The City of Kigali has explained that newly adjusted rates of land tax payable per square metre were approved by the city council in February 2025. The explanation follows recent complaints from taxpayers who noted a drastic increase in land tax, rising to a maximum of Rwf80 per square metre in most parts of the city that previously paid less than this amount. ALSO READ: New land tax rates: Know how much you have to pay for your plot “These rates replaced those that were last approved by the District Councils in 2017–2018, which had continued to be applied until the end of 2024,” the city said in a statement on Monday, January 5. Once approved, the city says, the rates were communicated through the City of Kigali website. “They were also communicated to residents through community gatherings held every Tuesday in the sectors of the City of Kigali during community work, as well as through various meetings that brought together City of Kigali leadership and residents. The dissemination of these rates, as well as encouraging residents of the City of Kigali to pay taxes accurately and on time, will continue on a regular basis through various channels,” it adds. A list shared by the City of Kigali showing council resolutions of February 2025 indicates that most plots of land are required to pay Rwf80 per square metre in many areas, while in other areas landowners are required to pay Rwf30 or Rwf40 per square metre. ALSO READ: Govt mulls changes to land, corporate tax rates Areas classified as rural are required to pay the same land taxes as those applicable to agricultural land. The rates were established based on a 2023 ministerial order, which stipulated that land tax payable per square metre should range between Rwf0 and Rwf80. It states that tax of Rwf70-80 per square metre should be charged in commercial, industrial and open-space areas in the Central Business District (CBD) of the City of Kigali, while between Rwf60 and Rwf80 per square metre should be charged in residential areas of the CBD. In Kigali’s suburban centres, the tax rate ranged between Rwf40 and Rwf60 per square metre in residential areas, and between Rwf50 and Rwf70 in commercial, industrial and open-space areas. ALSO READ: Why some plots of land in Kigali will be exempt from tax The order by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning also shows that tax on land demarcated for agriculture and livestock farming in suburban centres was set to range from Rwf0 to Rwf0.4 per square metre. In trading centres, peri-urban areas and neighbourhood centres, tax of Rwf10-40 per square metre was to be charged in residential areas, while Rwf20-50 was to be charged on land in commercial, industrial and open-space areas. For agricultural and livestock areas, tax ranging from Rwf0 to Rwf0.4 per square metre was applicable. Factors behind the adjusted land tax in Kigali According to the statement released on Monday, the draft tax rates payable per square metre of land area in the City of Kigali for the year 2025 were the second item on the agenda during council discussions held in February. The council explained that several specific considerations were taken into account in adjusting and increasing land tax rates. ALSO READ: Land cost soars in secondary cities These considerations included the category or class and location of the area in which the taxable land is located, the level of development of the area, the designated use of the land (zoning), the harmonisation of tax rates previously approved by the District Councils of the City of Kigali based on areas with similar characteristics across different districts, as well as approved physical plans. For instance, some landowners used to pay Rwf10 per square metre in the Karembure area in Kicukiro in 2024, but due to rapid development, a landowner is now required to pay Rwf80 per square metre, The New Times has learnt. The council also concluded that forest land, as well as land designated for public facilities, public utilities, administrative buildings, transportation, economic, scientific, and social and tourism purposes, shall be considered taxable land. Forest land shall be taxed at the same rate as agricultural land, while land used for public facilities, public utilities, administrative buildings, transportation, economic, scientific, and social and tourism purposes shall be taxed at the same rate as commercial land. The city council also approved the villages classified as urban and those classified as rural, which will be used as the basis for the payment of the trading licence tax for the year 2025.
