Article 247-XXXIII of the General Tax Code: a complete guide to the income tax exemption

Article 247-XXXIII of the General Tax Code (CGI) exempts from income tax, for thirty-six months, the salary paid to an employee hired into their first job in Morocco, subject to conditions relating to age and to the date of recruitment. The scheme covers recruitments made from 1 January 2021 onwards and ends on 31 December 2026, having not been extended to date. [VERIFY : bornes temporelles exactes du dispositif] Eligible employees whose employer did not apply the exemption at source may claim a refund of the tax withheld, within the limitation period.

What article 247-XXXIII provides

Introduced by the Finance Act for 2021, article 247-XXXIII of the CGI creates an incentive to hire young people. [VERIFY : loi de finances d'origine] It exempts from income tax the gross monthly salary paid in respect of a first recruitment, for a period of thirty-six months from the date of hiring.

In practice, an eligible employee receives their salary without the employer withholding income tax at source on that salary during the period covered. Where the exemption was not applied even though the conditions were met, the tax wrongly withheld may be the subject of a refund claim to the Directorate General of Taxes (DGI).

Eligibility conditions

The exemption is subject to cumulative conditions. Each is assessed as at the date of recruitment.

A first job started on or after 1 January 2021

The scheme targets people hired into their first job in Morocco, the recruitment having to take place on or after 1 January 2021. [VERIFY : définition exacte du premier emploi retenue par l'administration] A person who was already employed in Morocco before that date does not, in principle, fall within the scope of the scheme.

Under thirty-five years old at the date of recruitment

The employee must not have passed the age of thirty-five at the date their first employment contract was concluded. [VERIFY : formulation exacte de la condition d'âge, au plus ou strictement moins de 35 ans]

Conditions relating to the employment contract

The provision makes the exemption subject to conditions relating to the employment contract itself, in particular its form and its duration. The recruitment must be made under an open-ended employment contract. [VERIFY : exigence du CDI et conditions contractuelles précises] The attention paid to the contract is not theoretical: the administration examines the contractual documents when reviewing refund claims.

An exemption limited to thirty-six months

The exemption covers a period of thirty-six months from the date of recruitment. It applies month by month over that period, which can be summarised as follows: an employee hired in March 2022 is covered, at the latest, until February 2025. Salaries paid beyond the thirty-six-month period are taxed under ordinary rules.

The 31 December 2026 deadline

The scheme applies to recruitments made up to 31 December 2026. To date, it has not been extended beyond that date. [VERIFY : absence de reconduction dans la dernière loi de finances] Two practical consequences follow.

• Recruitments after 31 December 2026 will not give rise to the exemption, unless the scheme is extended.
• Employees hired before that date keep their entitlement for the eligible months, including where the thirty-six-month period runs beyond 2026. [VERIFY : maintien de l'exonération pour la période courant au-delà de l'échéance]

Limitation: how time affects the amounts that can be recovered

Income tax refund claims are subject to the ordinary limitation period, set at four years. [VERIFY : délai exact et point de départ de la prescription applicable aux demandes de restitution d'IR retenu à la source]

The practical effect is mechanical: each year that passes makes the withholdings falling outside the period permanently unrecoverable. An employee eligible since 2021 who has never filed a claim therefore sees part of their entitlement lapse year after year. The date the claim is filed fixes the amounts that can still be recovered.

Exemption at source or a refund after the event

Two situations arise in practice.

• The employer applied the exemption. The salary was paid without income tax withholding during the period covered. No particular step is then required from the employee.
• The employer did not apply the exemption. Income tax was withheld at source even though the conditions were met. The employee may claim a refund of the amounts withheld from the DGI, by assembling a complete supporting file. The procedure is described in our article on income tax refunds with the DGI.

Leaving Morocco is no obstacle to a claim: a person who has left the country may assert their rights in respect of the eligible months, within the limitation period. This point is developed in our article on the tax steps to take when leaving Morocco.

This content is published for general information purposes and does not constitute tax or legal advice. The provisions cited are subject to change.