INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE SERVICES

Qatar
Taxation of International Executives

TAX
Qatar:
Taxation of International Executives

Overview and Introduction ____________________________________________ 2

General Tax Credits ___________________________________________________ 3
Special Considerations for Short-Term Assignments ____________________ 4
Residency Rules _____________________________________________________ 4
Payroll Considerations ________________________________________________ 4
Taxable Income ______________________________________________________ 4
Additional Considerations______________________________________________ 4
Other Taxes and Levies ________________________________________________ 5
Social Security Tax ___________________________________________________ 5
Gift, Wealth, Estate, and/or Inheritance Tax ______________________________ 5
Real Estate Tax ______________________________________________________ 5
Sales/VAT Tax _______________________________________________________ 5
Unemployment Tax___________________________________________________ 6
Other Taxes _________________________________________________________ 6
Double Taxation Treaties ______________________________________________ 7
KPMG in Qatar ________________________________________________________ 8

Taxation of International Executives 1

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
 Qatar

Overview and Introduction

Although there is no individual tax in Qatar foreign nationals carrying on business or
professions as sole proprietors are liable to tax on the profits earned from such
business activities.

The official Qatari currency is the Qatari Rial (QAR).

For information on practical matters that employers and employees should consider
with respect to an international assignment, please refer to the companion
publication titled Planning Your International Transfer.

For the purposes of this publication, the host country refers to the country where
the expatriate is going on assignment. The home country refers to the country
where the expatriate lives when he/she is not on assignment.

Taxation of International Executives 2

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
 Qatar

General Tax Credits

What are the general tax credits that may be claimed in your country? Please list
below.

Information not available.

Taxation of International Executives 3

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
 Qatar

Special Considerations for Short-Term

Assignments 1
Residency Rules

Are there special residency considerations for short-term assignments?

None.

Payroll Considerations

Are there special payroll considerations for short-term assignments?

None.

Taxable Income

What income will be taxed during short-term assignments?

Qatar does not impose tax on individuals. However, non-Qatari self-employed

individuals are required to report income received from Qatar to the tax authority
and pay tax at graduated rates ranging from 10 percent to 35 percent.

Additional Considerations

Are there any additional considerations that should be considered before initiating a
short-term assignment in Qatar?

None.

1
For the purposes of this publication, a short-term assignment is defined as an assignment that lasts for less than one year.

Taxation of International Executives 4

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
 Qatar

Other Taxes and Levies

Social Security Tax

Are there social security/social insurance taxes in Qatar? If so, what are the rates
for employers and employees?

Employer and Employee

Paid by Total
Type of Insurance Employer Employee
Percent
Percent Percent
Pension and Retirement
(only for Qataris) 10 5 15
Total Percent 10 5 15

Social security payments are due from Qatari employees working for governmental
institutions, public institutions and corporations, public shareholding companies and
other institutions specified by Cabinet decree. No payments are due from
expatriate employees. Qatari employees are required to contribute 5 percent of
their monthly salary and the employer will contribute additional 10 percent of the
employee salary.

Gift, Wealth, Estate, and/or Inheritance Tax

Are there any gift, wealth, estate, and/or inheritance taxes in Qatar?

None.

Real Estate Tax

Are there real estate taxes in Qatar?

None.

Sales/VAT Tax

Are there sales and/or value-added taxes in Qatar?

None.

Taxation of International Executives 5

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
 Qatar

Unemployment Tax

Are there unemployment taxes in Qatar?

None.

Other Taxes

Are there additional taxes in Qatar that may be relevant to the general assignee?
For example, customs tax, excise tax, stamp tax, etc.

Unified customs tariff of 5 percent is applicable for GCC countries including Qatar;
however, personal belongings and temporary imports are not subject to customs
duty.

Payroll Taxes
There are no payroll taxes in Qatar.

Local Taxes
There are no other taxes levied on individuals in Qatar.

Taxation of International Executives 6

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
 Qatar

Double Taxation Treaties

The following countries have a double taxation treaty with Qatar:

z Belgium
z France
z India
z Italy
z Korea
z Macedonia
z Pakistan
z Russia
z Senegal
z Singapore
z Sri Lanka
z Turkey

Taxation of International Executives 7

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
 Qatar

KPMG in Qatar

Doha
Kamal Al-Batnigi
KPMG
25 C Ring Road
Arab Bank Branch Building
2nd Floor
Doha
PO Box 4473
Qatar

Tel. +974 432 9698

Fax +974 442 5626
e-Mail: kalbatnigi@kpmg.com

Taxation of International Executives 8

© 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with
KPMG International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved.
The information contained herein is of a general nature © 2008 KPMG, a Qatar partnership and a
and is not intended to address the circumstances of any member firm of the KPMG network of inde-
particular individual or entity. Although we endeavor to pendent member firms affiliated with KPMG
provide accurate and timely information, there can be no International, a Swiss cooperative. All rights
guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date reserved.
it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the
future. No one should act upon such information without
appropriate professional advice after a thorough examina-
tion of the particular situation.