Togo payroll brings three statutory calculations into the same pay run. The Office Togolais des Recettes, or OTR, administers personal income tax on employment income under the Impot sur le revenu des personnes physiques, commonly shortened to IRPP. The Caisse Nationale de Securite Sociale, or CNSS, administers the general social security scheme and the mandatory Assurance Maladie Universelle, or AMU, for covered private-sector workers.
This guide was verified on September 8, 2026 against the OTR consolidated General Tax Code and Tax Procedures Book updated in 2025, the OTR Fiscal Handbook 2026, the CNSS social contribution page, the CNSS AMU conditions, Decree No. 2023-096/PR and the CNSS online remuneration and contribution declaration guide. The 2026 OTR handbook was published on June 23, 2026. It was checked for current-year context alongside the operative rules in the consolidated code.
The most important payroll distinction is that the published 21.5% general CNSS contribution does not include the separate 10% AMU contribution. A calculation that uses only 4% employee CNSS and 17.5% employer CNSS leaves out mandatory health insurance. For the usual equal AMU split described by CNSS, the worker has an additional 5% deduction and the employer has an additional 5% cost.
Use the Staff Cost Planner to budget salary and employer obligations from rates you have verified, and the Payslip Draft Generator to lay out confirmed earnings and deductions privately in the browser. These tools do not file with OTR or CNSS and do not decide which rule applies to a worker. AfroTools provides planning support, not an official payroll return or tax opinion.
Togo Payroll Snapshot For 2026
| Item | Rule checked September 8, 2026 | Payroll treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Employee general CNSS | 4% of the covered contribution base. | Withhold from employee pay and show it separately. |
| Employer general CNSS | 17.5% of the covered contribution base. | Add as an employer cost. Do not deduct it from net pay. |
| Mandatory AMU | 10% of covered monthly remuneration. At least 50% is employer-funded. CNSS describes the ordinary split as 5% employer and 5% worker. | Keep AMU separate from the 21.5% general CNSS contribution. |
| Professional deduction | 28% after compulsory social and health contributions, on the eligible income fraction not exceeding XOF 10 million. | Apply it in the statutory order and respect the ceiling. |
| Dependent relief | XOF 10,000 per month for each qualifying dependent, with a maximum of six. | Hold evidence of qualification and the effective period. |
| IRPP bands | Eight progressive annual bands from 0% to 35%. | Tax each income slice at its own rate. |
| Monthly remittance | Employment tax and CNSS obligations are paid monthly under their respective rules. | Reconcile each declaration to its payment evidence. |
| Annual salary declaration | The OTR Tax Procedures Book sets a January 31 deadline. | Reconcile the annual declaration to all payroll periods. |
Calling the full package "PAYE" can hide material accounting differences. Employee CNSS and the worker AMU share reduce take-home pay. Employer CNSS and the employer AMU share are additional employment costs. IRPP is tax withheld for OTR. The CNSS declaration and OTR tax remittance remain separate obligations even when their payment timetables meet around the same date.
CNSS And AMU Are Separate Payroll Lines
CNSS publishes a 21.5% rate for the general social security scheme. For a covered employee, 17.5% is borne by the employer and 4% by the worker. The employer portion funds family benefits at 3%, occupational risks at 2% and part of old-age pensions at 12.5%. The worker's 4% funds the old-age pension branch. CNSS says all employers in the customs territory and free zone are subject to contributions for the applicable branches.
AMU is additional. Article 12 of Decree No. 2023-096/PR sets the mandatory health insurance contribution for employees at 10% of monthly remuneration subject to contribution. At least half is paid by the employer and the balance by the worker. The current CNSS AMU conditions state the split as 5% employer and 5% employee, and say the employee amount is withheld at each payroll and remitted monthly.
On a simplified payroll where both schemes use the same XOF 500,000 monthly base, the worker's general CNSS is XOF 20,000 and a 5% AMU share is XOF 25,000. The employer's general CNSS is XOF 87,500 and a 5% AMU share is XOF 25,000. That is XOF 45,000 in employee contributions and XOF 112,500 in employer contributions before IRPP or any other lawful payroll item. This is a formula demonstration, not a fictional worker case.
Do not copy those numbers into a live payroll until the contribution bases are confirmed. The general CNSS page includes salary, allowances, bonuses, commissions and benefits in kind, while excluding genuine expense reimbursements and family benefits. The AMU decree refers to base salary and taxable bonuses and allowances, excluding expense reimbursements and family benefits. Classify each earning against the relevant source instead of assuming every cash movement has one common base.
