Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:03 (UTC)
Overview
Cameroon, which officially is known as the Republic of Cameroon, is located in central Africa. The countries that border Cameroon are Nigeria to its west, Chad to its north, the Central African Republic to its east, the Republic of the Congo to its southeast, Gabon to its south, and Equatorial Guinea to its southwest. The Atlantic Ocean borders Cameroon to its southwest. Cameroon’s name in French, which is one of the country’s official languages, is Cameroun.
Cameroon consists of 10 first-order administrative divisions known as regions. The 10 regions of Cameroon are Adamaoua, Centre, East (Est), Far North (Extreme-Nord), Littoral, North (Nord), North-West (Nord-Ouest), West (Ouest), South (Sud), South-West (Sud-Ouest).
Cameroon’s currency is the Central African CFA franc.
Employers in Cameroon are required to withhold contributions for income tax and social taxes from an employee’s wages in addition to remitting other taxes and upholding labor law standards for compensation and benefits.
Foreign workers in Cameroon generally are subject to the same tax and labor laws as Cameroon nationals. Foreign workers are taxed on their Cameroon-sourced income while Cameroon nationals are taxed on their worldwide income.
Cameroon citizens working in the United States must comply with the appropriate visa requirements, labor, and tax laws.
CURRENCY DETAILS
The currency of Cameroon is the Central African CFA franc (CFAF), which Cameroon uses because it is part of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (Communauté Économique et Monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale, abbreviated as CEMAC), which is a group of countries that adopted the Central African CFA franc as their currency. The acronym CFA within the name Central African CFA franc is an abbreviation of the French term Communauté Financière Africaine, with the English translation of African Financial Community. The internationally recognized three-letter currency code for the Central African CFA franc is XAF. The English plural form of Central African CFA franc is Central African CFA francs, and the French plural form of franc CFA d’Afrique centrale, which is how the currency’s name is rendered in French, is francs CFA d’Afrique centrale.
When an amount of Central African CFA francs is written in English using the currency symbol CFAF, the variant CFA F, or the variant CFA F., the symbol generally precedes, but sometimes follows, the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol. When an amount of Central African CFA francs is written in French using the currency symbol FCFA, the variant F CFA, or the variant F. CFA, the symbol generally follows, but sometimes precedes, the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol. The currency symbol FCFA is an abbreviation of the French term for the currency, franc CFA d’Afrique centrale.
When an amount of Central African CFA francs is written using the currency symbol Frs. CFA or one of its variants (Frs CFA, Fr. CFA, Fr CFA, fr. CFA, and fr CFA) to distinguish Central African CFA francs from other franc currencies, and when documents of countries in the CEMAC use the general franc currency symbol Fr. or one of its variants (Fr, fr., fr, FR., FR, Frs., Frs, F., F, f., and f) to refer to Central African CFA francs, the currency symbol either precedes or follows the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol.
One hundredth ( 1 ⁄ 100 ) of a Central African CFA franc is referred to as a centime, with the plural form of centimes, although transactions involving the CEMAC’s currency do not typically include amounts other than whole numbers of Central African CFA francs.
When amounts of Central African CFA francs are written in Cameroonian dialects of English, the comma that in American and British dialects of English separates the thousands place from the hundreds place sometimes instead is rendered as a space. When amounts of Central African CFA francs are written in French, the comma that in English separates the thousands place from the hundreds place instead is rendered as a dot (.).
TAXES
Cameroon’s national government enacts laws relating to income tax and social taxes.
The tax year is the calendar year, Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.
Income Taxes
Income tax is administered by the Directorate General of Taxes (Direction Générale des Impôts, abbreviated as DGI). Employers are required to withhold income taxes for employees in accordance with a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system.
Coverage: Residents are taxed on all sources of income, domestic and international. Nonresidents are only taxed on income from Cameroon sources. Individuals are considered Cameroon tax residents if they reside in Cameroon for more than 183 days in a year.
Employees: An employee is defined as any individual who provides services in return for remuneration under the direction and control of another person or corporation.
