CASNOS or CNAS: who pays into which fund when you start a business in Algeria?

Two funds, two approaches

Algeria has two main social security funds. CASNOS (the national social security fund for the self-employed) covers people working on their own account: they declare their own income and pay their own contribution once a year. CNAS (the national social insurance fund for employees) covers employees: the employer declares, withholds the employee's share from pay and pays the whole amount. You do not choose your fund: it follows from whether social security sees you as self-employed or as an employee.

How much CASNOS costs

The contribution is 15% of an annual base that you declare and support with your tax or accounting documents. The base has limits: at least the annual SNMG (national minimum wage), at most 20 times that amount. The SNMG rose to 24,000 DA a month on 1 January 2026, or 288,000 DA a year. In 2026, the contribution therefore ranges from 43,200 DA to 864,000 DA a year.

How much CNAS costs

For an employee, the overall rate is 34.5% of the salary subject to contributions: 25% paid by the employer, 9% withheld from the salary, and 0.5% of the payroll allocated to social welfare. Fictitious example for a gross salary of 40,000 DA a month: 10,000 DA employer share, 3,600 DA withheld from the employee, 200 DA for social welfare, a total of 13,800 DA a month.

When to register and declare

1. 1

   Register with CASNOS from the start

   Once you have the trade register entry, the self-employed manager (or sole trader) registers with the CASNOS branch of their wilaya (province). It is one of the last setup steps, after the tax office and the NIS.

2. 2

   Every year, the CASNOS income declaration

   By 1 March, you declare the base for the past year, supported by your tax or accounting documents. At a branch or on the Damancom platform.

3. 3

   Every year, the CASNOS payment

   By 30 June, you pay the contribution calculated on that base.

4. 4

   First employee: declaration of activity to CNAS

   Within ten days of hiring the first employee, the employer files its declaration of activity with the CNAS branch where it is located.

5. 5

   Each employee: registration within ten days

   Each new hire is declared to CNAS within ten days. Contributions are then declared and paid within 30 days of each period: quarterly below ten employees, monthly above.

6. 6

   Every year, the DAS

   Within 30 days of the end of the year, the employer sends the annual declaration of salaries and employees on the CNAS e-filing portal.

The tricky cases

• You are employed elsewhere and set up a company where you are majority manager: combining salaried and self-employed work raises the question of double contributions. Have CASNOS confirm your situation before you declare.
• The share split changes (sale of shares, a new partner): a manager who moves from majority to minority, or the reverse, changes fund. Tell both funds.
• You are an auto-entrepreneur: you come under CASNOS, with a contribution scheme specific to this status. It is explained on its own page.
• You are thinking about retirement: CASNOS requires at least 15 years of activity and contributions for a direct pension. With fewer, a retirement allowance is still possible from 5 years of activity.

Why staying up to date matters

Being up to date means being covered first: health, maternity, retirement. It also means a document: the certificate of being up to date, which you will be asked for in many procedures (banks, government offices, public tenders). Late payment triggers surcharges, and an undeclared year can be assessed automatically from the previous base.