TaxLawGHby MSL Business School
MSL Business SchoolGhana annual return compliance guide
Ghana Annual Income Tax Return Filing
A practical legal guide to who must file a Ghana return of income, the four-month deadline, required disclosures and attachments, online filing, extensions, corrections, payment reconciliation and the resulting self-assessment.
Published and prepared by MSL Business School through TaxLawGH, its tax and fiscal policy education platform.
MSL Business School annual return at a glance
Controlling answer
A Ghana return of income is ordinarily due within four months after the taxpayer's basis period ends.
Section 124(1) of Act 896, as amended by section 11 of Act 924, requires a person, subject to the section 125 exclusions, to file a prescribed return not later than four months after the end of each basis period. Filing the return produces a self-assessment.
The return must reconcile income, chargeable income, tax payable, credits and the balance due. Filing online changes the delivery channel, not the legal content or deadline.
Who must file
Start with the general filing rule, then test the statutory exclusions.
A person files a return of income for each basis period unless section 125 removes the requirement.
A resident individual with no income tax payable for the year falls within the exclusion, subject to a contrary notice from the Commissioner-General.
PAYE withholding alone is not the statutory test. The section 125 exclusion applies where the resident individual has no tax payable for the year under section 1(1)(a), subject to a written filing notice and the individual's right to elect to file.
A non-resident person with no Ghana income tax payable for the year falls within the stated exclusion, subject to a contrary notice.
The Commissioner-General may require a person within an exclusion to file a return.
A person not required to file may elect to submit a return, including to reconcile credits or establish an official filing record.
Do not confuse PAYE filing with the employee's annual return: an employer's monthly PAYE return is a different obligation covered by the PAYE filing guide.
Deadline and basis period
The four-month clock follows the taxpayer's own basis period.
| Taxpayer position | Ordinary basis-period end | Return deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Individual or partnership using the calendar year | 31 December | Not later than 30 April of the following year. |
| Company or trust with an approved accounting year | End of that accounting year | Not later than four months after that date. |
| Person served with an early-return notice | Period or event stated in the notice | The specific date stated by the Commissioner-General under Act 915. |
| Extension granted | Original deadline remains the payment reference | Revised filing date stated in the written extension, subject to the sixty-day aggregate cap. |
A deadline should be calculated from the end of the governing basis period and any valid written notice; do not assume every taxpayer has a 31 December basis-period end.
Return contents
The filed return must bridge every income source to the final balance.
- 01Identify each income source
Report assessable income from each employment, business and investment and identify the source of that income.
- 02Compute chargeable income
Apply the permitted deductions, losses, capital allowances, reliefs and other adjustments supported by the taxpayer's facts and records.
- 03Calculate tax payable
Apply the correct rates and special regimes for the relevant year and taxpayer category.
- 04Reconcile tax already paid
Capture available tax paid through withholding, instalments or assessments and reconcile each credit to official evidence.
- 05Calculate the balance
Show the remainder payable after subtracting recognised credits from the tax liability.
- 06Attach supporting information
Include withholding certificates and any other information required by the Commissioner-General or the prescribed return.
Online filing workflow
Prepare the legal computation before opening the portal.
- 01Confirm registration and tax type
Verify the Ghana Card PIN or organisational TIN and that the correct income-tax account is active.
- 02Close the accounting record
Reconcile ledgers, financial statements, employment data, investment income, withholding certificates and instalment payments.
- 03Prepare the computation
Calculate assessable income, allowable deductions, chargeable income, tax, credits and balance outside the portal first.
- 04File through the current GRA channel
Use the Taxpayers' Portal or Ghana Taxpayers' App, complete the prescribed return and upload required attachments.
- 05Preserve proof
Save the filed return, document registration number or acknowledgement, computation, attachments and payment evidence.
Portal control: An electronic document is treated as filed when the statutory electronic system creates the relevant document registration number using the person's authentication code.
Extensions and corrections
A filing extension protects only the filing date; it does not postpone payment.
The extension request must be written, state the reasons and be made before the return is due.
The Commissioner-General may extend the filing date where reasonable cause is shown and may impose conditions, including security.
Multiple extensions may be granted, but together they cannot exceed sixty days from the original filing date.
