Tanzania cryptocurrency tax guide

What this guide covers

This guide covers Tanzania's crypto tax and legal position for 2025, combining a specific tax statute and a specific judicial ruling. tra.go.tz wasn't directly fetched. This is educational information, not individualized tax advice.

Tax treatment of cryptocurrency

A specific court ruling reportedly resolved the tension between Tanzania's crypto ban and its crypto tax — here's how, with one detail this guide couldn't fully re-verify. The Finance Act 2024, effective 1 July 2024, added a 3% withholding tax on payments connected to digital asset exchange or transfer, amending the Income Tax Act 2019 to define digital assets broadly as anything of value that isn't tangible, including cryptocurrencies. This applies to both resident and non-resident platform owners and facilitators. The Bank of Tanzania had earlier, in 2019, banned the use or trading of cryptocurrency in the country, and separately issued a circular prohibiting virtual-currency trading, marketing, and usage — a position that EY itself flags as creating real tension with the 2024 tax regime's digital-asset definitions. A High Court ruling (previously cited here as Yellow Card Tanzania Limited v. Nyamwero, though this guide could not re-confirm that exact case name in this pass) addressed this tension directly: the court rejected the argument that crypto dealings were illegal, reasoning that digital assets are already operational in Tanzania through licensed service providers, and that because such transactions are taxed, they can't be deemed unlawful — effectively treating the existence of the tax regime as evidence against the earlier ban's continued legal force.

Common taxable events

• Payments connected to digital asset exchange or transfer — subject to a 3% withholding tax under the Finance Act 2024.
• This guide doesn't independently confirm whether this 3% withholding tax is the sole individual tax obligation or whether a separate income tax also applies to the underlying gain.

Potentially non-taxable events

• Not identified with confidence in this pass.

Tax rates and thresholds

A 3% withholding tax applies to payments tied to digital asset exchange or transfer, effective 1 July 2024. This guide doesn't identify a separate confirmed rate for capital gains on the underlying crypto disposal itself, as distinct from the withholding tax on the payment.

Cost basis and calculation

Not independently confirmed in this pass, given the withholding tax's apparent basis on the payment or transaction rather than a calculated gain.

Reporting and compliance

• Platform owners and facilitators, resident and non-resident, are responsible for the 3% withholding tax under the Finance Act 2024.
• Enforcement against VASPs without a Tanzanian physical presence is reported as difficult in practice.

Residency and cross-border issues

The 3% withholding tax explicitly applies to both resident and non-resident platform owners and facilitators, a notably broad scope. This guide doesn't detail further cross-border mechanics.

Example

This example is hypothetical, for illustration only. Amani exchanges crypto through a licensed Tanzanian platform for TZS 1,000,000. The platform, as facilitator, withholds 3% (TZS 30,000) under the Finance Act 2024's digital asset provisions.

Official resources

• Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA): https://www.tra.go.tz/

Limitations and review information

Tax year covered: 2025. Last verified: October 28, 2026 (citation-integrity pass). Known gap: tra.go.tz wasn't directly fetched, and the exact name of the High Court case resolving the ban/tax tension could not be re-confirmed (flagged needs-expert-review). This guide doesn't confirm whether a separate capital gains tax applies to the crypto disposal itself beyond the 3% payment withholding, or how the 2019 Bank of Tanzania ban's current legal status interacts with the Finance Act 2024. This is educational information only, not individualized tax advice — confirm current specifics directly with the TRA or a qualified Tanzanian tax professional.