A survey of the Ghanaian tax system (2026)

Ghana’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has published an updated Survey of the Ghanaian Tax System, produced jointly with TaxDev researchers from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (UK). This edition of the Survey of the Ghanaian Tax System provides a comprehensive overview of Ghana’s tax system as of July 2026, and updates earlier editions published in 2021 and 2024. The Survey is intended as a repository of key information for researchers, policymakers, and the public. It also highlights notable revenue and policy trends and patterns.

Key findings:

• At 13.5% in 2025, Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio remains below the government’s target of 18–20% by 2027. Though this ratio is almost 6 percentage points higher than in 2000, it continues to fluctuate and has hardly risen since 2017.
• Revenues from corporate and personal income taxes and from value-added tax (VAT) and associated taxes made up about 70% of total collections in 2025 – up from 57% in 2000. These three types of taxes have also accounted for much of the growth in Ghana’s tax revenues since 2000.
• Tax collections from international trade have become far less important in the revenue mix, though they remain significant: 27% of overall tax revenues were collected on imported goods in 2025 (including VAT on imported products), compared with 55% in 2000. The contribution of import duties specifically to total tax revenue declined from 18% in 2000 to 12% in 2025.
• Ghana’s tax-to-GDP ratio is typical of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. However, considering countries of a similar income level across the world, Ghana’s tax revenue collections are slightly below average: out of 26 lower middle-income countries with available data, Ghana ranked 18th in 2023.
• Higher tax rates are generally associated with higher revenues as a share of GDP. However, personal income tax and general sales tax revenues in Ghana are lower than would be expected given its tax rates, all else equal. Yet, recent growth in corporate income tax revenues means that these revenues exceed those expected in countries with similar tax rates