> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# ZRA overview
> Working with the Zambia Revenue Authority in Bumara — tax types, TPIN, monthly returns and Smart Invoice.
**Rates, thresholds and deadlines change.** The figures on this page reflect the rules Bumara
applies today and are given as a guide. The regulator's current published position always
governs. Bumara applies the rate in force when your filing is calculated — always check the
figures shown on your actual filing rather than relying on this page, and take professional
advice on how the rules apply to your business.
The Zambia Revenue Authority handles your taxes. It is the regulator with the most frequent
obligations — most are monthly — and the one where falling behind grows most expensive, because
interest and penalties accrue.
## What you handle here
Monthly tax deducted from your employees' pay and remitted to ZRA.
A simplified monthly regime for smaller businesses — a flat rate on gross turnover.
Tax you deduct when paying for certain services and remit on the supplier's behalf.
Transmitting your sales invoices to ZRA as you issue them.
## Your TPIN
Your Taxpayer Identification Number is ten characters and is required for almost everything:
invoicing, every return, employee records, and most other regulators' processes.
If you do not have one, request it as a service — **TPIN application** — from the ZRA service
catalogue. You will generally need your PACRA certificate first.
Enter your TPIN in [Set up your business](/start/set-up-your-business). Bumara checks the format
but cannot verify it against ZRA, so check it against your certificate character by character.
## Connecting ZRA
From the sidebar under Regulators.
Taken from your organisation settings.
This is the important step. Tick only what you are actually registered for:
| Tax type | Tick it if |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **PAYE** | You have employees on a payroll |
| **Turnover tax** | Your annual turnover is between K12,000 and K5,000,000 and you are registered for it |
| **Income tax** | You are on the standard regime rather than turnover tax |
| **VAT** | You are VAT registered |
| **Withholding tax** | You pay for services subject to withholding |
Bumara creates one obligation per tax type you selected, and generates the current period's
filing for each.
Turnover tax and standard income tax are alternatives, not additions. If you are on turnover tax
you are not also filing standard income tax returns. Ticking both creates obligations you do not
owe and will spend months filing nil returns against.
## Due dates
| Obligation | Due |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------- |
| PAYE return | 10th of the following month |
| Turnover tax | 14 days after the period end |
| Withholding tax | 14 days after the period end |
| VAT | Per ZRA's schedule for your filing frequency |
Worked examples for the 14-day rule:
| Period | Period ends | Due |
| -------- | ----------- | ----------- |
| January | 31 January | 14 February |
| February | 28 February | 14 March |
| March | 31 March | 14 April |
## How your other Bumara data feeds ZRA returns
This is where most of the time saving is:
| You do | It fills |
| ---------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| Run a pay run in [Payroll](/payroll/overview) | Every employee's PAYE figures for the month |
| Approve sales invoices in [Invoicing](/invoicing/overview) | Your turnover figures for turnover tax |
| Record payments to service providers | Withholding tax deducted |
You review and confirm the figures rather than assembling them.
## Nil returns
If you had no activity in a month you still file — a **nil return**, with a reason:
| Reason | When |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
| No employees | You had nobody on the payroll |
| Below threshold | Activity was below the filing threshold |
| Temporarily inactive | The business paused |
| Seasonal | Your trade is seasonal and this is an off month |
| Unpaid leave | Staff were on unpaid leave |
| Other | Anything else — explain it |
A nil return has a much shorter checklist and often becomes ready immediately.
An unfiled nil return is still an unfiled return, and attracts the same late-filing penalty as
one with figures. "We had no activity" is not a reason to skip the filing.
## Tax clearance certificate
A valid tax clearance certificate is required for tenders, many contracts, and some licences.
ZRA will not issue one while you have outstanding returns or unpaid tax.
Request one from the ZRA service catalogue. If it is refused, a
[compliance health check](/start/compliance-health-check) will tell you exactly what is blocking it.
## If you have fallen behind
ZRA arrears grow. Interest accrues on unpaid tax, penalties are assessed for late filing, and
persistent non-compliance leads to audit flags and enforcement action.
Run a [compliance health check](/start/compliance-health-check) before doing anything else. It
establishes exactly what is outstanding across every tax type, with the penalties and interest
already accrued, so you are working from facts rather than estimates.
ZRA checks are always treated as urgent in a health check, because tax exposure grows fastest.
## Your ZRA workspace
| Page | Use it for |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Overview** | Your ZRA position at a glance |
| **Obligations** | One per tax type you are registered for |
| **Filings** | Each period's return |
| **Service requests** | TPIN application, VAT registration, tax clearance, tax type changes |
| **Tasks** | Everything outstanding with ZRA |
| **Documents** | Returns, acknowledgements, certificates, receipts |
| **Timeline** | Full history |