5-year professional tax exemption: who benefits from it in Morocco in 2026?
Any newly created professional activity in Morocco benefits from a full exemption from professional tax (taxe professionnelle, TP), formerly known as the "patente", for 5 years from the year in which the activity begins (Article 6-II-1° of Law No. 47-06 on local authority taxation (fiscalité des collectivités territoriales)), except for certain excluded activities (banks, insurance, real estate agencies). This exemption is automatic, provided that the registration declaration (déclaration d'inscription) is filed with the DGI within 30 days of the start of activity, followed by the declaration of taxable items (déclaration des éléments imposables).
The essentials in 6 points
In shortLegal basis: Article 6-II-1° of Law 47-06 on local authority taxation
Duration: 5 years from the year in which the activity begins (the start-up year counts as the first)
Beneficiaries: any natural or legal person, Moroccan or foreign, carrying on a new professional activity (companies, traders, craftsmen, liberal professions)
Exclusions: credit institutions, Bank Al-Maghrib, CDG, insurance companies (except intermediaries), real estate agencies, changes of operator and transfers of activity
Conditions: registration declaration with the DGI within 30 days (Article 12) and declaration of taxable items before 31 January of the following year (Article 13)
At the end of the 5 years, TP is due on the rental value at the rate of 10%, 20% or 30% depending on the class
the information provided in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute personalized legal advice. We recommend that you consult a qualified legal expert before making any decision. Charikaty provides experts to support you: contact us for free advice.
No application needs to be sent to the municipality (commune), and a mere change of operator or a transfer of activity does not constitute a creation.
Who benefits from the 5-year exemption and who is excluded?
Reference provision
Article 6-II-1° of Law 47-06 grants a temporary full exemption from TP to any newly created professional activity, for a period of 5 years running from the year in which that activity begins. During the same period, the exemption also covers new land, buildings, equipment and tools acquired during operation, directly or through leasing (crédit-bail).
This incentive measure aims to:
- Ease the cash flow of start-up businesses
- Encourage business creation and entrepreneurship
Beneficiaries
Since TP is due from any natural or legal person, of Moroccan or foreign nationality, carrying on a professional activity in Morocco (Article 5), the exemption applies without distinction to:
- Newly created companies (SARL, SARL AU, SAS, SA), including subsidiaries of Moroccan or foreign groups and companies set up remotely by MRE or non-residents
- Registered sole traders and craftsmen
- Liberal professions (lawyers, doctors, architects, chartered accountants…)
- Auto-entrepreneurs governed by Law 114-13, whose activity is also new
The exemption is independent of the class of the activity (C1, C2 or C3), subject to the excluded activities below.
Exclusions
The exemption does not apply:
- To a change of operator (purchase of a business (fonds de commerce), takeover of a clientele) or to a transfer of activity, which the law does not regard as creations
- To credit institutions and similar bodies, Bank Al-Maghrib and the Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion
- To insurance and reinsurance companies, with the exception of insurance intermediaries
- To real estate agencies
- To establishments of companies not having their registered office in Morocco that are awarded works, supply or service contracts
The spirit of the text targets genuine creations, not restructurings. A transfer of shares (parts sociales) does not create a new activity: the company simply retains the remainder of its exemption period. Likewise, a subsidiary is only exempt if it carries on a genuinely new activity: if it simply takes over an activity already carried on by its parent company, this is a transfer of activity, which is excluded from the exemption.
When does the exemption start and when does it end?
Start date
The starting point is the year in which the activity actually begins (opening of the establishment, first professional or commercial act). This date is declared by the taxpayer in its registration declaration with the tax office (Article 12 of Law 47-06).
Calculating the 5 years
The exemption covers the year in which the activity begins and the 4 following years, i.e. 5 calendar years, regardless of the month of start-up: an activity launched in December therefore "uses up" a full year of exemption.
| Example | Exempt period |
|---|---|
| Start of activity: June 2026 | Years 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030 |
| TP payable from | The year 2031 |
Since TP is due for the whole year based on the situation existing in January, the first tax assessment notice relates to the year 2031.
Which declarations must be filed to benefit from it?
Registration declaration (Article 12 of Law 47-06)
To benefit from the exemption, the taxpayer files a declaration of registration on the TP roll (déclaration d'inscription au rôle de la TP) within a maximum of 30 days after the start of activity, with the tax office (DGI) responsible for the establishment. A TP identification number is assigned to it. The declaration states:
- The full identity and the legal status (form, capital, management)
- The nature of the activity and the place where it is carried on
- The class of the activity according to the schedule (nomenclature) annexed to Law 47-06
- The taxable items (premises, equipment, fittings)
- The start date of the activity
Declaration of taxable items (Article 13)
The company then declares its taxable items (premises, equipment, tools) no later than 31 January of the year following that in which the activity begins, electronically, and thereafter in the event of any change. This obligation applies during the exemption: it enables the administration to set the base that will be used from the sixth year onwards.
