Mobile money withdrawal charges in Tanzania (Kutoa Pesa) 2026
Withdrawing mobile money in Tanzania (kutoa pesa) carries the operator fee plus the layered fiscal stack: 10% excise duty on the operator fee + 18% VAT on the operator fee. The effective multiplier on the operator's published fee is ×1.298. The 2021-2022 government withdrawal levy was scrapped in October 2022; the current Finance Act position is documented on the levy page.
The all-in cost stack
Tanzania layers two consumption taxes on top of every mobile-money operator fee: a 10% excise duty (Excise Tax Act) and the standard 18% VAT. Both apply to the operator's published fee, not to the transaction amount. The compounded effect of stacking ×(1.10)×(1.18) on the operator fee is a ×1.298 multiplier — so the all-in cost is ~30% above the displayed operator fee.
Reproducing a row: M-Pesa cash-out on TSh 30,000 sits in the 10,000-49,999 band at TSh 1,450 operator fee. Excise + VAT: 1,450 × 1.298 = ~TSh 1,882. The all-in cost as % of transaction amount is 1,882 / 30,000 = ~6.3%. Larger amounts move the effective % down (operator bands are fixed-flat per band, not pure percentage).
Per-operator withdrawal bands
The richest documented withdraw schedule on the site is M-Pesa Vodacom Tanzania. Mixx by Yas (formerly Tigo Pesa) and Airtel Money use comparable banded schedules. The numeric bands live in the comparison table on the Tanzania country hub and the per-amount pages (see See also). The all-in cost on each band = operator_band × 1.298.
Cheaper-than-withdraw: pay the merchant directly
If the cash you're withdrawing is destined to pay a merchant or a bill, Lipa kwa Simu / merchant pay is typically zero-cost for the customer — the operator fee + excise + VAT layer disappears entirely. The merchant pays a small acceptance fee on their side, but it doesn't reach you.
All values verified June 2026. Operator tariffs cross-checked against Vodacom Tanzania, Yas / Mixx by Yas, Airtel Tanzania and Halotel published sources; review cadence is quarterly.