, with the exception of nationals of member countries of the East African Community (EAC) and nationals of a few other countries.
- Visitors’ passes are issued to citizens of EAC member countries at the border post.
- They are valid for 72 hours and renewable once.
- Foreign nationals must obtain a work permit before undertaking employment in Rwanda.
- The application for a work permit is made to the Director General of Immigration and Emigration and consists of:
-
- An application letter from the employer
- Notified diploma or degree
- Original police clearance from the country in which the applicant has lived for the last six months
- The applicant’s curriculum vitae (CV) and a copy of his or her passport
- Completed application form
- One color passport-size photo with white background
- An employment contract signed by the applicant and employer
- Payment of RWF100,000 (approximately USD113) to the government treasury
|
Type of Visa/Permit |
Documentation |
Validity |
Eligibility |
|
Work Permit |
|
1 year |
|
VALUE ADDED TAX
- The tax is designed to be paid mainly by the ultimate consumer or purchaser in Rwanda.
- Goods and services are either exempt from VAT, or are levied at two rates, namely a standard 18% rate and a zero rate.
|
VAT |
|
|
Standard Rate |
18% |
|
Zero Rate |
0% |
WITHHOLDING TAX
The WHT rates on various types of payments are as follows (the tax is a final tax for non-residents and the rate may be reduced under an applicable tax treaty):
|
Payment |
Residents |
Non-residents |
|
Dividends |
0%/5%/15% |
5%/15% |
|
Interest |
15% |
15% |
|
Royalties |
15% |
15% |
|
Management/technical service fees |
15% |
15% |
|
Payments made to an artist, a musician or a sportsperson |
15% |
15% |
|
Lottery and other gambling proceeds |
15% |
15% |
|
Payments to persons without a taxpayer identification |
15% |
15% |
TERMINATION
- Indefinite term contracts may be terminated for just cause, and written notice should be given to the employee except if dismissal is due to serious misconduct.
- The notice requirements are as follows:
-
- Less than one year of service: 15 days’ notice
- Greater than one year of service: one-month notice
- Employees are generally entitled to severance pay after one year of service.
- Severance pay is given as follows:
-
- Less than five years of service: one month’s salary
- Five to 10 years of service: two months’ salary
- 10-15 years’ service: three months’ salary
- 15-20 years’ service: four months’ salary
- 20-25 years’ service: five months’ salary
- 25+ years’ service: six months’ salary
STATUTORY BENEFITS
- These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
- These include probationary period, annual leave, public holidays, sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, overtime pay, notice period, and severance pay
- Statutory benefits also include social security benefits
|
Statutory Benefits |
|
Probationary Period |
|
Annual Leave |
|
Public Holidays |
|
Maternity Leave |
|
Paternity Leave |
|
Sick Leave |
|
Overtime Pay |
|
Notice Period |
|
Severance Pay |
|
Social Security Benefits |
PAYMENTS AND INVOICING
- The tax period for individuals is January to December of each year.
- Annual tax returns/declarations for individuals are due by 31 March of the following year after the tax period.
- However, the following individuals are exempted from filing of annual tax returns:
-
- Resident employees whose only income is employment income.
- Resident individuals who receive investment income that is subject to WHT.
- Non-resident individuals who suffer WHT on income sourced from Rwanda.
- Tax on employment income is withheld by the employer under the pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) system and remitted to the RRA on a monthly basis together with PAYE returns by the 15th day of the following month.
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
- The ease of doing business index is an index created by Simeon Djankov, an economist at the Central and Eastern Europe sector of the World Bank Group.
- Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights.
- According to the World Bank Rwanda ranked 38th in the World in 2019 in terms of ease of doing business.
