Itctaxindividuals

The individual — the natural person — is where the income-tax system both begins and ends. Companies and trusts are taxed as separate persons, but ultimately the income they generate flows to individuals, and it is on individuals that the system's defining feature, progressivity, operates. This lesson assembles everything the earlier lessons established about gross income, exemptions, deductions and rates and shows how they combine into a single personal income-tax computation for one human being for one year of assessment.

An individual is taxed under the Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06] on the taxable income that the charging section, Section 6, brings to charge, calculated under Section 7 by applying the rates and credits fixed each year by the Finance Act [Chapter 23:04]. The mechanism is the familiar funnel established in the lesson on Foundations: gross income (Section 8) − exempt income (Section 14 / Third Schedule) = income; income − deductions (Section 15, limited by Section 16) = taxable income; taxable income × rate − credits = tax; + AIDS Levy. The defining feature for individuals is that all of a person's income from every source is aggregated into one taxable income and then taxed on a progressive scale — the more you earn, the higher the marginal rate on the top slice.

For the 2025 year of assessment the United States dollar annual rates run 0% on the first US$1,200, then 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, and a top marginal rate of 40% on taxable income above US$36,000, with a parallel ZiG table (bands of 33,600 / 100,800 / 336,000 / 672,000 / 1,008,000) and an AIDS Levy of 3% added to the income tax. Because Zimbabwe taxes on a source basis (not worldwide residence), an individual is taxed on income from a Zimbabwean or deemed-Zimbabwean source; the deeming rules in Section 12 can, however, pull in some foreign employment, interest and dividend income of a person who is ordinarily resident here.

The individual income-tax computation differs from the corporate one in four structural ways. First, progressive rather than flat rates (companies pay a flat 25% for 2025; individuals climb a ladder). Second, personal tax credits are available only to individuals — the elderly persons' credit (aged 55+, US$900), the blind persons' credit (US$900), the mentally or physically disabled persons' credit (US$900), and the medical-expenses credit (50% of qualifying medical costs and medical-aid contributions). Third, the Finance Act distinguishes "taxable income from employment" (remuneration, as defined in the Thirteenth Schedule) from "taxable income from trade or investment" (everything else an individual earns), applying the rate scale to each — which matters when income is earned in different currencies. Fourth, collection differs by income type: tax on employment income is collected at source through PAYE (and is usually final under the Final Deduction System), while tax on an individual's trade, investment or rental income is collected through provisional tax (QPDs) under Section 72 — four instalments of 10%, 25%, 30% and 35% due on 25 March, 25 June, 25 September and 20 December.

Several rules shape how individuals are treated as a class. Zimbabwe assesses each individual separately — there is no joint assessment of spouses; each is taxed on their own income (with a narrow exception allowing an unused blind credit of a married blind person to transfer to the spouse). Anti-splitting rules in Section 10(3)–(6) prevent a parent from diverting income to a minor child or through a revocable settlement to escape the progression. Deceased and insolvent estates and persons under legal disability are taxed through representative taxpayers (see that lesson). And the currency-split rule in Section 4A requires tax on foreign-currency income to be paid in foreign currency, with separate USD and ZiG computations.

This lesson builds on Foundations (the charge, the funnel, the year of assessment), Gross Income and Specific Inclusions (what enters the computation), Exempt Income (what is removed), General and Specific Deductions (what is subtracted), Employment Income & PAYE (how employment income is taxed and collected), and Persons Liable to Income Tax (the individual as a "person"). It connects forward to Calculation of Income Tax Liability (the full worked mechanics), Partnerships (where individuals are taxed on profit shares), Representative Taxpayers, and Trusts and Deceased Estates.

Every tax system must decide who it taxes and how heavily. Zimbabwe, like most countries, treats the natural person — the individual — as the primary unit of taxation and applies to that person a progressive rate structure that asks more, proportionally, of those who earn more. Understanding the taxation of individuals therefore means understanding two things at once: the arithmetic of assembling one person's income and running it through the bands, and the policy of why the system is shaped the way it is.

An individual, for tax purposes, is simply a human being — distinguished from the other "persons" the Act taxes (companies, trusts, deceased and insolvent estates, and — though transparent — partnerships). As the lesson on Persons Liable to Income Tax established, the charge in Section 6 falls on "any person", and an individual is the most basic kind. What makes the individual distinctive is not whether they are charged but how: on a graduated scale, with personal reliefs, aggregating income from every source.

Why does aggregation matter so much? Because progressivity only works if you look at the whole of a person's income. If a doctor earns a hospital salary, runs a private surgery in the evenings, rents out a flat, and receives bank interest, the system does not tax those four streams in four separate, lenient buckets. It adds them together into one taxable income and taxes the top slice at the marginal rate that the total reaches. A person whose salary alone would peak in the 30% band may, once the surgery profit and rentals are added, find the top of their income taxed at 40%. This is the single most important practical idea in individual taxation, and it is the reason an employee with side income cannot rely on PAYE alone (a point developed in the lesson on Employment Income & PAYE): PAYE taxes the salary in isolation and will under-tax the combined total.

