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Egypt Payroll & Employment Guide 2026

Egypt combines a large labour market with a newly rewritten employment framework: Labour Law No. 14/2025 took effect on 1 September 2025 and reshapes overtime, leave, notice and severance. Unlike the Gulf states, Egypt levies a progressive personal income tax, withheld monthly by the employer and remitted to the Egyptian Tax Authority. Alongside tax, employers operate NOSI social insurance, several statutory funds, a mandatory annual raise and mandatory profit-sharing. Two structural forces shape 2026 payroll: the Law 14/2025 reforms and the NOSI contribution base, which rises by 15% every January through 2028 before indexing to inflation. Each is covered in the sections that follow.

11pages

7chapters

2,297words

TR + ENlanguages

EGPcurrency

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Egypt Payroll and Employment Guide 2026 cover

At a glance

Four key payroll indicators for Egypt

27.5%TOP INCOME-TAX BAND

48hMAXIMUM WORKING WEEK

29.75%NOSI TOTAL (EMPLOYER + EMPLOYEE)

7,000 EGPPRIVATE-SECTOR MINIMUM WAGE

What is inside

7 chapters, 11 pages

The opening summary of every chapter is below. Download the PDF for the full text, tables and rates.

Company Setup & Business Environment

Entity types, the Representative Office limits, and the Employer of Record route.

A legal entity is required to process payroll in Egypt. Foreign investors most often use a limited liability company, while multinationals that want to employ staff without incorporating can operate through an Employer of Record. Whichever route is chosen, every employee must be registered with NOSI and the Ministry of Manpower systems.

Working Hours & Leave

Hours, overtime and the full annual, sick, maternity, paternity and statutory-leave regime.

The Labour Law caps the working week at 48 hours and eight hours per day, though most companies apply 40 hours in practice. Law 14/2025 revised overtime rates upward and reset the first-year annual-leave entitlement. Hours are reduced during Ramadan and outdoor work is restricted in the summer heat.

Tax & Social Security

Progressive income-tax brackets, NOSI and health-insurance rates, and the contribution caps.

Egypt applies a progressive personal income tax, withheld monthly by the employer and remitted to the Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA) by the 15th of the following month. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, non-residents on Egypt-source income only. Personal exemption: EGP 20,000/year (Law No. 7/2024).

Employer Levies, Wages & Payroll Ops

Statutory funds, minimum wage, the gross-to-net illustration and the filing calendar.

Beyond NOSI, Egyptian employers carry several statutory fund levies and a legally fixed minimum wage. The illustration below shows how a EGP 20,000 gross salary resolves to net pay and to total employer cost in 2026.

Hiring & Termination

Contracts, probation, notice periods and severance under Law 14/2025.

Monthly withholding and NOSI reports fall due on the 15th of the following month. Contracts must be written in Arabic, probation is capped at three months, and Law 14/2025 sets notice and severance by contract type and tenure.

Compensation, Benefits & Permits

Mandatory annual raise, profit-sharing, health insurance and foreign work permits.

Law 14/2025 makes two employer obligations explicit: a mandatory annual salary increase and mandatory profit-sharing. Health insurance is being rolled out geographically, and foreign hiring is bounded by workforce quotas administered by the Ministry of Manpower.

Practical Notes

The checks that prevent the most common and most costly Egyptian payroll errors.

The obligations in this guide reduce to a short list of checks that prevent the most common and most costly Egyptian payroll errors. Each should be settled before the first pay run.

This guide is general information, not legal advice or a complete statement of the law. It reflects the legislation in force when it was prepared, and legislation changes. Always seek country-specific professional advice for a specific situation.

With Datassist

Running payroll and employment operations in Egypt

Employing people in Egypt means applying the rules in this guide again every pay cycle: tracking rates, filing social security, running compliant wage payment channels and calculating end-of-service entitlements. Datassist teams exist so you can manage that from a single point.

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Egypt Payroll & Employment Guide 2026

Four key payroll indicators for Egypt