Morocco Tax Residence: the rule, how days are counted, examples

Summary

Morocco treats you as having your tax home in the country when your stays, in a row or not, are longer than 183 days in any period of 365 days. The same result follows, with any number of days, when your permanent home is in Morocco or the centre of your economic interests is there. A person with a tax home in Morocco pays Moroccan income tax on income from Morocco and from abroad. The rule is in article 23 of the General Tax Code, and the Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI), Morocco's tax authority, applies it.

Limit: 183 days. More than 183 gives you a tax home in Morocco
Period: Any period of 365 days, not the calendar year
What is counted: The length of your stays in Morocco, in a row or not
Law: General Tax Code (Code Général des Impôts), article 23, part II
Run by: Direction Générale des Impôts (DGI)

Who it applies to

Retired people from Europe who spend the winter in Marrakech or Agadir.
Remote workers who stay in Morocco for long seasons.
Moroccans living abroad who return for long visits and keep a home in Morocco.
Foreign employees sent to Morocco for a project of several months.
People who own or rent a home in Morocco all year and are not sure if days matter for them.

The rule

Article 23 of the General Tax Code is about where income tax applies. Part I says that people with their tax home (domicile fiscal) in Morocco are taxed on all their income, from Moroccan and foreign sources. People without a tax home in Morocco are taxed only on income from Moroccan sources.

Part II defines the tax home. A person has it in Morocco when they have in Morocco their permanent home, or the centre of their economic interests, or when the length of their stays in Morocco, continuous or not, is more than 183 days for any period of 365 days. One of the three is enough.

The DGI explained the order of the three tests in its circular number 735. The tests are listed by importance. The permanent home is looked at first. Only if there is no permanent home does the DGI look at the centre of economic interests, and the length of stay comes last. So the day count is the test for people who have neither a permanent home nor their main economic interests in Morocco.

Part II has one more case. Agents of the Moroccan state who work or are on mission abroad have their tax home in Morocco when they are exempt from personal income tax in the foreign country where they live.

Why it exists

Morocco taxes people who are based in the country on their income from everywhere. The home and the economic interests show a lasting base. The day count catches people who have no such base on paper but still live in Morocco for more than half of a year. A moving period of 365 days stops a long winter stay from escaping the rule because it is split by 31 December.

Counting the days

You count the days of all your stays in Morocco inside any period of 365 days. The stays do not need to be in a row.

List every stay in Morocco with its entry date and exit date, from your passport stamps.
Count the days of each stay.
Take any period of 365 days and add up the days of the stays inside it.
Move the period forward and repeat, because the law says any period of 365 days.
If one period has more than 183 days, the day test is met.
Check first whether you have a permanent home or your main economic interests in Morocco, because those tests come before the day count.

How Countr counts it. Countr counts every day on which you were in Morocco for any part of the day, over the 12 months that end today, and shows the total against the limit of 183 days. The law speaks of 365 days and does not say how to treat the day you arrive or the day you leave. Countr counts both, which is the careful reading. The card shows the last 12 months only, so open the tracker to see past periods in which you went over, because those stay on your record. Countr cannot see a permanent home or your main work and income in Morocco, and either one gives you a tax home there with any number of days.

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Examples

One long winter

Henrik arrives in Agadir on 1 October 2025 and leaves on 15 April 2026. He rents short-term flats and has no permanent home in Morocco. His stay is 197 days inside one period of 365 days. He passed 183 days on 2 April 2026, his 184th day. His tax home is in Morocco, although he has only 92 days in 2025 and 105 days in 2026.

A home with few days

Samira works in France and keeps a house in Rabat where her husband and children live all year. She is in Morocco for 90 days in the year. The day test is not met. But the permanent home is the first test, and the DGI can decide that her tax home is in Morocco because of the house. France will also treat her as resident, so the tax treaty between the two countries decides.

Exactly 183 days

Luca stays in Morocco for 120 days in spring and 63 days in autumn inside the same 365 days. The total is 183 days. The law says the stays must be more than 183 days, so the day test is not met. One more day in that period would be day 184 and would meet it.

Exceptions

A permanent home in Morocco gives you a tax home there with any number of days. The DGI looks at this test first.
The centre of your economic interests in Morocco, such as your main work or main source of income, has the same effect when there is no permanent home.
Agents of the Moroccan state on mission abroad keep their tax home in Morocco when the foreign country does not tax their income.
Foreign ambassadors, diplomatic agents and consuls are exempt from Moroccan income tax on income from foreign sources, when their countries give the same to Moroccan diplomats. This is in article 24.
A tax treaty can decide your residence when both Morocco and another country claim you. Morocco has treaties with many countries.

Common misconceptions

“Morocco counts 183 days from January to December.”: No. Article 23 says any period of 365 days. A stay from October to April can pass 183 days although each calendar year has fewer.
“Under 183 days, Morocco cannot tax my foreign income.”: It can, if your permanent home or the centre of your economic interests is in Morocco. Those tests come before the day count and need no minimum number of days.
“The three tests must all be met.”: One is enough. The DGI's circular says they are listed in order of importance, not as a list of conditions that must all be true.
“The days must be one stay without a break.”: The law says continuous or not. Several visits inside the same 365 days are added together.

Questions and answers

How many days can I stay in Morocco before I become a tax resident?

Up to 183 days in any period of 365 days, if you have no permanent home and no main economic interests in Morocco. With more than 183 days, your tax home is in Morocco.

Does the day I arrive in Morocco count?

Article 23 speaks of the length of your stays and does not give a rule for part days. The careful way is to count both the arrival day and the departure day, and that is how Countr counts.

What happens when my tax home is in Morocco?

You are taxed in Morocco on all your income, from Moroccan and foreign sources. Without a tax home in Morocco you are taxed only on income from Moroccan sources.

Does owning a holiday house in Morocco make me a tax resident?

Not by itself. The test is a permanent home, which the DGI judges from the facts, such as whether you and your family really live there. A house used only for some weeks of holiday is a weaker case, but the DGI looks at the whole situation.

Does a short trip out of Morocco reset the 183 days?

No. The stays can be continuous or not, and all days inside the same 365 days are added together.

I am taxed in France and I winter in Morocco. Which country wins?

Each country applies its own law first, so both can treat you as resident. The tax treaty between Morocco and France then decides, using its own order of tests. Keep proof of where your home and your days are.

Sources

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This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.