Corporate and Tax Compliance in Qatar: What a Company Must Do Under the Income Tax Law (2026)

A company that operates in Qatar answers to the General Tax Authority, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and the anti-money laundering rules. This guide focuses on the tax side, using the Arabic text of Income Tax Law No. 24 of 2018 as amended by Law No. 11 of 2022, as published by the General Tax Authority (2024 edition). Article numbers refer to that law. That edition is not a full 2026 consolidation: Law No. 22 of 2024 added a minimum-tax regime, covered in its own section below, and we have not read every later decision. We assist clients with Qatar from our office in Kuwait, in cooperation with our partners in Qatar.

The legal framework

The main obligations rest on three laws. Income Tax Law No. 24 of 2018 covers tax. The Commercial Companies Law No. 11 of 2015, amended by Law No. 8 of 2021, covers company governance and records. The Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Law No. 20 of 2019 covers obligated entities. The Anti-Money Laundering Law is amended, and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry lists its amendments. Tax is run by the General Tax Authority, which publishes the tax law and regulations.

Who is resident, and the rate

The law treats an individual as resident if he has a permanent home available in Qatar, stays in Qatar more than 183 days in a year, or holds Qatari nationality. An entity is resident if its place of establishment is in Qatar, provided that the main and actual place of its management and leadership is in Qatar.

Under Article 9, the rate is 10 percent of the taxpayer's taxable income for the tax year. There are exceptions. Agreements on petrochemical industries and petroleum operations apply their own rate, which may never be below 35 percent. A final withholding of 5 percent applies to the gross amount of royalties, interest, commissions and fees for services paid to non-residents, where the payer is in Qatar and the activity is not linked to a permanent establishment in Qatar. For services, the rule covers services performed wholly or partly in Qatar. Tax treaties can change the result. Agreements signed before the law with the government or public bodies keep the rate they set, and where an agreement is silent the rate is 35 percent.

What is exempt

Article 4, as amended in 2022, exempts several kinds of income. Among the items that matter to companies:

• the gross income of resident legal persons wholly owned by Qataris (item 13), and the gross income of resident Qatari individuals (item 12);
• profits of resident legal persons in proportion to the profit shares held by Qatari individuals, by wholly Qatari-owned legal persons and, in proportion to their shares, by partly Qatari-owned legal persons (item 14), but not for legal persons wholly or partly, directly or indirectly, owned by the state that operate in petroleum and petrochemicals;
• the share of a non-Qatari investor in the profits of companies listed on financial markets, in the profits of listed investment funds and in gains from trading securities (items 16 to 18);
• dividends paid out of profits already taxed or paid by a company that is itself exempt, and income from agriculture and sea fishing, subject to the conditions in the regulations.

An exemption is not an excuse to skip the paperwork. Under Article 11, a taxpayer must file a return even when it benefits from an exemption.

The minimum tax for large groups (Law No. 22 of 2024)

Law No. 22 of 2024 added a minimum-tax chapter to the tax law. It applies to financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, and it brings in an income inclusion rule and a local top-up tax for in-scope multinational groups. For those groups it overrides conflicting special or preferential regimes, so the exemptions and special rates in this guide may not give the full result. The General Tax Authority points to Cabinet Decision No. 2 of 2026 for the detailed rules. We have not read that decision in full, so check whether your group is in scope before relying on any exemption.

What you may deduct, and what you may not

Article 7 taxes income after allowed deductions, which are costs that are necessary to earn the gross income, actually incurred and supported by documents, not capitalized into fixed assets, and related to the tax year. Losses may be carried forward to later years as the regulations set out. Article 8 lists costs that cannot be deducted, including:

• costs of earning exempt income;
• payments that break Qatari law, and fines;
• a share of entertainment, hotel, restaurant, holiday, club and customer gift costs, at the limits the regulations set;
• salaries and benefits, in cash or in kind, paid to the owner, his spouse and children, partners in general and limited partnerships, board members, and a manager of an LLC who owns the majority of it, directly or indirectly;
• head office charges to a branch above the percentage the regulations set, and commissions to agents of foreign companies above the regulation limits.

