Advance Corporate Income Tax Payments in Armenia in 2026: Deadlines and Calculation

Advance corporate income tax payments are made four times a year, by the 20th day of the last month of the quarter. Each payment equals the lesser of the following: 20% of last year's corporate income tax or 2% of revenue for the previous quarter. After the end of the year, advances are credited towards the annual tax.

This article is about advance payments. For the general rules on corporate income tax itself, see the article Corporate Income Tax.

Who Pays Advances

Advances are paid by resident corporate income tax payers: organizations, and non-residents operating in Armenia through a permanent establishment (Art. 135 Part 1). Sole proprietors (SPs) on the general tax regime are also considered resident payers according to the text of the law, but the Code does not specify separate calculation rules for them: please clarify this with the tax service. There are numerous exceptions.

This means that an advance must be paid by a company that was already a VAT payer last year and does not fall under any exceptions in the table above. For information about when VAT registration is required, see the article VAT.

Deadlines

The payment must be made for each quarter of the current year by the 20th day of the last month of that quarter, inclusive (Art. 135 Part 1). If the 20th is a non-working day, the deadline moves to the next working day (Art. 32 Part 4 of the Law on Normative Legal Acts). In 2026, June 20 is a Saturday, September 20 is a Sunday (September 21 is a holiday), and December 20 is a Sunday. Whether the tax authority applies such deadline extensions for advance payments should be clarified with the State Revenue Committee: it is safest to pay by the 20th.

Payments are made through the payment and settlement system in Armenian drams (Art. 18 Part 3). The payment is considered made on the date funds are credited to the treasury account of the budget or the unified account (Art. 18 Part 4).

How to Calculate the Advance Amount

Each payment equals the lesser of (Art. 135 Part 1):

1. 20% of last year's corporate income tax.
2. 2% of revenue for the previous quarter from the supply of goods, performance of works, and provision of services.

Last Year's Corporate Tax

The tax amount for the previous year does not include (are deducted) (Art. 135 Part 2 Clause 1):

• corporate income tax amounts under special regimes;
• amounts the taxpayer is exempt from under Art. 126;
• amounts to be deducted under Art. 127 Part 3;
• tax paid abroad and credited under Art. 20;
• additional amounts assessed by the tax authority during an audit in the previous year.

If you have not yet filed your corporate income tax return for last year, 20% is taken from the most recently submitted return (Art. 135 Part 3). The return for the previous year must be filed by April 20 (Art. 134 Part 1). If you file it before the deadline for the next advance of the current year, it will be used as the basis for the nearest advance after submission (Art. 135 Part 2.1).

Revenue for the Quarter

Revenue is determined based on the VAT taxable base for the months of the previous quarter. The sum of taxable bases for VAT-taxed operations and VAT-exempt operations according to the combined VAT and excise returns is taken. Revenue not reflected in these returns is not considered by the rule; clarify any disputed situations with the tax service. Only returns filed by the advance deadline, including revised returns, are considered. If you file a return after the deadline, changes do not affect the advance payment (Art. 135 Part 2 Clause 2).

Example

Corporate income tax for the previous year is 12 000 000 drams. 20% of this is 2 400 000 drams.

For the first quarter, the lesser value is based on last year's tax amount, and for the second quarter it is based on revenue. Therefore, advance amounts may differ throughout the year.

How Advances Are Credited in the Annual Tax

At year-end, the corporate income tax is calculated at the 18% rate and advances calculated under Art. 135 are deducted. Any positive difference must be paid to the budget by April 20 of the following year (Art. 130 Part 1, Art. 136 Part 1). If the advances exceed the tax, the difference is considered an amount refundable from the budget (Art. 131 Part 1) and is credited to the unified account (Art. 138 Part 1).

Example: What Happens at Year-End

Let us say advances were 2 400 000 drams each for four quarters, totaling 9 600 000 drams.

Advances ensure that tax is paid into the budget throughout the year. They do not replace or negate the annual tax calculation (Art. 130 Part 1). The refund amount is credited to the unified account within the timeframe specified by Art. 138 Part 1.

How Payment Is Credited

Advances required by the Code are recognized as tax liabilities based on their payment deadlines (Art. 319 Part 4). Therefore, it is important not only to pay, but to pay on time. Payments are made in drams through the payment and settlement system (Art. 18 Part 3).

Special Cases

• Activity Suspension. If you submit an application in the approved form to the tax authority to suspend activity, you may skip advances for full quarters of suspension. This applies both to suspension for a defined period and indefinite suspension (Art. 135 Part 7).
• Reorganization. On a division, each new company does not pay advances for the quarters of the registration year. On a spinoff, the old company continues paying, the spun-off company does not. On a merger, the new company does not pay for quarters in the year of registration. On an acquisition, the receiving company continues paying as before (Art. 135 Part 8).
• Latent VAT. If the tax authority, through an audit, recognizes you as a VAT payer when you did not consider yourself as such, the first advance is paid for the first quarter of the year following the year in which the audit act was issued, provided that you are also a VAT payer in that following year (Art. 135 Part 6).
• Insolvency and Liquidation. A company may suspend payments, including advances, effective from the date of entry into force of a court decision on bankruptcy or a decision to liquidate, until the budget’s priority among creditors is established (Art. 137 Parts 2 and 4).

What Happens for Late Payment

Late advances incur interest of 0.075% per day. This interest is charged on the unpaid amount, including advances, for the entire period of delay, but no more than 730 days (Art. 401 Parts 1 and 2). Therefore, it is best to correct mistakes in advance calculations promptly.

What to Do at the Start of the Year

1. Review the most recent corporate income tax return and calculate 20% of the previous year’s tax.
2. Enter four deadlines into your calendar: the 20th of March, June, September, and December; if any falls on a weekend, it is safest to pay before it.
3. Before each deadline, reconcile revenue for the previous quarter based on submitted VAT returns.
4. Check if any exemptions apply: new company, change of VAT payer status, activity suspension.
5. For a full tax compliance calendar, see the article Reporting Calendar.