Madagascar Mobile Money Tax: status, the 150,000 Ar threshold and timeline
Is there a mobile money tax in Madagascar? A 0.5% levy over 150,000 Ar was proposed in late 2024, strongly opposed by the operators, and its fate under the 2026 finance law remains publicly unconfirmed. This page tracks the real status and updates it as soon as it changes.
A 0.5% tax on mobile money transactions over 150,000 Ar was proposed in the 2025 Finance Bill (Nov 2024) and strongly opposed by MVola, Orange Money and Airtel Money. No public source confirms it is in force, and operators do not show a separate tax line on their tariffs. Status unresolved.
The tax (TTM) timeline
In November 2024, the tax authority announced, in the 2025 Finance Bill, a mobile transaction tax (TTM) of 0.5% on transactions above 150,000 Ar. The stated aim was to raise new revenue. The three operators — MVola, Orange Money and Airtel Money — opposed it jointly and publicly, noting that transfers above 150,000 Ar make up the bulk of sector volume and warning of a 2 to 5 times rise in user fees, with a risk to financial inclusion.
The 2026 finance law was passed during the political transition. To date, no public source confirms that a separate mobile money tax is actually applied, and operators show no separate tax line on their tariffs. A variant floated in early 2026 would apply a levy not to the transferred value but to the fees charged (before tax); its actual application is likewise unconfirmed.
How the 150,000 Ar threshold would work
If the 0.5% levy over 150,000 Ar took effect, it would apply to the transaction value. A 200,000 Ar send would be taxed at 0.5%, i.e. 1,000 Ar, on top of the usual transfer fees. A 100,000 Ar send, below the threshold, would not be taxed. Mechanically, splitting a large send below 150,000 Ar would avoid the tax — but multiply the transfer fees, which often cancels the saving. These examples are hypothetical while the status is unconfirmed.
The 'on-fees' variant would work differently: a rate (floated around 5%) applied to the fee amount charged, not the transferred value. On a 1,000 Ar fee, that would be 50 Ar. The user impact would be smaller than the 0.5% value tax, but the exact mechanism remains to be confirmed.
What it means for you
In practice, as of the verification date, you pay your operator's usual transfer and withdrawal fees, with no separate tax added. If you see a 'tax' line appear on a receipt, that signals the status has changed: this page will be updated the same day via our admin tool, without waiting for a rebuild. Until then, be wary of unsourced categorical claims ('the 0.5% tax is in force'): the final text remains ambiguous and operators apply no separate levy to date.