Why is the topic examinable and audit-sensitive? Three reasons. First, the credits and special categories (elderly, blind, disabled, medical) are easy to get wrong and are personal to individuals, so they recur in exams and in ZIMRA reviews. Second, the employed-versus-self-employed divide drives the collection mechanism — PAYE/FDS for employees, provisional tax for the self-employed — and mixing them up causes under- or over-payment and penalties. Third, anti-splitting and the separate-assessment-of-spouses rules are fertile ground for both planning and error: families naturally try to spread income to lower the aggregate rate, and the Act's response (Sections 10(3)–(6)) must be applied correctly.

The orienting principle to carry through the lesson is this: the individual computation is the funnel applied to one human being, aggregating all sources, taxed progressively, reduced by personal credits, and collected through whichever mechanism (PAYE or provisional tax) matches the income type.

B.1 The charge and the computation (Income Tax Act Sections 6, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16)

The chain is the same for an individual as for any person but is worth restating in the individual's terms. Section 6 charges income tax on the taxable income of the individual for the year of assessment. Section 7 says that tax is calculated by (a) determining taxable income, (b) applying the rates fixed by the charging Act (the Finance Act), and (c) subtracting the credits to which the person is entitled. Section 8(1) defines gross income (all amounts received or accrued from a Zimbabwean or deemed source, not of a capital nature unless specifically included — see the Gross Income lesson). Section 14(1) read with the Third Schedule removes exempt income. Section 15 allows deductions (limited by the prohibitions in Section 16). The result is taxable income, to which the rate scale and credits are applied.

For an individual, the inputs to the funnel typically include: employment income (Section 8(1)(b), (c), (f) — the Employment Income & PAYE lesson); business/trade profits of a sole trader; a share of partnership profit (the partnership being transparent — the Partnerships lesson); investment income (rents, certain interest and dividends — much investment income is, however, either exempt or finally taxed by withholding, as the Exempt Income and Withholding Taxes lessons explain); and foreign-source income that Section 12 deems to arise in Zimbabwe.

B.2 The progressive rate structure (Finance Act Section 14)

The Finance Act, in Section 14(2), fixes the specified percentages for "a person other than a company, a trust or a pension fund" — i.e. for individuals (and other non-corporate persons). It draws a key distinction between two slices of an individual's taxable income:

• "taxable income from employment" — defined in Section 14 as "any part of the taxable income of a person, other than a company, a trust or a pension fund, which consists of remuneration as defined in the Thirteenth Schedule"; and
• "taxable income from trade or investment" — "any part of the taxable income of a person, other than a company or a trust, which is received by or accrues to him from any trade, investment or other activity, but does not include taxable income from employment."

Both slices are taxed on the same progressive scale, but the distinction matters because (i) employment income is collected by PAYE while trade/investment income is collected by provisional tax, and (ii) under Section 4A the two may be earned in different currencies and so taxed under different (USD or ZiG) tables. For the 2025 year of assessment the scale (USD annual table published by ZIMRA) is:

Annual taxable income (USD)	Rate	Subtract
0 – 1,200	0%	—
1,201 – 3,600	20%	240
3,601 – 12,000	25%	420
12,001 – 24,000	30%	1,020
24,001 – 36,000	35%	2,220
36,001 and above	40%	4,020

The ZiG annual scale (set by Section 14(2)(a) as substituted by the Finance (No. 2) Act 7 of 2024) uses bands of ZiG 33,600 / 100,800 / 336,000 / 672,000 / 1,008,000 at the same 0/20/25/30/35/40 percentages. An AIDS Levy of 3% of the individual's tax payable is added (as shown on the 2025 USD and ZiG PAYE tax tables). The "subtract" column is the arithmetic device that converts a banded calculation into a single multiplication-and-deduction — it embeds the tax already accounted for in the lower bands.

B.3 The personal credits (Finance Act Sections 5, 10–13)

Credits reduce the tax (not the taxable income) and are, with limited exceptions, available only to individuals — Section 5(3) of the Finance Act denies a company or trust the personal credits. The credits current from 1 January 2023 (Schedule to Chapter I, Part I) are:

• Elderly persons' credit (Section 10): US$900, for a taxpayer who had attained the age of 55 years before the start of the year of assessment.
• Blind persons' credit (Section 11): US$900; any unused portion of a married blind person's credit may be transferred to the spouse.
• Mentally or physically disabled persons' credit (Section 13): US$900, for a taxpayer (not blind) who is mentally or physically disabled to a substantial degree.
• Medical-expenses credit (Section 12): 50% — "US$1 for every US$2" — of qualifying medical expenses and medical-aid contributions paid in the year.
• Incentive credits: the Youth Employment credit (Section 13A) (US$50 per additional young employee, capped at US$2,250) and the credit for employing physically challenged persons (Section 13B) — these two are available to companies/trusts as well as individuals.

