AEOI is the systematic and periodic transmission of non-resident taxpayer financial account information by the countries where the accounts or incomes are held to the country of tax residence.

Uganda commenced exchanges under AEOI in September 2025 with 125 countries. AEOI aims at combating tax evasion by ensuring that tax authorities have access to information about their residents’ offshore financial accounts.

The AEOI Voluntary Disclosure Program is an opportunity for resident taxpayers (individuals and entities) with undeclared/underdeclared assets or income held in foreign countries, to declare them to URA and regularize their tax affairs before the commencement of audits or investigations.

Any individual or entity (companies, partnerships, trust, or other similar bodies) resident in Uganda for tax purposes that has undisclosed income or assets held abroad. For example, persons who receive dividends, interest payments among others in accounts held abroad.

Taxpayers shall be availed;

• A full waiver of penalties and interest on the tax declared for the current and previous years of income,
• Immunity from prosecution for related tax offences, on voluntarily declared income and assets &
• Flexible payment terms
• Priority treatment at URA

Note: Voluntary Disclosure benefits are limited to the information disclosed on the VDP form and for which relief is granted

• Income earned abroad in form of dividends, interest, pensions, royalties and salaries.
• Information on your immovable and movable assets held in other countries.
• Information about your financial accounts abroad, including account numbers, financial institutions involved, and the income generated from these accounts.

Financial accounts include bank accounts, investment accounts, depository accounts, custodial accounts, specified insurance accounts, etc.

1. Identify all financial accounts that you hold outside Uganda, either in:
   • a bank
   • an investment entity
   • a specified insurance company (life insurance)
2. Compute the total incomes earned through those accounts (total deposits) per year for the last three (03) years and correct any errors or omissions that might have occurred in your previous income tax declarations to URA.
3. For those who previously declared to URA:
   • Review and amend your income tax return to include the undeclared assets and incomes outside Uganda.
4. For those who have never declared to URA:
   • Login to your taxpayer profile (apply for a TIN if not registered).
   • File a new income tax return based on the income sources (employment, business, property).
5. Upon amending a previous return or filing a new return, complete the self-assessment and pay the additional principal tax.
6. Download and fill out the Foreign Asset Voluntary Disclosure (FAD) form from
   
   URA website
   .
   • Clearly indicate the taxpayer details in Section A.
   • State the purpose of the disclosure in Section B.
   • Include incomes and assets (including bank accounts) in Sections C, D, E, and F.
7. To submit the FAD form:
   • Attach documentary evidence regarding the assets listed in the declaration, the assessment notice, and proof of payment of taxes (PRN).
   • Submit via URA Touch Point:
     • Create a ticket using Service Request “Foreign Asset Disclosure”.
     • Upload the FAD form and all attachments, then submit.
   • Or hand deliver to the Commissioner Tax Investigations, 14th Floor, URA Tower.

URA now receives tax residents’ offshore financial account information on an annual basis, effective September 2025, thus obtaining details of undeclared/disclosed income and assets to which taxes shall be assessed, collected and the offenders prosecuted.

This is in accordance with the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information and the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (Implementation) Act 2023.

Under the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (Implementation) Act, 2023, these institutions are required to apply the due diligence procedures to identify the tax residency of the account holders and controlling persons for the purpose of AEOI.  Therefore, an account holder is required to provide his tax residency to these financial institutions.

No. Under the AEOI initiative, reporting is not based on citizenship. It is based on residency.

• Financial institutions report information only for people who are tax residents in another country.
• In this case, financial institutions in the UAE report information only for people who have accounts there and are tax residents in Uganda.
• If someone is not a tax resident of Uganda, then Uganda does not receive their financial information.
• Therefore, a Ugandan maid working in the UAE is not automatically included. She is only included if she is still considered a tax resident of Uganda. This means that in the filling of account opening documents, the address and country of tax residence provided is a Ugandan address and Uganda respectively.

