Can I Claim Software and Subscriptions as a Business Expense in Uganda?
Yes. Software and online subscriptions used to run the business are deductible business costs for a Ugandan company.
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What Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) says
Expenses incurred in producing business income are allowable deductions against chargeable income. Where the supplier must use EFRIS, the cost is deductible for income tax and the VAT recoverable only with an EFRIS e-invoice or e-receipt. Ask for the fiscal document number before you pay. Foreign SaaS suppliers do not issue EFRIS invoices; ask your accountant how to treat VAT on imported services. An annual plan paid in advance covers several months, and the part for the next year of income usually belongs to that year. Your accountant decides how it is spread.
When you can claim
- Accounting, invoicing and project software
- Cloud storage and hosting
- Domain names and website hosting
- Design and development tools used for client work
- Extra user seats for staff
- Paid add-ons for the company website
- Security and backup software for company devices
When you cannot claim
- Personal streaming or entertainment subscriptions
- Tools used mainly for private purposes
- Subscriptions for another company's business
- Games and apps bought for children
Good to know
Pro tip: Pay subscriptions from the business account so every charge has a supplier invoice behind it. Forward the monthly receipts to Finn as they arrive. It matches each one to the card or bank payment and flags a charge with no receipt behind it.
Important: Keep the supplier invoice in the company's name and TIN where the supplier is local. Remember the year of income runs from 1 July to 30 June, so a subscription paid in June belongs to the year that ends that month. If the company is VAT-registered, ask your accountant each year how services bought from abroad are reported, so the treatment is the same every month.
Related expenses
Stop guessing what you can claim in Uganda
AccountsOS automatically categorises expenses with Uganda Revenue Authority (URA)-aware rules and tells you exactly what is claimable.
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