Definition
What this covers
Individuals whose tax domicile is in Morocco are liable there to income tax on all their income and gains, of Moroccan and foreign source art. 23-I GTC. A pension paid by a foreign body therefore enters the taxable global income of its resident holder.
Subject to tax treaties and to article 77, foreign-source income is included in taxable global income at its gross amount art. 25 GTC. A pension falls within salary and similar income art. 56 GTC. But withholding at source is due only from an employer or annuity payer domiciled or established in Morocco art. 156-I GTC : no deduction is made upstream on a pension paid from abroad.
Scope
Who is concerned
- Retirees, Moroccan or foreign, who have or acquire a tax domicile in Morocco and receive a pension paid from abroad.
- Holders of foreign-source survivors' pensions, expressly covered by article 76.
- Persons who settle in Morocco during the year, whose global income for the year of arrival includes foreign income only from that day onwards art. 27-I GTC.
- Persons to whom a treaty allocates the taxing right in Morocco art. 23-I-3° GTC.
Tax domicile in Morocco follows from three alternative criteria : a permanent home, the centre of economic interests, or a continuous or discontinuous stay exceeding 183 days in any 365-day period art. 23-II GTC. One alone is enough ; the third is assessed over a rolling period, not by calendar year.
One point must be settled : the exemption of article 57-27° covers the basic pension schemes listed in article 59-II-A — all designated by Moroccan legislation — and the group contracts provided by the Caisse interprofessionnelle marocaine de retraite. A foreign pension falls into none of those categories ; the filing exemption reserved for holders of exempt pensions art. 86-7° GTC therefore does not benefit them.
Applicable rules
The allowance, the 80 % relief and foreign tax
Net taxable income is obtained by applying to the gross taxable amount of the pension, after deducting where applicable the contributions and premiums of article 59 (III and IV), a flat-rate allowance of 70 % on the portion not exceeding 168,000 dirhams a year and of 40 % on the excess art. 60-I GTC. The progressive scale then applies, the bracket up to 40,000 dirhams being exempt art. 73-I GTC.
Two mechanisms then adjust the final charge ; they have neither the same purpose nor the same conditions.
The relief of article 76
Taxpayers tax domiciled in Morocco and holding retirement or survivors' pensions of foreign source benefit from a relief equal to 80 % of the amount of tax due in respect of their pension, and corresponding to the sums transferred permanently in non-convertible dirhams.
It is exercised under the conditions of article 82-III, which makes it subject to a certificate of payment of the pensions and a certificate of transfer.
The credit of article 77
Where the income has been subject to tax in the source country linked to Morocco by a double taxation treaty, it is the amount so taxed that is taken into account in computing the Moroccan tax ; the foreign tax, payment of which is evidenced, is deductible up to the fraction corresponding to the foreign income.
If the income was exempt in the source State and the treaty provides for a tax credit in respect of the tax that would have been due, the exemption counts as payment, on production of a certificate from the foreign tax administration.
Deadlines and limitation
The timetable
- During the year
Only sums transferred permanently in non-convertible dirhams give entitlement to the relief art. 76. No withholding is operated on a pension paid by a foreign annuity payer art. 156-I.
- Before 1 March
Filing of the global income return for the previous year, for holders of income other than professional income art. 82-I, accompanied by the documents on which the relief depends art. 82-III.
- Within the same period
The tax due is paid spontaneously within the period allowed for that return art. 173-I.
- Up to 31 December of the 4th year
The administration's power to correct shortfalls, errors and omissions, including those arising from an unfiled return art. 232-I.
- Beyond that, up to a limit of ten years
For years never declared, the duties, penalty and surcharges remain payable in full, without that period exceeding ten years art. 232-VIII-15°.
The year of arrival calls for a specific computation : foreign income enters global income only from that day onwards art. 27-I.
Documents and supporting evidence
The elements of the file
The file rests on the following elements :
- Identification elements : address of the tax domicile, national identity card or foreign national's card, tax identifier and municipal services tax article number art. 82-I.
- The certificate of payment of the pensions : drawn up by the annuity payer, or any document serving in its place art. 82-III.
- The certificate of transfer : amount in foreign currency received on the pensioner's behalf and the dirham equivalent at the date of transfer, issued by the credit institution or the body involved in the payment art. 82-III.
- Elements relating to the foreign tax : proof of its payment and, in the event of an exemption in the source State, a foreign certificate stating the legal basis of the exemption, the method of computation and the base that would have been used art. 77.
For the relief of article 76, article 82-III requires the two certificates it lists to be attached to the return. This list is indicative ; the exact composition of the file depends on the situation.
Points to watch
What can cause a file to fail
- Mistaking the base of the relief : the 80 % applies to the tax due in respect of the pension, not to the pension, and only to the part corresponding to sums transferred permanently in non-convertible dirhams art. 76.
- Extending the exemption for Moroccan pensions : article 57-27° covers only schemes designated by Moroccan legislation and the group contracts of the Caisse interprofessionnelle marocaine de retraite.
- Inferring from the absence of withholding that no tax is due : withholding falls only on an annuity payer established in Morocco art. 156-I ; the income remains taxable and must be declared.
- Treating the credit as automatic : it requires a treaty with the source State and evidenced tax, and is limited to the fraction of the Moroccan tax corresponding to the foreign income art. 77.
- Underestimating the penalties : a surcharge of 5 % within thirty days, 15 % beyond, 20 % where assessment is on an ex officio basis, with a minimum of 500 dirhams art. 184 ; late payment is penalised separately art. 208.
The relief is often presented as an 80 % allowance on the pension itself. The text says something else : it is "equal to 80% of the amount of tax due in respect of their pension and corresponding to the sums transferred permanently in non-convertible dirhams". It applies to the tax, after the allowance of article 60-I and the scale.
We take the file in hand
Aurion establishes your residence position, quantifies the tax due on your foreign pensions and claims the relief and the credit to which your situation gives entitlement. We stand behind the figures declared and follow the file through to its conclusion. Multiple pensions, earlier years and the applicable treaties fall under the same commitment. The result is a documented and defensible position.
Have my situation reviewed- General Tax Code, 2026 edition — art. 23, 25, 27-I, 56, 57-27°, 59 (II-A, III and IV), 60-I, 73-I, 76, 77, 82 (I and III), 86-7°, 156-I, 173-I, 184, 208, 232 (I and VIII-15°)
- Finance Law no. 50-25 for the 2026 budget year — amendment of art. 57-27°, applicable to pensions and life annuities acquired from 1 January 2026
- Finance Law no. 60-24 for the 2025 budget year — income tax scale of art. 73-I
- Finance Law no. 50-22 for the 2023 budget year — rates of the flat-rate allowance of art. 60-I
Page current as at 20 August 2026. The amounts and periods cited are those of the General Tax Code in its 2026 edition.
- CMR portal CMR · Access to services for working members, retirees and beneficiaries.
- Benefits and e-services CMR · Catalogue of services, including online contributions and mediation.
- CMR forms CMR · Retirement forms and forms for the Attakmili supplementary scheme.
Institutional profiles: CMR · Institutional directory
The links provided point to resources published by the institutions concerned. Aurion selects them for information purposes, to make your procedures easier. Their inclusion implies no partnership, approval or affiliation between Aurion and those institutions.