Only Ugandan tax residents with financial accounts or assets in other countries fall under AEOI and Foreign Asset Disclosure. If a Ugandan maid in the UAE is not a tax resident in Uganda, CRS does not apply to him or her.

To determine who a Ugandan tax resident is, please follow the link:

Ugandan Income Tax Act – Part III
.

Account holders should advise the bank, Investment entity and Life Insurance Company of any change in their tax residency status. Otherwise, the financial account information of the account holder will be sent to the wrong country.

Tax residence is determined under the domestic tax laws of each jurisdiction. There might be situations where a person qualifies as a tax resident under the tax residence rules of more than one jurisdiction and therefore, is a tax resident in more than one jurisdiction.

Additionally, if a person has paid taxes charged by a jurisdiction (say, value-added tax, withholding tax or capital gains tax), this does not automatically render that person a tax resident of that jurisdiction.

If the account holder has doubts about his/her tax residence, he/she may consider seeking professional advice.

Section 17(2)(a) of the Income Tax Act, Cap 340, defines gross income as
income derived by a resident person from all geographical sources. Failure to report all income
or deliberately underreporting results in penalties as stipulated under the law.

Section 67 of the Tax Procedures Code Act states that a person who knowingly
or recklessly:

• makes a statement to a tax officer that is false or misleading in a material particular; or
• omits from a statement made to a tax officer any matter or thing without which the statement is false or misleading in a material way,

commits an offense, and is liable on conviction to a fine of five thousand five hundred currency points
or imprisonment of not more than ten years.

For an AEOI VDP application to be valid, a disclosure must:

• Be voluntary;
• Relief under this notice shall apply only where a taxpayer voluntarily discloses accurate and complete information before it is discovered by a tax officer or before the commencement of an audit or investigation on a taxpayer.

Yes. You should provide accurate and complete information in your initial voluntary disclosure. However, if any errors or omissions are identified, you should immediately notify the URA and correct them by submitting the accurate details.

You shall be entitled to a foreign tax credit from URA under Section 80 of the Income Tax Act Cap 340.

URA ensures the strict confidentiality of taxpayer information, handling it in full compliance with applicable laws and regulations. In addition, URA complies with the Information Security Management (ISM) framework governed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Confidentiality and Data Safeguards standards.

Yes, you may consult tax professionals, such as tax advisors or accountants, to assist you in completing the form. Their expertise can help ensure accuracy in your voluntary disclosure and compliance with the program’s requirements.

1. An individual is a resident individual for a year of income if that individual:
   • has a permanent home in Uganda;
   • is present in Uganda:
     1. for a period of, or periods amounting in aggregate to, 183 days or more in any twelve-month period that commences or ends during the year of income; or
     2. during the year of income and in each of the two preceding years of income for periods averaging more than 122 days in each such year of income;
   • is an employee or official of the Government of Uganda posted abroad during the year of income.
2. A company is a resident company for a year of income if it:
   • is incorporated or formed under the laws of Uganda;
   • has its management and control exercised in Uganda at any time during the year of income; or
   • undertakes the majority of its operations in Uganda during the year of income.
3. A trust is a resident trust for a year of income if:
   • the trust was established in Uganda;
   • at any time during the year of income, a trustee of the trust was a resident person; or
   • the trust has its management and control exercised in Uganda at any time during the year of income.
4. A partnership is a resident partnership for a year of income if, at any time during that year, a partner in the partnership was a resident person.

We know that managing overseas financial affairs can be complex, and URA is here to help and support you every step of the way.

In line with URA’s commitment to promoting voluntary compliance, an opportunity is being extended to Ugandan tax residents with financial accounts, income, gains, or assets held in other countries to voluntarily disclose without fear and regardless of their current compliance status, in order to access the associated benefits.

This is your chance to regularize your affairs with minimal cost and risk.

URA remains committed to supporting taxpayers throughout the process and facilitating compliance with ease and confidence.

For any inquiries, please contact us on;

Email: aeoi_inquiries@ura.go.ug

Tel: +256 417 442 221