By Section 5(2) the total credits cannot exceed the tax with which the person is chargeable — credits can reduce tax to nil but (except for the refundable youth credit) do not create a refund.

B.4 Source, residence and the cross-border dimension (Sections 12, 4A)

Zimbabwe taxes individuals on a source basis. An individual is taxed on income from a source within, or deemed within, Zimbabwe (see the Residence and Source lesson). Residence is secondary, but it matters for the deeming rules: Section 12(1)(c) deems foreign employment income earned during a temporary absence (historically ≤183 days aggregate) of an ordinarily resident individual to be Zimbabwean-source; Section 12(2) deems foreign interest and dividends of an ordinarily resident person to be from a Zimbabwean source. "Ordinarily resident" has no statutory definition and is determined by common law (the South African authorities Cohen 1946 AD 174 and Kuttel 1992(3) SA 242 are persuasive). Section 4A then requires the tax on foreign-currency income to be paid in foreign currency, producing separate USD and ZiG computations.

B.5 Collection — PAYE versus provisional tax (Thirteenth Schedule; Section 72)

How an individual's tax is collected depends on the type of income:

• Employment income is collected at source by the employer through PAYE / employees' tax under the Thirteenth Schedule, and for an employee whose only income is fully-PAYE'd salary under the Final Deduction System (paragraph 20A), the PAYE is the final tax and no return is required (Section 37A(8)) — fully covered in the Employment Income & PAYE lesson.
• Trade, investment, rental and other non-PAYE income is collected through provisional tax under Section 72: where a person's taxable income includes an amount not subjected to PAYE, that person is a provisional taxpayer and must pay tax in four quarterly instalments (QPDs) — 10% by 25 March, 25% by 25 June, 30% by 25 September, and 35% by 20 December of the year of assessment. The provisional payments are credited against the final liability on assessment, with any excess refunded (Section 72(8)). An individual with both salary and side income therefore has salary taxed by PAYE and side income covered by QPDs, with everything reconciled on the annual return.

B.6 Special categories of individuals

• Spouses are assessed separately. Zimbabwe has no joint assessment; each spouse is taxed on their own income at their own marginal rate (the only cross-spouse feature is the transferable unused blind credit, Section 11).
• Minors and settlements (anti-splitting). Section 10(3)–(6) attributes income back to a parent or settlor where income is diverted to a minor child or through a revocable settlement, preventing families from fragmenting income to defeat the progression. Section 74(2) lets a taxpayer who has been taxed on such attributed income recover the related tax from the other person.
• Deceased and insolvent estates and persons under legal disability are taxed through a representative taxpayer (Sections 53–56; the Representative Taxpayers lesson), and a deceased/insolvent estate is a separate "person" from the individual.
• Pensioners and the elderly benefit from specific exemptions — e.g. Third Schedule paragraph 6(h) exempts a pension paid to a taxpayer aged 55 or older, and paragraph 4(v) and paragraph 10 give rental and interest concessions to those 55+ — in addition to the elderly credit.

B.7 Old law versus current law

• Currency and bands. Since the 2019 currency changes (Finance Act 7 of 2019) and the 2024 introduction of the ZiG, individuals face two rate tables and the Section 4A currency-split rule; the Finance (No. 2) Act 7 of 2024 reset the 2025 ZiG bands to those in B.2.
• Threshold and credit re-pegging. The tax-free threshold, bands and credit amounts are re-set frequently by the Finance Act; the figures above are the confirmed 2025 figures and must be re-checked for any other year.

This section walks the full individual computation, defining each idea before using it, and then explains the two things that most distinguish individual taxation: progressivity and personal credits.

C.1 Who is an "individual"?

An individual is a natural person — a human being — as opposed to the artificial "persons" the Act also taxes (a company, defined in Section 2 to include any association wheresoever incorporated; a trust; a deceased or insolvent estate; and a person under legal disability). A partnership is not a taxable person at all: it is transparent, and each partner (usually an individual) is taxed on their share (the Partnerships lesson). The significance of being an individual is the application of the progressive scale and the personal credits, neither of which is available to a company.

C.2 Aggregation — one taxable income from many sources

The cardinal rule is aggregation. An individual does not have a separate tax computation for each income stream; all streams are gathered into one gross income, reduced by exemptions to income, reduced by deductions to one taxable income, and taxed once on the progressive scale. Consider the streams an individual might have:

1. Employment income — salary, wages, bonuses, the value of benefits (Section 8(1)(b), (c), (f)).
2. Trade/business income — the net profit of a sole trader (turnover less allowable Section 15 deductions).
3. Partnership share — the individual's portion of partnership profit, taxed as their own income.
4. Rental income — net of allowable expenses (rates, repairs, agent's fees, capital allowances on the let property).
5. Investment income — interest and dividends, much of which is either exempt (Third Schedule paragraph 10 savings concessions) or finally taxed by withholding at source (resident shareholders' tax on dividends; residents' tax on interest — see Withholding Taxes) and so does not re-enter the progressive computation.
6. Foreign-source income deemed local by Section 12.

