FLASHBACK: The taxes you pay when you buy from restaurants, malls, others

Whenever you make a purchase from a restaurant, there are about 6 taxes that you pay.

These include: Value Added Tax (VAT) – Standard Rate 12.50%

National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) 2.50%

Ghana Education Trust Fund (GFL) 2.50%

1% COVID-19 Levy 1.00%


Read the full story originally published on April 2, 2022, by GhanaWeb


Did you know that anytime you purchase groceries, food, or provisions from a restaurant, mall, or mart, you pay about 6 taxes?

You will also be paying 7 taxes in total when the E-Levy bill is fully implemented in May and you decide to pay with Mobile Money.

The Parliament of Ghana however passed new tax laws that were implemented in 2021.

Amongst these was the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy Act, 2021 (Act 1068) which states that:

Effective from May 1st, corporate organizations must impose a 1% levy on the supply of goods and services in the country (other than exempted goods and services) and the import of goods and services (other than exempt imports).

The Levy also applies to the supply of goods subject to the VAT Flat Rate.

The COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy is not allowable as an input tax deduction
Therefore, the new rate for VAT in Ghana is 19.25% effective 1st May, 2021.

The breakdown is as below:

Value Added Tax (VAT) – Standard Rate 12.50%

National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) 2.50%

Ghana Education Trust Fund (GFL) 2.50%

1% COVID-19 Levy 1.00%

(VAT) on NHIL and GFL and 1% COVID-19 Levy* 0.75%

Total VAT 19.25%

This is however going to accumulate to 21.95% when you decide to pay electronically, specifically with mobile money.

VAT 12.5%

NHIL 2.5%

GetFund 2.5%

Covid levy 1%

Tourism levy 1%

Momo charges 0.75%

ELevy 1.50%

Total Taxes 21.75%