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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW |
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 What you need to know before acquiring Real Estate property in Morocco.
(This information does not in any way remove the necessity to consult a notary or a lawyer before making your purchase)
All sums of money coming from abroad must pass through a bank account held in convertible dirhams, which ensures that funds held in Morocco by foreign investors can be converted into foreign currency (Dahir dated 15.09.1992). Such an account will allow you to carry out investment transactions in Morocco and guarantees that you will be able to transfer the proceeds of the sale of your investment out of the country.
Your notary must inform the ‘office des changes’ (currency control bureau) of the transaction you are undertaking so that if you subsequently resell your property, you will be allowed to transfer the original sum of money imported plus any increase in value accrued (minus any tax and duties to be paid) out of the country.
It is therefore advisable, once you have taken a decision to invest in property in Morocco, to open an account in convertible dirhams as soon as you arrive in Morocco. You can make payments into account from abroad by means of the SWIFT system and then send a fax to your bank in Morocco asking them to transfer the value of the initial deposit to a notary’s escrow bank account.
There is no inheritance tax payable by Moroccan citizens.
Guaranteed right to transfer proceeds of the sale of real estate property and net rental income (after payment of taxes) out of Morocco, without limit to time or sum.
Guaranteed right to transfer the increase in the value of real estate property realised on relinquishment of the property.
No capital gains tax payable on the increase in the value of real estate property on relinquishment of the property if the property has been used as the owners’ main place of residence for a minimum of eight years.
Non-residents can take advantage of double tax avoidance agreements signed with numerous other countries.
Retirees in Morocco: Persons in receipt of a retirement pension from abroad benefit from a reduction of 80% of the tax payable on retirement pension income, on one single condition: the pension must be irrevocably transferred to an account in non-convertible dirhams in Morocco, in the knowledge that it is possible to irrevocably transfer just the amount needed for normal living expenses. The tax burden will then be very light.
Tax-paying residents of Morocco in receipt of retirement pension income from abroad can benefit from an 80% reduction in the tax payable on pension income irrevocably transferred into non- convertible dirhams.
CALCULATIONS
1. Convert your pension into dirhams – approximately 11 dirhams to the Euro.
2. Deduct a personal allowance of 40% from your income (applicable to all retirees resident in Morocco)
3. Multiply the remaining sum by 44% (applicable to income falling within the maximum tax bracket, starting at 60.000 Dhs/year) and deduct a lump sum payment of 14,960 dirhams. The resulting figure will be the amount of tax to be paid.
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