What Enters Togo Taxable Employment Income
The tax code's employment income provisions cover salaries, wages, allowances, emoluments and benefits connected with employment. The code also addresses benefits in kind, including housing, domestic staff, utilities, telephone, a vehicle, travel or leave costs, and food. Payroll should not treat a non-cash benefit as non-taxable merely because it never passes through the employee's bank account.
The employment calculation allows compulsory social security and health contributions before the professional deduction. The 28% professional deduction then applies to the eligible amount after those compulsory contributions, on the income fraction not exceeding XOF 10 million. The order matters. Using gross pay before CNSS and AMU, forgetting the XOF 10 million ceiling, or deducting employer-funded contributions from the employee tax base can change the result.
Dependent relief is not automatic for everyone named by an employee. The code defines qualifying dependents, limits the count to six and provides XOF 10,000 per month for each qualifying dependent. For a full year, that equals XOF 120,000 for one dependent. Employers need a consistent declaration and supporting-document process, plus an effective date when a dependent is added or ceases to qualify.
Classify irregular items before calculation. Bonuses, arrears, termination amounts, director payments, second employments and benefits can require different timing or evidence from ordinary monthly salary. Record the legal basis and current OTR guidance used instead of forcing an unusual payment through a generic recurring-pay field.
Togo IRPP Bands For Employment Income
Article 74 of the consolidated tax code sets the progressive annual schedule below. Progressive means each rate applies only to the taxable income slice inside that band. An employee whose taxable income enters the 20% band does not pay 20% on the entire taxable amount.
| Annual taxable income slice | Rate | Tax for a completed slice |
|---|---|---|
| XOF 0 to 900,000 | 0% | XOF 0 |
| XOF 900,001 to 3,000,000 | 3% | XOF 63,000 |
| XOF 3,000,001 to 6,000,000 | 10% | XOF 300,000 |
| XOF 6,000,001 to 9,000,000 | 15% | XOF 450,000 |
| XOF 9,000,001 to 12,000,000 | 20% | XOF 600,000 |
| XOF 12,000,001 to 15,000,000 | 25% | XOF 750,000 |
| XOF 15,000,001 to 20,000,000 | 30% | XOF 1,500,000 |
| Above XOF 20,000,000 | 35% | 35% of the excess |
The code also specifies rounding. Taxable income is rounded down to the nearest XOF 1,000 before the bands are applied, and the resulting tax is rounded down to the nearest XOF 10. Payroll software should make those steps explicit. Ordinary arithmetic rounding or rounding each band independently can create small differences that accumulate across a workforce.
Factual Annual Calculation At XOF 6 Million Gross
This formula demonstration uses annual gross employment income of XOF 6,000,000, the 4% employee general CNSS share, a 5% employee AMU share and two qualifying dependents for the full year. It assumes the same amount is included in the ordinary CNSS, AMU and employment tax bases, and that no other deduction, exemption or benefit changes the result.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Employee general CNSS | XOF 6,000,000 x 4% | XOF 240,000 |
| Employee AMU | XOF 6,000,000 x 5% | XOF 300,000 |
| Income after compulsory employee contributions | XOF 6,000,000 - 240,000 - 300,000 | XOF 5,460,000 |
| Professional deduction | XOF 5,460,000 x 28% | XOF 1,528,800 |
| Two dependent deductions | 2 x XOF 120,000 | XOF 240,000 |
| Income before statutory rounding | XOF 5,460,000 - 1,528,800 - 240,000 | XOF 3,691,200 |
| Rounded taxable income | Round down to XOF 1,000 | XOF 3,691,000 |
| Tax on first XOF 900,000 | XOF 900,000 x 0% | XOF 0 |
| Tax on next XOF 2,100,000 | XOF 2,100,000 x 3% | XOF 63,000 |
| Tax on remaining XOF 691,000 | XOF 691,000 x 10% | XOF 69,100 |
| Annual IRPP | XOF 63,000 + 69,100 | XOF 132,100 |
| Annual net before other deductions | XOF 6,000,000 - 240,000 - 300,000 - 132,100 | XOF 5,327,900 |
Under the same simplified bases, the employer general CNSS is XOF 1,050,000 and a 5% employer AMU share is XOF 300,000. Total annual employment cost before other employer costs is XOF 7,350,000. Neither employer amount should be subtracted from the employee's net pay.
A live payroll still needs its contribution base, pay frequency, year-to-date values, dependent documents and treatment of each allowance or benefit confirmed. Use the Staff Cost Planner with verified inputs for budgeting, then reconcile the approved payroll to the official OTR and CNSS declarations.
