Quick overview
| Standard Rate | Reduced Rate | Other Rates |
| 10% | Exempt, 0% |
The local name for VAT in Bahrain is (ةبيرضلا) ةفاضملا ةميقلا ةبيرض
There is basically 1 VAT VAT rate in Bahrain:
- Standard VAT rate is 10%
- There is no Reduced VAT rate
Recent developments
The standard VAT rate increased to 10% as of Jan 1, 2022. Before that date, the standard VAT rate was 5%.
For more information about (recent) rate change developments in Bahrain, please click here.
Standard rate: 10%
This rate applies for all transactions that take place in Bahrain, unless an exception applies (such as a reduced rate, the zero rate or an exemption, or a reason to treat the transaction as outside scope of VAT).
Standard rate applies amongst other to:
- Restaurants and coffee shops
- Education
- Professional education
- Vocational training provided by an educational institution that is not a licensed polytechnic educational institution
- School uniforms
- Stationery
- Activities organised by educational institutions for recreational purposes
- Electronic devices supplied by the institution
- Food and beverages offered at the institutions
- Healthcare
- Cosmetic procedures
- The supply of food and beverages to any person who is not a patient
- Parking and valet services
- Telephone, internet and electronic services, including TV rental services
- Accommodation provided to any person who is not a patient
- Financial services
- General insurance
- Fees paid on remittances and money transfers
- Fees paid on issuance of cheque books
- Brokerage and intermediary services (e.g., agency services for trading securities)*
- Discretionary asset management (e.g., private banking-type services)*
- *When remunerated by way of a fee or commission (e.g., transaction fee, management fee, both fixed and variable)
- Construction of new buildings
- Construction works to an existing building, unless it relates to a new extension of an existing building
- Demolition of existing buildings
- Architects’ and interior design fees
- Restoration works
- Fixtures and equipment not permanently affixed to the building and which can be removed without damage (e.g., furniture, decorative lighting, artwork, etc.)
- Any goods or services supplied after the building has been completed
- Real Estate
- Hotel accommodation
- Rental of function room and halls
- Car parking
- Management services, utilities, telecommunications, internet and television charged for separately and in addition to the rent
- The lease of serviced office space where the customer does not have the right to use a designated space on an exclusive basis
- Brokerage or property agent fees in relation to the sale or rental of real estate
- Transportation services
- Vehicle purchases
- Vehicle rental without a driver
- Transportation services for food delivery services
- Transportation services for sightseeing or leisure purposes
- Telecommunication services
- Fixed phone services (i.e. landlines)
- Home internet / Wifi services
- Mobile phone services used in the Kingdom of Bahrain, e.g., calls, texts and data
- Import and export
- Services provided in the Kingdom of Bahrain by a foreign company
Zero rate (0%)
Goods and services taxable at 0% (with input VAT deduction)
- Food items listed in the GCC list of basic food items
- Education
- Educational services provided by kindergartens, pre-primary, primary, secondary and higher education institutions
- Subscription, application and administration fees
- Printed and digital books directly related to the curriculum
- Student accommodation provided by the educational institution
- Activities and trips organised if these directly relate to the curriculum
- Healthcare
- General medical health services*
- Specialist medical health services, including surgery*
- Dental services*
- Services related to the treatment of mental illnesses*
- Occupational or surgical health services*
- Speech therapy*
- Physiotherapy provided*
- Sight and hearing tests*
- Nursing care*
- Services to diagnose an illness (incl. the analysis of samples and x-rays*)
- Vaccinations*
- Health testing and screening that is undertaken under a local law, documented policy or contractual obligation*
- Cosmetic procedures provided as part of a medical condition
- Drugs, medicines, bandages and other medical consumables* (if included in the lists of zero-rated products as defined by the National Health Regulatory Authority**)
- Laboratory services*
- Transport services for patients or those injured
- Accommodation and catering services for patients*
- Mortuary services*
- Medical consultations provided remotely by electronic communications
- *If provided by a qualified medical professional or qualified medical institution.
**Please visit the National Health Regulatory Authority’s website for additional information regarding zero-rated medicines (Excel, 0.988 MB), medical devices (PDF, 1.442 MB, 21 pages) and health products (Excel, 0.682 MB).
- Oil and Gas
- Gasoline for vehicles
- Diesel fuel for vehicles and generators
- Motor oil
- Gas for cooking oven
- Construction of new buildings
- Construction services, including:
- Construction works
- Site clearance services
- A new extension to an existing building
- Services provided by engineers and surveyors for supervisory purposes
- Goods supplied as part of the construction services where the goods are used, installed or incorporated into the building or its location, including:
- Building materials – e.g., bricks
- Fixtures and equipment to the extent that these are permanently affixed to the building and cannot be removed without causing damage
- Goods supplied to conduct civil engineering works
- Goods supplied to connect the building to a water supply and telecommunications services
- Photovoltaic cells and equipment to produce electricity and hot water
- Construction services, including:
- Real Estate
- Sale and rental of real estate (residential, commercial and bare land)
- Transportation services
- Local transport of goods and passengers in the Kingdom of Bahrain such as buses and taxis
- Airplane tickets from one place in the Kingdom of Bahrain to a place outside of the Kingdom
- Import and export
- Export of services
- Import of basic food items*
- Import of medicines and medical equipment**
- *Food items listed in the GCC list of basic food items (PDF, 1.45 MB, 1 page)
- **If approved by the National Health Regulatory Authority
Exempt supplies of goods and services without input VAT deduction
- Education
- Educational services provided free of charge at Government schools
- Healthcare services provided free of charge at Government hospitals
- Financial Services
- Interest payments on loans (e.g., credit card, personal loans, mortgages, auto-loans, etc.)
- Currencies trading
- Investment fund services (e.g., issuance of stocks, bonds and derivatives)
- The issue or transfer of ownership of securities (equities or debt)
- Life insurance and reinsurance contracts
- Interest earnings received on bank deposits
- Import and export
- Import of equipment used by persons with special needs
- Import of personal baggage and used household items
- Import of gifts carried by passengers
A global VAT/GST rate overview can be found here (note this is a work in progress).
This post was last updated on January 4, 2022.