Rates and Thresholds: Income tax rates are levied on a progressive scale, with rates ranging from 10% to 35%. Taxable income in Cameroon also is subject to an additional council tax of 10%, with this tax rate referring to an additional 10%, not an additional 10 percentage points, of the income tax rate that otherwise would be assessed. For example, as 10% of the highest income tax rate of 35% is 3.5%, the income applicable to the top income tax bracket is subject to the income tax rate of 35% plus an additional council tax of 3.5%, for a total rate of 38.5%.
Cameroon’s personal income tax rates and minimum and maximum amounts of annual income for each income tax bracket are as follows:| Range of Annual Income (Central African CFA Francs) | Income Tax Rate | Income Tax Rate Plus Additional Council Tax Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Up to CFAF 2 million | 10% | 11% |
| More than CFAF 2 million and up to CFAF 3 million | 15% | 16.5% |
| More than CFAF 3 million and up to CFAF 5 million | 25% | 27.5% |
| More than CFAF 5 million | 35% | 38.5% |
While withholding tax from employment income generally is required of employers, they do not need to withhold tax from employment income of employees who are paid less than CFAF 62,000 per month.
The additional council tax helps finance the Special Council Fund for Mutual Intervention (FEICOM) and city councils.
Registration: Organization seeking to become employers are required to register their business presence in Cameroon with the government and can complete this registration with one of the Business Creation Formality Centers (Centres de formalité de création des entreprises, abbreviated in CFCE) in Cameroon’s capital city of Yaoundé or the city of Douala, which like Yaoundé is one of Cameroon’s two most populous cities.
New employees must be registered with the General Directorate of Taxes within eight days of beginning work with the General Directorate of Taxes.
Taxable Amounts: All salaries, wages, allowances, and benefits are considered taxable income. Any employment-related income less than CFAF 62,000 per month is not subject to income tax.
Withholding Methods: Employers are required to withhold income taxes for employees every month in accordance with a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system.
Returns and Remittance: Employers must remit withheld taxes by the 15th day of the month following payment to the Directorate General for Taxation. The withheld amounts must be remitted at the same time as a completed Information Document on Employed Personnel (Document d’Information sur le Personnel Employé, abbreviated as DIPE). Returns may be filed using the Directorate General for Taxation’s online portal. Payments of remitted taxes may be made to the Directorate General for Taxation electronically, by check if the amount is more than CFAF 200,000, or by cash, although payments via bank transfer are mandatory for large employers.
Recordkeeping: Tax records must generally be kept for at least four years.
Penalties: Penalties for late filing, unintentionally incorrect or incomplete returns can lead to fines that accrue interest.
Fines ranging from CFAF 250,000 to CFAF 5 million and imprisonment of one to five years for major issues can result from refusing to make tax statements on time, interfering with the collection of taxes, failing to submit tax records, submitting inaccurate or incorrect records, or attempting to organize collective tax disobedience.
If a previously penalized action is repeated, the penalty amount can be doubled.
Social Taxes
The National Social Insurance Fund (Caisse Nationale de Prévoyance Sociale, abbreviated as CNPS) administers Cameroon’s social security scheme. Social security in Cameroon has three branches: family benefits; old age, disability and death; and labor accidents and occupational diseases.
The same methods of collecting and remitting income taxes are applied for social taxes.
Coverage: According to Cameroon law, every natural or legal person employing one or more workers under the Labor Code is required to join the CNPS.
Voluntary coverage is available to those not covered by CNPS, including foreigners in the country for short periods of time.
Rates and Thresholds: The family benefits program is paid by employers and calculated as percentages of employee wages. The rates include 7% for most employees and domestic servants, 5.65% for agricultural workers, and 3.7% for private education staff.
The old age, disability and death benefits program is covered under pension insurance and is paid by both employers and employees. Employers are required to pay 4.2% of employee wages and employees are required to pay 4.2% of their wages.
The program for accidents and occupational diseases is paid by the employer. Rates, as percentages of employee wages, are dependent on the level of risk of the business. Low risk businesses such as agriculture, trade, banking, and insurance contribute 1.75% of employee wages. Average risk businesses such as oil refining, air or sea transportation, and security contribute 2.5% of employee wages. High risk businesses such as metalwork, forestry, and fishing contribute 5% of employee wages.