The practitioner's task is to identify which streams enter the progressive computation (employment, trade, partnership share, rental, deemed-source foreign income) and which are outside it because they are exempt or finally withheld. Getting this sorting right is the foundation of an accurate return.

C.3 The funnel applied to an individual

The computation proceeds in defined stages:

1. Gross income — total all amounts from sources within or deemed within Zimbabwe, applying the inclusion paragraphs of Section 8(1) and excluding capital amounts.
2. Less exempt income — remove Third Schedule exemptions: emolument exemptions (bonus ≤ US$700, retrenchment relief), the pension exemption for those 55+, the savings/interest concessions, and so on (the Exempt Income lesson). The result is income.
3. Less deductions — subtract allowable Section 15 deductions: for an employee, principally pension contributions (Sixth Schedule, capped at US$5,400/year); for a sole trader, the expenses incurred in the production of income (rent, wages, repairs, capital allowances), subject to the prohibitions in Section 16. The result is taxable income.
4. Apply the rate scale — split taxable income into employment and trade/investment components if relevant, and apply the progressive USD or ZiG table.
5. Less credits — subtract the personal credits (elderly, blind, disabled, medical) and any incentive credits.
6. Add the AIDS Levy — 3% of the income tax after credits.
7. Less tax already collected — credit PAYE withheld (paragraph 18 of the Thirteenth Schedule) and provisional tax paid (Section 72), then determine the balance payable or refundable.

C.4 Progressivity — how the bands actually work

Progressivity means the rate rises in slices, not all at once. Each portion of taxable income is taxed at the rate for its band; only the part that falls into the top band suffers the top rate. The "subtract" method on the tax table is just a shortcut for this slice-by-slice calculation. For example, on the 2025 USD annual table, taxable income of US$20,000 is taxed: nothing on the first 1,200; 20% on the next 2,400; 25% on the next 8,400; and 30% on the remaining 8,000 — which the shortcut computes as 20,000 × 30% − 1,020 = US$4,980. The marginal rate (the rate on the next dollar) is 30%; the average rate is only about 24.9%. This gap between marginal and average rate is the essence of progressivity, and it is why aggregating a second income source can lift a person's marginal rate without taxing the whole income at that higher rate.

C.5 Personal credits — reducing the tax, not the income

A credit is subtracted from the tax, after the rate has been applied — making it far more valuable, dollar for dollar, than a deduction (which only reduces the income before the rate). The four personal credits each address a circumstance the legislature has chosen to relieve:

• The elderly credit recognises reduced earning capacity in older age (55+, US$900).
• The blind credit and the disabled credit relieve persons living with disability (US$900 each); the blind credit is transferable to a spouse to the extent unused.
• The medical credit returns half of qualifying medical spend and medical-aid contributions (US$1 for every US$2), partially socialising healthcare costs through the tax system.

Because credits are personal, they sharpen the difference between earning income as an individual (who gets them) and through a company (which does not). They are applied before the AIDS Levy, because the Levy is computed as 3% of the tax payable after credits.

C.6 Collection — matching the mechanism to the income

The Act collects an individual's tax through two channels, and a single person may use both at once:

• PAYE for employment income — deducted monthly by the employer, usually final under the FDS. The employee with only salary need not file.
• Provisional tax (QPDs) for non-employment income — where an individual has trade, investment or rental income not covered by PAYE, Section 72 makes them a provisional taxpayer who estimates the year's liability on that income and pays it in four instalments (10% / 25% / 30% / 35%) on 25 March, 25 June, 25 September and 20 December. Under-estimation by more than the permitted margin attracts interest/penalty (Section 72(11)).

The two channels meet on the annual return: PAYE credited under paragraph 18, provisional tax credited under Section 72, the progressive computation run on the aggregate, and a final balance struck.

C.7 The self-employed individual versus the employee

A crucial practical divide runs between the employee and the self-employed sole trader, even though both are individuals taxed on the same scale:

• The employee earns remuneration; tax is withheld by the employer as PAYE; allowable deductions are minimal (chiefly pension contributions); collection is at source and usually final.
• The sole trader earns business profit (turnover less Section 15 expenses); there is no employer to withhold, so the trader pays provisional tax and files a return; the trader can deduct the full range of trade expenses and claim capital allowances on business assets (the Capital Allowances lesson). A sole trader is not a separate person from the individual — the business income is the individual's income, taxed on the individual scale (unlike a company, which is a separate 25% taxpayer).

