Buying in Morocco in your own name or through a company: the real 2026 tax comparison

It is one of the first questions a foreign buyer in Marrakech asks, often with the French SCI reflex in mind: should the property sit in a company or in my own name? The Moroccan answer is not the European one, and the 2026 Finance Act (Dahir No. 1-25-67 of 10 December 2025, Act No. 50-25) has just moved two significant dials: duty on transfers of shares in property companies has fallen from 6% to 5%, and non-resident companies selling a Moroccan building now have 30 days to declare and pay. Here is what each structure actually costs, stage by stage.

What “company” means in Morocco — two very different regimes

There is no Moroccan SCI in the French sense. The General Tax Code (CGI) distinguishes two categories, and confusing them is the most common mistake.

The transparent property company (SIT). Article 3-3° of the CGI takes property-purpose companies outside the scope of corporate income tax, whatever their legal form, where the capital is divided into shares giving each partner exclusive use of a defined part of the building. For tax purposes the company is ignored: each partner is taxed as if they held their unit directly. This is the vehicle for family co-ownerships and buildings split between partners, not for a standard rental investor.

The property-predominant company (SPI). Article 61-II of the CGI covers any company whose gross assets consist of at least 50% by value of buildings, or of shares in property-purpose companies. Buildings used by the company for its own industrial, commercial, craft, agricultural or professional activity, or to house its salaried staff, are excluded from that ratio. This is the regime a limited company set up to hold a riad or two apartments falls into by default.

A limited company holding a rental property in Marrakech is, in the vast majority of cases, a property-predominant company — not a “transparent” one.

At purchase: the same 4%, different side costs

On the acquisition itself, the structure changes nothing: registration duty stays at 4% for a residential building, whether the buyer is an individual or a company. Land registry fees, notary fees and the notarial tax are added on top — the detail is in our guide to the notary’s role and actual fees.

One new point applies to both structures equally: since 1 July 2026, article 133-I-III of the CGI has imposed an additional 2% registration duty on transfers for consideration of buildings priced above 300,000 dirhams, where the deed does not state the payment terms and references, or where payment is not made by a traceable method (non-endorsable crossed cheque, bank transfer, bill of exchange, electronic means, set-off). Where part of the price is paid in cash, the surcharge applies only to the cash portion. We cover this mechanism in our article on traceable payments at purchase.

The real difference at entry lies elsewhere: a company means incorporation, capital, a registered office, an accountant and annual accounts. Those are recurring costs to weigh against the hoped-for tax saving — not formalities.

During ownership: rental income tax versus corporate tax plus dividends

This is where the gap opens, and rarely in the expected direction.

In your own name, rents fall under property income. Two options coexist: a flat rate on the gross amount — 10% where gross annual rental income is below 120,000 dirhams, 15% where it reaches or exceeds that threshold — or the progressive income tax scale after a flat 40% allowance. For a non-resident owner with no other Moroccan income, the flat rate is almost always simpler and often cheaper.

In a company, profit is subject to corporate income tax. In 2026 the convergence launched by the 2023 Finance Act has reached its end point: 20% up to 100 million dirhams of net profit, 35% above. In other words, an ordinary property company pays 20%. But the tax does not stop there: to take the money out personally you must distribute a dividend, subject to withholding tax of 11.25% in 2026 (against 12.5% in 2025, and 10% from 2027 — the rate now depends on the year of distribution, not the year the profit was earned).

The stacking is mechanical: on 100 of profit, 20 of corporate tax, then 11.25% on the remaining 80, meaning roughly 29% total before the money reaches you. Compare that with 10% or 15% on the flat-rate route in your own name.

Two fixed charges apply on the company side:

• the minimum contribution of 0.25% of turnover excluding tax, with a floor of 3,000 dirhams, payable even where the result is nil or a loss (article 144 of the CGI). New companies are exempt for their first 36 months of operation, within a limit of 60 months from incorporation;
• the social solidarity contribution, extended by the 2026 Finance Act to 2026, 2027 and 2028, from an annual taxable profit of 1 million dirhams (1.5% from 1 to 5 million, then 2.5%, 3.5% and 5% in bands).

An investor renting out one or two properties in Marrakech will never reach the solidarity contribution threshold, but will pay the minimum contribution every year, even with no tenant.

On resale: 20% capital gains tax versus 5% on share transfers

This is the one area where the company regains the advantage, and precisely what the 2026 Finance Act has reinforced.

In your own name, resale triggers the real estate profit tax — 20% of the net gain, with a minimum of 3% of the sale price, and framed exemptions detailed in our guide to calculating the TPI.

In a company, two routes. If the company sells the building, the gain enters taxable profit at 20% or 35%. If the partners sell their shares, the transaction falls under registration duty: since 1 January 2026, article 133-I-G-4° of the CGI has cut the rate from 6% to 5% for transfers, for consideration or free of charge, of shares in transparent property companies and unlisted property-predominant companies.

Watch the counterpart introduced alongside it: to claim the registration duty exemption available on ordinary share transfers, article 129-IV-25° of the CGI now requires an administrative certificate confirming that the shares do not belong to a transparent or property-predominant company. The property character of a company is no longer taken on trust.

What changes in 2026 for non-resident companies

The most concrete measure for a foreign investor structured abroad went relatively unnoticed. For disposals made from 1 January 2026, non-resident companies with no Moroccan establishment must declare gains on the sale of Moroccan buildings within 30 days following the month of the sale, on a simplified form set by the administration, with simultaneous payment of corporate tax at the ordinary rate: 20% where the net gain is below 100 million dirhams, 35% above (articles 20-III and 170-V-III of the CGI). Ordinary audit, limitation and penalty rules apply.

In practice: holding a Moroccan property through a foreign holding company no longer exempts you from anything, and adds a short-deadline filing obligation. The question of moving the funds out remains separate — see our article on repatriating the proceeds of a property sale.

Checklist before deciding

• One or two rental properties, long holding period, income below 120,000 MAD a year: your own name is almost always simpler and less taxed (10% flat versus roughly 29% combined corporate tax and dividends).
• Planning a quick resale or an exit via share transfer: the company becomes relevant, now at 5% registration duty.
• Several partners, succession planning, or a development activity: the company is needed for legal reasons before tax ones.
• Count the real running cost: minimum contribution of at least 3,000 MAD a year, mandatory electronic bookkeeping since the 2026 Finance Act, annual accounts, professional fees.
• Check the 50% ratio: above it, your company is property-predominant, with all the consequences on disposal.
• Have a Moroccan tax adviser decide, not an analogy with a French SCI. Cross-read with our overview of property taxation in Marrakech and the step-by-step buying process.

The right instinct is not to pick the structure first, but to define the holding period and the exit route. Everything else follows.