How Mauritania determines the tax year
Mauritania assesses corporate income tax annually using the profits a company earned in the preceding calendar year. Businesses generally close their books on 31 December, giving them a fixed date for measuring the results that will be reported in the following year. The ordinary year-end rule has an exception when a business is sold or stops operating during the year.
What changes for a new business
A company that starts trading partway through the year may wait until the end of the following calendar year to close its first balance sheet. If it uses this option, it must still prepare a provisional operating account as at 31 December of its opening year. Tax on the results shown in that account is assessed immediately. The amount charged is then credited against the tax calculated when the company closes its first balance sheet.
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When to submit the annual return
Companies must submit their annual corporate income tax return and the accompanying financial statements before 31 March of the following year. For a business that closes its books on 31 December, this leaves the opening months of the next year to finalise its accounts, calculate taxable profits and prepare both documents for submission.
How to plan the three payments
Corporate income tax for the year is payable in three instalments during the following year. The first instalment is 40% of the amount due and must be paid before 31 March, the same deadline that applies to the annual return. A further 30% is payable before 30 June. The company must settle the remaining balance before 30 September. For cash flow purposes, the largest scheduled payment therefore falls in March.
FAQs
When is the corporate tax return due in Mauritania?
Companies must submit their annual corporate income tax return and financial statements before 31 March of the year following the tax year. The first instalment falls due on the same schedule, so finance teams should allow time to complete the year-end accounts and arrange payment.
How are corporate income tax instalments calculated?
Companies pay the tax in three instalments in the year after earning the profits. The first payment is 40% of the tax due, payable before 31 March. Another 30% is due before 30 June, and the remaining balance must be paid before 30 September.
For example, if a company owes MRU 100,000 in corporate income tax, it would pay MRU 40,000 before 31 March, MRU 30,000 before 30 June and MRU 30,000 before 30 September. This gives the company three dates to build into its cash flow forecast.
When does a company close its accounts?
Mauritania uses the calendar year for corporate income tax. The annual assessment is based on profits from the preceding year, and businesses generally close their books on 31 December. An exception applies if a business is sold or ceases operating during the year.
Can a new company delay closing its first balance sheet?
A business that starts trading during the year may close its first balance sheet at the end of the following year. Even if it takes that option, it must prepare a provisional operating account as at 31 December of its opening year. The results shown in that account are taxed immediately. When the company closes its first balance sheet, the provisional tax is credited against the tax calculated on those results.