The grant of a filing extension does not alter the date on which tax is payable.
Submit further information where filed information is materially incorrect or misleading.
Do not amend or correct a filed return after the due date without the Commissioner-General's permission.
Late filing and evidence
A late return can create penalties and does not automatically replace a GRA assessment.
Act 915 imposes the applicable late-return penalty for each day the failure continues. Check the Ghana tax penalties guide for the current category and amount.
If no return is filed, the Commissioner-General may assess using best judgment and information reasonably available.
The return does not itself nullify the assessment, but must be considered when GRA decides whether to adjust it.
Maintain the underlying books, receipts, invoices, contracts, certificates and electronic records for at least six years, or longer where the Act requires.
Year-end reconciliation
The annual return should reconcile every tax account that ran during the year.
Bridge accounting profit or the individual's income records to chargeable income, showing tax adjustments, capital allowances, losses and every income source.
Match the estimate, any revised estimate, instalments paid and ledger allocations to the final annual liability.
Reconcile non-final withholding certificates and portal credits to the amounts claimed. Keep final withholding payments outside the ordinary credit claim where the law treats them as final.
For an individual, reconcile employment income and PAYE credits to employer records. An employer's payroll filing remains separate from the employer's own income-tax liability.
Explain differences between VAT supplies and income-tax revenue, including exempt or zero-rated supplies, timing differences, asset disposals and non-revenue VAT entries.
Confirm that payments, credits, refunds and transfers appear under the correct tax type and period before treating the return as complete.
Final account check: The filed return, computation, supporting schedules, payment evidence and taxpayer statement should produce one explainable liability. An unexplained portal credit or payment does not become part of the return merely because it appears in the account.
Frequently asked questions
Annual income tax return questions
When is a Ghana annual income tax return due?
Section 124(1) of Act 896, as amended by section 11 of Act 924, requires the return not later than four months after the end of the person's basis period. A taxpayer with a calendar-year basis period therefore ordinarily files by 30 April of the following year.
Does every employee have to file an annual return?
Not necessarily. A resident individual who has no tax payable for the year under section 1(1)(a) is not required to file a return of income. The Commissioner-General may nevertheless require a return by written notice, and the individual may elect to file.
What information belongs in the return?
The prescribed return identifies assessable income from each employment, business and investment source, chargeable income, tax payable, tax already paid by withholding, instalment or assessment, the remaining balance and required supporting information.
Does filing the return create an assessment?
Yes. Section 126 of Act 896 provides that a return filed under section 124 results in a self-assessment.
Can the filing deadline be extended?
Yes. Apply in writing before the due date and state the reasons. The Commissioner-General may grant extensions for reasonable cause, but the combined extension cannot exceed sixty days and it does not change the tax payment date.
Can a filed return simply be overwritten?
No. Act 915 restricts amendments after the filing due date without the Commissioner-General's permission. A taxpayer who discovers materially incorrect or misleading information must submit further information.
What happens if a late return is filed after GRA assesses the taxpayer?
The late return does not automatically displace the tax decision. The Commissioner-General must consider it when deciding whether to issue an adjusted assessment.
Where is the annual return filed?
GRA currently directs taxpayers to file through the Taxpayers' Portal or Ghana Taxpayers' App. Preserve the electronic acknowledgement and the submitted return.
Primary authority
Legal and administrative sources
- Income Tax Act, 2015 (Act 896), sections 120–126Credits, instalments, estimates, annual return, exclusions and self-assessment.
- Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 2016 (Act 924), sections 11–12Substitution of the basis-period filing rule in section 124(1) and the current section 125 filing exclusion.
- Revenue Administration Act, 2016 (Act 915), sections 26–32Electronic filing, records, return signatures, extensions, late returns and corrections.
- GRA Taxpayers’ PortalCurrent online filing and taxpayer-account channel.
- GRA online filing guidanceGRA's current public direction to file returns through the portal or taxpayer app.
Institutional publisher
TaxLawGH is MSL Business School's Ghana tax education platform.
This guide forms part of MSL Business School's public tax and fiscal policy education work. TaxLawGH explains Ghana's tax administration rules accurately and accessibly without replacing the legislation, an official tax decision or advice on specific facts.
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