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The short answer
Yes, in most cases. Ghana collects income tax from the self-employed through instalments paid during the year, and the instalments are credited against the final bill when you file your annual return, which is due within four months after the end of the year. Small traders on the Modified Taxation Scheme pay fixed quarterly amounts instead; check the exact due dates on your GRA notice or portal.
Two stages: pay as you go, then settle
An employee in Ghana has tax taken from each payslip by the employer, who remits it within 15 days after the month ends, as PwC's Ghana summary (last reviewed 11 March 2026) describes. A self-employed person has no employer doing that, so the system asks you to pay during the year yourself and then square up at the end.
- Instalments during the year. You pay tax in parts as the year runs. PwC's summary of Ghana's tax credits confirms the mechanism: individuals who pay tax by instalments can claim a credit for the year equal to the instalments they paid.
- The annual return. The tax year is the calendar year. PwC says individual returns go to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) within four months after the end of the basis period, which for a calendar year means by the end of April. Any final balance is due when the return is filed.
If your instalments were more than the final bill, the credit covers it; if they were less, you pay the difference with the return.
How the instalment amount is set
For self-employed people under the ordinary rules, the instalment is an estimate of the year's tax divided over the year. The GRA can assess it, and you can usually tell the GRA if your income has changed so the estimate can be revised. We could not open a GRA page in October 2026 that sets out the current instalment dates and the revision procedure in full, so take the dates from your own GRA assessment notice or taxpayer portal rather than from a general article. That is also where any change to the schedule will show first.
The Modified Taxation Scheme works on its own timetable
Since 1 July 2025, smaller informal-sector earners can use the Modified Taxation Scheme (MTS). The Ghana News Agency, reporting the GRA's launch, said businesses below GH¢20,000 a year in turnover pay fixed quarterly amounts, capped at GH¢45 per payment. The GRA's own MTS page describes three tracks:
| Track | Who | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Presumptive Tax based on Instalment (PTI) | Average annual sales of GHC 20,000 or less over three years | A fixed amount based on income level and business type |
| Presumptive Tax based on Turnover (PTT) | Annual sales above GHC 20,000 up to GHC 500,000 | 3% of total annual sales |
| Modified Cash Basis (MCB) | Those who do not qualify for PTI or PTT, or who choose it | Tax on profit after allowable expenses |
The GRA page says payment is by USSD (*880#) or the MTS Taxpayer App from a mobile money wallet, and that returns are annual, entered in the app at year end. Professionals with formal qualifications, such as lawyers, engineers and accountants, are excluded from PTI and PTT. Many Nigerian freelancers in Ghana (consultants, developers with degrees, accountants) will therefore be on the ordinary rules. Our guide to the Modified Taxation Scheme explains who it suits.
A worked example
This is an example only, using the resident bands PwC lists for 2026. A resident Nigerian copywriter in Accra expects GHS 60,000 of taxable profit for the year. On those bands the tax is GHS 10,182 (GHS 66 + 156 + 6,650 at the lower bands, and GHS 3,310 at 25% on the top GHS 13,240).
- Spread over four equal quarterly payments, that is about GHS 2,545.50 a quarter (10,182 ÷ 4).
- A Ghanaian client withheld 7.5% on GHS 20,000 of invoices: GHS 1,500 of credit.
- If the actual profit comes in at GHS 60,000 and four instalments of GHS 2,545.50 were paid, the instalments (GHS 10,182) and the GHS 1,500 withholding total GHS 11,682, so the return shows GHS 1,500 overpaid. Ask the GRA how it will treat the excess.
The split into four is for illustration: use the number and dates of instalments on your assessment.
What to check first
- Are you resident in Ghana for tax? Residents are taxed on worldwide income at the graduated rates; PwC lists a flat 25% for non-residents.
- Which regime are you on: ordinary rules or MTS? Professionals cannot use the two flat MTS tracks.
- What does your GRA assessment show as the instalment amount and dates?
- Do you hold withholding certificates from Ghanaian clients for this year?
- Have you set aside cash each month so the instalment does not land as a shock?
Registration comes first: see how to register with the GRA as a freelancer.
Where Pryme fits
Instalments are easier when the cash is already put aside. A Pryme Business Account keeps income from Nigerian clients in naira or dollars until you choose to convert with Swap, where the app shows the rate and the fee before you approve. The Finance agent can remind you of dates you set and prepare a summary of the quarter's income for you to check.
Questions people ask
When is the self-employed tax return due in Ghana?
Within four months after the end of the basis period, according to PwC's 2026 summary. With Ghana's calendar tax year, that is by the end of April.
Do I pay tax every quarter in Ghana as a freelancer?
Usually you pay instalments during the year and claim them as a credit on your return. Take the instalment dates and amounts from your GRA assessment.
How much is the quarterly MTS payment?
For the smallest track (turnover below GH¢20,000), GNA reported fixed quarterly amounts capped at GH¢45 per payment when the scheme began on 1 July 2025.
What if I paid too much in instalments?
The instalments are credited against your final tax for the year. Any excess shows on the return; ask the GRA how it will be refunded or carried forward.
Sources
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ghana, individual tax administration (last reviewed 11 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ghana, individual tax credits and incentives (last reviewed 11 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ghana, taxes on personal income (last reviewed 11 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Ghana, corporate withholding taxes (last reviewed 11 Mar 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Ghana Revenue Authority: Modified Taxation Scheme (2025 page) · accessed Oct 2026
- Ghana News Agency: Modified Taxation Scheme takes off July 1 (Jul 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.