Botswana capital gains tax calculator
Botswana taxes an individual’s net aggregate disposal gain on its own schedule: Table IV through 2025-26, when 75% of a share gain is taxable, and Schedule 1 paragraph 2 of the Income Tax Act, 2026 from 1 July 2026, from 0% on the first P36,000 to 27.5% over P400,000.
Work out the tax on a share, property, crypto or valuable disposal from your dates and costs. Enter sales by hand or import your exchange CSVs, and the calculator splits multi-parcel sales under FIFO, applies the statutory exemptions and the year’s single netting pool, and shows the arithmetic behind the final figure. Everything stays in your browser.
Rates current as of 2026-09-19, from the Income Tax Act, 2026 and the sources each record cites.
Current rules
The rates behind the number
The individual's net-aggregate-gain schedule by tax year
| Tax year | Net aggregate gain bands | Shares & other property | Immovable property |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 to 2025-26 | Table IV: 0% to P18,000; then 5%, 12.5%, 18.75%, 25% over P144,000 | 25% of the gain deducted, 75% taxed | Whole indexed gain (NCOLI); no 25% deduction |
| 2026-27 | Schedule 1 paragraph 2: 0% to P36,000; then 5%, 12.5%, 18.75%, 25%, 27.5% over P400,000 | Whole gain | Whole indexed gain (NCOLI); no 25% deduction |
| 2027-28 (planning) | Same Schedule 1 paragraph 2 scale as 2026-27 | Whole gain | Whole indexed gain (NCOLI); no 25% deduction |
Rules and exemptions
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Tax year | 1 July to 30 June; individual return due 30 September after year end |
| Shares, units or debentures of a resident public company or traded on the BSE | Exempt (Tenth Schedule paragraph 1(d)); from 2026-27 also needs a one-year holding period (Part VII paragraph 2). Investment-company ordinary-course sales excluded |
| Funds and ETFs | Exempt where the unit is BSE-traded or the issuer released at least 49% of its equity on the BSE; the classification is provisional |
| Unlisted shares and stakes | Taxable: 75% of the gain through 2025-26, the whole gain from 2026-27 |
| Crypto | No dedicated provision; provisionally other movable property (75% through 2025-26, whole gain after) |
| Other valuables (art, jewellery, collectibles, vehicles) | Taxable as other movable property |
| Principal private residence | Exempt if proceeds are reinvested in residential property within 24 months, or on the first residence (through 2025-26); owned at least five years, once every five years, from 2026-27 |
| Government, Bank of Botswana and statutory-body bonds | Exempt |
| Losses | One pool: same-year losses net the year's gains; an excess carries to the next succeeding tax year only |
| Immovable-property cost | Adjusted by the national cost of living index (NCOLI); 10% compounding for pre-1 July 1982 property |
Tables are built from the source records retrieved 2026-09-19; each links back to the authority page above. Through 2025-26 the operative Table IV is BURS’ 2011/2012-and-subsequent rates table; the older table in the consolidated Act PDF is superseded.
Questions
Botswana capital gains questions
How is capital gains tax calculated in Botswana?
An individual's net aggregate disposal gain is a separate source, taxed on its own schedule. Through tax year 2025-26 Table IV runs from 0% on the first P18,000 to 25% over P144,000, and 25% of a share or other-property gain is deducted first so 75% is taxable. From 1 July 2026 the Income Tax Act, 2026 applies Schedule 1 paragraph 2, from 0% on the first P36,000 to 27.5% over P400,000, with no 25% deduction.
Do I pay tax on selling shares?
Shares, units or debentures of a resident public company or actually traded on the Botswana Stock Exchange are exempt, unless the sale is made by an investment company or similar company in the ordinary course of business for profit. From 1 July 2026 the exemption also requires the shares to have been held at least one year. Unlisted shares are taxable.
How do losses work?
There is one disposal-gains pool. Same-year losses net the year's gains across every class, and an excess loss may be set against the next succeeding tax year's net aggregate gain only; a loss not used in that year lapses.
Which Act governs the 2026-27 disposal gains?
From 1 July 2026 the Income Tax Act, 2026 governs. Act No. 13 of 2026 was assented on 29 June 2026 and published in the Botswana Government Extraordinary Gazette of 1 July 2026 (Supplement A); it commenced on 1 July 2026 and repealed Cap. 52:01 (section 143).
What are the Schedule 1 paragraph 2 rates?
Schedule 1 paragraph 2 taxes the net aggregate gain of individuals: 0-36,000 nil; 36,001-84,000 5 per cent of the excess over 36,000; 84,001-120,000 2,400 + 12.5 per cent of the excess over 84,000; 120,001-156,000 6,900 + 18.75 per cent of the excess over 120,000; 156,001-400,000 13,650 + 25 per cent of the excess over 156,000; over 400,000 74,650 + 27.5 per cent of the excess over 400,000. Source: BURS Tax Laws 2026, Income Tax Act, 2026 (download 954).
How is the net aggregate gain worked out?
Section 102 defines the net aggregate gain as the total capital gains other than exempt gains less the total capital losses other than exempt losses. The repealed Act's 25 per cent deduction for property other than immovable property is not carried into the new Act, so the whole gain enters the Schedule 1 paragraph 2 schedule.
Which gains are exempt?
Exempt gains, Part VII: a gain on shares, units or debentures issued by a resident company held for at least one year before disposal where they are actually traded on the BSE or the company released 49 per cent or more of its equity on the BSE (paragraph 2); the principal private residence owned for at least five years, not again for five years after the tax year in which the exemption was allowed (paragraph 1); bonds and debentures of the Government of Botswana, Bank of Botswana, a statutory body or a public-debt securitisation SPV (paragraph 4); IFSC company shares (paragraph 6); qualifying foreign participations (paragraph 7).
How is immovable property treated?
Immovable property held more than one year: section 101(7)-(9) applies a cost of living adjustment (NCOLI, the national cost of living index for the month) to the acquisition cost and the improvement cost. This calculator does not carry the NCOLI series: enter the NCOLI-adjusted cost.
How do disposal losses carry?
Losses: section 102(4) allows a net aggregate loss for a tax year to be carried forward to the following tax year and applied against that year's net aggregate gain; section 102(5) limits the carry to one tax year only.
What cost does an asset acquired before 1 July 2026 take?
Transitional: section 144(g) sets the cost of a CGT asset acquired before commencement and not subject to CGT under the repealed Act at its fair market value on the commencement date (1 July 2026).
Is the gain added to my salary?
Gains remain a separate source for an individual: section 102(3)(a) subjects the individual's net aggregate gain to the Schedule 1 paragraph 2 rate or rates, while trusts and companies include it in gross income.
When is the individual return due?
Filing: BURS's income tax FAQ says 'As an individual you are given three months after the end of the tax year to make your submissions, i.e. by 30th September of every year'; the tax year runs 1 July to 30 June (https://burs.org.bw/index.php/about-us/faq/tax-faq/income-tax-faq).