General Taxes in Russia

Find out about the different taxes a person may be liable for when living in Russia...

VAT

Value Added Tax (Nalog na dobavlennuyu stoimost / ????? ?? ??????????? ?????????) is charged on the sale of goods and services at a standard rate of 18 percent. Some items are levied at a lower rate of 10 percent. These include certain food items, children’s clothing and shoes, and some medical items. The quoted price for goods will always include the VAT. Foreign nationals have to pay this on all purchases and it is not possible to claim back when leaving the country.

Income Tax

All foreign nationals with a personal income from Russian and/or foreign sources while resident in Russia must pay Personal Income Tax (Nalog na dohody fizicheskih lits - NDFL / ????? ?? ?????? ?????????? ??? - ????) on all income earned during the time spent in the country. Those working for an employer usually have this deducted from the monthly salary and only have to file a tax return in the case of additional income from dividends or salaries abroad.

Car Tax

Car Tax (Transportnyi nalog / ???????????? ?????) on private vehicles is set by local authorities and the rate varies according to the region. In Moscow, the charges payable for cars on an annual basis are based on engine size, not on level of emissions.

The calculation for tax payable is equal to: (the tax rate) x (the number of hp) x (the number of months of ownership divided by months of the year).

Request for payment is sent out by the Federal Tax Service by mail on an annual basis to the address of the registered owner of the vehicle.

An additional charge for luxury cars was proposed in 2012, which would mean charges of R.300 per additional horsepower for all vehicles with an engine size of more than 410hp, although nothing has been finalised yet.

Payment of car tax can be carried out online through the official website of the Federal Tax Service, via online bank services, ATMs or the nearest Federal Tax Service office.

  • For information on how car tax can be paid: Click here (in Russian)
  • To find out levels of car tax and to pay online: Click here (in Russian)
  • For the laws pertaining to car tax (???????????? ?????): Click here (in Russian)

Audiovisual Taxes

There are currently no audiovisual taxes in Russia applicable for private residences, such as a television licence.

Property and Land Taxes

Property tax (Nalog na imushtestvo fizicheskih lits / ????? ?? ????????? ?????????? ???) is paid only by owners of property. For expatriate residents renting property in Russia, no payments are necessary, as this will be handled by the landlord.

For owners of a property (not the land it is situated on), the maximum rate of tax is 2.2 percent of the value, to be paid annually as part of a filed tax return.

  • For more details about Individual Property Tax on the website of the Federal Tax Service: Click here

Land Tax

Land Tax (Zemelnyi nalog / ????????? ?????) is payable by an owner of any land, in addition to any property located on it. Rates are set by local authorities and vary between areas, but are usually capped at 0.3 percent of the value for land used for agricultural or housing. Payments are payable annually in a similar manner to Property Tax.

  • For information on this from the Federal Tax Service: Click here
  • For more information about taxes payable in Russia, see the publication Doing Business in Russia 2012 (p.29), available online from KPMG: Click here

Stamp Duty

Although there is no tax due on the sale of a property, stamp duty (Gasudarstvenaya poshlina / ??????????????? ???????) is payable to local authorities in connection with transactions relating to the property before the transfer of property goes through. Exact amounts due vary depending on the location and the value.

  • For more details of Stamp Duty on the website of the Federal Tax Service: Click here

Tax Offices

For details of tax offices (Federalhaya nalogovaya sluzba / ??????????? ????????? ??????) in St Petersburg and Moscow that can assist both overseas businesses and non-Russian citizens with questions and all tax issues, see below:

  • Moscow
    At    : Pokhodny Proezd 3, Bldg 1, 5th Floor, Moscow, 125373
    Tel    : (495) 955 9987
  • St Petersburg
    At: Sadovaya str 55/57, St Petersburg, 190068
    Tel: (812) 740 4390