Moroccan Expats Face Complex Tax Rates in Real Estate Investments Back Home

This procedure is subject to the payment of registration fees. The rate of this administrative tax is not fixed; it varies depending on the nature of the property, its intended use, and the legal framework of the transaction, as detailed in the official tax documentation.

A reference rate, set at 4%, applies to several categories of real estate transactions. It concerns:

• The acquisition of premises for residential, commercial, professional or administrative use;
• The purchase of these same premises by credit institutions as part of specific financing contracts such as Mourabaha, Ijara Mountahia Bitamlik or Moucharaka Moutanakissa;
• The act of allocation of these premises by cooperatives or associations for the benefit of their members;
• The land on which these premises are built, up to a limit of five times the covered area.

A more advantageous rate of 3% is provided to stimulate the assisted housing sector. It applies exclusively to the first sale of certain properties, provided that the developer has signed an agreement with the State. These include:

• Social housing;
• Low-value housing.
The legislation precisely defines these categories. Social housing corresponds to a housing unit of 50 to 80 m², the sale price of which does not exceed 250,000 dirhams excluding VAT. A low-value housing unit is a 50 to 60 m² unit, with a first sale price capped at 140,000 dirhams.

Transfers free of charge, such as donations, are subject to a separate tax system. They benefit from a registration rate of 1.5%, provided that the donation is made between persons with specific family ties:

• In direct line (between ascendants and descendants);
• Between spouses;
• Between brothers and sisters;
• Between the person providing Kafala (legal custody) and the child in care, in accordance with Law No. 15-01.

The calculation of registration fees for real estate in Morocco requires a precise analysis of the operation. The nature of the property (standard, social, low-value), the type of transaction (purchase, participatory financing, donation) and the legal relationship between the parties are the determining factors of the applicable tax rate.