Filing a Tax Return in Mauritius as a New Arrival
TAN, EDF form, filing thresholds, deadlines and penalties: what a new arrival must do to file an income tax return with the Mauritius Revenue Authority.
A new arrival in Mauritius must file an income tax return once net income for the tax year exceeds Rs 500,000, or as soon as a Tax Account Number (TAN) has already been issued and taxable income is being earned, under the rules published by the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA). Filing is done online only, no later than 30 September following the end of the tax year, extended to 15 October if the tax due is itself paid by card, ATM or mobile payment.
Who has to file a tax return in Mauritius
The MRA requires an electronic return once any of the following applies: total net income for the year exceeds Rs 500,000, gross turnover from a business or self-employed activity exceeds Rs 2 million, tax has already been withheld at source on emoluments or other income, or the person already holds a TAN and earns taxable income, regardless of prior registration status. These conditions apply equally to employees, the self-employed, rental income, pensions, and farming or professional income.
None of these triggers depend on the type of permit held. An employee on a work contract, a self-employed professional, or a retiree can each cross one of the thresholds above and become liable to file.
Getting a Tax Account Number (TAN) on arrival
A Tax Account Number is issued once a person is registered in the MRA’s records, whether through an employer’s declaration or through a direct online application, under “File and Pay” then “Individual” on mra.mu. For a non-citizen, retrieving a TAN through the e-filing portal requires the identification number issued by the Passport and Immigration Office (PIO) rather than a national ID number, which means the immigration side of the process needs to already be underway before the tax registration can be completed.
Employees: the Employee Declaration Form (EDF)
A person taking up employment in Mauritius for the first time must hand their employer a completed Employee Declaration Form (EDF), which allows the employer to apply the reliefs and deductions the employee is entitled to before calculating PAYE withholding. Without an EDF, the employer withholds tax without accounting for dependants or other personal deductions. Anyone changing employer must submit a new EDF to the new employer.
An employee whose monthly emoluments do not exceed Rs 38,462 is exempt from PAYE withholding, but that does not automatically remove the obligation to file if any of the other thresholds above is reached during the year.
Self-employed: a separate turnover threshold
For a business or self-employed activity, the obligation to file kicks in once gross turnover exceeds Rs 2 million in the year, even if no other income is earned. This threshold is assessed separately from the net employment income threshold. The full process for setting up as a freelancer in Mauritius — registering the activity, social contributions, opening a bank account — is covered in our guide to freelancer status in Mauritius.
Tax resident or not: what changes for foreign income
Tax residency does not depend on the type of permit held, but on a presence test: a person is resident if they spend at least 183 days in Mauritius during the tax year, or 270 days in aggregate over the current and two preceding years, or if they are domiciled in Mauritius without a permanent home elsewhere. The detail of this calculation and its edge cases is covered on our page on how many days it takes to become a tax resident in Mauritius.
A resident is taxed on Mauritius-source income and on foreign income actually remitted to Mauritius; a non-resident is taxed only on Mauritius-source income. A foreign pension that is never transferred to a Mauritian bank account, for instance, escapes Mauritian tax as long as it stays offshore — a point worth checking case by case, including for retirees dealing with how a French pension is taxed in Mauritius or with the France-Mauritius tax treaty.
Deadlines and penalties
| Failure | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Failure to file, individual with no business activity | Rs 2,000 per month of delay, capped at Rs 5,000 |
| Failure to file, with business activity | Rs 2,000 per month of delay, capped at Rs 20,000 |
| Late payment of tax due | 1% of the amount due, plus 0.25% interest per month or part of a month |
Returns must be filed online only, no later than 30 September following the end of the tax year. The extension to 15 October only applies if the tax due is itself paid by card, ATM or mobile payment: filing the return alone after 30 September, without that payment method, still counts as late.
The tax bands in force today
The first Rs 500,000 of chargeable income is taxed at 0%. Beyond that, the schedule was revised by the 2026 Finance Act: according to PwC and KPMG Mauritius, a new 35% band now applies to chargeable income above Rs 12 million a year, replacing the temporary Fair Share Contribution. This point is worth checking directly on the MRA’s tax calculator before any final calculation, since it is not confirmed, at the time of writing, by an official MRA page dedicated to the rates.
Dependants: what reduces chargeable income
A deduction is added for each dependant claimed: Rs 110,000 for one dependant, Rs 190,000 for two, Rs 275,000 for three, and Rs 355,000 for four or more. If one spouse claims one of these deductions, the other can only claim the basic deduction on their own return: each spouse files separately.
Newcomer questions
Does an adult child in full-time higher education still count as a dependant?
Yes, a child over 18 remains a dependant if they are in full-time education. If that education is a non-sponsored undergraduate or postgraduate course at an institution recognised by the Tertiary Education Commission, an additional deduction of Rs 500,000 can be added on top of the dependant deduction itself.
How do I retrieve my TAN if I have lost it?
The MRA’s e-filing portal allows it to be retrieved using the national ID for a Mauritian citizen, or the identification number issued by the Passport and Immigration Office for a non-citizen. The process is entirely online, with no paper filing required.
Does rental income from a property in Mauritius have to be declared even without tax residency?
Yes. A non-resident is taxed on Mauritius-source income, which includes rent from a property located in Mauritius, regardless of how many days were spent on the island. The obligations of a property owner are covered in our article on property taxes for an owner in Mauritius and, for rental tax more generally, in rental tax in Mauritius.
Do married couples file separately?
Yes, each spouse files their own return. The dependant deduction can only be claimed by one of the two: if one uses it, the other can only enter the basic deduction on their return.
Sources and verification
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — filing and payment due dates
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — reliefs, deductions and allowances
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — new employees and the EDF
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — Solidarity Levy
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — obligation to file a return
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — foreign-source income and tax residency
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — penalties and interest
- Mauritius Revenue Authority — TAN retrieval portal
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