Ghana capital gains tax calculator
Ghana charges tax on the gain from the realisation of an investment asset: the GRA publishes 15% of an individual’s isolated gain, GSE-listed securities and the primary residence are exempt, and the costs of acquiring and selling the asset are deductible. The statute’s paragraph 1(3) election is 25% from 2023, which the GRA page has not adopted.
Work out the tax on a share, fund, crypto, land or unlisted 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 GSE exemption and the residence conditions, 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 2015 (Act 896) and the amending Acts.
Current rules
The rates behind the number
The published rate and the paragraph 1(3) election by year
| Tax year | Published individual rate | Investment-asset election (Act 896 para 1(3)) | GSE-listed securities | Primary residence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 15% | 15% | Exempt | Exempt (3 years owned, 2 lived in) |
| 2022 | 15% | 15% | Exempt | Exempt (3 years owned, 2 lived in) |
| 2023 | 15% | 25% (Act 1094, from 3 April) | Exempt | Exempt (3 years owned, 2 lived in) |
| 2024 | 15% | 25% | Exempt | Exempt (3 years owned, 2 lived in) |
| 2025 | 15% | 25% | Exempt | Exempt (3 years owned, 2 lived in) |
| 2026 | 15% | 25% | Exempt | Exempt (3 years owned, 2 lived in) |
| 2027 (planning) | 15% | 25% | Exempt | Exempt (3 years owned, 2 lived in) |
Rules and exemptions
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Gain on the realisation of an investment asset | Consideration received less the cost of the asset (Act 896 section 35) |
| Cost of an asset | Acquisition cost, improvements, maintenance and repair, and the incidental costs of acquiring and realising it, including transfer taxes, duties, title defence and professional fees (section 36). NO inflation or indexation uplift |
| Published individual rate | 15% of an individual's isolated gain (GRA capital gains page); the gain is chargeable income from an investment, not a separate final tax |
| Paragraph 1(3) election | 15% on a gain from the realisation of an investment asset through 2022; 25% from 2023 (Act 1094). The GRA page still publishes 15% |
| GSE-listed securities | Exempt, with no threshold, allowance or minimum holding period stated (GRA exemptions page) |
| Funds and ETFs | An approved unit trust or mutual fund's income and distributions are exempt, but no dedicated fund or ETF disposal rule is published; a GSE-listed fund can be marked exempt |
| Unlisted shares and stakes | Taxed at the year's rate on the gain |
| Crypto | No dedicated GRA rule, so the general investment-asset reading applies |
| Land and buildings | Taxed unless the primary private residence exclusion applies; agricultural land is NOT separately exempt |
| Primary residence | Excluded from the investment-asset definition where owned continuously for the 3 years before disposal and lived in daily for at least 2 of those 3 years |
| Losses | Net against the year's investment gains; an unrelieved investment loss is deducted only against investment income (section 17(4)) |
| Loss carry-forward | 3 years of assessment through 2022 (5 in a priority sector); 5 years from 3 April 2023 (Act 1094 substituting section 17(1)) |
| Realisation return | Within 30 days after the realisation (section 39A, inserted by Act 1094) |
| Annual return | Four months after the end of the year of assessment, 30 April (section 124(1)) |
| Withholding | From 3 April 2023 a resident non-individual payer withholds 3% of the consideration (10% for a non-resident recipient), a credit against the tax |
Tables come from the source records retrieved 2026-09-19; each links back to the authority page above. Crypto has no dedicated Ghanaian rule: the calculator applies the general investment-asset reading.
Questions
Ghana capital gains questions
How much is capital gains tax in Ghana?
The GRA publishes 15% of the net gain on an individual's isolated capital gain, and this calculator applies that published rate. In the statute a gain from the realisation of an investment asset is income from an investment, included in chargeable income and taxed at the individual's graduated rates unless the First Schedule paragraph 1(3) election is made. That election was 15% under Act 896 as enacted and is 25% from the 2023 year of assessment under section 13 of the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act 1094), which the GRA page has not adopted.
Are GSE-listed shares exempt from capital gains tax?
