Filing your taxes online in Cameroon: the SME guide

Filing online is no longer optional for many Cameroonian businesses — it is the norm. The tax authority (DGI) has digitized the filing and payment of the main taxes, and online VAT filing is mandatory for businesses under the real regime. The good news: once it becomes a habit, it is faster than queuing at the tax office. Here is how to go about it.

The DGI portal and your NIU

It all starts with your Unique Identification Number (NIU). It is your login to the DGI's online filing portal, where you submit your returns (VAT, income-tax instalments, payroll IRPP, business licence…) and monitor your tax account. Keep your credentials safe and make sure your company details are up to date.

The most common returns

• VAT, for liable businesses (real regime): a monthly return, in principle by the 15th of the following month. You declare the VAT collected on sales, deduct the VAT on purchases and remit the difference.
• The turnover-based income-tax instalment, paid periodically and reconciled at year-end.
• Payroll withholdings and IRPP, if you employ staff — to be coordinated with your CNPS contributions.
• The DSF (Statistical and Tax Return), your annual activity statement, also filed online. See our guide to DSF software in Cameroon.

Paying online

Payment follows the return. Depending on the available channels, you pay by bank transfer or through the mobile-payment options linked to the DGI — notably Mobile Tax with Orange Money and MTN MoMo. Always keep the receipt or payment reference: it is your proof in case of a dispute.

The real challenge: books that are always ready

Filing online is easy; having the right figures at the right time is less so. The VAT return requires you to know, each month, the VAT collected and the VAT deductible. The instalment requires reliable turnover. The DSF requires coherent SYSCOHADA financial statements.

A business that keeps its books in a spreadsheet often spends the first days of the month rebuilding these amounts by hand — with the error risk that implies and the 15th looming.

Automate the preparation, secure the deadline

This is where NexaCore makes the difference. Every invoice issued in FCFA automatically feeds your collected VAT; every expense recorded feeds your deductible VAT. The software keeps your books on the revised SYSCOHADA chart, prepares your financial statements and gives you, at any moment, the exact figures to enter in the DGI portal. You no longer file in a rush: you copy figures that are already correct.

In short: log in with your NIU, respect the 15th deadline for VAT, pay online and keep the proof. But above all, rely on continuously maintained books so that online filing is just a formality.