Effective since Feb. 15, 2016, the minimum and maximum amounts of monthly wages on which social security contributions may be assessed respectively generally are CFAF 36,270 and CFAF 750,000, although accident and occupational disease contributions are not subject to a maximum assessable amount of wages.
Registration: New employees must be registered with the CNPS within eight days of beginning work.
All employees and their salaries must be reported on the CNPS’s online portal using the Information Document on Employed Personnel (DIPE) form.
New employers must register by filing an Application for Insured Registration (Demande d’immatriculation assure) with the CNPS.
Taxable Amounts: Salaries, allowances, premiums, bonuses, and other cash benefits and benefits in kind are considered taxable wages.
Reimbursements for travel expenses are not considered taxable wages.
Withholding Methods: Employers are required to withhold social taxes from an employee’s wages each wage payment.
Returns and Remittance: Employers must file a monthly report of their employees and wages paid using the CNPS’s online portal. Withheld taxes must be remitted to the CNPS by the 15th day of the month following the month in which payments were made.
All payments to CNPS must be done through banks or other authorized institutions. After the payment is made, the authorized withholder must bring a receipt of the payment from CNPS and a copy of the monthly wage report to the local tax office to receive a receipt of payment of social contributions.
Recordkeeping: Employers generally are required to maintain all tax and pay related documents for a minimum of four years.
Penalties: Noncompliance with any legal requirements related to Cameroon’s social taxes can lead to prison sentences between three months and two years.
Employers that fail to file returns timely are subject to monthly fines of up to CFAF 75,000.
Employers that fail to pay social security contributions timely are subject to an assessment of an additional 10% of the outstanding contribution.
Other Taxes
Cameroon has two taxes based on total salaries and wages.
Housing Loan Fund: Employers and employees both contribute to the Housing Loan Fund (Crédit Foncier du Cameroun), which provides financial relief for housing shortages in urban areas in Cameroon. Employers are required to contribute 1.5% of the gross wages of employees, including benefits. Employees are required to contribute 1% of their gross wages.
Contributions are remitted to the Directorate General of Taxes.
National Employment Fund: Employers are required to submit 1% of total wages to the National Employment Fund (Fonds National de l’Emploi), which provides employment services to Cameroon citizens.
Contributions are remitted to the Directorate General of Taxes.
State/Jurisdiction Taxes
Taxes on employment income are not assessed by any of Cameroon’s regions or local jurisdictions.
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
Employers must uphold the labor laws of Cameroon, which are regulated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. These laws provide regulations regarding minimum wage rates, overtime, hours of work, holidays, leave, wage payment, termination pay and workers’ compensation.
Retirement plans are covered under social taxes.
Employers are required to provide medical and health services for their employees. Such services can be provided either through an agreement with a hospital or in the establishment of a service.
Employers are required to provide housing to employees who have been transferred and required to move away from their normal place of residence. Should no housing be provided, employers are required to pay the workers a housing allowance. The minimum rates and methods of payment of that allowance are determined by the National Labor Advisory Board.
Minimum Wage
Cameroon’s monthly minimum wage is CFAF 36,270.
Overtime
National labor law requires that employees who work beyond regular hours during the day, on holidays or at night are entitled to overtime pay but does not specify specific amounts. Specific rates or amounts generally are dictated by collective bargaining agreements or trade union agreements.
Under the National Trade Collective Agreement, for example, employees who work beyond regular hours during the day or on holidays are entitled to a 50% increase in wages for the hours worked while employees who work beyond regular hours at night are entitled to a 100% increase in wages for the hours worked.
Hours of Work
Employees generally work Monday to Friday. Workers generally cannot work more than 40 hours a week.
Work performed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. is considered night work.
Employees must receive at least 24 hours of consecutive rest per week, generally occurring on Sunday. This period cannot be replaced by a compensatory allowance.