Yes. The GRA's income tax exemptions page lists gains from the realisation of GSE-listed securities as exempt, with no threshold, allowance or minimum holding period stated. An approved unit trust or mutual fund's income and the distributions it pays are also exempt, but no dedicated fund or ETF disposal rule is published, so an unlisted fund disposal falls under the investment-asset rules.
When do I declare and pay capital gains tax in Ghana?
A person who realises an asset must submit a return to the Commissioner-General within 30 days after the realisation (section 39A, inserted by Act 1094), and the annual return of income is due four months after the end of the year of assessment, 30 April for an individual (section 124(1)). Where a resident company or other non-individual pays you for the asset it withholds 3% of the consideration, or 10% if you are non-resident (section 116A and First Schedule paragraph 8(1)(b)), which is a credit against the tax.
How is a capital gain worked out in Ghana, and what costs are deductible?
Capital gains tax in Ghana is charged on the gain from the realisation of an asset (section 35): the gain is the sum of the consideration received for the asset less the cost of the asset at the time of realisation, and a loss is the cost exceeding the consideration (section 35(1) and (2), Income Tax Act 2015 (Act 896)). The cost of an asset is the expenditure incurred in acquiring it (including construction, manufacture or production), the expenditure incurred in altering, improving, maintaining or repairing it, and the incidental expenditure incurred in acquiring and realising it, including advertising, transfer taxes and duties, expenditure on establishing, preserving or defending ownership, and the fees of an accountant, agent, auctioneer, broker, consultant, legal advisor, surveyor or valuer (section 36(1) and (4)). Sources: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf and https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/capital-gains-tax/
What is Ghana's capital gains tax rate, and what is the 15% versus 25% conflict?
The Ghana Revenue Authority publishes a 15% rate for an individual's isolated capital gain, with the cost of acquisition, improvement, and legal fees and other expenses necessarily incurred in selling deductible, and states that a gain from the sale of shares is the difference between the sales proceeds and the cost at the time of purchase. The statute is more precise than the published page: a gain from the realisation of an investment asset is income from an investment (section 6(2)(a)(ii)), taxed at the individual's graduated rates unless the individual elects the investment-asset rate. The First Schedule paragraph 1(3) election rate was 15% under Act 896 as enacted and was raised to 25% by section 13 of the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act 1094). The current GRA page still presents 15%; this calculator applies the published 15% and flags the 25% statutory election rather than silently resolving the conflict. Sources: https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/capital-gains-tax/ and https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf and https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/INCOME-TAX-AMENDMENT-ACT-2023-ACT-1094.pdf
Are GSE-listed shares and unit trusts exempt?
Listed securities: the Ghana Revenue Authority's current exemptions page lists gains from the realisation of GSE-listed securities among the exempt amounts, and the same page states that the interest or dividend paid to a holder or member of an approved unit trust scheme or mutual fund is exempt and that the income of an approved unit trust or mutual fund is exempt. No minimum holding period, monetary threshold or allowance is stated for the listing exemption. The GSE-listing exemption is not found in the text of Act 896 as enacted (section 7 lists the exempt amounts and does not include it), so the calculator applies the exemption on the GRA's published position and flags that the amending instrument was not located. Sources: https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/income-tax-exemptions/ and https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf
Is the primary private residence exempt, and is agricultural land?
The primary private residence of an individual is excluded from the definition of an investment asset, provided the residence has been owned by the individual continuously for the three years before disposal and lived in on a daily basis for at least two of those three years (definition of investment asset, Income Tax Act 2015 (Act 896)). Agricultural land is NOT excluded from the investment-asset definition: the definition reaches any interest in land or buildings and excludes only the primary private residence, so a farm is inside the charge unless it is trading stock or a business or depreciable asset. Sources: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf and https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/income-tax-exemptions/
How do capital losses work in Ghana?
