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It is the final week of September, and in many offices across Kampala the atmosphere feels heavier than usual. Business owners flip through ledgers, accountants type furiously on laptops, and landlords scroll through URA’s online portal, each chasing one thing, the deadline!
At the back of everyone’s mind is a single date: 30th September 2025. For some, it is a race against time to avoid interest and penalties, for others, it is the familiar ritual that marks the close of yet another tax year.
Amid this flurry of activity, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), through a public notice issued on 23rd September 2025, sounded its annual reminder: file and pay your income tax obligations before the month ends.
The message is not new, but its urgency has sharpened. With the economy growing and compliance systems becoming more digital, there is little room for delay or error.
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Having issued the notice, URA was clear about what taxpayers must do before the September 30 deadline. The obligations cut across individuals, companies, and property owners, each with specific timelines and requirements, and these include; -
1. Final Income Tax Returns (FY 2024/25)
All individuals and non-individuals must file their final income tax returns and pay the corresponding tax for the accounting period 1st April 2024 to 31st March 2025. This process reconciles actual liability with provisional tax payments made during the year.
2. Provisional Returns for Non-Individuals (FY 2025/26)
Companies and other non-individual taxpayers are required to file provisional returns for the financial year 1st April 2025 to 31st March 2026. These estimates help URA track tax due in advance, with adjustments made later when final returns are submitted.
3. Provisional Returns for Individuals (FY 2025/26)
Self-employed persons and professionals must also file provisional returns covering the period 1st July 2025 to 30th June 2026. This ensures projected income is declared early, helping both taxpayers and the Authority manage expectations.
4. Provisional Tax Payments
For individuals, payments follow four possible instalments depending on the accounting date: June, March, December, or September.
For non-individuals, payments come in two instalments: by 31st March and by 30th September.
One other area URA has consistently highlighted is rental income tax. Unlike business or personal income, which is often tied to trading or employment, rental income is a tax head of its own.
The Authority insists and reminds that landlords and property owners must declare and pay this tax separately, regardless of whether they are also filing final or provisional returns for their businesses.
The emphasis about Rental tax is deliberate. Rental income is a fast-growing source of revenue in Uganda, but it has historically been prone to under-declaration or complete omission. URA ring-fenced it as an independent tax head to close compliance gaps and ensure that the property sector contributes its fair share to national revenue.
Take, for example, a taxpayer who runs a hardware shop in Kampala while also renting out three apartments in Najjera.
When filing their business income tax, they must declare profits from the hardware shop. Separately, they are also required to file a rental income tax return reflecting the rental earnings from the apartments. The two cannot be merged into one figure, because the law treats them differently. This distinction ensures that both streams of income are taxed fairly and transparently.
But perhaps the biggest lifeline in URA’s latest notice lies in its appeal to taxpayers with outstanding arrears up to 30th June 2024. URA has made it clear: if you clear your principal tax now, you could be granted waivers on all accumulated interest and penalties. This is no small matter.
For many, the interest and penalties charged over the years have ballooned far beyond the original tax due, leaving taxpayers trapped in a cycle of mounting debt. By offering this waiver, URA is giving businesses and individuals alike a chance to reset their tax affairs and regain compliance without being crushed by punitive charges.
This is the window of opportunity to act. Delay, and the arrears will continue to attract costs that far exceed the original liability. Act now, and you walk away lighter, compliant, and with renewed credibility in the eyes of the tax authority.
The message could not be louder. taxpayers who seize this chance will walk away lighter and more secure, while those who delay risk losing the relief altogether. URA has essentially opened a door for voluntary compliance, one that might not remain open for long.
The 30th September deadline is not simply a calendar date but a statutory compliance milestone with significant implications. Under the Income Tax Act, late filing or payment automatically attracts interest (Section 135) and penalties (Section 137), which can quickly surpass the principal tax.
For corporates, missing the deadline compromises access to Tax Clearance Certificates (TCCs), a prerequisite for government tenders, licensing, and financing, while exposing businesses to unnecessary audits, disputes, and reputational risk.
For individuals, particularly landlords and professionals, delays erode cash flow through escalating charges and may even trigger enforcement measures such as bank account garnishment or property attachment.
At the same time, URA’s enhanced digital compliance systems, including EFRIS and the online filing platform, make monitoring and enforcement more robust. With growing use of third-party data from banks, land registries, and employers, non-compliance is easier to detect and harder to conceal.
Timely compliance is therefore more than an administrative duty; it is a strategic safeguard that preserves financial credibility, reduces exposure to penalties, and positions taxpayers, both individuals and businesses as credible and trusted actors in Uganda’s formal economy.
“In today’s digital tax era, compliance is credibility, and timing is strategy, file on time to preserve trust, or delay and pay the price of liability.”
The writer is a chartered accountant and a chartered tax advisor