ZIMRA collects $4.71 billion in H1 2026, beating revenue target by 16%

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HARARE — The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) collected $4.71 billion in net revenue in the first half of 2026, exceeding its target by 16.14% and rising 46.73% from the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the tax authority.

In local currency, net revenue reached ZWG125.06 billion, compared with a target of ZWG104.99 billion, representing 19.12% above target.

The performance reflects a combination of stronger collections across several tax categories, an expanding taxpayer base and continued investment in digital tax administration.

The figures, however, do not by themselves establish how much of the nominal increase was driven by stronger economic activity, price or exchange-rate effects, changes in the tax base, or improved compliance.

Pay As You Earn (PAYE) accounted for 18% of total revenue, while corporate income tax contributed 15%. VAT on local sales represented 14% and VAT on imports 13%. Together, the four categories accounted for about 60% of total revenue.

Corporate income tax was 47.77% above target, while VAT on imports exceeded its target by 41.20%. Mining royalties were 30.25% above target, followed by net customs duty at 26.93% and net VAT on local sales at 22.03%.

Taxpayer base expands

ZIMRA registered 37,783 new taxpayers during the first half, including 2,056 PAYE taxpayers and 955 VAT taxpayers.

The expansion of the taxpayer base coincided with continued digitisation of tax administration. ZIMRA said the TaRMS project was 98% complete, while the FDCMS had reached 99% completion. Integration of FDMS-TaRMS stood at 100%, with 22,679 taxpayers onboarded.

The authority also said all 16 banks were integrated for payments, supporting wider use of digital channels for tax compliance.

Trade remains a key component

Foreign trade continued to account for a significant share of ZIMRA’s operations.

The authority processed 258,631 import bills and registered 261,435 bills, with an assessment rate of 98.93%.

Imports were valued at ZWG253.81 billion, while exports stood at ZWG190.22 billion, according to ZIMRA’s figures. These amounts are reported in the context of the authority’s customs administration and should not, on their own, be interpreted as Zimbabwe’s overall trade balance.

ZIMRA also issued 1,480 seizure notices, scanned 73,085 high-risk consignments and identified 14,881 high-risk transit trucks. The average clearance time for local bills of entry was 2 hours and 11 minutes.

Refunds and compliance

The increase in collections was accompanied by ZWG7.48 billion in refunds, equivalent to 5.64% of gross collections of ZWG132.53 billion.

ZIMRA reported compliance rates of 98.1% for LCO and 92% for MCO, according to the indicators included in its first-half performance report.

The figures point to strong revenue execution against the authority’s targets, although the pace of collection in the second half will also depend on economic activity, imports, mining-sector performance and external conditions affecting trade and commodity markets.

ZIMRA targets $5.65 billion in H2 revenue

ZIMRA expects to collect $5.65 billion in the second half of 2026, equivalent to a 19.88% increase from the $4.71 billion collected during the first half.

The authority identified global trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions, commodity-price volatility, domestic liquidity conditions and compliance pressures as key risks to revenue performance.

ZIMRA board chairman Antony Mandiwanza said the authority’s priorities for the second half would include sustaining revenue growth, managing emerging risks and deepening a trusted, innovative and service-oriented approach to tax administration.

The first-half results leave ZIMRA ahead of its revenue target for 2026. The key question for the remainder of the year will be whether the pace of collection can be sustained as trade flows, business activity, mining and broader macroeconomic conditions continue to shape Zimbabwe’s tax base.