Losses on the realisation of assets are deducted under section 15: a loss on a capital asset of a business is deductible to the extent the asset is used in producing business income, and a loss on a capital asset of an investment is deductible to the extent the asset is used wholly, exclusively and necessarily in producing income from the investment. Section 17 carries an unrelieved loss forward: under Act 896 as enacted, a priority-sector loss for the previous five years of assessment and any other sector's loss for the previous three years; section 3 of the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act 1094), in force from 3 April 2023, substituted section 17(1) so that an unrelieved loss from a business is deducted for any of the previous five years of assessment. An unrelieved business loss may be deducted against investment income, but an unrelieved investment loss may be deducted only against investment income (section 17(4)). Sources: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf and https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/INCOME-TAX-AMENDMENT-ACT-2023-ACT-1094.pdf
How is crypto taxed in Ghana?
Crypto: no crypto-specific Ghanaian capital-gains rate, holding-period rule, allowance or exemption was located. The definition of an investment asset covers shares or securities in a company, a beneficial interest in a trust and an interest in land or buildings, and gives no dedicated cryptocurrency rule, so applying the general investment-asset provisions to crypto is provisional and is stated as such in the calculator's copy. Source: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf and https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/capital-gains-tax/
When must a capital gain be declared and paid?
Filing and payment: a person who realises an asset or a liability must submit a return to the Commissioner-General within thirty days after the realisation (section 39A, inserted by the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act 1094)); the annual return of income is filed not later than four months after the end of each year of assessment (section 124(1)), which for a calendar-year individual is 30 April of the following year. From 3 April 2023 a resident person other than an individual who pays consideration for the realisation of an asset must withhold tax on the gross amount at 3% where the recipient is resident and 10% where the recipient is non-resident (section 116A and First Schedule paragraph 8(1)(b)(xi) and (xii), both inserted by Act 1094); withholding is a credit against the tax on assessment, not a separate charge. Sources: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/INCOME-TAX-AMENDMENT-ACT-2023-ACT-1094.pdf and https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf and https://gra.gov.gh/domestic-tax/tax-types/capital-gains-tax/
What is the paragraph 1(3) investment-asset election for this year?
From the 2026 year of assessment the First Schedule paragraph 1(3) election is 25%, substituted by section 13 of the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2023 (Act 1094), assented and gazetted on 3 April 2023. The GRA's capital gains page still publishes 15% for an individual's isolated gain, so the calculator applies the published 15% and exposes the statutory 25% election as a flagged conflict rather than resolving it silently.
How long can an unrelieved loss be carried forward this year?
For 2026 the unrelieved-loss carry-forward is five years: section 3 of Act 1094 substituted section 17(1) of Act 896 so that an unrelieved loss of the person for any of the previous five years of assessment is deducted in ascertaining income from a business, removing the former three-year limit for non-priority sectors. An unrelieved investment loss may be deducted only against income from an investment (section 17(4)).
How are gifts and transfers to a spouse or family treated?
Family and no-consideration transfers: on a transfer to a spouse or former spouse on death or as part of a divorce settlement or bona fide separation, the transferor is treated as deriving the net cost of the asset and the transferee as incurring that expenditure (section 43). Where an asset is transferred to a person in a controlled relationship, to any other person, by gift other than under a will, on intestacy, or to the spouse, child or parent of the person, the transferor is treated as deriving the GREATER of the market value or the net cost of the asset immediately before the realisation, and the transferee as incurring that amount (section 45(1) and (2)). A gift to a spouse, child or parent is therefore not a tax-free carryover: it is deemed to be realised at not less than market value. Source: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf
What is the replacement-asset relief?
Replacement-asset relief: where a person realises an asset and acquires an asset of the same type to replace it within six months before the realisation or one year after it, the realisation is treated as deriving the net cost of the asset plus any excess of the amount derived over the replacement expenditure, and the replacement asset's cost is adjusted correspondingly (section 46). The relief is asset-specific and the calculator does not model it; the checklist flags it. Source: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf
Which cost method does Ghana use for fungible assets?
Fungible assets: the owner of trading stock or another fungible asset that is not readily identifiable may determine its cost using the first-in-first-out method or the average-cost method (section 41(2)), and may change the method only with the written permission of the Commissioner-General. This calculator matches imported holdings first in, first out. Source: https://gra.gov.gh/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/INCOME-TAX-ACT-2015-ACT-896.pdf