This is why the choice between trading as a sole trader and incorporating a company is a central planning decision: the sole trader faces progressive rates up to 40% but with personal credits and no second layer of tax on drawings; the company faces a flat 25% but a potential second charge (dividend withholding) when profits are distributed.

C.8 Foreign income and currency

An ordinarily resident individual may have foreign income that Section 12 deems to be Zimbabwean-source (temporary-absence employment income; foreign interest and dividends). That income enters the progressive computation, and any foreign tax suffered may be relieved by a foreign tax credit under a Double Taxation Agreement or unilaterally (Sections 91–93 — see the DTA lesson). Where income is earned in foreign currency, Section 4A requires the tax on it to be paid in that currency, so an individual with both USD and ZiG income runs two computations on the two tables and pays each in its own currency. Section D shows these mechanics with numbers.

All computations use the 2025 USD annual table and add the 3% AIDS Levy on the tax after credits. Figures are illustrative; rates and credits are the confirmed 2025 figures.

D.1 The employed individual (single source — the simplest case)

Scenario 1 — Rudo, a teacher. Rudo's only income is a salary giving taxable income from employment of US$15,000 for the year (after her pension contribution). She has no other income and no special credits.

Step	Amount (USD)
Taxable income from employment	15,000.00
Income tax: 15,000 × 30% − 1,020	3,480.00
Add: AIDS Levy 3%	104.40
Total tax for the year	3,584.40

Because Rudo's income is solely fully-PAYE'd employment income under the Final Deduction System, the PAYE her employer deducted over the year is this amount, and by Section 37A(8) she need not file a return. Her marginal rate is 30% but her average rate is only about 23.9% — progressivity at work.

D.2 The employed individual with a second source (aggregation in action)

Scenario 2 — Rudo lets a cottage. Suppose Rudo also rents out a cottage, yielding net rental income of US$6,000 after allowable expenses. Now her tax must be computed on the aggregate:

Step	Amount (USD)
Taxable income from employment	15,000.00
Add: net rental (trade/investment) income	6,000.00
Aggregate taxable income	21,000.00
Income tax: 21,000 × 30% − 1,020	5,280.00
Add: AIDS Levy 3%	158.40
Total tax for the year	5,438.40
Less: PAYE already withheld on salary (3,480 + 104.40 AIDS)	(3,584.40)
Balance attributable to the rental, due via QPDs/assessment	1,854.00

Two lessons emerge. First, Rudo can no longer rely on the FDS — she has non-PAYE income, so she falls outside Section 37A(8) and must file a return. Second, the rental is provisional-tax income: she should have paid QPDs (10%/25%/30%/35% on 25 Mar / 25 Jun / 25 Sep / 20 Dec) on her estimated rental tax, which is then credited on assessment. The cottage income is effectively taxed at her marginal 30% rate, because it sits on top of her salary — not at the lower average rate that would apply if it were taxed alone.

D.3 The self-employed sole trader

Scenario 3 — Farai, an electrician trading on his own account. Farai's business produces taxable income (net profit) of US$48,000 for the year. He has no employer, so all his tax is collected by provisional tax.

Step	Amount (USD)
Taxable income from trade	48,000.00
Income tax: 48,000 × 40% − 4,020	15,180.00
Add: AIDS Levy 3%	455.40
Total tax for the year	15,635.40

Farai is a provisional taxpayer under Section 72 and must pay the US$15,635.40 in four instalments based on his estimate: 10% (US$1,563.54) by 25 March, 25% (US$3,908.85) by 25 June, 30% (US$4,690.62) by 25 September, and 35% (US$5,472.39) by 20 December, reconciling on his annual return. If he under-estimates by more than the permitted margin, Section 72(11) exposes him to interest/penalty. Note that, as an individual, Farai reaches the 40% top band — but he could also claim personal credits if eligible and deduct the full range of business expenses and capital allowances, options not open to a company.

D.4 The elderly individual with medical costs (credits in action)

Scenario 4 — Mr Chiweshe, aged 60, a pensioner with consulting income. His exempt pension (Third Schedule paragraph 6(h), being a pension to a taxpayer 55+) is removed at the exemption stage; his taxable consulting income is US$28,000, and he paid US$2,000 in medical-aid contributions during the year.

Step	Amount (USD)
Taxable income from trade/investment	28,000.00
Income tax: 28,000 × 35% − 2,220	7,580.00
Less: elderly persons' credit (55+)	(900.00)
Less: medical-expenses credit (50% × 2,000)	(600.00)
Income tax after credits	6,080.00
Add: AIDS Levy 3%	182.40
Total tax for the year	6,262.40

The credits save Mr Chiweshe US$1,500 of tax (plus the AIDS Levy on it) — relief unavailable had the same income been earned inside a company. The credits are subtracted before the AIDS Levy.

