PAYE, RSSB pension, RAMA, maternity, occupational hazard and CBHI — six deductions, two payers, one payslip. Here they are applied to a single 500,000 RWF salary, so you can see exactly where the money goes and what the employee actually costs.
An illustration, not advice on your payroll. Rates, bases and exemptions change, and details differ by scheme, sector and contract — confirm the current figures with the RRA and RSSB, and have your accountant check your first run.
| Deduction | Employee | Employer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| PAYE | 0–30% | — | Progressive, on monthly taxable pay |
| RSSB pension | 6% | 6% | 12% total since January 2025 |
| Medical (RAMA) | 7.5% | 7.5% | 15% total, where the scheme applies |
| Maternity | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.6% of gross, transport excluded |
| Occupational hazard | — | 2% | Employer-only |
| CBHI | 0.5% | — | Of net pay after statutory deductions |
Two things trip people up. First, three of these are split between employee and employer, so the cost of a hire is well above the salary you agreed. Second, they do not all use the same base: maternity excludes transport allowance, and CBHI is charged on net pay after the others, not on gross.
Each slice of monthly taxable pay is taxed at its own rate — the 30% band applies only to the part above 200,000 RWF, never to the whole salary. This is the single most common payroll error we see in spreadsheets: one rate applied to the full amount.
| Monthly taxable pay (RWF) | Rate | On 500,000 gross | PAYE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 – 60,000 | 0% | 60,000 | 0 |
| 60,001 – 100,000 | 10% | 40,000 | 4,000 |
| 100,001 – 200,000 | 20% | 100,000 | 20,000 |
| Above 200,000 | 30% | 300,000 | 90,000 |
| Total PAYE | 500,000 | 114,000 |
Note the base: PAYE applies to taxable pay, which is not always the whole gross — certain allowances are treated differently. This example assumes the full 500,000 is taxable, to keep the arithmetic visible.
| Line | Basis | Amount (RWF) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | — | 500,000 |
| PAYE | Progressive bands | (114,000) |
| RSSB pension — employee | 6% of gross | (30,000) |
| Medical (RAMA) — employee | 7.5% | (37,500) |
| Maternity — employee | 0.3% | (1,500) |
| Net before CBHI | — | 317,000 |
| CBHI | 0.5% of net | (1,585) |
| Net pay | — | 315,415 |
The employer contributions never appear on the payslip, which is why hiring budgets are so often short. On the same salary:
| Employer line | Basis | Amount (RWF) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | — | 500,000 |
| RSSB pension — employer | 6% | 30,000 |
| Medical (RAMA) — employer | 7.5% | 37,500 |
| Maternity — employer | 0.3% | 1,500 |
| Occupational hazard | 2% | 10,000 |
| Total cost of employment | — | 579,000 |
So a 500,000 RWF salary costs about 579,000 RWF a month — roughly 16% on top — while the employee takes home 315,415. Both numbers matter: one for your budget, the other for the conversation where someone asks why their net is lower than they expected.
A payroll run should apply the current bands and contributions itself, produce payslips and the statutory totals you file, and post the journal into the same ledger as everything else — no export, no re-keying. Anything less and you are still doing payroll by hand, just with extra steps.
See the payroll and HR module, the rates we keep current, or the VAT filing guide for the other monthly return.
Statutory rates built in, journals posted automatically.