Downtown Kigali is bustling with shoppers every given day. Just as they have incentives to ask for receipts, Government has offered bonus if anyone can report someone dodging tax
People who report tax evasion in Rwanda will receive a reward equal to 5% of the principal tax recovered by the Rwanda Revenue Authority, with the payment capped at Rwf10 million under a new government order.
The measure is contained in a ministerial order signed by the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning on September 24 and published in the Official Gazette on September 25, 2026.
The order sets rules covering electronic invoicing, tax waivers and rewards for people who report cases of tax evasion.
It states that a person who reports a case of tax evasion receives an award from the tax administration equal to 5% of the recovered principal tax or Rwf10 million, whichever is lower.
This means the reward is calculated from the actual principal tax recovered by the tax administration, rather than simply from the amount of tax that investigators determine was owed.
It also means that interest charged for late payment and administrative penalties are not included in the calculation.
For example, if a taxpayer is found to have evaded Rwf100 million in principal tax and that entire amount is recovered, the person who reported the case would receive Rwf5 million.
If Rwf200 million is recovered, the reward reaches the maximum of Rwf10 million.
For any recovery above Rwf200 million, the reward remains Rwf10 million.
| Principal tax recovered | 5% calculation | Whistleblower reward |
|---|---|---|
| Rwf20 million | Rwf1 million | Rwf1 million |
| Rwf100 million | Rwf5 million | Rwf5 million |
| Rwf200 million | Rwf10 million | Rwf10 million |
| Rwf1 billion | Rwf50 million | Rwf10 million |
The two parts of the formula meet at Rwf200 million because 5% of Rwf200 million is Rwf10 million.
Payment comes after administrative appeals
The reward is not paid immediately after a person reports suspected tax evasion.
Article 12 provides that payment is made after the administrative appeal procedure has been concluded, where such a procedure applies.
This means that if the taxpayer challenges the tax assessment through the administrative appeal process, the whistleblower has to wait until that process is completed.
Where there is no administrative appeal, the article does not create such a waiting period.
The provision does not expressly state whether a subsequent case before a court would delay payment after the administrative appeal process has ended.
RRA, not the Treasury, pays the reward
The order places responsibility for the payment on the tax administration.
In practice, this means the Rwanda Revenue Authority is responsible for the award rather than the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning making individual payments directly.
The reward is also linked to money actually recovered.
A tax assessment by itself is therefore not enough to establish the amount of the reward. The relevant figure is the principal tax that has actually been recovered.
A new incentive for reporting tax evasion
The measure gives members of the public a direct financial incentive to help the tax administration identify unpaid taxes.
It comes as Rwanda has been pursuing measures to improve tax compliance and broaden the tax base.
Earlier reforms introduced rewards linked to Value Added Tax invoices.
Under those rules, a consumer who requests and receives an electronic billing machine invoice can receive 10% of the Value Added Tax shown on the invoice, while a person who reports being denied an invoice can receive an additional reward equivalent to 50% of penalties paid on that invoice.
The new tax-evasion reward is different because it is tied to the recovery of principal tax rather than the value of a particular invoice or the penalty imposed on a taxpayer.
The wider tax reform agenda
The whistleblower provision is part of a broader effort to improve tax compliance and increase domestic revenue.
The Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning has previously said tax reforms are intended to broaden the tax base, improve compliance and curb tax evasion.
The new order therefore adds another layer to Rwanda’s approach: rather than relying only on tax officials to identify evasion, it creates a financial incentive for people outside the tax administration to report suspected cases.
The effectiveness of the system will depend partly on how RRA defines reporting procedures, verifies information supplied by whistleblowers and determines whether a report directly contributed to a tax recovery.