D.5 The dual-currency individual

Scenario 5 — Nyasha, paid partly in USD and partly in ZiG. Nyasha earns US$24,000 taxable employment income in foreign currency and ZiG 200,000 taxable income from a side trade in local currency. Under Section 4A each stream is taxed under its own table and paid in its own currency:

• USD stream: 24,000 × 30% − 1,020 = US$6,180; + AIDS 3% = US$6,365.40 (paid in USD).
• ZiG stream: 200,000 falls in the 100,801–336,000 band → 200,000 × 25% − 11,760 = ZiG 38,240; + AIDS 3% = ZiG 39,387.20 (paid in ZiG).

Nyasha cannot net or convert the streams to run a single table; she files showing both and pays each currency's tax in that currency (the USD employment tax via PAYE, the ZiG trade tax via QPDs).

D.6 Spouses assessed separately

Scenario 6 — T\'s and B\'s household. Mr and Mrs Moyo are married; he earns US$40,000 taxable, she earns US$10,000 taxable. Zimbabwe assesses each separately: his tax is computed on US$40,000 (reaching the 40% band) and hers on US$10,000 (peaking at 25%) — there is no joint return and no income-splitting between them. If Mrs Moyo were blind, the unused portion of her blind credit could transfer to Mr Moyo (Section 11), but otherwise their computations are entirely independent. Attempting to divert his income to her to exploit her lower bands would run into the anti-avoidance and attribution rules (Section 10 and Section 98).

Cohen v CIR 1946 AD 174 and CIR v Kuttel 1992 (3) SA 242 (A) (South African Appellate Division — persuasive, not binding). These are the leading authorities on "ordinarily resident", the concept that determines whether an individual's foreign income can be deemed Zimbabwean-source under Section 12. Cohen held that a person is ordinarily resident where they have their real home — the place to which they would naturally return — even during periods of physical absence; Kuttel refined this as the place of a person's settled and usual abode. Because Zimbabwe's Act contains no statutory definition, these tests govern by way of the shared Roman-Dutch and cognate-statute heritage, and must be applied — and labelled — as persuasive South African authority.

CF (Pvt) Ltd v ZIMRA 18-HH-099 (High Court). Annotated in the source materials on the income-splitting provision (Section 98A), this case illustrates the Commissioner's power to reverse income diverted to an associate where the sole or main purpose is to reduce the combined tax. For individuals it underwrites the anti-splitting architecture that protects the progression — a taxpayer cannot simply re-route income to a lower-rate family member.

Mota Engenharia v ZIMRA 22-SC-115 (Supreme Court). Cited in the source materials on the meaning of a non-resident "person", this authority supports the proposition that the source of an individual's income, not their nationality or residence, is the gateway to the Zimbabwean charge — a non-resident individual is taxed here only on Zimbabwean-source (or deemed-source) income, while an ordinarily resident individual is exposed to the Section 12 deeming rules.

M Safaris v ZIMRA 20-HH-331 (High Court). Part of the line confirming that characterisation and source decide an individual's (or entity's) Zimbabwean exposure, relevant when an individual earns cross-border service income.

Where Zimbabwe lacks a directly-cited statutory-court decision on a particular individual-tax point (for example, the separate assessment of spouses, which flows from the structure of the Act rather than from case law), the position rests on the statute itself rather than on invented authority.

1. Failing to aggregate all sources. The most common and most expensive individual error is treating each income stream as if it were taxed separately. Salary, sole-trader profit, partnership share, rental and deemed-source foreign income are added together and taxed on one progressive scale. An employee who assumes PAYE has settled everything, while also earning rental or side-business income, will be under-taxed and exposed on assessment.

2. Relying on the FDS when you have non-employment income. The Section 37A(8) no-return shelter applies only where income is solely fully-PAYE'd employment income. Any other income (rental, trade, a second job, foreign income) takes the individual outside the shelter and obliges them to file a return and, usually, to pay provisional tax.

3. Confusing deductions with credits. A deduction reduces taxable income before the rate; a credit reduces the tax after the rate. They are not interchangeable, and credits (being personal) are far more valuable per dollar. Treating the medical credit as a deduction (or vice versa) miscomputes the tax.

4. Missing or mis-claiming the personal credits. The elderly (55+), blind, disabled and medical credits are easy to overlook or to claim without entitlement. The elderly credit requires the taxpayer to have attained 55 before the start of the year; the medical credit is 50% of qualifying spend, not 100%; and the credits are capped at the tax payable (Section 5(2)).

5. Ignoring provisional tax (QPDs) on non-PAYE income. A sole trader or an individual with rental income must pay four QPD instalments (10%/25%/30%/35% on 25 Mar / 25 Jun / 25 Sep / 20 Dec). Waiting until the return to pay invites Section 72(11) interest/penalty for under-estimation, and the instalment percentages are weighted to the back of the year, which traps the unwary cash-flow planner.

6. Forgetting the currency split. Under Section 4A an individual with both USD and ZiG income must run two computations and pay each currency's tax in that currency. Converting one into the other to use a single table is wrong.

