QPDs Explained: Zimbabwe Provisional Tax Dates and Percentages

Companies and businesses in Zimbabwe do not wait until year end to pay income tax. They pay it in four instalments during the year, on the Quarterly Payment Dates — QPDs.

The QPD dates

Compliance note — provisional tax
Provisional tax is paid on the estimated tax for the year of assessment, in four instalments:
• 25 March — 10%
• 25 June — 25%
• 25 September — 30%
• 20 December — 35%
Underpayment and late payment attract penalties and interest.
Source: ZIMRA; Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06]. Dates apply to a December year end — confirm with ZIMRA for other year ends.

How the estimate works

Each instalment is a percentage of your estimated tax for the whole year. If the estimate changes mid-year, later instalments should be adjusted so that the cumulative amount paid matches the cumulative percentage of the revised estimate. Under-estimating to keep early instalments low is a common — and penalised — mistake.

Practical tips

• Revisit your estimate before each QPD using management accounts.
• Keep a record of how each estimate was calculated.
• Pay in the correct currency for the tax due.
• Do not leave the December QPD to the holiday week.

Provisional tax returns with YoBridge

YoBridge puts all four QPDs on your compliance calendar with reminders, lets you prepare the provisional income tax return as a structured form, and submits it directly on TaRMS. The submitted return and acknowledgement stay with the company and period, ready for the year-end self-assessment return.

See ZIMRA and TaRMS in YoBridge.

General guidance only, not tax advice.