Dar es Salaam – The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) announced on January 1, 2026, that it collected a historic Sh4.13 trillion in December 2025, surpassing its target of Sh4.01 trillion by 2.9 per cent. The figure represents the highest monthly collection in the authority’s history and marks the sixth consecutive month of over-performance in the 2025/2026 financial year.
The strong December result concludes a successful quarter for the tax agency. From October to December 2025, TRA collected Sh9.8 trillion, achieving 101.45 per cent of its target and representing a 12.26 per cent increase from the Sh8.73 trillion collected during the same period in the previous financial year.
In a statement, TRA Commissioner General, Mr Yusuph Juma Mwenda, attributed the unprecedented collections primarily to improved voluntary tax compliance in the country. He also credited the robust performance to the nation’s strong economic fundamentals, which have been fostered under the leadership of President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
“Her Excellency the President has built economic resilience whose results are clearly reflected in tax collections,” Mr Mwenda stated during a press conference, adding that the guidance from the Sixth Phase Government has been fruitful.
Tanzania’s economy has demonstrated significant resilience, with projected GDP growth of around six per cent for 2025, far outpacing the global average of approximately two per cent. This growth has been supported by key sectors such as mining, agriculture, and tourism. The country has also maintained low inflation, which averaged 3.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, and has seen its currency, the shilling, appreciate against the US dollar.
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Other factors contributing to the revenue surge include strengthened cooperation with the business community, enhanced taxpayer relations, and the promotion of modern tax collection systems, such as the use of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFDs). The authority also highlighted its success in resolving tax disputes through negotiation, which settled 42 cases worth Sh9.4 billion in the last quarter.
The consistent over-performance is a significant indicator of TRA’s progress towards its annual revenue target of Sh36.06 trillion for the 2025/2026 financial year. It also supports the authority’s goal to increase the nation’s revenue-to-GDP ratio from 13.7 per cent to 14.1 per cent, a key measure of a country’s ability to finance its own development.