7. Treating exempt or finally-withheld income as taxable (or vice versa). Much individual investment income is either exempt (Third Schedule paragraph 10 savings concessions; pension to a person 55+) or finally taxed by withholding (resident shareholders' tax; residents' tax on interest) and so does not re-enter the progressive computation. Pulling it back in double-taxes it; leaving in genuinely taxable income (e.g. rental) understates the tax.

8. Assuming spouses are jointly assessed. Each spouse is taxed separately on their own income. There is no joint return, no income-splitting between spouses, and only the blind credit transfers. Attempts to shift income between spouses to exploit lower bands run into Section 10 attribution and Section 98 GAAR.

9. Mixing up sole trader and company. A sole trader's profit is the individual's income, taxed on the progressive scale up to 40% with personal credits; a company is a separate 25% taxpayer with a potential second charge on distribution. Choosing the wrong vehicle — or computing a sole trader as if it were a company — produces the wrong tax.

10. Overlooking Section 10 attribution for minors and settlements. Diverting income to a minor child or through a revocable settlement does not escape the parent's/settlor's progression; Sections 10(3)–(6) attribute it back. Family "planning" of this kind is frequently unwound on audit.

Work through the questions one at a time. Choose an answer and it is graded immediately, with an explanation and the provision it comes from. Your progress is saved, so you can stop and resume.

• The individual is the unit of progressivity. The charge (Section 6) and computation (Section 7, funnel under Sections 8–16) apply to one human being; the rate is graduated (0–40% for 2025) and personal credits apply — neither feature is available to a company (flat 25%).
• Aggregate everything. All sources — employment, trade, partnership share, rental, deemed-source foreign income — combine into one taxable income taxed on one scale; the top slice bears the marginal rate. Exempt and finally-withheld income stay out of the computation.
• 2025 rates. USD annual bands 0/20/25/30/35/40% (top above US$36,000; subtract 240/420/1,020/2,220/4,020); parallel ZiG bands; +3% AIDS Levy on the tax after credits.
• Personal credits reduce the tax, not the income: elderly 55+ US$900, blind US$900 (unused part transfers to spouse), disabled US$900, medical 50% of qualifying spend; capped at the tax payable (FA Section 5(2)).
• Collection matches income type: PAYE/FDS for employment income (final, often no return — Section 37A(8)); provisional tax (QPDs) for trade/investment/rental income — 10%/25%/30%/35% on 25 Mar / 25 Jun / 25 Sep / 20 Dec (Section 72).
• Sole trader ≠ company. A sole trader's profit is the individual's income on the progressive scale (with credits and capital allowances); a company is a separate 25% taxpayer with a second charge on distribution — a central choice-of-vehicle decision.
• Spouses are taxed separately (no joint assessment; only the blind credit transfers); Section 10(3)–(6) attribute income diverted to minors/settlements back to the parent/settlor.
• Source is the gateway; residence triggers deeming. Section 12 can pull foreign employment income (temporary absence, ordinarily resident) and foreign interest/dividends of an ordinarily resident person into charge; relief via DTAs (Sections 91–93). "Ordinarily resident" rests on persuasive SA authority (Cohen, Kuttel).
• Currency split (Section 4A): run separate USD and ZiG computations and pay each in its own currency.

Table 1 — Individual versus company taxation (2025)

Feature	Individual	Company / trust
Rate structure	Progressive 0–40%	Flat 25% (FA Section 14(2)(c))
Personal credits (elderly/blind/disabled/medical)	Yes	No (FA Section 5(3))
Income aggregated across sources	Yes (one taxable income)	Company taxed on its own income
Collection of employment income	PAYE / FDS (often final)	n/a
Collection of other income	Provisional tax (QPDs)	Provisional tax (QPDs)
Second layer of tax on distribution	No	Yes — dividend withholding on distribution
AIDS Levy	3% of tax	3% of tax

Table 2 — 2025 individual rate bands (USD and ZiG, annual)

Band	USD annual	ZiG annual	Rate	USD subtract
1	0 – 1,200	0 – 33,600	0%	—
2	1,201 – 3,600	33,601 – 100,800	20%	240
3	3,601 – 12,000	100,801 – 336,000	25%	420
4	12,001 – 24,000	336,001 – 672,000	30%	1,020
5	24,001 – 36,000	672,001 – 1,008,000	35%	2,220
6	36,001 +	1,008,001 +	40%	4,020
Plus	AIDS Levy 3% of tax	AIDS Levy 3% of tax	—	—

