ZRA holds first tax webinar for Zambia's UK diaspora

The Zambia Revenue Authority has held its first tax webinar for Zambians in the United Kingdom, part of a drive to bring the diaspora into the tax net and explain what is owed and how to pay.

The session, run with the Zambian High Commission in London, was billed as the first in a series. Its aim is practical: to demystify registration, tax clearance and the incentives on offer to Zambians who want to invest back home. This story is part of Kwacha News's local coverage.

What the webinar covered

The Zambia Revenue Authority said the event was organised by its Taxpayer Services and Education Department together with the High Commission, and walked participants through the basics of compliance. That included how to register for a Taxpayer Identification Number, how to obtain a Tax Clearance Certificate, and how returning residents can regularise their tax affairs when they come home.

A Taxpayer Identification Number, or TPIN, is the unique reference every taxpayer needs to deal with the authority, from filing a return to clearing goods through customs. A Tax Clearance Certificate is the document that confirms a taxpayer is in good standing — often required to bid for contracts, register a company or move money. For a diaspora investor, both are the first gates to doing business at home.

For Zambians thinking of coming home, regularising tax affairs is more than a formality. A returning resident who has spent years earning abroad needs a clean tax position to import belongings, register a vehicle, start a company or buy land without running into compliance problems later. The authority pitched the webinar as a way to settle that in advance — before a move rather than after it — so a homecoming is not snagged by paperwork that could have been sorted from London.

pivotal to transforming Zambia into a middle-income country

— Zambia's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Macenje Mazoka, describing the revenue authority's role, <a href="https://www.zra.org.zm/zra-zambia-high-commission-host-uk-diaspora-tax-webinar/">ZRA statement</a>

Why the diaspora matters to the tax base

Zambians abroad are an economic force. The money they send home supports households and small businesses, and the savings they hold are a potential source of the investment the country needs. The revenue authority's pitch is that clear, simple compliance lowers the barrier for that money to flow back as formal investment rather than staying offshore.

Remittances are a quiet pillar of the economy, arriving as hard currency that steadies household budgets and feeds spending and savings at home. Bringing senders into a low-friction relationship with the revenue authority is how the state hopes to turn some of that flow into formal, taxable investment — a registered business, a property development, a new venture — rather than money that simply arrives and disappears.

London is a natural place to begin. The United Kingdom hosts one of the largest Zambian communities outside the continent — a mix of professionals, students and long-settled families — and the High Commission is the government's front door to them. Pairing a diplomatic mission with the revenue authority gives the campaign both reach and a measure of trust that a tax appeal on its own might struggle to earn.

The webinar also sits inside a wider revenue-mobilisation push. As donor support tightens and the government works to fund its budget from domestic sources, widening the tax base — including among citizens abroad — is part of how the state plans to pay its own way. Kwacha News reported the fiscal backdrop in its coverage of Zambia's falling external debt service and the April trade surplus.

A deadline to note

Commissioner General Dingani Banda used the platform to flag a live deadline. Submissions to the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy, which feeds into the 2027 national budget, close on 30 June, and the authority is inviting input from taxpayers at home and abroad. The strategy is the government's medium-term plan for how it will raise revenue, so the consultation is a chance for the diaspora to shape the rules that will apply to them. Input can be sent through the authority's usual channels, and Zambians abroad were explicitly encouraged to take part rather than leave the rule-making to others.

For Zambians in the United Kingdom, the immediate takeaways are concrete: get a TPIN, keep a Tax Clearance Certificate current if you trade or invest, and put the 30 June date in the diary if you want a say in the revenue strategy. The authority has signalled more sessions to come, in the United Kingdom and, by implication, in other diaspora hubs.

What to watch

The first marker is whether the series continues and spreads to other countries with large Zambian communities. The second is the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy itself, due to shape the 2027 budget, and whether diaspora input changes anything in it. The deeper test is whether outreach like this actually lifts compliance and investment, or remains a goodwill exercise — a question the revenue authority's own collection figures will answer over time.

Frequently Asked Questions

These are the questions readers have been asking since the Zambia Revenue Authority's diaspora webinar. Short answers follow, drawn from the authority's own account of the session.

What is the ZRA diaspora tax webinar?

In short, it is an online tax-education session the Zambia Revenue Authority held with the High Commission in London for Zambians in the United Kingdom. The answer, simply put, is that it explains how to register, stay compliant and invest at home. The key is that it is the first of a planned series.

How does a Zambian abroad register for tax?

Data from the authority's guidance shows the first step is obtaining a Taxpayer Identification Number, or TPIN, the unique reference for all dealings with the revenue authority. From there a taxpayer can file returns and apply for a Tax Clearance Certificate confirming good standing.

Why is the diaspora being asked to engage with ZRA?

According to the authority, the diaspora is both a source of investment and part of the tax base. Evidence of the strategy is the push to widen domestic revenue as donor support tightens, so clear compliance is meant to encourage Zambians abroad to invest formally at home.

What are the deadlines taxpayers should note?

The authority flagged that submissions to the Medium-Term Revenue Strategy, which feeds the 2027 budget, close on 30 June. Research into the consultation shows it is open to taxpayers at home and abroad, making the date the most immediate one for the diaspora.

Which services did the webinar cover?

The session covered TPIN registration, Tax Clearance Certificates, the regularisation of returning residents and the investment incentives available to diaspora investors, all run through the authority's Taxpayer Services and Education Department.

Sources

Zambia Revenue Authority: ZRA and Zambia High Commission host UK diaspora tax webinar and the authority's taxpayer services portal.

Kwacha News coverage: Zambia's 2025 external debt service and the April trade surplus.