{"country":"GH","series":"vat","value":15,"unit":"percent","effective_rate":20,"components":[{"name":"VAT standard rate","rate":15},{"name":"National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL)","rate":2.5},{"name":"Ghana Education Trust Fund Levy (GETFund)","rate":2.5}],"effective_from":"2026-01-01","last_confirmed":"2026-07-15","source":{"name":"Ghana Revenue Authority — VAT (Value Added Tax Act, 2025, Act 1151)","url":"https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/vat/"},"notes":"The 15% headline rate is unchanged since 2023, but the regime changed on 2026-01-01 (Act 1151): NHIL (2.5%) and GETFund levy (2.5%) are re-coupled into VAT on the same tax-exclusive base and creditable as input tax — combined effective rate 20% (down from ~21.9%). The 1% COVID-19 levy was abolished, the VAT Flat Rate Scheme scrapped, and the goods registration threshold raised to GHS 750,000. Rate changes are typically announced in the ~November budget, effective the following January.","vat_bands":[{"band":"zero","rate":0,"applies_to":"Zero-rated supplies under the Second Schedule (sections 29(1)(b) and 36) to the Value Added Tax Act 2025 (Act 1151), in force 1 January 2026: export of goods; freight and insurance services directly attributable to exports; stevedoring and port operation services; locally manufactured sanitary towels; and locally manufactured textiles.","source":{"name":"Value Added Tax Act, 2025 (Act 1151), Second Schedule — Ghana Revenue Authority","url":"https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/vat/"},"notes":"TRAP — EXPORT OF SERVICES IS NO LONGER ZERO-RATED. Act 1151 replaced Act 870 and its Second Schedule carries no line for services consumed outside Ghana, so a service exported from Ghana attracts the standard 15% from 1 January 2026. Commentators read this as an unintended omission and have called for amendment; until Parliament acts, the standard rate is the law. The zero rate flows through the levies: an item at 0% VAT also attracts 0% NHIL and 0% GETFund, so the 20% combined effective rate does not apply to these supplies. The textiles zero-rating is time-limited and expires on 31 December 2028. Zero-rated is NOT exempt: these are taxable at 0% with input-tax recovery, whereas the Act's exempt class (e.g. reconnaissance and prospecting supplies in mining) sits outside the charge with no recovery, and is deliberately not modelled here as a band. Paragraph 3 of the Second Schedule lists seven items; we hold the categories confirmed against the Ghana Revenue Authority, not the verbatim schedule."}],"confidence":"primary","stale":false,"disclaimer":"Independent service, not affiliated with any government. Verify against the cited official source before legal or financial use."}