Egypt's 2026 tax facilitation package, the second after the 2025 round, is not one law but dozens of measures, including six laws: Laws 148 to 153 of 2026. They were published in the Official Gazette on 28 July 2026 and have been in force since 29 July 2026, with a correction notice on 8 August 2026. Some measures matter now: the renewed tax dispute settlement takes new requests only until 31 December 2026. Others, like compulsory books for every business, apply from tax period 2028.
This guide, written from our office in Sharm El Sheikh, sets out what changed for owners of companies, shops, clinics and rental property, as of October 2026. Where the answer depends on your own file, we say so.
What is in Egypt's 2026 tax facilitation package?
The first package, in 2025, brought the Law 5/2025 amnesty and voluntary-disclosure windows, which closed on 12 August 2025, and Law 7/2025, whose cap on late interest and additional tax at 100% of the tax had no deadline and still applies. The simplified turnover regime of Law 6/2025 also dates from 2025 and is permanent.
The 2026 laws touch income tax, VAT, stamp tax, property disposals and dispute settlement, and add a departure fee. These are the measures business owners ask us about most:
| Measure | Legal basis | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Regular books for every business; the EGP 500,000 threshold abolished | Law 150/2026 | From tax period 2028 |
| Article 18 of the Income Tax Law (estimated assessment) repealed | Law 151/2026 | Estimated-assessment instructions cover tax periods up to 2027 |
| Retroactive simplified assessment for turnover up to EGP 10 million | Law 151/2026, Art. 4 | Non-final tax periods from 2022 to February 2025 |
| Tax dispute settlement renewed | Law 152/2026 | New requests until 31 December 2026 |
| Temporary tax card valid for 8 months | Second package | Law in force since 29 July 2026 |
| 5% VAT on medical devices | Law 149/2026 | Since 29 July 2026 |
| Dividend tax covers special-economic-zone companies and foreign branches | Law 151/2026 | Law in force since 29 July 2026 |
| Listed shares: capital gains exempt, stamp tax instead | Laws 151 and 153/2026 | Law in force since 29 July 2026 |
| Real-estate disposal tax restated | Income Tax Law, as restated by Law 151/2026 | Payable within 60 days of the disposal |
| Departure fee of EGP 100 | Second package | Law in force since 29 July 2026 |
| White list and tax distinction card | Second package | Announced |
Does every business now need proper books?
Yes, from tax period 2028. Law 150/2026 requires every business to keep regular books and abolishes the old EGP 500,000 threshold from that tax period. Law 151/2026 repealed Article 18 of the Income Tax Law: the estimated-assessment instructions still apply to tax periods up to 2027, and from 2028 assessment is based on books.
For a café, shop or small office assessed on estimates, that leaves the rest of 2026 and all of 2027 to build books that hold up at inspection. Two things make it harder than it sounds.
First, the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) does not recognise costs without an e-invoice or e-receipt behind them. A ledger full of cash purchases with no electronic document will not reduce your tax. Second, books for tax period 2028 need opening balances on day one: stock, equipment, debts and cash. Those are far easier to establish if records are already running in 2027. Our accounting and bookkeeping service handles this switch, and our guide to Egypt's 2028 bookkeeping requirement explains the transition in more detail.
Law 151/2026 (Art. 4) also allows a retroactive simplified assessment for businesses with turnover up to EGP 10 million, for tax periods between 2022 and February 2025 that are not yet final. Whether it helps depends on which of your years are still open, so we look at it case by case.
If your turnover is EGP 20 million or less, the simplified regime of Law 6/2025 remains a separate option for many companies and freelance professionals, with tax of 0.4% to 1.5% of turnover. Joining locks you in for five years, so model it before 2028, not after.
What is the 8-month temporary tax card?
The package created a temporary tax card valid for eight months. It cannot be used to issue e-invoices, and businesses with standard activities receive the normal five-year tax card instead. The temporary card is an exception, not a new default route.
The e-invoice restriction is the part to watch. E-invoicing is mandatory for every ETA taxpayer (Decree 323/2022), and costs not backed by an e-invoice or e-receipt are not recognised. A business holding only a temporary card cannot give its business customers an e-invoice, so those customers risk having the cost disallowed. If your first contracts are with hotels, tour operators or other companies, find out which card you will get before you sign. When we set up e-invoicing for a new business, it is the first thing we check.
Can you still settle a tax dispute in 2026?
