Ghana / GHS

Ghana income tax calculator

Free calculatorNo sign-upReviewed: 13 Sept 2026Sources and review process

Your calculation

Schedule status checked 13 September 2026. The Presidency confirmed assent to the income-tax reform on 26 August. GRA still publishes its earlier PAYE table; the reform commencement date has not been verified. Select the published table or a separate reform simulation below. Do not use the simulation as proof that the new rates apply to a payslip.

Example scenarioAmount periodResidence statusResident tax scheduleBasic salary for the selected periodExclude allowances, bonuses, overtime and employer contributions. All money is in Ghana cedi.Taxable cash allowances for the periodAssessed non-cash benefits for the periodUse the taxable value of accommodation, vehicles or other benefits. Exclude provident contributions entered below.

Bonuses and overtime

Bonus paid in this calculationMonthly: this payment only. Annual: all bonuses for the year; they are not repeated twelve times.Actual annual basic salaryAlways an annual amount. Blank projects monthly basic × 12, or uses the annual basic entered above. Enter the actual figure if pay changes or employment covers part of a year.Earlier bonuses paid this yearAll prior bonuses consume the annual 15% concession limit. Do not include the current bonus.Overtime pay for the periodEmployee is a qualifying junior staff member

Resident bonus: 5% within 15% of annual basic, excess added to ordinary income. Eligible junior overtime: 5% up to half the month’s basic, then 10%; otherwise ordinary tax. Non-resident bonus and overtime: 20%.

Pension and other deductions

Mandatory pension contributionEmployee approved provident fund contributionsActual employee payment for the period; cash deduction can exceed the amount allowed for tax.Employer approved provident fund contributionsNot included in the salary or benefits fields. Combined tax shelter uses 16.5% of basic, with employer contributions using the limit first; employer excess enters taxable benefits.Eligible mortgage interest paid in the periodQualifying principal private residence; one property in a lifetime. Interest only, not loan principal.Approved worthwhile-cause donations paid in the periodOther cash deductions for the periodNo automatic tax relief: e.g. loan principal or deductions from net pay. Do not repeat the items above.

The automatic pension estimate uses monthly insurable earnings between GH₵587.80 and GH₵69,000. Annual mode assumes twelve equal months. Use actual contributions for varying pay, partial months, or a different contribution basis. Provident-fund limits are also monthly; calculate varying months separately.

Approved personal reliefs

Apply eligible reliefs approved for this assessment

Fixed annual allowances: responsibility GH₵1,200; child GH₵600 each; age 60+ GH₵1,500; aged relative GH₵1,000 each. Monthly mode allocates one twelfth, including training as an annual tax comparison; a payslip may exclude reliefs claimed only on the annual return. Disability relief is 25% of qualifying assessable employment income, excluding bonuses/overtime subject to final special tax.

Assessable ordinary employment incomeGHS 0.00

Employee mandatory pension deductionGHS 0.00

Employee provident deduction allowed for taxGHS 0.00

Employer provident excess taxableGHS 0.00

Fixed personal relief for this periodGHS 0.00

Disability reliefGHS 0.00

Chargeable ordinary incomeGHS 0.00

Ordinary income taxGHS 0.00

Special bonus taxGHS 0.00

Special overtime taxGHS 0.00

Total tax — selected published tableGHS 0.00

Effective tax rate0%

Cash pay after tax and pension contributionsGHS 0.00

Cash after all listed expensesGHS 0.00

Employment-income estimate for one period or a constant-pay year. Arrears, cumulative PAYE reconciliation, multiple jobs, part-year residency, foreign credits and business/investment income require their separate rules. Benefits in kind and employer contributions are not cash received. No automatic retroactive application of the 2026 reform.

Estimate tax and cash pay using the table currently published by GRA, or compare the July 2026 reform schedule. Presidential assent was confirmed on 26 August 2026; commencement has not been verified as of 13 September. The form identifies this uncertainty instead of applying an invented effective date.

Formula

Ordinary chargeable income = assessable employment income − eligible employee pension/provident contributions − approved deductions and reliefs, floored at zero. Apply the selected progressive table, then add special bonus and overtime tax. Monthly fixed reliefs are annual amounts divided by twelve.

