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bookeeper

Localized for Bahrain

Accounting & tax software for Bahrain

AI-powered, bilingual accounting tuned to Bahrain — the right tax on every invoice, local payroll, and reports in Arabic and English.

Everything included · $1/mo for 3 months, then $12.99 · Arabic & English

  • Currency

    BHD

    Bahraini Dinar

  • Tax

    10%

    VAT

  • Social insurance

    8% / 18%

    Employee / Employer

VAT

How VAT works in Bahrain

Bahrain doubled its VAT to 10% in 2022, but keeps an unusually generous zero-rated list — basic food, medicine, healthcare, education, new construction and oil & gas all sit at 0%. bookeeper applies each correctly.

Standard rate

10%

Registration

Mandatory registration at BHD 37,500; voluntary from BHD 18,750.

Filing

Quarterly filing up to BHD 3M turnover, monthly above; due the last day of the following month.

E-invoicing

Announced

NBR e-invoicing (planned)

Bahrain's National Bureau for Revenue is preparing a central e-invoicing platform, but no law or firm dates have been published yet. bookeeper is being built to connect once the NBR confirms the model.

How each item is taxed

  • Standard10%

    General goods & services, electronics, hospitality, professional services

  • Zero-rated0%

    Basic food (~94 items), medicine & healthcare, education, new construction, oil & gas, exports

  • Exempt

    Margin-based financial services, sale or lease of bare land

bookeeper replies

Your AI accountant, in Arabic

Ask in plain Arabic. bookeeper applies Bahrain's rules and answers in the language you use.

You ask

كم ضريبة القيمة المضافة على هذه الفاتورة؟

bookeeper replies

يطبّق bookeeper ضريبة البحرين 10% على البنود القياسية و0% على الغذاء والدواء الخاضعَين للصفر، ويعرض التفصيل الدقيق.

SIO (Social Insurance Organization)

Payroll & social security

No income tax on salaries. Payroll runs on SIO, with a new SIO-administered end-of-service scheme for expats since 2024.

Employee

8%

Employer

18%

Rules that matter

  • Bahraini nationals (2026): employee 8% + employer 18%, on wages capped near BHD 4,000/month.
  • Expats: 1% employee + 3% employer for work-injury cover.
  • Expat end-of-service is now funded to SIO at 4.2% (years 1–3), then 8.4%.

Bahrain

Why Bahrain businesses choose bookeeper

  • The 10% rate and Bahrain's wide zero-rated food and medicine list applied per line.
  • SIO payroll with the funded expat end-of-service accrual built in.
  • 3-decimal dinar rounding kept exact.
  • Arabic-first invoices and IFRS-style reports for Manama businesses.

Ready when you are

Put your Bahrain books in order today

Start for just $1/month for 3 months, then $12.99. Localized tax and payroll for Bahrain, in Arabic and English, cancel anytime.

Setup takes a few minutes