Table 3 — Collection mechanism by income type

Income type	Mechanism	Timing	Final?
Employment (remuneration)	PAYE (13th Sch)	Monthly, by 10th	Final under FDS (Section 37A(8)) if sole source
Trade / sole-trader profit	Provisional tax (Section 72)	QPDs 25 Mar/25 Jun/25 Sep/20 Dec	No — reconciled on return
Partnership share	Provisional tax (Section 72)	QPDs as above	No — partner files
Rental	Provisional tax (Section 72)	QPDs as above	No — reconciled on return
Resident dividends / interest	Withholding (RST Section 28 / Section 34)	At payment	Generally final — outside progression

Table 4 — Personal credits (2025)

Credit	Amount	Condition	Provision
Elderly persons'	US$900	Aged 55+ before year start	FA Section 10
Blind persons'	US$900	Blind; unused part transfers to spouse	FA Section 11
Mentally/physically disabled	US$900	Substantially disabled, not blind	FA Section 13
Medical expenses	50% of qualifying spend	Medical costs & medical-aid contributions	FA Section 12
Youth employment	US$50/mo, cap US$2,250	Additional employee ≤30 yrs	FA Section 13A

Diagram 1 — The individual income-tax computation

flowchart TD
 A[All receipts and accruals] --> B{Source within or deemed within Zimbabwe?}
 B -->|No| C[Outside the charge]
 B -->|Yes| D[Gross income Section 8]
 D --> E[Less exempt income, 3rd Sch]
 E --> F[Income]
 F --> G[Less deductions Section 15, limited by Section 16]
 G --> H[Taxable income - aggregate of all sources]
 H --> I[Apply progressive USD or ZiG scale]
 I --> J[Less personal credits - elderly, blind, disabled, medical]
 J --> K[Add AIDS Levy 3%]
 K --> L[Less PAYE and provisional tax already paid]
 L --> M[Balance payable or refundable]

Diagram 2 — Which collection mechanism, and must the individual file?

flowchart TD
 A[Individual's income] --> B{Employment income?}
 B -->|Yes| C[PAYE withheld by employer]
 B -->|Other: trade, rental, investment| D[Provisional tax - QPDs under Section 72]
 C --> E{Any non-employment income too?}
 E -->|No, and under FDS| F[PAYE is final; no return needed Section 37A 8]
 E -->|Yes| G[Must file return; aggregate all sources]
 D --> G

Statutes & sections

• Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06]
• Section 6, Section 7 — charge on taxable income; calculation by rates and credits of the charging Act.
• Section 8 — gross income (the inputs to the individual computation).
• Section 10(2)–(6) — accrual/attribution; transparency of partnerships; anti-splitting for minors and settlements.
• Section 12(1)(c), (2) — deemed Zimbabwean source for foreign employment income during temporary absence, and foreign interest/dividends, of an ordinarily resident individual.
• Section 14(1) & Third Schedule — exemptions, including emolument exemptions (bonus, retrenchment), pension to a person 55+ (para 6(h)), savings/interest concessions (para 10).
• Section 15, Section 16 — deductions and prohibitions (including the Sixth Schedule pension-contribution deduction, cap US$5,400).
• Section 37A(8) — no return where income is solely FDS-PAYE'd employment income.
• Section 53–56, Section 74(2) — representative taxpayers; recovery of tax on attributed income.
• Section 72 — provisional tax: QPD instalments 10%/25%/30%/35% on 25 Mar / 25 Jun / 25 Sep / 20 Dec; Section 72(11) under-estimation interest/penalty.
• Thirteenth Schedule — PAYE/employees' tax (collection of employment income; see the Employment Income & PAYE lesson).
• Finance Act [Chapter 23:04]
• Section 4A — payment of tax on foreign-currency income in foreign currency (separate USD/ZiG computations).
• Section 5 — credits under Section 7; total capped at tax payable (Section 5(2)); companies/trusts denied personal credits (Section 5(3)).
• Sections 10–13, 13A, 13B — personal and incentive credits (elderly/blind/disabled/medical; youth and physically-challenged-employment).
• Section 14(2)(a) & Schedule to Chapter I, Part II — individual progressive rate bands and specified percentages; 2025 ZiG bands substituted by Finance (No. 2) Act 7 of 2024; definitions of "taxable income from employment" and "taxable income from trade or investment".

Case law

• Cohen v CIR 1946 AD 174; CIR v Kuttel 1992 (3) SA 242 (A) — meaning of "ordinarily resident" (South African; persuasive, not binding).
• CF (Pvt) Ltd v ZIMRA 18-HH-099 — income-splitting reconstruction (Section 98A). **
• Mota Engenharia v ZIMRA 22-SC-115 — source/characterisation as the gateway for a non-resident person. **
• M Safaris v ZIMRA 20-HH-331 — characterisation and source of cross-border service income. **

ZIMRA guidance

• PAYE USD and ZiG Tax Tables for January–December 2025 — source for the 2025 individual rate bands, deduction amounts and the AIDS Levy 3%.
• ITF 1 (individual income-tax return) and the ZIMRA Self-Service Portal / TaRMS guidance — for individual registration, return-filing and provisional-tax (QPD) administration.