The annual income tax return in Tunisia: what salaried employees need to do

What does the law say about employees filing?

Article 59 of the Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax Code says that everyone subject to income tax, or exempt from it, must file an annual return of their income on the form issued by the tax administration, and that the return must include all income whatever its tax treatment.

Article 60 sets the filing deadlines for individuals by type of income. For employees and people receiving pensions or life annuities the deadline is 5 December, and it covers salaries and pensions from Tunisian and foreign sources. The Directorate General of Taxes' tax calendar lists this date as the deadline for filing employees' and pensioners' income returns.

In practice:

• 2025 pay is declared by 5 December 2026.
• 2026 pay is declared by 5 December 2027.

The administration explains that if the deadline falls on a public holiday or a Sunday, you can file on the next day without penalties. 5 December 2027 is a Sunday.

Why is monthly withholding at source not enough?

Under Article 53 of the Code, the amount the employer withholds from each payment equals the annual tax worked out for someone with no income other than their salary, divided by the number of pay periods. The employer knows nothing about your other income.

So monthly withholding differs from the real tax in cases such as:

• More than one employer: each employer applies the tax scale from zero to the salary it pays, so you benefit twice from the lower brackets and the cap on professional expenses, while the real tax is worked out on both salaries together.
• Other income: rent from property, or fees for occasional work. Occasional work outside your main job is subject to withholding at 15% of the gross amount under Article 53.
• Salary from a foreign source for a Tunisian resident, from which no Tunisian employer withholds anything.

In all these cases the annual return is where your income is added up, the earlier withholdings are deducted, and any difference is paid.

Which deductions need a return?

Some deductions are applied by the employer directly, such as the 300 dinar head of household deduction and the deductions for children, if you tell the employer about your family situation. But some deductions go through the return:

- Dependent parents: a deduction for each parent of up to 5% of net income, capped at 450 dinars, provided the parent's own return is filed at the same time and the parent's income plus the deduction is not more than twice the guaranteed minimum wage. Article 53 states plainly that this deduction is not taken into account in withholding at source.
- Premiums on life insurance and savings contracts lasting at least 8 years: deductible up to 100,000 dinars a year under Article 39, subject to the minimum tax. Withdrawing before 8 years means paying the unpaid tax plus penalties, except in exceptional cases set by law.
The deduction of 1,000 dinars for a child under 25 in higher education without a grant can be applied in monthly withholding under Article 53, on conditions set by a decision of the Minister of Finance.

If your deductions were not taken into account in your monthly pay, the annual return is how you get them back.

How do I file online?

Article 59 says the return is filed at the tax collection office for the place where tax is paid. The Directorate General of Taxes also offers an online filing system, and describes the steps on jibaya.tn as follows:

• Sign up: fill in a form called the "membership request" and hand it in at the relevant tax inspection office, or sign up online.
• Password: the inspection office gives the member one or two passwords, as they choose, which can be changed after the first login.
• Filing: the system lets members fill in, amend and view their monthly and annual returns.
• Payment: payment is electronic, and returns whose payment is rejected must be filled in again and incur late penalties.

The administration notes that online filing is available with the DIGIGO electronic signature certificate. You can estimate your tax before filing with the TUNIMPOT simulator on the administration's website.

What are the penalties if I am late?

The Code of Tax Rights and Procedures, as updated in January 2026, sets late penalties as follows:

• Paying late of your own accord: a penalty of 1.25% of the tax for each month of delay or part of a month, under Article 81.
• Delay of more than 60 days: a fixed penalty of 3% of the tax due is added.
• Cap: the late penalty and the fixed penalty together cannot exceed the tax itself.
• Minimum: 10 dinars, charged even if no tax is due, under Article 86.

If the tax inspectors find the delay before you do, the late penalty rises to 2.25% a month with a fixed penalty of 10%, under Article 82. The difference is large, so settling of your own accord before an inspection is always cheaper.

Do I get back tax that was over-withheld?

Yes. Article 54 of the Code lets you deduct the tax withheld at source from the tax due on the same year's income. Any surplus not deducted is carried forward to later years and can be refunded.

The Directorate General of Taxes explains in its frequently asked questions that:

• Overpaid amounts can be refunded within a maximum of 3 years from the date the tax became refundable.
• A refund needs a written, reasoned request and proof that all returns already due have been filed.
• The administration's general deadline to reply is 6 months from the date of the request.

Note that the social solidarity contribution cannot be refunded, according to the administration.

Worked example: an employee with two employers

A single employee works for two employers and earns 1,500 dinars a month from each, so 18,000 dinars a year from each employer and 36,000 dinars in total. The figures come from the Tunisia calculator with 2026 rules.

What each employer withholds: each one works out the tax as if 18,000 dinars were all the employee's income, and withholds about 1,908 dinars of income tax a year. From both employers that is about 3,816 dinars.

The tax on the total: after social security and professional expenses, capped at 2,000 dinars for the whole year rather than per employer, net income is about 30,515 dinars. The tax on it is about 6,420 dinars.

The result: a difference of nearly 2,604 dinars must be declared and paid before 5 December of the following year, or the 1.25% monthly penalty starts. The difference arises because the combined income falls in the 33% bracket, while each salary on its own stayed in the 25% bracket.

This is an illustration for a single person with no family deductions, and the figures are rounded.

What if I am Tunisian and work abroad?

You count as resident in Tunisia if you have your main home there, or if you stay there at least 183 days in the year. A resident is taxed on total income, including salary from a foreign source, which is why Article 60 names foreign salaries explicitly in the 5 December return.

A Tunisian who genuinely lives in France, Germany or the Gulf is taxed in Tunisia only on Tunisian-source income, such as rent from a flat. If you move back to Tunisia during the year, pay attention to the year of your return itself.

To avoid paying tax twice, read the double taxation guide. To compare before a move: Tunisia or France and Tunisia or Saudi Arabia. For the tax scale and social security in detail: the Tunisia tax guide, and to compare with neighbours: Morocco or Tunisia and Algeria or Tunisia.

This guide explains the general rules and is no substitute for the tax inspection office or a tax adviser on your own case.

Sources

1. Personal Income Tax and Corporate Tax Code 2026, Directorate General of Taxes (Articles 39, 40, 53, 54, 59 and 60)
2. Code of Tax Rights and Procedures, updated 1 January 2026 (Articles 81, 82 and 86)
3. Directorate General of Taxes: Online tax filing (sign-up, password and payment)
4. Directorate General of Taxes: Frequently asked questions (refunds and deadlines)
5. Directorate General of Taxes: Tax calendar (5 December deadlines and filing after holidays)

This guide is general information, not tax advice. Rules change; check with the authority or a qualified adviser before you act. How we work.