Can I Claim Employee Salaries and Social Insurance as a Business Expense in Egypt?
Yes. Salaries and the employer's social insurance contributions are business costs, provided payroll is run properly.
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AccountsOS keeps the books for Egypt businesses, tracks tax deadlines and handles expenses, in plain English. Ask Finn about yours, no signup needed.
What Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) says
The employer withholds salary tax monthly through the ETA unified payroll system and pays it within 15 days after the month, files Form 4 every quarter, and insures each employee with NOSI on the actual wage within two weeks of the start date. Wages paid in cash outside the payroll system leave no salary tax record and no social insurance, which makes them hard to support as a company cost. Keep every employee on the payroll from their first month.
When you can claim
- Gross salaries paid through payroll
- Employer social insurance contributions
- Bonuses paid through payroll
- Overtime and allowances paid through payroll
- Training for staff in their work
- Pay for staff on leave under their contract
- Medical cover the company provides for staff, as your accountant advises
When you cannot claim
- Cash wages paid outside payroll with no salary tax withheld
- Payments to the owner that are really dividends
- Salaries of staff who work for a different company
Good to know
Pro tip: Keep the payroll report from the ETA payroll system and the NOSI receipts with each month's books. Run payroll on the same day each month and send Finn the payroll report. It books salaries, the salary tax and the social insurance, and puts the 15-day payment date on your calendar.
Important: Salary tax brackets and the social insurance split change: confirm them in the ETA payroll system and with NOSI rather than from memory. Salary tax deducted from pay is held for the ETA, not for the business. Pay it within the 15 days even when cash is tight.
Related expenses
Stop guessing what you can claim in Egypt
AccountsOS automatically categorises expenses with Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA)-aware rules and tells you exactly what is claimable.
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