Libya capital gains tax: none outside a business
Libya has no personal capital gains tax, so the tax on your investment gain is zero. Income Tax Law No. 7 of 2010 taxes individuals on business, self-employment, salary and bank-interest income only, and a private sale of shares, crypto or property is none of those. A gain is taxed only when a business makes it, as business income at 15% or 10%. A sale carries stamp duty on its documents, and Libya has no VAT and no transfer tax.
Verified as of 2026-09-30 against Income Tax Law No. 7 of 2010 and PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries.
Current rules
Taxes on selling shares, crypto and property in Libya
What you pay when you sell
| Asset | Tax on the gain |
|---|---|
| Shares and funds (personal investment) | Nothing. Article 35 of Law No. 7 of 2010 does not list investment gains |
| Crypto | Nothing on the gain |
| Home or other property (personal investment) | Nothing on the gain; Libya has no transfer tax and no property tax |
| Assets of your business | Profit is business income under Article 45: 15% for commercial profits, 10% for trade and craft profits |
| Dividing and selling prepared land | A commercial activity under Article 46, taxed at 15% of the profit |
| Contracts and invoices on the sale | Stamp duty on documents, for example 1% on main contracts and 2% on car purchase invoices |
Source records as of 2026-09-30. Each table links back to the law and the PwC pages above.
Questions
Libya capital gains tax questions
Does Libya have a capital gains tax?
No. Income Tax Law No. 7 of 2010 is schedular: Article 35 lists the only income of individuals that is taxed, namely commercial, trade and craft income, partner income, self-employment income, income from work and bank-deposit interest. A gain on selling your shares, fund units, crypto or home is not on that list, so it is not taxed, however long you held the asset and however large the gain.
When is a gain taxed in Libya?
When it is made inside a business. Article 45 treats the profit on selling an activity, or any of its material or immaterial assets, as taxable income, measured as the sale price less cost after depreciation, with market value used when the price is lower. That profit is taxed at the business's own rate: 15% for commercial profits and 10% for trade and craft profits. Dividing land and selling plots after carrying out the preparatory works is a commercial activity under Article 46.
Is crypto taxed in Libya?
Not as a capital gain. A private crypto sale falls outside every income category in Article 35, the same as shares. Crypto traded as a business is commercial income at 15% of the profit.
What does selling property in Libya cost?
Libya has no transfer tax, no property tax and no VAT, so the sale itself carries no tax on the price or the gain. Stamp duty under the Stamp Duty Law applies to the documents involved, for example 1% on main contracts.
What income tax do individuals pay in Libya?
Salaries pay 5% on the first LYD 12,000 a year and 10% above, after social insurance and the personal exemption of LYD 1,800 for a single person. Business profits pay 15% (commercial) or 10% (trade and craft), self-employment income 15% and bank-deposit interest 5%. The tax year is the calendar year, and business taxpayers file within ninety days after it ends.
Which income does Libyan law tax?
Libya has no personal capital gains tax. Article 35 of Income Tax Law No. 7 of 2010 lists the only income of individuals that is taxed: commercial, trade and craft income; partner income in 'partners not labourers' units; self-employment income; income from work; and bank-deposit interest. A private individual's gain on selling shares, fund units, crypto or a home falls in none of these categories. Source: https://security-legislation.ly/latest-laws/law-no-7-of-2010-on-income-taxes/
How is a business-asset gain measured?
Gains are taxed only inside a business. Article 45 deems profit from the sale of an activity, or of any of its material or immaterial assets, taxable income, measured as the sale price less cost after depreciation, with market value substituted when the price is lower; the profit is then taxed at the activity's own rate, 15% for commercial profits (Article 47) and 10% for trade and craft profits (Article 48). Source: https://security-legislation.ly/latest-laws/law-no-7-of-2010-on-income-taxes/
Is selling land ever a business in Libya?
Dealing in land is a business. Article 46 treats dividing and selling land after carrying out the preparatory works as a commercial activity, so a land developer's profit is commercial income at 15%. Source: https://security-legislation.ly/latest-laws/law-no-7-of-2010-on-income-taxes/
Which income does the tax cover for residents and foreigners?
PwC's Libya individual summary states that taxable income is based on income derived from employment in Libya, not worldwide income, and that Libyan and foreign nationals are taxed only on income from employment in Libya. Sources: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/libya/individual/income-determination and https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/libya/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
Is there a transfer tax or stamp duty on a sale?
Nothing is levied on the transfer itself: PwC reports that Libya has no transfer taxes and no specific property taxes. Stamp duty under the Stamp Duty Law applies to documents, for example 2% on car purchase invoices, 1% on rental contracts and 0.5% on receipts. Sources: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/libya/corporate/other-taxes and https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/libya/individual/other-taxes
Which law applies this year?
2026: Law No. 7 of 2010 on income taxes (28 January 2010) was the income-tax law in force for the whole year; PwC's Libya significant-developments page (last reviewed 31 May 2026) reports no changes to individual taxation. Source: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/libya/individual/significant-developments