Payroll guide · Ghana
Everything an employer needs to run compliant payroll in Ghana — PAYE bands, statutory deductions, the computation order, filing deadlines and the mistakes that most often surface in an audit.
Ghanaian payroll runs on a seven-band PAYE table and a three-tier pension system, with one detail that catches nearly every new employer: SSNIT is assessed on basic salary, not on gross.
This guide covers the PAYE bands, SSNIT Tiers 1, 2 and 3, the minimum contribution base, the computation order and the GRA filing calendar including Form DT-0107a.
Payroll obligations in Ghana are administered by Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), alongside the social security and levy bodies set out below. Every employer is responsible for computing deductions correctly, remitting them on time and retaining the records — the obligation sits with the employer, not the employee, and it does not transfer to a bookkeeper or an accountant.
| Chargeable income (GHS) | Rate |
|---|---|
| First 490 | 0% |
| Next 110 — 490 to 600 | 5% |
| Next 130 — 600 to 730 | 10% |
| Next 3,166.67 — 730 to 3,896.67 | 17.5% |
| Next 16,000 — 3,896.67 to 19,896.67 | 25% |
| Next 30,520 — 19,896.67 to 50,416.67 | 30% |
| Above 50,416.67 | 35% |
Monthly chargeable income in GHS, resident employees.
| Deduction | Employee | Employer | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSNIT Tier 1 | 5.5% | 8% | 13.5% of basic salary. Assessed on at least the national minimum wage base of GHS 539.19. The employee share is tax deductible. |
| SSNIT Tier 2 | — | 5% | Mandatory occupational scheme managed by a private trustee, on basic salary. |
| Tier 3 — voluntary | Optional | Optional | Voluntary provident fund contributions, tax relieved within statutory limits. |
Our free calculator applies every deduction on this page — including lower earnings limits and relief caps — and shows the PAYE working band by band.
Open the Ghana calculator| Relief | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tax-free band | GHS 490/month | Applied automatically through the band table. |
| Employee SSNIT | Fully deductible | Reduces chargeable income before the bands are applied. |
| Tier 3 contributions | Tax relieved | Within statutory limits. |
Getting the order right matters more than getting any single rate right. Applying a deduction after the bands instead of before it changes the tax for every employee on the payroll.
Chargeable income is cash pay plus taxable allowances and benefits — including accommodation and vehicle elements — less the employee SSNIT contribution and any tax-relieved Tier 3. PAYE is then computed on the graduated bands. Bonus and overtime for qualifying junior staff are taxed at their separate concessionary rates and reported separately on the GRA annual schedule.
An employee on GHS 6,000 gross:
Employer cost on top of gross: SSNIT Tier 1 at 8% of basic (400.00) and Tier 2 at 5% of basic (250.00) — a total cost of employment of GHS 6,650.00.
| When | What is due |
|---|---|
| By the 15th of the following month | PAYE remitted to GRA and the monthly return filed |
| By the 14th | SSNIT Tier 1 and Tier 2 contributions remitted |
| By 31 March | Annual employer return, Form DT-0107a, filed with GRA |
| By 30 April | Employee annual returns due |
GRA applies penalties and interest on late PAYE returns and payments, and SSNIT carries its own penalty regime on unremitted contributions. Form DT-0107a is the filing most often rejected and resubmitted, usually because the SSNIT base was computed on gross rather than basic.
These are the errors that turn up most often when a manual payroll is reviewed.
Our ROI calculator prices what manual payroll actually costs — the days lost at month-end, the leave nobody recorded, and the statutory penalty exposure you are already carrying.
Open the ROI calculatorOn basic salary, not gross. Tier 1 is 5.5% from the employee and 8% from the employer; Tier 2 is a further 5% from the employer. All three are assessed on basic, subject to a minimum base of GHS 539.19.
The GRA employer annual return, summarising employee emoluments and tax withheld for the year. It is due by 31 March following the year of assessment.
18.5% of basic salary — 5.5% from the employee and 13% from the employer across Tier 1 and Tier 2.
Yes. The employee Tier 1 contribution reduces chargeable income before the graduated bands are applied, as do tax-relieved Tier 3 contributions.
The first GHS 490 of monthly chargeable income is taxed at 0%.
Bonus and overtime for qualifying junior staff attract separate concessionary rates and are reported separately on the GRA annual schedule.
CromaHR computes every deduction on this page automatically, with rates that are effective-dated — so a retrospective run uses the rates in force for that period rather than today's. Returns are generated in the formats Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) actually accepts, and every run leaves a complete audit trail.
Because the platform was designed by a Certified Internal Auditor, the controls came first: maker-checker approval on payroll runs, role-based permissions, and a record of every change showing who made it, when, and what the value was before and after.
CromaHR supports payroll in 36+ countries. These guides cover the markets our customers ask about most.
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