Taxes in Belarus in 2026: income tax rate and VAT

Tax rates in Belarus in 2026: the short version

Belarus no longer has a flat 13% income tax. Law No. 127-Z of 30 December 2025 introduced three bands from 1 January 2026: 13% on income up to 350,000 Belarusian rubles a year, 25% on the slice between 350,000 and 600,000 rubles, and 30% on everything above. For comparison, Georgia and Armenia charge a single 20% rate, and Russia's top band is 22%.

At the National Bank rate in 2026 the Belarusian ruble (BYN) is worth roughly a third of a US dollar: about 3 rubles to the dollar, and about 3.6 Belarusian rubles per 100 Russian rubles. The 350,000-ruble threshold is about 117,000 US dollars, or 9.7 million Russian rubles a year. Very few earn that much, so for most taxpayers the rate is still 13%.

The largest charge on a salary is not income tax but contributions to the FSZN (the Social Protection Fund, which pays pensions and benefits). The employer adds 34% on top of the salary and another 1% is withheld from the employee.

Reference guides often lag behind the code: 9% income tax for Hi-Tech Park employees and 15% on dividends paid abroad are rates of past years. Rates for other countries are collected on the taxes by country page.

Compare taxes in 146 countries: relocation taxes 2026

Who is a tax resident of Belarus

You become a tax resident of Belarus by spending more than 183 days in the country in a calendar year. The passport barely affects this rule - but the code contains a clause for citizens that those who leave tend to discover last.

The rules are set by Article 17 of the Tax Code. The year runs from 1 January to 31 December, not over any 12 consecutive months as in Russia. Anyone who spends 183 days or more outside the country is not a resident for that year. Until the year is over, the tax office applies the previous year's status.

How days are counted

The count starts on the day after entry and ends on the day of departure inclusive. The evidence is border stamps in the passport and any documents on the place of work, study and residence.

The code treats some days abroad as days spent in Belarus:

• medical treatment abroad;
• business trips under Belarusian law;
• holidays - but only if all trips in the year add up to no more than 60 calendar days. On day 61 the whole time spent on holiday abroad stops counting.

The reverse rule: if a foreigner came to Belarus only for treatment or a holiday, or is in transit, those days do not count towards Belarus.

The clause for citizens and permanent residence permit holders

Paragraph 5 of Article 17 closes the loophole for those who do not live anywhere for more than half a year. If under the rules no country treats you as its resident, and in the year in question you hold Belarusian citizenship or a permanent residence permit (vid na zhitelstvo), Belarus is deemed your country of residence. The same applies when two countries treat you as a resident at once and there is no treaty between them, or the treaty is not applied.

In practice this means that leaving and drifting between countries for half a year is not enough. You need tax resident status in the new country and a document that confirms it.

What the status changes

A resident pays tax on worldwide income, a non-resident only on income from Belarusian sources (Article 196). The rate is the same, 13%. In Russia non-residents give up 30% of most income, so losing resident status costs less in Belarus.

The status is confirmed by a tax residency certificate issued by an inspectorate of the MNS (Ministry of Taxes and Duties, the Belarusian tax service). How the 183-day rule works in other countries is covered in our article on tax residency and the 183-day rule.

Belarus tax residency: how to become a resident and count the days

Belarus counts more than 183 days in a calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December. The day of entry does not count, the day of exit does. Medical treatment, business trips and up to 60 days of holidays abroad a year count as days in Belarus.

A resident pays 13-30% income tax on a scale on worldwide income, a non-resident only on Belarusian income. Belarus keeps citizens with no residency elsewhere as its residents. The status is confirmed by a tax inspectorate certificate.

The law does not stop you from confirming the status on your own. But mistakes cost more: without a certificate from the new country, a departed citizen stays a Belarusian resident with all income taxable. Murblz support removes these risks: we count days and obtain both the new country's certificate and the Belarusian one. We guarantee professional work and a transparent process, and in most cases a result on the first filing.

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Belarus income tax rate and how much comes off a salary

From a salary of 3,000 rubles the employee takes home 2,580, while the same salary costs the company 4,020 rubles. Income tax is 13% and the employer withholds it on payday. The rate is the same for residents and non-residents (Article 214 of the Tax Code).

How the tax on high incomes is calculated

The total includes income from Belarusian sources: salary, payments under contracts for work and services, royalties, loan interest, rent, board members' fees, and the income of advocates and notaries. Dividends are counted separately, and their top rate is 25%.