OTR And CNSS Employer Deadlines
The OTR Tax Procedures Book states that an employer withholds tax at each taxable payment and records the deduction on the payslip. Article 27 requires the employer to remit the withholding by the 15th of the following month with the prescribed statement. The same provision addresses annual regularisation where an amount was not withheld or was adjusted, with a January 15 date for the following year. Article 28 sets January 31 for the annual salary declaration.
CNSS separately requires the employer declaration and contribution payment by the 15th of the month following the relevant payroll month. Its online DRC guide shows the monthly declaration workflow and a contribution grid that includes the AMU 10% line alongside the general social security branches. An employer with more than 20 insured workers can upload the specified spreadsheet, but the source file still needs validation before submission.
Do not assume one portal acknowledgement proves both OTR and CNSS obligations. Preserve the OTR declaration, OTR payment reference, CNSS DRC, CNSS payment reference and bank evidence as separate records. A payment without a matched declaration can be difficult to allocate, while a submitted declaration without settlement still leaves an unpaid balance.
The Tax Procedures Book also requires relevant records to be retained for ten years. That retention duty does not justify uncontrolled access. Payroll files contain salary and identity information, so keep them in a restricted system with an audit trail, named owners and a documented disposal process after the applicable period.
A Controlled Monthly Payroll Workflow
1. Freeze approved inputs. Record starters, leavers, salary changes, bonuses, allowances, benefits, unpaid leave and dependent changes with effective dates. Never overwrite a closed period merely to make the current month balance.
2. Classify every earning. Separate base salary, cash allowances, reimbursed business expenses, benefits in kind and exceptional payments. Map each item to its IRPP, general CNSS and AMU treatment using the current official source.
3. Calculate in the statutory order. Build the general CNSS and AMU bases, calculate the employee shares, apply allowed employment deductions and dependent relief, round as required, then apply the progressive IRPP bands. Calculate employer contributions separately.
4. Reconcile four views. Gross earnings minus employee deductions must equal net pay. Net pay must equal the approved bank file. OTR withholding must equal the tax return and tax control account. Employee plus employer contributions must equal the CNSS declaration and liability.
5. Review exceptions. Investigate zero tax above an expected threshold, negative net pay, duplicate bank details, missing CNSS identifiers, AMU omissions, unusually large month-to-month changes, manual overrides, benefits without values and control accounts that do not match declarations.
6. Submit, pay and archive. Complete the OTR and CNSS processes by the applicable date. Save the approved payroll register, payslips, exception report, declarations, acknowledgements, payment receipts, bank confirmation and correction log under the same period reference.
7. Version the rules. Record the source URL, date checked, rates, thresholds, ceilings, contribution bases, rounding method and approver for each payroll configuration. When a rule changes, add a new effective-dated version instead of rewriting historic calculations.
A payslip should show gross earnings, employee general CNSS, employee AMU, taxable income or a clear tax basis, IRPP, any other authorised deduction and net pay. Employer contributions can be shown as employer information, but they must not look like employee deductions. The Payslip Draft Generator keeps the drafting step local, while the employer remains responsible for verified rates and the official filing record.
Build A Source-Checked Togo Payroll Pack
Budget verified employer obligations, then create a private payslip draft with separate CNSS, AMU and IRPP lines.
Open Staff Cost Planner →Togo PAYE Questions
What are the employee contribution rates in Togo?
For an ordinary covered employee, the general CNSS share is 4%. Mandatory AMU is separate at 10% in total. CNSS describes the ordinary AMU split as 5% employer and 5% worker, while the decree requires the employer to bear at least half.
Does the 21.5% CNSS rate include AMU?
No. The 21.5% rate funds the general social security branches and is split 17.5% employer and 4% worker. The AMU contribution is an additional 10% on covered remuneration.
When are employment tax and CNSS due?
OTR requires employment tax withheld in a month to be remitted by the 15th of the next month. CNSS also states that the monthly employer declaration and contribution payment are due by the 15th of the following month. They remain separate obligations.
What is the highest Togo employment tax rate?
The top IRPP rate is 35% on the annual taxable income slice above XOF 20 million. It is a marginal rate and does not apply to all taxable income.
Official Sources Reviewed
Primary sources were checked on September 8, 2026:
- OTR, General Tax Code and Tax Procedures Book updated in 2025, including the employment income, IRPP calculation, withholding, declaration and retention provisions.
- OTR, Fiscal Handbook 2026 publication page, published June 23, 2026.
- CNSS Togo, general social contribution rates, bases and monthly collection.
- CNSS Togo, mandatory AMU conditions and employee contribution split.
- Togo Decree No. 2023-096/PR on AMU contribution rates and collection.
- CNSS online DRC user guide, showing the monthly remuneration and contribution declaration workflow and AMU line.