Definition
What this is about
Business income comprises profits from commercial, industrial and craft occupations, from property development, land subdivision or property dealing, from an independent profession or any other occupation, as well as recurring income not falling within another category art. 30 CGI.
The minimum contribution is « a minimum amount of tax which taxpayers […] are required to pay, even in the absence of a profit » art. 144-I-A CGI. It applies to individuals under the actual net income or simplified net income regime, in respect of their business and agricultural income for the preceding year, and is credited against income tax art. 144-I-E CGI.
Scope
Who is concerned
- The sole trader under the actual net income regime, the default regime art. 32-I CGI.
- Anyone who has opted for the simplified net income regime : the option remains valid so long as turnover has not exceeded, over two consecutive financial years, the limits of article 39.
- The holder of agricultural income determined under the actual net income regime.
- The partner in a general partnership, a limited partnership or a joint venture, whose profit is necessarily determined under the actual net income regime, and the member of an undivided ownership or a de facto partnership that has exercised the option.
Two regimes remain outside. The single business contribution is charged on turnover multiplied by a coefficient depending on the category of occupation art. 40 CGI ; the self-employed entrepreneur is taxed on turnover received art. 42 bis CGI and is subject to its own filing and payment obligations art. 82 bis and 173-II CGI. Neither is subject to the minimum contribution.
Applicable rules
Two ways of determining income, one and the same minimum
Actual net income
The financial year closes on 31 December and the result is determined from the excess of income over expenses art. 33 CGI. The loss of one financial year is deductible from the profit of subsequent years « up to the fourth financial year following the loss-making year », the portion corresponding to properly recorded depreciation escaping that limit art. 37 referring to art. 12 CGI.
Simplified net income
The same closing date, but determined excluding provisions and loss carry-forward art. 38 CGI. Excluded are taxpayers whose turnover exceeds MAD 2,000,000 for commercial occupations, industrial or craft activities and shipowners engaged in fishing, and MAD 500,000 for service providers and the occupations or sources of income referred to in article 30 (1°-c and 2°), namely independent and other professions and recurring income art. 39 CGI. Membership of an approved accounting management centre gives rise to a 15% abatement of the taxable base art. 38-III CGI.
The base of the minimum contribution consists, exclusive of value added tax, of turnover and other operating income, financial income, and grants and gifts received from the State, local authorities and third parties art. 144-I-B CGI. The rate is 0.25% ; it falls to 0.15% for sales by commercial undertakings of petroleum products, gas, butter, oil, sugar, flour, water, electricity and medicines, and rises to 4% for the occupations defined in articles 89-I-12° and 91-VI-1° carried on by persons subject to income tax art. 144-I-D CGI.
Whatever the rate, and even with no turnover, the amount may not be less than MAD 1,500 for persons subject to income tax under the actual or simplified net income regime art. 144-I-D CGI. The exemption covers the first three financial years following the commencement of the business or agricultural activity ; where the same activity is resumed after a disposal or cessation, a person who has already benefited from it may not claim a further exemption period art. 144-I-C-2° CGI.
Deadlines and limitation
The timetable
- 31 December
Close of the financial year under both regimes art. 33-I and 38-I CGI.
- Before 1 February
Spontaneous payment of the minimum contribution to the collector art. 173-I CGI.
- Before 1 May
Annual global income return for holders of business income under the actual or simplified net income regime art. 82-I CGI, the tax being paid within the same period art. 173-I CGI. Other income holders file before 1 March.
- 31 December of the 4th year
End of the right of reassessment in respect of the closed financial year art. 232-I CGI.
Late filing carries a surcharge of 5% within thirty days, 15% thereafter and 20% in the case of automatic assessment ; it is calculated on the minimum contribution where that exceeds the tax due, or where the return shows a nil or loss-making result, subject to a minimum of MAD 500 art. 184 CGI. Late payment separately gives rise to a penalty of 10%, reduced to 5% within thirty days, and a surcharge of 5% for the first month then 0.50% per month art. 208-I CGI.
Documents and supporting evidence
The elements of the file
The file rests on the following elements :
- The accounts for the closed financial year : accounting kept in accordance with the applicable rules, inventories, and the statement reconciling the accounting result with the net taxable result.
- The elements of the base : evidence of turnover, other operating income, financial income, and grants and gifts received.
- Regime and seniority elements : documents establishing the date of commencement of activity, the option exercised and, where applicable, a previous cessation.
- The taxpayer's tax details : tax identifier, position in respect of other categories of income, and an explanatory statement where the declared result is nil or loss-making.
The code requires the statement reconciling the accounting result with the net taxable result art. 38-II CGI. This list is indicative ; the exact composition of the file depends on the situation.
Points requiring care
What can cause a file to fail
- Believing that the absence of profit removes the obligation to pay : the contribution is due even without profit, and its floor applies even without turnover art. 144-I.
- Confusing the two deadlines : the minimum contribution is paid before 1 February art. 173-I, the global income return filed before 1 May art. 82-I ; the second does not cover the first.
- Expecting a full credit : where the portion of tax corresponding to business income is lower than the contribution, the difference remains acquired by the Treasury art. 144-I-E.
- Counting the start-up exemption twice : it covers three financial years and is not renewable after resumption of the same activity art. 144-I-C-2°.
- Applying a rate without checking the list : the 4% rate depends on a list set out in articles 89-I-12° and 91-VI-1°, not in article 144.
The floor of the minimum contribution is frequently cited as MAD 3,000 for everyone. That figure is the one applying to taxpayers subject to corporate income tax. For individuals taxed under the actual or simplified net income regime, the code, in its 2026 edition, sets MAD 1,500 art. 144-I-D.
We take the file in hand
Aurion determines the regime applicable to your activity, quantifies the minimum contribution actually due and secures the two deadlines attached to it. We check the seniority giving entitlement to the start-up exemption and the portion effectively creditable against tax. We handle corrective filings relating to earlier financial years still open to reassessment. The file remains our responsibility through to its conclusion.
Have my situation reviewed- General Tax Code, 2026 edition — art. 12, 30, 32, 33, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42 bis, 82, 82 bis, 89, 91, 144, 173, 184, 208, 232-I
- Finance Act no. 110-13 for 2014 — minimum contribution for income tax, exemption for the first three financial years, and floor
- Finance Act no. 50-22 for 2023 — reduced rate of 0.15% and rate of 4% ; the 0.25% rate is attributed by the code's note to Finance Acts no. 80-18 (2019), no. 70-19 (2020), no. 76-21 (2022) and no. 50-22 (2023)
- Finance Act no. 70-15 for 2016 — the 1 May deadline and the adjustment (art. 144-I-E)
Page updated as at 20 August 2026. The amounts and time limits cited are those of the General Tax Code in its 2026 edition.
