Payroll and Employment Taxes in Gambia

Overview of Payroll Taxes in The Gambia

Understanding payroll taxes in the Gambia is essential for both small business owners and larger enterprises. Employers must navigate a range of taxes—income tax withholding (PAYE), social security and provident fund contributions, industrial injury levies, fringe benefit tax, expatriate payroll (“quota”) tax, and even a small environmental levy. Managing these can be complex—especially with varying rules depending on salary level, staff nationality, or business size. Failure to comply can result in penalties, damage staff morale, or risks to social and legal standing. This guide will break down how to calculate these taxes, manage deadlines, and file correctly, noting that requirements shift depending on factors like employee income, local vs. expat status, and whether the business is in urban or rural areas.

Payroll Cycle in the Gambia

The payroll cycle in the Gambia is usually Monthly, with employees being paid as stipulated in employment contract.

How is Payroll Calculated in The Gambia?

Payroll starts with gross salary and allowances. From here, you deduct employee contributions to social security and the provident fund, apply PAYE based on progressive brackets, and add employer obligations like matching fund contributions, industrial injury levies, environmental taxes, plus fringe and expatriate quota taxes if applicable.

Types of Payroll Taxes in The Gambia

The Gambia has several payroll-related taxes and contributions that businesses must manage, each with specific requirements and compliance obligations.

PAYE (Income Tax Withholding)

Employers deduct PAYE tax monthly based on progressive taxable income brackets (0% up to GMD 24,000; then 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, and 25%) and must remit the payments by the 15th of the following month. Non-compliance may result in fines and penalties from the GRA.

Social Security & Provident Fund

Employees contribute 5% of their basic salary, while employers contribute 10% on behalf of the employee and an additional 15% to the Federated Pension Scheme (FPS). These contributions must be submitted to the SSHFC monthly; late payments may incur penalties and interest.

Industrial Injuries Compensation Fund (IICF)

Employers are required to contribute 1% of total employee earnings, with contributions capped at GMD 15 per month. Payments are made to the SSHFC, and timely submissions are necessary to avoid compliance risks.

Expatriate Quota (Payroll) Tax

Employers hiring non-Gambian staff must pay an annual fixed expatriate quota tax: GMD 10,000 for ECOWAS nationals and GMD 50,000 for other foreign nationals. The full amount is paid by the employer, and late payments may lead to penalties and legal restrictions on hiring expatriates.

Fringe Benefit Tax

When employees receive non-cash benefits such as housing, vehicles, or loans, employers are liable for a Fringe Benefit Tax at a rate of 27%. This tax is calculated and submitted alongside other payroll filings to the GRA.

Environmental Levy

Employers must pay a nominal environmental levy of GMD 1 per employee per month, submitted to the SSHFC typically with other monthly contributions.

How to Set Up a Payroll in The Gambia?

Registering with The Gambian Authorities

Businesses must register with the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) for PAYE, withholding, fringe benefit tax, and expatriate payroll tax. Registration is also required with the SSHFC for social security, provident, pension, and industrial injury contributions.

Choosing a Payroll System

Employers should explore user-friendly payroll software to simplify calculations and ensure compliance with local tax laws. Options include:

• Playroll
• Local payroll systems with GRA integration
• Outsourced payroll providers specializing in Gambian compliance

These tools help automate tax withholding, generate compliant payslips, and manage payroll deadlines.

Onboarding Employees for Payroll

During onboarding, collect each employee’s national ID, Tax Identification Number (TIN), and employment contract specifying benefits. Record their basic salary and allowances to ensure correct payroll classification and compliance with Gambian tax regulations.

Step-by-Step Payroll Processing in The Gambia

Collecting Timesheets and Attendance Data

Maintain accurate records of employee hours worked, overtime, and leave balances. For salaried staff, ensure that attendance systems are synchronized with payroll to ensure accurate leave deductions and adjustments.

Calculating Salaries and Deductions

Start with gross salary, deduct the 5% employee provident fund contribution, and apply PAYE based on GRA tax tables. Factor in additional employer contributions for pension, provident fund, industrial injury, fringe benefit tax, and environmental levy.

Generating and Distributing Payslips

Create clear and detailed payslips that show gross salary, itemized deductions, employer contributions, taxes withheld, and net pay. Distribute payslips securely, either digitally or in printed form.

Submitting Payroll to Authorities

File PAYE schedules and remit payments to the GRA by the 15th of the following month. Submit social security, provident, pension, IICF, and environmental levy contributions to the SSHFC—typically by month-end.

Paying Employees

Disburse net salaries to employees via bank transfers on scheduled payday. Retain payroll records to ensure audit compliance and facilitate tax reporting.

How to Submit Payroll Tax in The Gambia

• PAYE: File monthly PAYE schedule via GRA portal or through a designated bank by the 15th of the following month.
• Social Security / Provident / Pension / IICF / Environmental: Remit contributions to the SSHFC monthly, typically through a bank or online portal.
• Fringe Benefits & Expatriate Quota Tax: Submit returns and pay through the GRA, usually in conjunction with the PAYE filing cycle.

