Accounting & Tax Compliance in Lebanon

Dual-currency bookkeeping under the Lebanese Chart of Accounts (Plan Comptable Général Libanais), LACPA-audited annual statements, and VAT/CIT filings tracked against both LBP nominal thresholds and market exchange rates.

Lebanon Reviewed September 2026

Currency

LBP (Lebanese pound) — market rate ~LBP 89,600/USD (mid-2026); most contracts and pricing are effectively USD-denominated

Corporate tax rate

17% flat

VAT standard rate

11% (Cabinet approved a rise to 12% in February 2026; not yet enacted pending parliamentary legislation)

Legal forms

SARL (limited liability) · SAL (joint stock)

Bookkeeping standard

Lebanese Chart of Accounts (Plan Comptable Général Libanais), with IFRS required for financial statement preparation; maintained in both LBP and foreign currency

Annual filing

Annual CIT return generally due 31 May of the year following the tax year (31 March for institutions on the accrual basis); the M18 ultimate-beneficial-owner declaration is also due 31 May

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How accounting and tax compliance work in Lebanon

Lebanon applies a flat 17% corporate income tax rate and an 11% standard VAT rate (a rise to 12% was approved by Cabinet in February 2026 but is not yet enacted), figures that read as unremarkable next to most jurisdictions in the region. The defining operational fact for any business in Lebanon is not the tax code but the currency: the Lebanese pound has lost more than 98% of its value since the pre-2019 official peg of LBP 1,507.5 per US dollar, trading at approximately LBP 89,600 per dollar in mid-2026, with the pre-crisis official peg long since replaced by market-driven pricing for virtually all transactions.

Lebanon's operational complexity is not regulatory density but a currency regime in which the lira has lost more than 98% of its value since 2019, so every LBP-denominated legal figure must be re-read against the market rate before it means anything operationally.

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Rate structure and what it applies to

17% flat

Nominal capital, real value — — the SARL minimum capital (LBP 5,000,000) and the sole-proprietorship audit trigger (LBP 750 million turnover) were fixed before the 2019 collapse and now equate to roughly $56 and $8,370 respectively at market rates, catching far more businesses than either threshold originally intended
Dual-currency bookkeeping — — the Lebanese Chart of Accounts (Plan Comptable Général Libanais) must be maintained in both LBP and foreign currency simultaneously, with no single official rate governing the conversion
"Fresh dollar" banking segregation — — USD held in accounts opened after the 2019 crisis clears and transfers differently from pre-crisis frozen deposits, a distinction that affects how salaries, supplier payments and capital contributions can practically move
NSSF ceilings under continual revision — — contribution ceilings were raised again on 1 May 2026 (family allowances ceiling to LBP 28,000,000/month, sickness/maternity to LBP 140,000,000/month), a recurring patch rather than a settled base

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Rates that apply in Lebanon

Rate	Applies to
11% (Cabinet approved a rise to 12% in February 2026; not yet enacted pending parliamentary legislation)	Standard rate — most goods and services
None — exports, export-related services and international transport are zero-rated; banking, financial and insurance services are exempt	Reduced rate(s) — defined categories of goods and services

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Lebanese Chart of Accounts (Plan Comptable Général Libanais), with IFRS required for financial statement preparation; maintained in both LBP and foreign currency, and when an audit is required

Statutory bookkeeping in Lebanon follows Lebanese Chart of Accounts (Plan Comptable Général Libanais), with IFRS required for financial statement preparation; maintained in both LBP and foreign currency. Ministerial Decree No. 8089/1996 requires an LACPA-registered CPA to audit all SARL, SAL, holding, offshore and foreign-branch entities regardless of size, plus any sole proprietorship or partnership exceeding 25 employees or LBP 750 million turnover — a threshold now equal to roughly $8,370 at market rates.

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Annual accounts and registration

Annual CIT return generally due 31 May of the year following the tax year (31 March for institutions on the accrual basis); the M18 ultimate-beneficial-owner declaration is also due 31 May.

Entity registration runs through the Commercial Registry (Ministry of Justice), filed at the Court of First Instance of the relevant district (commonly Beirut); company incorporation also requires coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Trade, typically taking ~2–3 weeks total (name reservation 1–3 working days; registration itself 10–15 days); longer for an SAL given the 3-shareholder minimum and additional capital-deposit formalities.

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Frequently asked questions

Why does Lebanon's minimum share capital look so low?

The SARL minimum of LBP 5,000,000 was set at a time when it equated to roughly $3,300 at the official pre-2019 peg of LBP 1,507.5 per dollar. Since the lira's collapse, that same nominal figure is worth approximately $56 at the mid-2026 market rate of roughly LBP 89,600 per dollar — the law was never amended, only the currency changed.

Does the statutory audit requirement apply to small companies?

Yes, for SARL and SAL entities it applies regardless of size — Ministerial Decree No. 8089/1996 requires an LACPA-registered CPA audit for every SARL, SAL, holding, offshore company and foreign branch. Sole proprietorships and partnerships are only required to audit above 25 employees or LBP 750 million turnover, a threshold now equal to roughly $8,370 at market rates.

What are "fresh dollars" and why do they matter for running a business?

"Fresh dollars" are US dollars held in bank accounts opened or funded after the 2019 banking crisis, which clear and transfer under different rules than pre-crisis dollar deposits, most of which remain effectively frozen. This distinction shapes how a company can practically pay salaries, settle supplier invoices, or move capital contributions through the banking system.

How long does it take to register a company in Lebanon?

Total registration typically takes around 2–3 weeks: name reservation with the Commercial Registry takes 1–3 working days, followed by roughly 10–15 days for registration itself. An SAL generally takes longer than a SARL given its three-shareholder minimum and additional capital-deposit formalities.

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Every Lebanese compliance figure quoted in LBP needs an accompanying market-rate conversion before a client can act on it — treating lira figures as fixed reference points, as one might in a stable-currency jurisdiction, misstates the real threshold by orders of magnitude within a single fiscal year.

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