Examples

Annual chargeable income

For GH₵320,900 of chargeable income, the table published by GRA produces GH₵79,514 of ordinary annual tax, before separately taxed bonuses or overtime.

A PRACTICAL GUIDE

When to use this calculator

Ghana employment tax can include ordinary earnings and separately treated bonus or overtime amounts. This calculator helps explain those components together with pension limits and approved reliefs, while distinguishing the current calculation from an explicitly labelled reform simulation.

Information to prepare

Confirm the selected table and do not use a simulation as a statement of the current payslip rules. Prepare ordinary pay, qualifying contributions and approved reliefs. Keep annual fixed reliefs and monthly amounts on the same time basis before comparing the result with a payment.

How to interpret the result

Gross salary, taxable pay, contribution earnings and cash received can be different amounts. A non-cash benefit may increase tax without increasing the deposit, while a cash deduction may reduce take-home pay without being deductible for tax. Compare the bases and individual lines before comparing totals alone. Timing also matters: the monthly equivalent of an annual estimate does not necessarily reproduce a payslip containing arrears, variable benefits or cumulative adjustments. Keep the stated scope of each tax and contribution component visible.

A practical comparison

If an unusually high deduction appears in a bonus month, compare ordinary tax and special-payment tax separately. A contribution paid in cash is not automatically deductible without limit. The VAT calculator serves invoice-pricing questions and does not estimate employment deductions.

Check your calculation step by step

Match the figures to the selected period and use GHS for monetary inputs. If you start with a document in another currency or covering several periods, resolve that difference before entering a combined amount.
Calculate the documented case first. Then change one input at a time to compare scenarios. Keep the original values available so a change in the result can be traced to a particular assumption rather than several simultaneous edits.
Read the component breakdown alongside the formula and examples below. If an official document differs, check the date, base, rounding and omitted concepts before changing a rate or treating the difference as an error.

Continue with a related calculation

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If you are comparing countries

Open the relevant jurisdiction when comparing a move, an offer or a transaction abroad. Each tool uses its own currency, period and scope; its result should not be substituted into the current calculation.

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Frequently asked questions

Which tax table applies?

The default is the earlier table still displayed on the GRA PAYE page. The reform simulation uses the schedule in Parliament’s July 2026 Bill. Assent is confirmed, but the enacted Gazette text and commencement date have not been verified. Confirm the table applicable to a particular payslip before using the result for payroll.

Why can two high-income results appear?

GRA’s earlier table states 35% above GH₵600,000 per year, but the preceding printed widths sum to GH₵605,000. The main result uses the explicit GH₵600,000 boundary and shows the alternative when it differs. The reform schedule has no such overlap.

Are all pension contributions deductible?

Use actual eligible employee contributions or the 2026 estimate based on monthly insurable pay. The provident deduction shares a 16.5% basic-pay limit with employer contributions. Employer money already excluded from salary must not be deducted a second time.

How are bonuses and overtime handled?

Earlier bonuses consume the annual 15% basic-salary limit for the resident 5% bonus concession. Special junior overtime also requires qualifying annual employment income at or below GH₵18,000. Annual overtime allocation assumes equal amounts each month; otherwise calculate the months separately.

Is this an exact payslip or annual return?

It is a calculation for the entered period, with annualised relief comparisons where monthly input is used. Cumulative PAYE, arrears, varying pay, part-year residence, foreign credits and non-employment income need their own assessment. Benefits in kind and employer contributions are excluded from cash received.

CHECK THE REFERENCES

Official sources

GRA: published PAYE bands and employment rulesConsulted: 2026-09-13
GRA: personal tax reliefConsulted: 2026-09-13
GRA: employment practice noteConsulted: 2026-09-13
SSNIT: 2026 insurable earnings noticeConsulted: 2026-09-13
NPRA: National Pensions Act, section 112Consulted: 2026-09-13
Parliament: July 2026 Income Tax Amendment Bill, page 3Consulted: 2026-09-13
Presidency: assent announcement, 26 August 2026Consulted: 2026-09-13