During the year the employer withholds the usual 13%. There is no automatic recalculation: for 2026 the recipient of high income files a return by 31 March 2027 (subparagraph 1.9 of paragraph 1 of Article 219 of the code). The tax office uses it to calculate the tax, credits what has already been withheld and sends a notice by 30 April. Payment is due by 1 June. For foreigners who do not live in Belarus permanently, the employer withholds the higher tax directly.

Worked example: annual income of 700,000 rubles, about 233,000 US dollars. The first 350,000 rubles are taxed at 13% - 45,500 rubles. The next 250,000 rubles at 25% - 62,500. The last 100,000 rubles at 30% - 30,000. The total is 138,000 rubles, or 19.7% of income. The surcharge itself is older: in 2024 the 25% rate applied to income above 200,000 rubles. In 2026 the threshold went up, but a 30% band appeared.

Deductions

The standard deduction is 216 rubles a month, but only if taxable income for the month does not exceed 1,308 rubles. A child under 18 gives 63 rubles a month, and parents of two or more children get 120 rubles per child. There is a social deduction for a first degree and for insurance premiums, and a property deduction for building or buying a home for those on the register of people in need of better housing.

Worked example: a salary of 3,000 rubles a month

This is slightly below the national average: according to Belstat, the national statistics agency, the average gross salary passed 3,100 rubles in 2026.

The employee loses 14% of the salary, and the state receives 1,440 rubles in total - almost 36% of what the company pays. On top of this the employer pays a premium for insurance against workplace accidents to Belgosstrakh (the state insurance company); the tariff depends on the risk class and is not included in the example.

FSZN contributions

The employer pays 28% for pension insurance and 6% for social insurance, and 1% is withheld from the employee. There is a ceiling: contributions are not charged on the part of a salary above five times the national average. For employees of Hi-Tech Park residents the base is capped at one average salary.

An individual entrepreneur pays 35% on their own income: 29% for the pension and 6% for social insurance. The minimum is tied to the minimum wage - 858 rubles a month in 2026. For the full year 2026 that is at least 3,603.60 rubles, about 1,200 US dollars, payable by 31 March 2027.

Belarus corporate income tax rate and tax on dividends

A Belarusian company hands 20% of its profit to the state, a large one 25%. The higher rate switches on when the tax base since the start of the year exceeds 25 million rubles, about 8.3 million US dollars (Article 184 of the Tax Code). It is measured separately for each company and each branch.

Some industries have their own rates:

• banks and insurance companies - 25%;
• mobile operators and microfinance organisations - 30%;
• residents of science and technology parks and makers of high-tech goods from the government list - 10%;
• producers of baby food - 5%;
• Hi-Tech Park residents - 0%, and 9% on token transactions.

The reporting period is a quarter. The return is filed by the 20th of the month after the quarter and the tax is paid by the 22nd.

How dividends are taxed

The rate depends on who receives the money. An individual pays 13%, and 25% on the amount above 350,000 rubles a year. A Belarusian parent company pays 12%. A foreign company pays 25%: this is the rate of the tax on income of foreign organisations, confirmed by the Ministry of Taxes and Duties with reference to subparagraph 1.4 of paragraph 1 of Article 192 of the code. It used to be 15%: in April 2024 it was raised for companies from countries on the list of unfriendly states, and from 2025 for everyone.

Only a tax treaty that is in force can bring the 25% down. A Russian company, for example, needs to confirm its residency and that it is the beneficial owner of the income: the treaty caps the tax at 15%.

There is also a zero rate. If a company has not distributed profit among its Belarus-resident participants for five calendar years in a row, dividends are paid to them tax-free. The relief is temporary: the 0% rate applies until 1 January 2028, and the 6% rate for three years without distribution was abolished from 2026.

Worked example for a resident owner: out of 100 rubles of profit, 20 goes to corporate income tax, and 13% is withheld from the remaining 80 rubles of dividends, that is 10.40 rubles. The owner keeps 69.60 rubles, a combined burden of 30.4%.

What is withheld from payments abroad

A foreign company without a permanent establishment in Belarus pays tax at source, withheld by the Belarusian payer: 6% on freight and international transport, 10% on interest, 15% on royalties and most other income, 25% on dividends. Payments to offshore jurisdictions on the president's list are subject to a 15% offshore duty.

