Gambia capital gains tax calculator

For an individual, the higher of 15% of the gain or 5% of the sale price. The gain is the sale price less the purchase price, improvement costs and the cost of disposal. A disposal with a small profit on a large price therefore pays on the price: land sold for D2,000,000 with a gain of D380,000 pays D100,000, because 5% of the price beats 15% of the gain. The tax is final.

Capital assets: land, machinery, shares, interests in a partnership and any right, title or interest in them, excluding depreciable assets and stock-in-trade. Shares listed on the Gambia Stock Exchange and unlisted shares are both inside the charge. Crypto is not on the list, so a private crypto disposal carries no capital gains tax.

A gain of D24,000 or less on a disposal is exempt. The exemption is all or nothing: a gain of D24,001 is taxed in full, at the higher of 15% of the gain and 5% of the sale price, with no D24,000 slice taken off.

No. A capital loss cannot reduce the gain on another asset, and no loss carries forward to a later year. Every disposal stands alone.

Within 15 days of each disposal: the capital gains tax return is filed and the tax paid at the nearest Domestic Taxes Department tax office, with documents showing ownership, cost and selling price attached. Every person who disposes of a capital asset files a return, including when the gain is exempt.

The charge: the Gambia Revenue Authority's Capital Gains Tax Brochure states that 'for individuals, the capital gains tax rate is 15% of the gains or 5% of the consideration, whichever is higher', and that for companies, partnerships and trustees it is 25% of the gains or 10% of the consideration, whichever is higher. The rule is in the Income and Value Added Tax Act 2012. The same two rates apply in every year of this record. Sources: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1 and https://www.gra.gm/domestic-faqs

The two bases: 'the consideration is the full selling price of the asset, whilst the gain is the consideration less the purchase price, improvement cost of the asset and cost of disposal'. The tax is whichever is higher of 15% of the gain and 5% of the consideration, so a disposal at a small profit on a large price pays on the price. The brochure's worked example: land sold for D2,000,000 with D20,000 selling expenses, bought for D1,500,000 and improved for D100,000 has a gain of D380,000; 15% of the gain is D57,000 and 5% of the consideration is D100,000, so the tax is D100,000. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1

Capital assets: 'land, machinery, shares, interest in partnership, and any right, title or interest in the assets listed above, but excluding depreciable assets and stock-in-trade'. A disposal of a listed or unlisted share, of land and buildings or of a partnership interest is a disposal of a capital asset. Any person who disposes of a capital asset in The Gambia is liable, and a Gambian resident who sells a capital asset outside The Gambia is liable as well. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1

Crypto: the Act's list of capital assets (land, machinery, shares, interest in partnership and rights in them) does not name digital assets, and the authority's brochure and FAQ contain no crypto provision, so a private crypto disposal carries no capital gains tax and this record rates it at 0. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1

The exemption threshold: the brochure lists as exempt 'a capital gain on disposal of a capital asset by any person, if the gain does not exceed D24,000'. The test is on the gain: a gain of D24,000 pays nothing and a gain of D24,001 is taxed in full at the higher of the two charges, with no slice taken off. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1

Other exemptions: gains of a local authority, district authority, Government institution or charitable organisation; a private residence occupied by the taxpayer or their parents in the two years before the sale where the full consideration is reinvested in another residential property within one year; and agricultural land used by the taxpayer or their parents in the two years before the sale where the full consideration is reinvested in other agricultural land within two years. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1

Losses: the brochure states that 'the capital gains cannot be reduced by any capital losses on another asset' and that 'no carry forward of capital losses for setoff against future gains is allowed'. A loss on one disposal offsets nothing. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1

A final tax: 'the capital gains tax is a final tax. Neither the gains nor the consideration received will be subjected to further taxation.' The gain never stacks on the personal income-tax scale. A foreign capital gains tax paid in the country of origin can be credited to the extent a treaty provides, at the lesser of the foreign tax paid and the Gambian capital gains tax payable. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1

Filing and payment: the capital gains tax return is filed and the tax paid 'within 15 days after the disposal of a capital asset', at the nearest Domestic Taxes Department tax office in the region where the taxpayer or the asset is resident, with documents evidencing ownership, cost and selling price attached. A taxpayer who has paid at least 90% of the tax due can apply before the due date for an extension of up to 30 days, granted once a year. Every person who disposes of a capital asset files a return, including where the gain is exempt. Sources: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1 and https://www.gra.gm/domestic-faqs

No holding-period test: the brochure and the Act contain no holding-period rule and no indexation, so a gain is taxed the same after one day or twenty years, and the asset's age changes nothing except through the residence and agricultural-land conditions. Source: https://www.gra.gm/download-file/8d0c6de0-d217-11ed-9b31-029254d29bb1