This is a new Safe Harbour included in the January 2026 OECD Side-by-Side Tax Package (see: Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy – Global Anti-Base Erosion Model Rules (Pillar Two), Side-by-Side Package) that deems the top-up tax for a jurisdiction to be zero insofar as it relates to ‘Qualified Tax Incentives’ (QTIs).
The Top-up Tax that relates to QTIs is the difference between:
(i) the Top-up Tax for the jurisdiction calculated with the amount of QTIs used in the year being added to covered taxes (subject to a cap), and
(ii) the Top-up Tax if the SBTI Safe Harbour election hadn’t been made.
A QTI is defined as a generally available tax incentive calculated based on expenditure incurred, or on the amount of tangible property produced in the jurisdiction.
The SBTI Safe Harbour is to apply from fiscal years beginning from January 1, 2026.
Aside from the main election for the SBTI Safe Harbour to apply, the detailed rules for this contain two additional elections.
Tax Credits Election (Art 4)
An MNE group can make an annual election to treat a Qualified Refundable Tax Credit or a Marketable Transferable Tax Credit as a QTI.
Substance Cap Election (Art 4)
The substance cap referred to above for determining the amount added to covered taxes is generally 5.5% of the higher of (1) Eligible Payroll Costs in the jurisdiction or (2) the depreciation and depletion recorded in FANIL for Eligible Tangible Assets located in the jurisdiction.
However, an MNE group can make a 5 year election for the jurisdiction for the substance cap to be 1% of the carrying value of Eligible Tangible Assets located in the jurisdiction (excluding land and other non-depreciable assets) for that Fiscal Year
A review of the remedial timing amendment that aligns New Zealand’s GloBE incorporation rules with the OECD’s January 2026 Side-by-Side Package.
On April 17, 2026, the Brazil opened up a consultation on proposed changes to its QDMTT regime to implement the Substance-based Tax Incentives (SBTI) Safe Harbour.
On 9 and 10 April 2026, the Dutch Tax Administration’s Pillar Two Knowledge Group published two administrative positions on the treatment of joint ventures under the Dutch Minimum Tax Act 2024.
A guide to Italy’s three-track Pillar Two process: the reporting-entity notification, the DAC9/GIR (Comunicazione Rilevante), and the domestic GloBE Return (Dichiarazione fiscale Globe) with related F24 payments.
A guide to Australia’s Pillar Two filing. It covers the separate local GIR XML filing, the foreign lodgement notification, and the Combined Global and Domestic Minimum Tax Return (CGDMTR), including the Australian IIR/UTPR tax return and Australian DMT tax return. It also flags the main ATO validation rules and the software / API points that matter if you are building or testing a filing process.
A guide to Spain’s three-part Pillar Two workflow: model 240 (group/filing notification), model 241 (GIR-DAC9 information return), and model 242 (top-up tax self-assessment).
On April 7, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration issued Communication-031-E-2026-f and Communication-030-E-2026-f to apply the OECD January 2025 and January 2026 Administrative Guidance
On April 8, 2026, Germany issued a Draft Regulation which included a list of jurisdictions with qualifying status for the purposes of the IIR, UTPR, QDMTT and the QDMTT Safe Harbour.
On April 8, 2026, the Turkish Revenue Administration published draft versions of its Pillar Two Tax Returns/Notifications.
This website is not affiliated with or related to the OECD. We provide independent insights and analysis on the OECD Two-Pillar Solution
© 2026 OECDPillars.com
All Rights Reserved