On the headline rate Belarus is close to Poland with its 19% and more expensive than Lithuania with 17% and Cyprus with 15%. Murblz specialists explain which business form and country fit a specific task on the company formation abroad page.

What is the VAT rate in Belarus in 2026

Standard VAT in Belarus is 20%, and there is no revenue threshold below which a company on the general regime can skip it. The rate has not changed for many years while neighbours raised theirs: from 2026 Russia charges 22% and Kazakhstan 16%.

The EAEU is the Eurasian Economic Union: Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. There are no customs posts inside the union, so on goods brought in from Russia VAT is paid not at the border but to the importer's own tax office.

Who pays VAT

All companies on the general regime are VAT payers. Companies on the simplified system do not charge VAT on sales, but import VAT remains. Individual entrepreneurs do not pay VAT on domestic sales at all: Article 112 of the code does not treat them as payers, apart from specific cases.

Foreign companies that sell electronic services - subscriptions, apps, online services - to individuals in Belarus pay 20% and register with the Belarusian tax service.

Deadlines

A company chooses its own reporting period: a month or a quarter. The return is filed by the 20th of the month following the reporting period and the tax is paid by the 22nd. Input VAT can be deducted only on the basis of an electronic VAT invoice that the seller issues through the MNS portal.

Taxes for sole traders, the self-employed and IT companies in Belarus

Belarus has no cheap regime left for individual entrepreneurs: the simplified system was taken away from them in 2023, and from 1 January 2026 an entrepreneur may work only in activities from a closed list. Anything not on the list now requires a company.

What changed for individual entrepreneurs

The list of permitted activities was approved by Council of Ministers Resolution No. 457 of 28 June 2024, and Law No. 365-Z of 22 April 2024 gave a transition period until the end of 2025. Retail trade, household services, repairs, translation and consulting remain on the list. The law allows an entrepreneur to convert into a single-founder company without stopping work: rights and obligations pass to the new organisation.

The 20% rate for entrepreneurs is higher than the 13% paid by an employee, and 35% contributions come on top. For comparison, in Georgia an entrepreneur with small business status pays 1% of turnover. So for a freelancer with foreign clients Belarus loses to its neighbours at almost any income.

The self-employed

Professional income tax is the simplest regime: registration in the app, a receipt for every payment, and the tax office calculates the tax. FSZN contributions do not have to be paid separately: part of the tax goes to the fund. But if a receipt is not issued on time, that income is taxed at 20%. And since 1 July 2026 there is a minimum payment of 45 rubles a month (18 rubles for pensioners), even in a month with no income. Those who have left and are not working are better off cancelling the registration in the app. The government defines which activities qualify.

Hi-Tech Park

The Hi-Tech Park (HTP) is a special legal regime for IT companies that runs until 1 January 2049. Residents pay no corporate income tax, no VAT on sales, no offshore duty and no tax on dividends to foreign founders. Instead they pay 1% of revenue to the park administration.

The salary benefit has shrunk. Under the decree the income tax rate for residents' employees is 9%, but from 2021 until 1 January 2028 they are charged the usual 13%. The saving on contributions remains: FSZN contributions are paid not on a developer's whole salary but on an amount no higher than the national average.

Expats and remote workers

Belarus has no special tax regime for incoming specialists or digital nomads. A foreigner pays the same 13%, 25% and 30% as a citizen, and when working remotely for a client abroad declares the income personally once more than 183 days of the year have been spent in the country.

Taxes on a flat, a car, rent, inheritance and crypto

Owning property in Belarus is cheap: a flat with an assessed value of 200,000 rubles costs its owner 200 rubles of tax a year, a passenger car 75-270 rubles. Selling a second flat within five years and letting a home cost more.

Real estate and cars

The tax office calculates real estate tax, land tax and transport tax itself and sends one notice - a single property payment. It is due by 15 November. Local councils may raise or lower the real estate tax rate by up to two times, but this power does not extend to individuals' flats in apartment buildings.

Since 2026 a large floor area costs more. The rate is the same 0.1%, but for flats over 150 m² and houses over 200 m² the assessed value per square metre is doubled, and for flats over 250 m² and houses over 300 m² it is tripled.

For cars on the government list of high-comfort vehicles the transport tax rate is multiplied by ten.

Rent

An owner who lets a flat to an individual pays not a percentage of the rent but a fixed amount for each room let (Annex 2 to the Tax Code). A three-room flat in Minsk comes to 159 rubles a month, about 53 US dollars, whatever the rent. Payment is due by the 1st of the month for which the tax is paid. The code does not allow any other method to be chosen.

