Corporate income tax return 2026 in Albania: who files the TAK, at what rate and by when?

The annual corporate income tax return for 2026 in Albania, which the General Directorate of Taxes (DPT) calls the TAK, is filed in e-Filing, the DPT’s online filing portal, by 31 March 2027, together with the financial statements (law 29/2023, Article 61). The rate is 15%. Entities with gross income up to 14 million lek a year have a 0% rate until 2029.

We checked the rules in the updated texts on the DPT website: law 29/2023, Instruction 26/2023 and law 9920/2008 on tax procedures. In our view, the change that is easiest to miss for 2026 is the rate for software: 5% applied until 31 December 2025, so 2026 profit is taxed at 15% for companies with more than 14 million lek of income.

Who files the corporate income tax return (TAK) and who files the TAPB

According to Instruction 26/2023, corporate income tax is paid by commercial companies (shpk, limited liability companies, and sha, joint-stock companies), simple partnerships under the Civil Code and the branches or permanent establishments of non-resident companies. Some entities exempt from tax, such as those that carry out only religious, humanitarian, charitable, scientific or educational activities and chambers of commerce, still file the return and the statements by the same deadline.

According to the DPT, for 2025 the deadline for all three returns was unified for the first time, on 31 March 2026. 2025 was also the first year with the TAK as the annual return: for 2024 the forms of the old law were still used (Article 69 of law 29/2023). The new law also repealed the simplified profit tax for small businesses (Article 71), so a search for “deklarata e tatimit të thjeshtuar mbi fitimin” (the simplified profit tax return) today leads you to the TAK or the TAPB. For individuals, see the DIVA 2027 guide.

Corporate income tax rates for 2026 in Albania

The 14 million lek threshold is measured on gross income, not on profit. A company with 15 million lek of income and 1 million lek of taxable profit pays 15% on the profit, that is 150,000 lek. The 2027 fiscal package, as deposited in Parliament on 28 October 2026, does not change the 15% rate or the 0% rate up to 14 million lek; dividends would be taxed at 15% instead of 8%. The changes are in the 2027 fiscal package, and we will update this article when the law is approved.

How to fill in the TAK form: from the financial statements to the tax

The official form is the “Formulari i deklarimit dhe pagesës së tatimit mbi të ardhurat e korporatës” (corporate income tax declaration and payment form), annex 4 of Instruction 26/2023, replaced by instruction no. 4, dated 4 February 2025. Each line has two columns: “ushtrimore” (accounting), with the figures from the books, and “tatimore” (tax), with the figures the law recognizes. Filling it in follows this order:

1. Income (lines 7-20): from the main activity, from other activities, from holdings and dividends, from investments, interest and other income.
2. Expenses (lines 21-36): cost of sales, salaries with social insurance, administrative expenses, depreciation, interest and others. Tax depreciation follows Article 51 of the law, and interest the limits in Article 30.
3. Non-deductible expenses (line 37): those that do not directly serve the business activity and those in Article 50.
4. Result (lines 38-43): the profit or loss, then the loss carried forward, which cannot exceed the profit of the year. What remains is net taxable profit.
5. Tax (lines 44-50): the base at 15%, at 5% or at other rates, and the total.
6. Credits (lines 51-54): credit for foreign tax and for tax withheld at source. Under Article 40 of the law, the year’s prepayments are also deducted.

When the difference is negative, you can claim it back: the DPT refunds it within 60 days of the application. Otherwise, the amount is carried over as a prepayment for the following year (Article 40, point 3).

Worked example: what a limited liability company (shpk) pays in March 2027

An shpk has 60 million lek of income in 2026, so it applies 15%. Its tax for 2024 was 600,000 lek and its tax for 2025 was 720,000 lek.

1. The accounting profit for 2026 is 5,000,000 lek. Adding 400,000 lek of non-deductible expenses, taxable profit comes to 5,400,000 lek.
2. Tax: 15% of 5,400,000 lek = 810,000 lek.
3. Prepayments for 2026: January-March based on the 2024 tax, 600,000 / 12 = 50,000 lek a month, so 150,000 lek. April-December based on the 2025 tax, 720,000 / 12 = 60,000 lek a month, so 540,000 lek. In total 690,000 lek.
4. Difference on the return: 810,000 - 690,000 = 120,000 lek.
5. The instalment for the first quarter of 2027 is calculated on the 2025 tax: 3 x 60,000 = 180,000 lek, by 31 March 2027.

If you pay the difference together with the return, at the end of March 2027 the company pays 300,000 lek. From April, the instalment becomes 810,000 / 12 = 67,500 lek a month.

Corporate income tax instalments in 2027

Under Article 63 of the law, instalments are paid every quarter, by the deadlines in the table, or every month, no later than the 15th of the month:

The DPT calculates the instalments from the return and notifies them in e-Filing by 10 April. If you show that the year’s profit will be significantly lower, the DPT accepts lower instalments. If, from the indicators for the first 9 months, the DPT estimates that monthly income will exceed the previous year’s monthly average by more than 10%, it can increase the instalments for the last quarter.

For the last quarter of 2026, the law gives 31 December, but the DPT calendar shows 30 December 2026. Pay it by 30 December.

Fines for a late or inaccurate TAK return

Fines for violations relating to a tax liability do not exceed 100% of the liability (Article 111). When the return is not filed at all, the DPT has the right to assess the liability by alternative methods (Article 71).

Checklist before 31 March 2027

1. Pay the October-December 2026 instalment by 30 December 2026.
2. Take the inventory and close 2026, then prepare the 2026 financial statements (in Albanian).
3. Check whether gross income exceeds 14 million lek and which rate you apply. For software, the 2026 rate is 15%.
4. Separate the non-deductible expenses, tax depreciation from accounting depreciation, and the losses carried forward.
5. Collect the documents for tax withheld at source and for tax paid abroad, and the sponsorship confirmations.
6. Fill in the TAK in e-Filing by 31 March 2027, together with the financial statements, and pay the difference and the first-quarter instalment.
7. After 10 April 2027, check the new instalments in e-Filing.

You can also find all the dates of the year in the 2027 tax calendar.

Recommended solution: devBooks for the annual return

The devBooks reporting and analytics module generates the financial statements and tax declarations automatically, with export to Excel and PDF. The fixed assets module calculates tax and management depreciation in parallel, with methods you choose yourself, so the tax depreciation for line 28 is no longer calculated separately in Excel. The fiscal year-end close opens the new year with the opening balances. You or your accountant file the return in e-Filing, with the figures that come out of the reports.

Sources

• Law no. 29/2023 “Për tatimin mbi të ardhurat” (On income tax), as amended (DPT)
• Instruction no. 26/2023 “Për tatimin mbi të ardhurat” (On income tax), updated, with the TAK form in annex 4 (DPT)
• Law no. 9920/2008 “Për procedurat tatimore në Republikën e Shqipërisë” (On tax procedures in the Republic of Albania), as amended (DPT)
• DPT: Reminder about the annual tax returns for 2025, deadline 31 March 2026
• DPT: Calendar, monthly corporate income tax instalment
• DPT: Interest rates for late-payment interest
• DPT: Notice on filing the financial statements for fiscal year 2025
• The deadline for filing the 2026 financial statements in Albania (in Albanian)
• DIVA 2027
• 2027 tax calendar

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