Capital gains on securities : filing, adjustment and refund

Definition

What this covers

The net gain on disposal is the difference between the sale price, less the costs borne on that occasion — in particular brokerage and commission —, and the acquisition price plus the corresponding costs art. 70 GTC. It is computed by reference to the disposals made of each security or instrument ; for instruments of the same kind acquired at different prices, the acquisition price used is the weighted average cost.

A year's losses are set off against gains of the same kind in the same year ; any balance remains available for set-off until the end of the fourth year following that in which it arose art. 70 GTC. These gains are taxed by way of withholding at source, other than those referred to in articles 84-I and 84 bis art. 174-II GTC.

Scope

Who is concerned

• Individuals who dispose of instruments not held in an account with authorised financial intermediaries : the annual summary return is mandatory for them.
• Individuals who have borne the withholding operated by the account-keeping intermediary : the return is open to them, without being mandatory.
• Heirs and donees, for whom the code lays down its own rules for determining the acquisition price.
• Holders of savings plans, exempt subject to conditions as to the holding period and a cap on payments.

Several exemptions narrow the scope art. 68 GTC. Exempt are gifts of such securities and instruments between ascendants and descendants, between spouses, between brothers and sisters, and between the person providing kafala under an order of the guardianship judge and the child taken into care. Exempt is the gain, or the fraction of the gain, relating to the part of the value of the disposals made during a calendar year where they do not exceed 30,000 dirhams. So too is interest received by holders of savings accounts with the national savings bank, and interest paid to the holder of a housing savings plan, subject to three conditions : the sums must be intended for the acquisition or construction of a dwelling for use as a main residence, the payments and interest must be kept in full in the plan for at least three years from its opening, and the payments must not exceed 400,000 dirhams. Failure to meet those conditions results in closure of the plan and taxation under ordinary rules.

Applicable rules

The two returns of article 84

The filing regime depends on how the instruments are held.

The withholding is operated on the basis of a document carrying an order to sell from the seller ; failing that, the intermediary withholds the tax at the rate of 20 % of the sale price, a rate that may be the subject of a claim art. 174-II-B GTC. Above all, the exempt threshold of article 68-II, which applies to the disposals of a calendar year whatever the manner in which the instruments are held, is not taken into account at the withholding stage alone : the seller recovers the benefit of it when filing the return of article 84-II. The rates are 15 % for disposals of listed shares, of shares or units in UCITS whose assets are permanently invested to at least 60 % in shares, and for early redemptions or withdrawals from an equity or employee savings plan, and 20 % for bonds and other debt instruments, unlisted shares and other equity instruments and other UCITS art. 73-II (C-1° and F-2°) GTC. These deductions are in final discharge of the tax.

Deadlines and limitation

The timetable

1. Within thirty days of the disposal

   Spontaneous payment of the tax due by the seller on the gains recorded or realised on the disposal art. 173-I.

2. The month following the disposals

   Payment, by the account-keeping intermediary, of the withholding operated during the previous month art. 174-II-B.

3. Before 1 April

   Annual summary return for instruments not held in an account art. 84-I, optional return serving as a request for adjustment and refund art. 84-II, returns specific to intermediaries and plan managers art. 84-III.

4. On a return

   The refund is computed on the basis of the return of article 84, whether the excess arises from the withholding art. 241 bis-I or from spontaneous payments art. 241 bis-II-D.

5. Up to 31 December of the 4^th year

   The administration's power to correct art. 232-I ; for years never declared, liability extends up to a limit of ten years art. 232-VIII-15°.

The amended provisions of articles 84-I, 173-I, 174-II, 184, 228-I and 241 bis-II-D apply to disposals made from 1 January 2026.

Documents and supporting evidence

The elements of the file

The file rests on the following elements :

• Evidence of prices : documents relating to the sale and acquisition prices of the instruments disposed of, which the code expressly requires to accompany the return art. 84-I.
• Evidence of the deductions : documents establishing the amounts withheld by the authorised securities account-keeping intermediaries art. 84-II.
• Loss elements : losses not set off by the intermediaries in the same tax year, and unused carry-forwards from earlier years art. 84-II and 70.
• Documents on which an exemption depends : the family relationship or the guardianship judge's order, or the holding period and the amount of the payments for a savings plan art. 68.

This list is indicative ; the exact composition of the file depends on the situation.

Points to watch

What can cause a file to fail