If a company rents the home, it withholds 13% from the rent itself, and this income counts towards the high-income bands.

Sale

From the second sale the tax is not charged on the full price. Documented purchase costs are deducted from the income or, if there are no documents, 20% of the sale amount. Inherited property is sold tax-free regardless of the number of sales.

Cryptocurrency

Since 1 January 2025 income from token transactions through foreign platforms has been taxed at 13%: the return is due by 31 March and payment by 1 June. Trades through Belarusian platforms - Hi-Tech Park residents - and mining are not taxed, as an MNS clarification confirms. Illegal and prohibited transactions are taxed at 26%.

What taxes do those who left Belarus and non-residents pay

Leaving does not reset Belarusian taxes. The non-resident rate is the same 13%, and it applies to everything that comes from Belarusian sources: a salary from a Belarusian company, dividends, rent, the sale of property.

When someone who left stops being a resident

For the year of departure the status depends on the date. Anyone who spent 183 days or more abroad is a non-resident for that calendar year. Leave in September and you remain a resident for the whole year, so autumn income from the new country goes into the Belarusian return.

Citizens are caught by the clause in paragraph 5 of Article 17: until some country recognises you as its tax resident, Belarus remains your country of residence - with all worldwide income. So the first thing to obtain in a new country is not a bank account but a confirmed tax status.

One more rule is little known. A citizen who formally emigrates for permanent residence abroad must file a return on income from 1 January to the filing date (paragraph 5 of Article 222). The tax is paid within 15 calendar days of the notice, but no later than the day of departure.

What a non-resident pays on income from Belarus

The sale exemption survives through citizenship: the code expressly extends it to citizens of Belarus who have ceased to be residents. A foreign non-resident does not get it (paragraph 5 of Article 218).

How a non-resident sells a flat

If the sale is taxable, the procedure is stricter than for a resident. A return on expected income is filed before the sale, the tax office issues a notice, and the tax is paid within five working days. After the sale a second return is filed, this time on the actual price.

Remote work for a Belarusian company

This is where double taxation arises most often. Belarus treats a salary from its company as Belarusian income and withholds 13%. The new country treats the same salary as the income of its resident. A treaty between the two countries usually gives the taxing right to the country where the work is physically performed, but it can be applied only with a residency certificate. Without one, what remains is a credit for the Belarusian tax in the new country - if its law allows that.

Foreign income while you are still a resident

A resident declares a foreign salary, dividends and rent by 31 March and pays 13% by 1 June. Tax paid abroad is credited - separately for each item of income and up to the Belarusian tax on that income (Article 224). You need documents on the income and the tax confirmed by the other country's tax authority, or a copy of the foreign return with proof of payment. Tax paid in an offshore jurisdiction on the president's list is not credited.

Do not count on the tax office never learning about the income: the tax services of Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan and other CIS countries exchange data on income and taxes paid every year under the protocol of 2 November 2018.

An entrepreneur registration left open

Entrepreneur status does not close by itself. While the registration stays in the register, returns must be filed and FSZN contributions paid. Before leaving for a long time, the registration is closed or converted into a company.

Is the double tax treaty between Russia and Belarus in force

Yes, in full: the treaty between Russia and Belarus of 21 April 1995 has applied since January 1997, and neither side has suspended it. With the West the picture is the opposite: Belarus froze the articles on dividends, interest and the sale of property in its treaties with 27 countries until 31 December 2026, and several countries responded by leaving the treaties altogether.

The MNS list names 75 states with which Belarus has concluded such treaties. But the list and what actually applies in 2026 are different things.

Russia: what the treaty gives

The main benefit goes to those employed in the neighbouring country. The Protocol of 24 January 2006 treats such a worker as a resident from the first day if the employment contract runs for at least 183 days. A Belarusian in Russia pays not 30%, as an ordinary non-resident would, but on the resident scale - from 13%. A Russian in Belarus pays the same 13% as locals.

A pension is taxed only by the country that pays it (Article 16), and the Belarusian code exempts foreign pensions from tax. Income from real estate and from its sale may be taxed by the country where the property is located. Double taxation is removed by credit: tax paid in one country reduces the tax in the other.

What happened to the treaties with the West

Council of Ministers Resolution No. 164 of 7 March 2024 suspended three articles in treaties with 27 states - EU countries, the USA, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and North Macedonia. The list includes Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Czechia, Germany, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Austria and Spain.