Yes, until 31 December 2026. Law 152/2026 renewed Law 79/2016 on ending tax disputes, and MoF Decision 450/2026 sets the request forms. The renewed window covers:
- corporate and individual profits tax;
- salaries tax;
- stamp tax and the development fee;
- GST and VAT;
- built-property tax and entertainment tax.
Two other time-limited offers have already closed. Discounted 2026 built-property tax returns ended on 30 September 2026. The built-property late-interest waiver and 70% dispute settlement ended on 2 October 2026, and we found no extension as of 10 October 2026.
The penalty rules still apply alongside the settlement route. Additional tax of 20% or 40% is halved by agreement before the appeal committee. Late interest runs at the CBE rate plus 2%, and Law 7/2025 caps it at 100% of the tax. To check whether a case of yours falls inside the window, try our tax dispute settlement checker, and do it well before December.
VAT, dividends, shares and property: the technical changes
| Area | Rule as of October 2026 | Who should check |
|---|---|---|
| VAT on medical devices | 5% since 29 July 2026, the same reduced rate as machinery; the standard rate is 14% | Clinics, hospitals, medical suppliers |
| Dividend tax | 10% (5% for listed companies); covers special-economic-zone companies and foreign branches; dividends between resident companies excluded; paid within 5 working days of the following month | Companies distributing profits |
| Foreign branches | Profits deemed distributed 60 days after year-end and taxed at 10%; treaty relief possible | Foreign companies with an Egyptian branch |
| Listed shares | Capital gains exempt; stamp tax of 0.05% per side, or 0.025% each for same-day trades | Investors in listed shares |
| Unlisted shares | Gains taxed as income; non-resident sellers pay within 60 days of the sale | Shareholders selling a stake |
| Real-estate disposal tax | 2.5% of gross value, no deductions; payable within 60 days | Owners selling, gifting or granting a usufruct over property |
The disposal tax deserves a closer look. The real-estate disposal tax (Income Tax Law, as restated by Law 151/2026) takes 2.5% of the gross value of built property or building land, villages excepted, with no deductions. Taxable disposals include a sale, a gift or will to anyone other than parents, spouses or children, the grant of a usufruct, and a lease of more than 50 years. Transfers to parents, spouses and children are excluded, but heirs who dispose of inherited property do pay. Property sold by a company or a sole proprietorship is taxed as business income instead, under a different computation. The ETA app for this tax covers only Greater Cairo and Alexandria for now. For the wider picture, see our page on tax for property owners.
What does the package mean in Sharm El Sheikh and South Sinai?
The laws are national, but several of them land differently in Sharm El Sheikh and the rest of South Sinai.
Which of the 2026 measures apply to your business?
Few owners are affected by every change. A first sort:
| If you run… | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A shop, café or small office assessed on estimates | Books from 2028 | Estimated-assessment instructions only cover tax periods up to 2027 |
| A new company still being set up | Which tax card you will get | The 8-month temporary card cannot issue e-invoices |
| A business in dispute with the ETA | Settlement under Law 152/2026 | New requests close on 31 December 2026 |
| A clinic, hospital or medical supplier | VAT on medical devices | 5% since 29 July 2026 |
| A foreign company with an Egyptian branch | Deemed distribution | 10% on profits deemed distributed 60 days after year-end |
| A business with turnover up to EGP 10 million and non-final years between 2022 and February 2025 | Retroactive simplified assessment | Law 151/2026, Art. 4 |
| Property you plan to sell or grant in usufruct | Disposal tax | 2.5% of gross value within 60 days |
The package also announced a white list and a tax distinction card. As of October 2026 both are still announced measures, and whether a particular business is likely to qualify depends on its own file. A public guide cannot answer that honestly.
What should you do before 31 December 2026?
- If you have an open dispute over any of the covered taxes, decide whether to file a settlement request before 31 December 2026.
- If this year you sold property, granted a usufruct over it, or gave it to someone other than a parent, spouse or child, check that the 2.5% disposal tax was paid within 60 days.
- If you are opening a company, ask which tax card you will receive before signing contracts with other businesses.
- If you run a clinic, check that medical devices bought since 29 July 2026 were invoiced at 5% VAT.
- If you are assessed on estimates, choose a bookkeeping system now, so your books are running during 2027 and ready for tax period 2028.
For a structured review of these points, our tax advisory service covers regime choice, dividend questions, treaty relief and the white list, from Office 314, Al Azizia Mall, Sharm El Sheikh.
