Mozambique has its own currency, the metical, a central bank regime that routes export income through Mozambican banks and converts part of it into meticais, and a labour law that has presumed employment in some cases since February 2024. A contractor usually works as an individual with a NUIT, sometimes as a sole proprietor or through a company. For a client abroad, the rules that matter are the export-revenue rules on where and in what currency the money lands, the employment presumption in Law 13/2023, and a simplified tax regime that closes to contractors who serve one entity for most of the year.
Individual, sole proprietor or company
A contractor is usually an individual registered with the tax authority and holding a NUIT, the unique tax identification number. A freelancer can invoice under their own name. Some trade as a sole proprietor, an empresa em nome individual, which Deel’s guide says needs identity documents, proof of address and a NUIT, with registration taking 7 to 15 days online and up to 30 days on paper (Deel, checked 2026-11-04). One person may run only one such business at a time (same source).
A company is a separate entity paying 32% corporate income tax (PwC, reviewed 2026-08-11, checked 2026-11-04). For you, a company is a corporate counterparty that signs a W-8BEN-E.
Income tax, VAT and what the contractor pays
| Item | Rate | Base in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax (IRPS), resident individual | 10% / 15% / 20% / 25% / 32% | Annual income: up to MZN 42,000; to 168,000; to 504,000; to 1,512,000; above 1,512,000 |
| Simplified tax (ISPC) | 3% / 4% / 5%; fixed 15% for liberal professions | Annual turnover up to MZN 1 million; to 2.5 million; to 4 million |
| Corporate income tax | 32% | Income of a resident company |
| VAT | 16% | Standard regime above MZN 2.5 million turnover |
Sources: PwC on personal income, PwC on corporate income and PwC on other taxes, all reviewed 2026-08-11 and checked 2026-11-04; ISPC from DLA Piper Africa, checked 2026-11-04.
PwC applies a fixed deduction to each band after the rate (for example MZN 141,540 above MZN 1,512,000), so the effective rate is below the headline. Under Law 9/2025, in force since 1 January 2026, the ISPC period became quarterly, and lawyers, engineers, accountants and consultants may stay in it for at most 5 years (DLA Piper Africa, same source). Which regime a software contractor files under is the contractor’s question, not yours.
VAT. PwC lists exports among zero-rated supplies and puts the standard regime at turnover above MZN 2.5 million (reviewed 2026-08-11, checked 2026-11-04). Below that, the contractor charges no VAT under the standard regime. Law 10/2025 amended the VAT Code from 1 January 2026 (Teamed, checked 2026-11-04), so a contractor near the threshold should confirm their regime.
When a contractor counts as an employee
Law 13/2023 was published on 25 August 2023, repealed Law 23/2007 and applies from 21 February 2024 (DLA Piper Africa, checked 2026-11-04). Among its changes is a presumption that a labour contract exists (Afriwise, checked 2026-11-04). Teamed’s guide, a vendor source we could not check against the statute, reads the provisions this way:
- Subordination. An employment contract exists where a person puts their activity under the authority and direction of another for pay, and the label does not decide it (Art. 21).
- Presumption. Employment is presumed where the worker is paid with the company’s knowledge and without opposition, or depends on that income to subsist, and the burden shifts to the company to show independence (Art. 22).
- Economic subordination. A service contract performed autonomously but leaving the provider in economic subordination is treated as equivalent to employment (Art. 23).
The ISPC rules point the same way: a taxpayer who serves the same entity for more than 183 days in a year is excluded from the simplified regime (DLA Piper Africa, 2026). A full-time developer billing one foreign client all year fits that pattern. A contractor with their own tools, other clients and deliverable-based invoices does not.
Reclassification brings payroll costs and inspection exposure. PwC puts social security at 7%, split between the employer (4%) and the employee (3%) with no ceiling (PwC, reviewed 2026-08-11, checked 2026-11-04). Teamed lists Labour Inspectorate fines of 3 to 10 minimum wages per affected worker (Art. 268), INSS fines of 1 to 5 minimum wages per worker and a 10-year lookback for contributions (checked 2026-11-04). Confirm any figure you plan around with a Mozambican lawyer.
Keep engagements scoped to deliverables, let the contractor set their hours and use their own equipment, allow other clients, and track hours only where you must bill by the hour.
Contract and IP
- A written services agreement with the individual or company: deliverables, rate, invoice currency, payment terms, and whether fees are exclusive of VAT.
- A written IP assignment, delivery by delivery. Copyright Law 9/2022 has applied since 26 September 2022 and repealed the 2001 law (Adams & Adams, checked 2026-11-04). We could not confirm from the sources we read how it treats assignment formalities, commissioned work or software, so do not rely on a default: build the assignment into acceptance of each deliverable and have a Mozambican lawyer check the current text.
- Independence markers: the contractor’s own equipment and schedule and the right to serve other clients, which speak to the presumption above.
On your side, pay gross against the invoice. PwC describes a flat 20% definitive withholding for non-residents on most earned income (PwC, reviewed 2026-08-11, checked 2026-11-04); that is a different case from a resident contractor paid from abroad, and we found no rule that makes a payer without a Mozambican entity withhold. If you have a local entity, confirm your position with a Mozambican adviser. US payers collect a W-8BEN (W-8BEN-E from a company) and file no 1099; Mozambique is not on the IRS list of treaty countries (irs.gov, checked 2026-11-04), so the form claims no treaty rate.
How to pay contractors in Mozambique
| Method | What the contractor sees | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MZN transfer to a bank account | Meticais in their account | Wise’s US page lists 21.35 USD per 1,000 USD by bank transfer |
| Mobile money | Meticais in their wallet | Payout providers such as dLocal reach M-Pesa, e-Mola and mKesh numbers |
| SWIFT (USD) | Dollars in a USD account at a Mozambican bank, less any deductions | Intermediary and inward fees apply |
| Contractor platform | Funds in a bank account or wallet, with contract and closing documents | Platform fee, per payout or per seat |
Export proceeds must be repatriated through a Mozambican bank, and at least 50% of export revenue must be converted into meticais (DLA Piper Africa, checked 2026-11-04). Residents need central bank approval to hold an account abroad (AIM, checked 2026-11-04). Rails, documents and a comparison of platforms are on our page on how to pay contractors in Mozambique.
Contractor of Record in Mozambique
Because the employment presumption turns on facts such as economic dependence and a single paying client, a Contractor of Record is most useful for long, full-time engagements, where those facts already lean toward employment. 4dev acts as Contractor of Record — the contracting party for each contractor — which reduces reclassification risk. Other providers sell Contractor of Record products as well; read the liability clause in the contract, not the product name. Where the relationship is really employment, use an Employer of Record instead; Deel, Playroll and G-P each publish a Mozambique EOR page. Compare providers in our COR rating.