Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk holds a meeting with real estate developers
According to a ministry statement, Kouchouk confirmed the main priority remains to simplify procedures for taxpayers through digitization, expanding the tax base, and encouraging voluntary tax compliance to meet businesses’ demands.
A mobile application for real estate transactions will be launched, for users to pay taxes due with the same current real estate transaction tax rate, which is 2.5 percent of the value of the sale per unit to the person, according to the statement. Usage of the application at the fixed rate will be allowed regardless of the number of transactions and without any administrative burdens.
Kouchouk also set the intention for the ministry to form a joint high committee to review and mitigate challenges in real estate development, providing solutions to overcome them. No date was disclosed for the launch of the application, nor for the formation of the committee.
These actions are according to the recent second tax facilitation package, which aims to address the challenges businesses face, creating a more competitive, growth-friendly investment environment. The ministry will hold discussions with tax specialists on their observations and introduce new measures in January 2026.
The package will prevent double taxation, exempting dividend distributions for Egyptian firms affiliated with a holding company based in Egypt, Kouchouk explained. It also includes deducting returns on foreign loans from the tax base of private sector firms that contribute to major strategic projects. It will also reduce value-added tax (VAT) on medical devices from 14 percent to 5 percent.
A stamp tax will be imposed on the total value of the trading transaction, as opposed to a capital gains tax (CGT) on the net profit, to encourage investments, trading, and listing on the Egyptian Stock Exchange for three years.
Another package to facilitate property tax is currently being approved by the ministry, with the tax and late payment fees to be waived in times of crisis, yet the exemption limit for private housing will increase to EGP 4 million, to be paid digitally. Late payment penalties’ maximum will not exceed the original tax amount.
The recent two facilitation packages were recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as part of expanding the tax base instead of raising taxes on existing taxpayers after the IMF’s fourth review of its $8 billion Extended Fund Facility loan programme, which showed Egypt’s increased external financing needs.
Egypt has recalibrated its short-term fiscal targets, prompting the IMF to raise its projections for the financing gap the country will experience in FY2025/2026 from $5.2 billion to $8.2 billion. For the upcoming FY2026/2027, the IMF projected this level to almost double, reaching $6.1 billion compared to an estimated $3.2 billion.
The second package’s incentives also includes White List and Excellence Card programmes for compliant taxpayers to strengthen trust, speeds up tax processes such as inspections, refunds and cost approval such as faster VAT refunds to increase company liquidity, the application of lump-sum and proportional tax systems for the 2023 and 2024 tax years, and the option to offset tax credits and debits to ease payments.
Egypt’s tax revenues surged by 35 percent in the July to October period in FY2025/2026, with income tax revenue rising by 45.6 percent to EGP 205.5 billion and property tax revenue increasing by 32.3 percent to EGP 157.3 billion.
The Minister confirmed that any additional ideas suggested by businesses to facilitate procedures, unify, and automate tax transactions are welcome. “The real estate sector is important and influential in economic activity, and we are working with you to stimulate real estate exports,” Kouchouk said.
Egypt has been taking tangible steps in facilitating tax systems by implementing AI into the Egyptian Tax Authority’s (ETA) operations to modernize tax administration, strengthen institutional capacity, and improve services for taxpayers through data-driven decision-making.
The country's tax revenues are projected to grow significantly in the current FY2025/2026, which started 1 July 2025, driven by reforms in tax administration, digitalization, and customs modernization, according to the fiscal year budget plan.
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