Real estate in Morocco: paying in cash? It will cost you more!

The central instrument of this reform is the application, starting in 2026, of a 2% surcharge on registration fees for the transfer of real estate and business assets. This surcharge will be added to the current rates, which range from 4 to 6%, if the transaction deed does not mention the payment references, thus penalizing the lack of banking traceability. This tax offensive aims to clean up the business climate by reducing fraud and money laundering, but it is causing concerns among professionals. Notaries fear a slowdown in transactions, already made more complex by new administrative requirements imposed since July 2024 for the issuance of tax certificates.

Expansion of control and end of amnesty

The budget text deploys other levers to strengthen tax transparency. It provides for the gradual extension of withholding tax to the private sector and introduces a 0.1% registration fee on public contracts to ensure the systematic communication of information to the administration. To counter VAT fraud, a self-assessment regime is also proposed for the purchase of industrial waste.

This approach marks the end of spontaneous regularization operations. The Directorate General of Taxes has confirmed that the recent amnesty, which had allowed the reintegration of 125 billion dirhams into the banking system, will not be renewed. The state now favors permanent and coercive measures to transform economic habits, even if it generates increased administrative complexity for operators.