Iraq's Income Tax Law obliges every registered or unregistered person with taxable income to submit a report on their income before the first day of June of the assessment year, unless the tax authority requires them to submit it within a set period by written notice. In the Kurdistan Region, this deadline is extended to the first day of July.

The General Deadline for Filing the Tax Return

The law provides that every registered or unregistered person with taxable income must submit a report on their income before the first day of June of the assessment year, if they have not been required to submit it by written notice or by a method of publication. This is the default deadline applicable to taxpayers in general, unless the tax authority requests the report earlier.

The Case of a Special Notice From the Tax Authority

The tax authority may require any person who was subject to tax, or whom it believes to be subject to it, to submit a report on their income within a period it sets in the written notice addressed to them, regardless of whether their name is registered with the income tax departments or not. In this case, the binding deadline becomes the period stated in the notice itself, not the general deadline mentioned above.

The Special Deadline for the Kurdistan Region

The provision on the filing deadline was amended for the Kurdistan Region, so that every registered or unregistered person with taxable income must submit a report on their income before the first day of July of the assessment year, if they have not been required to submit it by written notice or by a method of publication — that is, one extra month compared with the general deadline applied in the rest of Iraq.

Employers' Reports on Their Employees

Alongside the employee's own obligation, every employer is required to submit to the tax authority, within the period it sets in its request, a report containing the names and addresses of its employees and the salaries, allowances and amounts paid to them, as well as the names and addresses of those who receive retirement pensions and similar allowances from it, and their amounts.

What Happens if No Report Is Filed by the Deadline?

After the period set for filing reports has elapsed, the tax authority reviews the reports submitted to it and may accept them and assess the tax accordingly, or reject them and assess the tax on the income it determines using whatever information it can gather. As for anyone who has not filed a report and whom the tax authority believes to be subject to tax, it may assess their income and impose the tax on them on its own initiative, without this relieving them of responsibility for failing to file the report on time.

Extending the Deadline for a Legitimate Excuse

The law allows the tax authority to extend the deadline for filing the report to a suitable date if it is satisfied that the taxpayer has a legitimate excuse, whether the deadline in question is the general one or the one set in a special notice. The employer is also obliged to submit, on the employee's behalf, a report on the employee's income other than salaries and allowances within the same periods prescribed for taxpayers.

Legal References