Payroll Tax Due Dates in The Gambia

Payroll Contributions in The Gambia

Understanding the tax obligations for both employers and employees is crucial when operating in the Gambia's business landscape. This section explains how taxes and statutory fees affect payroll and individual earnings in the Gambia.

Employer Payroll Tax Contributions in The Gambia

Employers in the Gambia are responsible for various payroll tax contributions, including social security and provident fund contributions, calculated as a percentage of the employee's gross salary.

Employee Payroll Tax Contributions in The Gambia

Employees contribute to the provident fund, a mandatory savings scheme, deducted from their monthly basic salary.

Individual Income Tax Contributions in The Gambia

Individual income tax in the Gambia is progressive, with rates increasing as income levels rise. The following table outlines the income brackets and corresponding tax rates effective from 1 January 2025.

Managing Common Payroll Challenges in The Gambia

Global employers operating in the Gambia often encounter unique payroll challenges that can affect compliance and efficiency, like navigating evolving tax laws and managing employee data. With a need for real-time accuracy, modern organizations must develop strategies to overcome these challenges effectively. Below, we explore some of the most common payroll hurdles and provide actionable solutions to streamline payroll processes in the Gambia.

Maintaining Accurate and Detailed Payroll Reports

Maintaining accurate global payroll reports is often challenging due to currency exchange complexities, data integration issues, and the need to keep employee information up-to-date – including tax information, hours worked, leave balances, and any changes in salary or job status. Generating accurate reports is easy with a comprehensive payroll automation tool that consolidates fragmented data sources, and can keep track of employee payments and deductions.

Keeping Up With Ever-Changing Tax Laws & Compliance Laws

In the Gambia, tax laws and compliance regulations can change frequently, presenting a significant challenge for global employers. Monitoring updates to federal, state, and local tax codes is crucial to avoid non-compliance and costly penalties, but requires significant time and resources. Partnering with local experts or a reputable global HR platform is an effective way to maintain compliance. These services can help employers stay compliant with evolving regulations while freeing up time for more strategic work.

Consolidating Multi-Vendor Payroll Analytics

Managing payroll across multiple vendors often leads to fragmented data and inefficiencies, making it difficult to consolidate analytics. These challenges can hinder decision-making, especially when trying to gain a clear view of workforce costs and trends. To address this, organizations can invest in a centralized payroll management system that unifies data from multiple vendors. A consolidated platform simplifies payroll tracking, ensures data accuracy, and provides actionable insights into payroll expenditures.

Integrating Multiple HR & Payroll Systems

Global companies are prone to using multiple HR or payroll systems across regions, which can easily lead to fragmented payroll data, increasing the risk of delays and errors in employee compensation. To combat this, seamless integration between payroll and other systems is critical.

Payroll management systems that connect with existing HR and financial platforms can help streamline workflows by reducing manual inputs and ensuring that all departments operate with up-to-date, accurate information. In turn, this helps guarantee on-time, accurate payroll, boosting employee satisfaction.

What Does a Global Payroll Management Platform Cover?

A global payroll management platform is a software solution designed to streamline and automate the payroll processes for organizations with employees across multiple countries. It helps ensure accurate and timely payment while maintaining compliance with legal and regulatory requirements in the Gambia.

Key functions of a payroll management platform can include:

   
• Consolidate payroll data: Streamline fragmented payroll data into one source of truth when you’re operating in multiple regions.
   
• Analytics and reporting: Advanced capabilities to analyze payroll data and generate automated reports per region.
   
• Monitor and standardize payroll: Get an accurate view of employee costs, bonuses, and taxes per region, catch variances, and standardize payroll processes across regions to minimize errors.
   
• Compliance and record-keeping: Maintains accurate payroll records and ensures adherence to labor laws and regulations, reducing the risk of legal issues.
   
• Employee self-service: Provides portals where employees can access pay stubs, update personal information, and manage benefits selections.

How Playroll Can Streamline Payroll & Taxes in The Gambia

Expanding globally is an exciting milestone for any company, but it comes coupled with complex payroll challenges. It doesn’t have to be complicated. At Playroll, our easy-to-implement global payroll management software combines automation with hands-on support to make global payroll truly simple. Here's how Playroll helps:

   
• Multi-Vendor Integration: Our platform syncs seamlessly with your providers and in-house systems to unify global payroll services in one platform.
   
• Standardize Payroll Processes: Unify your operations in one dashboard to ensure payroll is running smoothly globally, with advanced approval flows and reports.
   
• Improve Governance & Compliance: Improve compliance by centralizing all your compliance tasks and processes. Easily track your payment obligations, with digitized audit trails.
   
• Advanced Reporting: Access and configure your data, your way, with a comprehensive suite of payroll analytics and reporting tools.