Registration, returns, books and notices

• Registration (Article 10): register with the Authority, notify it of changes that affect your tax duties, and get a tax number.
• Return (Article 11): file on the Authority's form stating taxable income and tax due. The regulations set the general deadline at four months after the end of the tax year, with exceptions and extensions. A corrected return is possible with the Authority's approval.
• Books (Article 12): keep books, records and documents under Qatari accounting laws and international accounting standards, and retain them for the period the law sets.
• Notices (Article 13, as amended): government bodies, companies, associations, foundations, sole proprietorships and other entities the regulations name must notify the Authority of the contracts, agreements and deals they conclude, within the limits and periods the regulations set.
• Ownership information (Article 13 bis-1): companies and other entities whose main office or effective place of management is in Qatar must give the Authority, on request, the information that identifies their legal owners and beneficial owners, including information on the persons on whose behalf the legal owners act as nominees or under similar arrangements, and on the persons in the chain of intermediate entities. The information must be adequate, accurate and up to date.
• Substantial activity (Article 11 bis): an entity that meets the criteria in the regulations must report on minimum indicators of substantial activity. An entity that does not report, does not meet the indicators, or cannot produce documentary evidence when asked is treated as not carrying on a substantial activity in Qatar, and the Authority may refuse it a tax residence certificate.

Penalties

The monetary penalties follow Article 24 (the Article 25 waiver provision refers to them as the penalties of the previous article). The list below gives examples and is not exhaustive. Law No. 22 of 2024 added further record and information penalties. They include:

• failing to file on time: QAR 500 per day of delay, up to QAR 180,000;
• failing to pay on time, or to remit tax withheld at source on time: 2 percent of the tax due per month or part of a month, up to the tax due;
• failing to withhold tax at source: a penalty equal to the tax not withheld, plus the tax;
• breaching registration and notice rules: QAR 20,000;
• an exempt taxpayer failing to file the exemption return: QAR 10,000;
• breaching the rules on audited final accounts and books: QAR 30,000;
• failing to notify contracts: QAR 10,000, except for government entities, which Article 13 still obliges to notify but Article 24 does not fine;
• breaching the physical presence and substantial activity requirements: 15 percent of net income.

The Authority's President may waive these penalties, in whole or in part, up to QAR 500,000, and the Minister above that, where the taxpayer gives reasons the Authority accepts (Article 25). The President may delegate this power, and a waiver is cancelled if the taxpayer files a grievance under Article 19. Criminal penalties apply to serious acts. Under Article 26, forged books or records can lead to prison of up to one year, a fine of up to three times the tax due, or one of these two penalties, and the punishment doubles for a similar offense within five years from the completion of the penalty or its lapse by limitation (Article 29). Under Article 33 as amended, the Authority can recharacterize an arrangement whose form does not reflect its substance and one of whose main purposes is to avoid tax due, and it can withdraw the benefit.

Time limits

Articles 37 and 38 set the clocks. The Authority's right to assess tax generally lapses five years following the year in which the taxpayer filed the return. Where no return was filed, the assessment right expires ten years following the tax year for which the return was not filed; for an unregistered taxpayer that period starts when the Authority discovers the taxpayer's activities. Interruption rules apply. The right to collect tax and penalties lapses ten years after the year in which they became due. Read the exact start dates before relying on any of these periods.

A practical roadmap

1. Confirm whether the company is resident and whether any exemption applies, and in what proportion.
2. Register, get the tax number and set up books to international standards.
3. Track the contracts that must be notified, and the ownership information you may be asked for.
4. File the return within the applicable deadline, generally four months after year-end, even if the income is exempt.
5. Check withholding on payments to non-residents.
6. If the company is an obligated entity, keep its anti-money laundering records and risk assessment up to date and review them whenever circumstances change, at least once a year as good practice.
7. Check whether the group falls under the minimum-tax regime.

Read also: Entering Qatar: Foreign Ownership and Free Zones Guide | Bahrain Corporate Compliance: VAT, Substance, Registry

Frequently asked questions

What is the corporate income tax rate in Qatar?

Ten percent of taxable income under Article 9, with higher rates for petroleum and petrochemical agreements, a 5 percent withholding on certain payments to non-residents, and a separate minimum tax for in-scope large groups from 2025.

Are wholly Qatari-owned companies exempt?

Yes. Article 4 exempts the gross income of resident legal persons wholly owned by Qataris, and exempts profits in proportion to Qatari holdings in mixed companies. Large multinational groups may still face the minimum tax.

Must an exempt company file a return?

Yes. Article 11 requires a return even from a taxpayer who benefits from an exemption, and the penalty for not filing it is QAR 10,000.

How do you help companies with Qatar?

From our office in Kuwait, in cooperation with our partners in Qatar, we review tax and corporate obligations and organize compliance files.