If you are a landlord or employer reading this, have you paid URA a stamp duty of Shs 15,000 per tenancy agreement or and work contract you have drafted?
If you have not, then the tax body will fine you Shs 2 million if you don’t pay stamp duty within 45 days after signing the agreement.
URA says stamp duty also applies to commercial agreements between two companies.
Even a service-based company, say in food catering, decoration, events management, photography…are required to pay stamp duty on agreements they sign with clients.
In short, URA says:
- If you have staff on payroll and filing PAYE returns, have you registered their employment agreements with these staff and paid stamp duty?
- If you are a landlord going to file and pay your annual rental tax return, have you registered the tenancy agreements and paid stamp duty?
- Expenses to be claimed as tax deductions in your income tax return relating to contracts with service providers. Have you registered and paid stamp duty?
In a statement URA wrote: “In summary any agreement that you intended to be legally binding about to be registered and necessary stamp duty paid as guided by the Stamp Duty Act 2014 (as amended 2023)… It is crucial to note that the Section 57 to 61 of the Stamp Duty Act prescribes a penalty of UGX 2 million for not adhering to the above provisions.”
