Tax
A 15 per cent general corporate rate, 35 per cent for oil and gas, and no VAT
Corporate income tax is 15 per cent generally and 35 per cent for oil and gas contractors. Iraq has no VAT; a limited sales tax applies to specified goods and services.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — Federal, with the Kurdistan Region administering collection within its territory.
Governing law
- Income Tax Law No. 113 of 1982, as amended
- Law No. 19 of 2010 on taxation of foreign oil companies
In practice
The absence of VAT is the most distinctive feature and separates Iraq from most of the region. Revenue is overwhelmingly oil-derived, so the non-oil tax base is small and administration is correspondingly underdeveloped. Withholding obligations on payments to non-residents are the practical trap for foreign contractors, as is the deemed-profit basis on which the General Commission for Taxes often assesses service contracts rather than accepting filed accounts. The Kurdistan Region collects tax under federal law but through its own administration, and reconciliation between the two has been a recurring point of dispute.