Automatic nature
The exemption is automatic provided these declarations are in order. The taxpayer does not have to file any specific application and the municipality is not involved: the DGI applies the exemption and issues no TP tax assessment notice during the first 5 years. This absence of a notice attests that the exemption is being applied. Keep the registration declaration, the professional tax registration certificate (attestation d'inscription à la taxe professionnelle) and your declarations of taxable items. The municipal services tax (taxe de services communaux), also based on the rental value, follows its own rules; check with your accountant whether your premises remain subject to it.
Coordination with the Commercial Register and the ICE
When the company is set up:
- Registration in the Commercial Register is carried out by the commercial court registry (greffe du tribunal de commerce) (Law 15-95)
- The DGI assigns the tax identifier (identifiant fiscal, IF), the ICE (15-digit identifier, Decree No. 2-11-63) and the professional tax identifier, on the basis of the information in the formation file
- Law 88-17 allows these formalities to be completed electronically: with Charikaty, you obtain your RC extract and your IF, ICE and TP identifiers online, without travelling
What happens at the end of the 5 years?
At the end of the 5 years, TP becomes payable under the ordinary rules of Law 47-06: it is calculated on the rental value at the rate of 30%, 20% or 10% depending on the class (Article 9-I), with a minimum duty (droit minimum) per class (Article 9-II), as detailed in the calculation of professional tax in Morocco. For example, an office rented for 60,000 MAD per year for a class 2 activity gives a TP of 12,000 MAD (60,000 × 20%).
There is no specific step to take at the end of the exemption: the taxpayer receives its first tax assessment notice for the sixth year following the start of activity, which it can pay online on the DGI's SIMPL portal.
Which other start-up benefits can it be combined with?
The five-year TP exemption can be combined with other start-up schemes:
- Exemption from the minimum contribution (cotisation minimale, CM) for the first 36 months of operation, within a limit of 60 months after incorporation (Article 144 of the CGI): the two regimes are separate and cumulative (see the minimum contribution exemption)
- VAT exemption with right of deduction for investment goods acquired during the first 36 months of activity (Article 92 of the CGI)
- Specific regimes of the Industrial Acceleration Zones (Law 19-94: TP exemption for 15 years, see the advantages of a company in a free zone) and of Casablanca Finance City (Decree-Law No. 2-20-665 of 30 September 2020, ratified by Law No. 70-20, which repealed and replaced Law No. 44-10)
- Investment premiums under the Investment Charter (Framework Law 03-22) for eligible projects
What are the risks if the declarations are forgotten?
Although the exemption is automatic, failure to file or late filing of the registration declaration or of the declaration of taxable items, the omission of taxable items or a false declaration result in:
- A 15% surcharge provided for by Law 47-06, calculated on the tax due or on the tax that would have been due in the absence of the exemption
- Back-assessment of the tax if the activity does not meet the conditions (takeover, transfer, excluded activity)
- The penalties and late payment surcharges of the Public Debt Collection Code (Code de Recouvrement des Créances Publiques, Law 15-97) in the event of late payment after the exemption period
How does Charikaty secure your 5-year exemption?
To benefit from the 5-year exemption, here is what you need: a TP identifier assigned by the DGI, the registration declaration within 30 days of the start of activity and the declaration of taxable items before 31 January of the following year. With Charikaty, you do everything online: as a private Moroccan legal-tech platform, we set up your company 100% online (OMPIC negative certificate, articles of association signed with an advanced electronic signature, filing with the commercial court registry) and provide you with your Commercial Register extract together with your IF, ICE and TP identifiers issued by the DGI. With our accounting partners, our accounting service sets up your first tax obligations, including the declaration of taxable items, and checks that the five-year exemption is actually applied.
More than 250 companies have already been set up with Charikaty.
FAQ: Five-year TP exemption
Is the professional tax exemption automatic?
Yes, the 5-year professional tax exemption is automatic provided the registration declaration (Article 12 of Law 47-06) is filed within 30 days of the start of activity. No application needs to be sent to the municipality.
How many years are exempt from professional tax?
The professional tax exemption covers 5 years from the year in which the activity begins, i.e. the start-up year and the following 4 (Article 6-II-1° of Law 47-06).
Does an auto-entrepreneur business (Law 114-13) benefit from the exemption?
Yes. Like any new activity, the auto-entrepreneur is exempt from professional tax for 5 years; their simplified regime only concerns income tax (0.5% or 1% of turnover collected).
Is a company set up by an MRE or a foreign investor exempt?
Yes. The professional tax exemption depends neither on the nationality nor on the residence of the partners: all that matters is the creation of a new activity in Morocco.
Does taking over a business (fonds de commerce) give entitlement to the exemption?
No. Taking over a business is a change of operator, which is not a creation within the meaning of Article 6-II-1° of Law 47-06 and therefore does not give entitlement to the professional tax exemption.
What happens if the registration declaration is forgotten?
Forgetting the professional tax registration declaration exposes you to a 15% surcharge calculated on the tax that would have been due without the exemption. You must regularize your situation as soon as possible with the tax office.
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