The response came quickly. On 14 January 2025 the Seimas of Lithuania denounced the treaty by 111 votes to 4, and it has not applied since 1 January 2026. The Estonian parliament passed a similar law on 18 June 2025. Germany and the United Kingdom suspended their treaties in full.

For those who moved to the EU this means one thing: reduced rates on Belarusian dividends and interest cannot be relied on in 2026. The freeze is set to run until 31 December 2026; what follows depends on a new decision by the Belarusian government.

Taxes in the countries people most often move to from Belarus are covered separately: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Georgia.

When to file a return and pay taxes: deadlines and fines

The key date for an individual is 31 March: the return for the previous year is due by then. An employee with a single Belarusian salary of up to 350,000 rubles a year does not need a return, the employer handles everything. It is needed by those with annual income above 350,000 rubles, income from abroad, the sale of a second flat, gifts from non-relatives above 6,000 rubles or crypto trades on foreign exchanges.

The return is filed with the inspectorate at the place of residence or through the taxpayer's personal account on the MNS portal. Notices arrive there too - convenient for those who live abroad and do not receive paper mail.

Fines

Fines are set in base units. The base unit (bazovaya velichina) is a reference amount for fines and state fees; in 2026 it equals 45 rubles, about 15 US dollars.

• Late filing of a return (Article 14.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences): 0.5 of a base unit plus another 0.5 for each full month of delay, but no more than 10 base units. In money - from 22.50 to 450 rubles.
• Non-payment of tax (Article 14.4): 15% of the unpaid amount, but not less than 0.5 of a base unit, that is 22.50 rubles.
• Late-payment interest accrues for each day of delay; its rate is tied to the National Bank's refinancing rate.

The 26% rate costs more than any fine. It applies to income the tax office calculated itself when spending turned out to exceed declared income. The tax office may run such a check after a major purchase - a flat, a car, a stake in a company.

What this means for those moving to Belarus and those leaving it

Belarus works for an employee on an average or high salary and does not work for almost everyone else: the solo entrepreneur, the investor from the EU and anyone earning more than 350,000 rubles a year.

Who Belarusian taxes suit

• Employees. 13% with no progression up to 117,000 US dollars a year. In Lithuania the basic rate is 20%, in Latvia 25.5%, and in Poland income above 120,000 zlotys a year is taxed at 32%.
• Russians with an employment contract in Belarus. The resident rate from day one, the treaty is in force, and a pension from Russia is not taxed in Belarus.
• Owners who keep profit in the company. Five years without distribution - and dividends to residents are paid at 0%. The window closes on 1 January 2028.
• IT companies in the Hi-Tech Park. 0% corporate income tax and FSZN contributions on a capped base outweigh the 1% of revenue.
• Home owners. 0.1% a year and a fixed tax on rent - one of the lightest property tax burdens in the region.

Who they do not suit

• Freelancers and individual entrepreneurs. 20% income tax and 35% contributions against 1% in Georgia; from 2026 a closed list of permitted activities.
• Highly paid executives. The part of income above 600,000 rubles a year is taxed at 30%, and the employer pays contributions on top.
• Investors from the EU, the UK and the US. Dividends to a foreign company are taxed at 25%, and treaty relief is frozen or cancelled.
• Those who need free settlements with the West. The country is under EU and US sanctions, some banks are cut off from SWIFT, and payments go through checks and delays. The tax rate does not make up for that.

If you are leaving

Three steps save the most money. First, obtain tax resident status in the new country and a certificate of it, otherwise Belarus will go on treating you as its resident by citizenship. Second, before leaving, decide what to do with an entrepreneur registration and file a return if the departure is registered as permanent. Third, check whether a treaty with the new country applies: with Lithuania there has been none since 2026, and with Poland the articles on dividends and interest are frozen.

There is no tax reason to sell a flat in Belarus: a citizen keeps the exemption for one sale in five years, and the annual tax is small.

How Murblz helps

Murblz specialists calculate taxes on actual figures: salary, dividends, rent, the sale of a stake - how much Belarus takes and how much the new country takes. We select a jurisdiction for the business and prepare the documents: company registration in Poland, a business account in Poland, relocation support. For those choosing a country with no income tax, see our breakdown of UAE taxes. Tax disputes and ownership structures are handled by our legal support team.

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