Holidays
Cameroon observes the following public holidays:
- Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
- Feb. 11: Youth Day
- March 8: International Women’s Day
- Good Friday
- May 1: Labor Day
- Ascension Day
- May 20: National Day
- Djoulde Soumae / Korite (End of Ramadan)
- Aug. 15 Assumption Day
- Djoulde Laihadji / Tabaski (Feast of Sacrifice)
- Dec. 25: Christmas
Full-time salaried employees receive full pay on holidays.
Leave
Following one year of service, employees are entitled to one and a half working days of leave for each month of service.
Days that can be considered “working days” in totalling up years of service can include absences due to accident or occupational disease and absences less than six months long due to certified illness and maternity leave.
Maternity Leave: Pregnant women are entitled to fourteen weeks of maternity beginning four weeks before the delivery date. This leave can be extended by six weeks if the woman suffers from a certified illness.
Pregnant women on maternity leave are entitled to a daily allowance from the National Social Insurance Fund that is equal to the normal amount of wages.
Women who are medically certified to be pregnant are permitted to terminate their contract without notice or obligation to pay any compensation.
Special Leave: Employees can receive up to 10 days a year for a special paid leave of absence that is not deductible from annual leave, for special family-related events directly concerning their home.
Wage Payment
Wages generally must be paid at regular intervals no greater than a month.
Monthly payments must be paid no later than eight days after the end of the end of the month of wages earned.
The payment of wages to employees must be evidenced by a document certified by the employer and initialled by each worker. This document must be retained for recordkeeping purposes and available for inspection by the Labor Department.
Wages must be paid on working days only at or near the work-place. Wages cannot be paid in a public house, shop or store except in the case of workers who are normally employed there.
Bonuses and Special Benefits
Cameroon does not mandate employers to provide monetary bonus payments to employees.
Housing Allowance: Employers are required to provide housing to employees who have been transferred and required to move away from their normal place of residence. Should no housing be provided, employers are required to pay workers a housing allowance. The minimum rates and methods of payment of that allowance are determined by the National Labor Advisory Board.
Termination Pay
While the national labor code states that notice must be given for termination, the conditions and duration of such notice is not specified but generally is detailed in trade union and collective bargaining agreements.
All employees who worked for at least two years at the same company under a permanent contract are entitled to severance pay except in cases of gross negligence.
The required severance pay amounts are based on a percentage of a year’s worth of salary:
- 20% if terminated within the first five years of service;
- 25% if terminated between the 6th and 10th years of service;
- 30% if terminated between the 11th and 15th years of service;
- 35% if terminated between the 16th and 20th years of service;
- 40% if terminated beyond the 21st year of service.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation is covered under social taxes.
Recordkeeping
Employers are required to keep records of wage payments that must be available for inspection by the Ministry of Labor.
FOREIGN WORKERS
Foreign workers are entitled to the same rights as Cameroon citizens and generally are covered by the same tax and workplace laws.
Visas: Foreign workers must obtain a work permit in order to work in Cameroon.
An employment contract must be endorsed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security before a work permit can be received.
Generally, foreign workers only are allowed to be hired if a qualified Cameroon worker cannot be found for the position.
An authorization to practice certain professions sometimes required by authorities.
Taxes: Nonresidents only are taxed on their Cameroon-sourced income. Generally, nonresidents are subject to the same income taxes at the same rates as residents, from 10 to 35%.
Wages/Payments: Cameroon law only requires that wages be paid in legal tender and there is no particular requirements that employees be paid in any specific currency.
WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES
Foreign workers from Cameroon must meet general visa requirements and be certified to be employed in the United States. General visa requirements for the U.S. are included in the separate chapter “Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas.”
U.S. employers also must check the names of all new-hires and employees against the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated National and Blocked Persons List, administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Because OFAC prohibits financial transactions with individuals on the list, U.S. employers cannot employ them and may face fines for failing to comply.
For tax purposes, Cameroon citizens are subject to U.S. employment-based taxation on income earned in the U.S. unless they work under specific visa types that exempt earnings from taxes.
State and local taxation of Cameroon workers also can apply.
The U.S. labor laws apply to all workers employed and providing services in the country.
Work eligibility as an employee is contingent upon Department of Homeland Security and Labor Department approval and the employee receiving a U.S. Social Security number from the Social Security Administration.
Tax Residency: In general, employees working in the U.S. on a temporary basis are considered nonresidents for tax purposes unless they qualify for resident status. Employees can be granted permanent resident status through the so-called green card test or if they meet the substantial presence test under the U.S. tax code. More information on these requirements is in the chapter “Resident and Nonresident Aliens.”
Permanent residents are subject to U.S. tax requirements the same as U.S. citizens and are taxed under the U.S. system on their worldwide earnings.
Income Taxes: Generally, nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Cameroon and are working in the U.S. are subject to U.S. taxes based on their U.S.-sourced income. Income is taxed differently based on whether it is categorized as wage income or nonwage income, which includes interest and dividends.
A Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, must be filed by each employee with their employer. All nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Cameroon and are working in the U.S. must claim “single” in Step 1c, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space under Step 4c of the form; and may not claim “exempt” in the space under Step 4c.
Nonresident alien employees may adjust withholding using Step 2b or 2c of the Form W-4; certain employees also may be able to use Steps 3, 4a, or 4b. More information about Form W-4 requirements for nonresident alien employees is available in the
Although the versions of Form W-4 issued in 2020 or later significantly differ from the versions issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident employees that filed a valid version of Form W-4 from 2019 or earlier with their employer do not need to file another Form W-4 with the employer unless they need to implement a change for their withholding. On Forms W-4 issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident alien employees were required to check the “single” box on line 3, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” above the dotted line on line 6; and were not permitted to claim “exempt” on line 7 of the form.
An additional amount is added to a nonresident alien employee’s wages for calculating federal income tax withholding, with the amount based on pay period frequency and the date of the employee’s most recently filed Form W-4. The table of additional amounts applicable to Forms W-4 from 2020 or later and the table applicable to Forms W-4 issued before 2020 are available in the
Nonwage income and self-employed foreign workers can be subject to income tax withholding at a flat rate of 30%.
Additionally, foreign workers may be taxed differently based on the specific type of visa they hold.
Tax treaties: Cameroon and the U.S. do not have a tax treaty.
Social Taxes: Most foreign workers are subject to paying into the U.S. Social Security system. Foreign nationals who are exempt from paying income tax and who do not have the eligibility to receive a social security number may not be required to pay social taxes. Foreign workers contributing to Social Security for a certain time period may be eligible to receive benefits.
Generally, foreign workers in the U.S. that have specific visas as exchange visitors or students or who are temporarily in the U.S. for agricultural work are not subject to social taxes on income that is obtained from the purpose in which they originally entered the U.S.
Totalization Agreements: Cameroon and the U.S. have not entered into a social tax totalization agreement.
Wage Payment: Under certain visas for certain types of employment, employers are required to pay foreign workers the higher of either the prevailing wage or the actual wage that is paid to U.S. workers that have similar skills and qualifications.
There are no particular requirements that employees be paid in U.S. dollars.
TREATY ARRANGEMENTS
Cameroon has not entered into an income tax treaty with the United States. Cameroon does not have a totalization agreement with the United States for social tax coverage purposes.
The countries with which Cameroon has a bilateral income tax treaty in effect are Canada, France, South Africa, and Tunisia.
Cameroon has a bilateral totalization agreement for social tax purposes with France and a multinational agreement with Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.
RESOURCES
All resources are in English unless otherwise noted.
General
U.S. Embassy in Cameroon
Currency Details
CIA World Factbook: Cameroon
Unicode Consortium: Currency Symbols
United Nations: United Nations Terminology Database: Cameroon
Taxes
The Cameroon General Directorate of Taxes (French)
Cameroon National Social Insurance Fund
Cameroon Ministry of Finance (French)
The General Tax Code, 2017
Compensation and Benefits
Cameroon Ministry of Labor and Social Security
Cameroon Labor Code
International Labour Organization, Cameroon
Foreign Workers
Embassy of Cameroon in Washington, D.C.
Working in the United States
U.S. Department of Labor:
- Foreign Labor Certification
- Hiring Foreign Workers
U.S. Internal Revenue Service:
- IRS Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens
- IRS Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide
- IRS Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities
- IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
- IRS Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties