Taxes in Russia 2026: income tax rate for non-residents

Tax rates in Russia in 2026: the short version

A non-resident who sells a Russian flat before the minimum holding period pays 30% of the entire sale price, not 13% of the gain. On a flat sold for 12 million rubles (about 145,000 US dollars at the Bank of Russia rate of roughly 83 rubles per dollar) that is 3.6 million rubles of tax, against 402,000 rubles for a resident. The rate depends on days spent in Russia, not on a passport or a registered address.

The main tax for those who have left is NDFL (nalog na dokhody fizicheskikh lits, personal income tax), governed by Chapter 23 of the Russian Tax Code. Since 1 January 2025 residents pay it on a progressive scale from 13% to 22% (Federal Law 176-FZ of 12 July 2024), and on 1 January 2026 VAT rose from 20% to 22% (Federal Law 425-FZ of 28 November 2025).

In short: non-resident status changes almost nothing for remote employees, sole traders and the self-employed, but it becomes sharply more expensive for anyone selling real estate, letting a flat or holding Russian securities. Rates in other countries are collected in our taxes by country section.

Compare taxes in 146 countries: relocation taxes 2026

Who is a Russian tax non-resident and how many days it takes

A person becomes a Russian tax non-resident by spending fewer than 183 calendar days in Russia in 12 consecutive months. Article 207 of the Tax Code has no other test: citizenship, a registered address, a flat in Moscow or family in Russia do not affect the status.

An employer or a broker counts days on each payment date, looking back 12 months. The final status is fixed by calendar year, from 1 January to 31 December: 183 days or more in Russia means resident for the whole year, fewer means non-resident for the whole year. The days of arrival and departure count as days in Russia.

There are exceptions. A trip abroad for medical treatment or study shorter than six months does not interrupt the period of stay in Russia. Military personnel serving abroad and officials on foreign postings are always residents.

The status cannot be chosen or declared. It is a matter of fact and applies to the whole year: being a resident for half a year is not possible. How 183-day rules work in other countries, and what happens in cases of dual residency, is covered in our article on tax residency in 2026.

How to prove non-resident status, and whether to notify the tax office

Russia issues no certificate of non-residence. The FNS (Federalnaya nalogovaya sluzhba, the Federal Tax Service) issues only the opposite document, a confirmation of Russian tax resident status: within 10 calendar days through its online service, or 20 days by post or in person.

The law does not require anyone to report the loss of residency to the tax office. But tax agents - those who withhold income tax on behalf of the recipient: the employer, the broker, a corporate tenant - need to know about the change. If an employer learns in December that an office employee has moved abroad, it recalculates the tax for the entire year at 30%.

Days are proven by stamps in the international passport, tickets, boarding passes and a lease for housing abroad. A tax residency certificate from another country does not by itself cancel Russian status, but it is needed to apply a double tax treaty.

Tax status should not be confused with currency-control status. A Russian citizen always remains a currency resident, but anyone who spent more than 183 days abroad in a year is exempt from notifications about foreign accounts and reports on them.

Russia tax residency: how to confirm it and count the days

183 days in Russia over any 12 months in a row make you a Russian tax resident, and the final status for the year is set by the calendar at 31 December. Citizenship, registration and a flat in Moscow do not matter. Days of entry and exit count as days in Russia.

A resident pays 13-22% personal income tax on worldwide income and reports foreign accounts and companies. A non-resident pays only on Russian income, but at up to 30%. The status is confirmed by a Federal Tax Service certificate.

The law does not stop you from confirming the status on your own. But mistakes cost more: one missed day makes you resident for the whole year, and a missed CFC notification means a fine. Murblz support removes these risks: we count days by passport stamps, obtain the certificate and one from your new country, and prepare notifications. We guarantee professional work and a transparent process, and in most cases a result on the first filing.

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What income tax non-residents pay: 30%, 15% and the exceptions

The general rate for a non-resident is 30% with no deductions, and it applies only to Russian-source income. A foreign salary, the profit of a foreign company and interest in a foreign bank are not taxed in Russia at all once the recipient is a non-resident.

The law carves exceptions out of the 30%: clause 3 of Article 224 of the Tax Code lists the income types that carry a lower rate.

Remote work joined the exceptions only recently. Until 2024 a salary for work done from abroad counted as foreign-source income, and a non-resident paid nothing on it in Russia. Federal Law 389-FZ of 31 July 2023 reclassified such payments as Russian-source income, and since 2025 they are taxed on the same scale as residents.

Fees under civil-law contracts come with more conditions. The income is Russian-source if the work or service is performed online using Russian domain names or servers located in Russia, and either the money lands in an account with a Russian bank or the payer is a Russian company or sole trader (sub-clause 6.3 of clause 1 of Article 208).

The code has a separate line for those designated as a foreign agent. One day with that status during the year is enough for all income to be taxed at 30%, and the reduced rates do not apply (clause 6 of Article 224).

A non-resident gets no deductions: neither the standard ones for children, nor the social ones for medical care and education, nor the property deduction for buying a home. The unused balance of a property deduction is not lost, but it can be claimed only in years when resident status returns.

How much tax comes off a salary: the income tax scale and a worked example

On a salary of 250,000 rubles a month (about 3,000 US dollars), an employee of a Moscow office who became a non-resident loses 900,000 rubles a year in tax, while a colleague working remotely from abroad loses 402,000 rubles. The half-million gap comes down to one word in the employment contract: "remote".

The progressive scale has applied since 2025. The higher rate is charged only on the part of income above each threshold, not on all of it.

2.4 million rubles a year is 200,000 rubles a month, or about 2,400 US dollars. Everything below that is still taxed at 13%. The top band starts at 50 million rubles, roughly 600,000 US dollars.

Worked example: a salary of 250,000 rubles a month, 3 million rubles a year

All amounts are in rubles. The contributions are calculated as 30% of 2,979,000 rubles, the 2026 contribution ceiling, plus 15.1% of the remaining 21,000 rubles. The employer pays them out of its own funds; they are not deducted from the salary. On top come accident insurance contributions of 0.2% to 8.5% depending on the risk class. Accredited IT companies have paid 15% up to the ceiling and 7.6% above it since 2026.

The condition for the 13-22% rate for a non-resident is precisely an employment contract for remote work with a Russian organisation (sub-clause 6.2 of clause 1 of Article 208). If the employee is listed as office-based but in fact lives abroad, the employer must apply 30% from the start of the year in which the status was lost. The exception to the exception is work in a foreign branch of a Russian company: that income counts as foreign-source, and a non-resident pays no Russian income tax on it.

The remote arrangement has a downside. Russian tax on the salary is withheld in any case, and the country where the employee lives and has become a resident usually taxes the same income too. Whether that country credits the Russian tax depends on its domestic law and on whether its treaty with Russia is in force.

What tax a non-resident pays on the sale of a flat in Russia

Selling real estate is the most expensive mistake people make after leaving: a non-resident pays 30% of the full sale price and may not deduct the purchase cost. A resident in the same position pays 13-15% only on the difference between the sale price and the purchase price.

Worked example: a flat bought for 9 million rubles and sold two years later for 12 million

The difference is almost ninefold. And the status is determined at the end of the year of sale: a deal in February followed by a move abroad in May of the same year turns the seller into a non-resident retroactively.

When a non-resident pays no tax on a sale

Since 2019 the holding-period exemption has applied to everyone, including non-residents (clause 17.1 of Article 217 and Article 217.1 of the Tax Code). If the property was owned for longer than the minimum period, there is no tax and no return to file.

A region may shorten these periods by its own law, down to zero. For flats in new buildings the period runs from the date of full payment under the shared-construction contract, not from registration of title.

Understating the price in the contract does not work: if the deal is below 70% of the cadastral value, tax is charged on 70% of the cadastral value (Article 214.10).

There are three lawful ways out: wait for the minimum period, sell in a year in which 183 days in Russia are reached, or calculate the 30% in advance and build it into the price. The 3-NDFL tax return is due by 30 April of the following year, and the tax by 15 July. The buyer does not become a tax agent: the seller settles with the budget personally.

Gifts and inheritance

Russia has no inheritance tax; an heir pays only a notary fee: 0.3% of the value, capped at 100,000 rubles (about 1,200 US dollars), for children, a spouse, parents and full siblings, and 0.6%, capped at 1 million rubles, for everyone else. A gift from a close relative is tax-free whatever the status. A flat, a car or shares received as a gift from an unrelated person are income: a resident pays 13-15%, a non-resident 30% of the value.

Rent, deposits and dividends: how much is withheld from a non-resident

A flat let for 80,000 rubles a month (about 960 US dollars) brings a non-resident 960,000 rubles a year and a tax bill of 288,000 rubles at 30%. The same income under the self-employed regime costs 38,400 rubles. Switching to that regime is lawful, and registration is done in the tax service's app, Moy Nalog ("My Tax").

Rent

If the tenant is a company or a sole trader, it withholds 30% itself as a tax agent. If the flat is let to a private individual, the owner files a 3-NDFL return by 30 April and pays the tax by 15 July of the following year.

There are two alternatives. Professional income tax (nalog na professionalny dokhod, NPD): 4% on payments from individuals and 6% from companies, though only housing can be let under this regime, not offices or warehouses. Or sole-trader status on the simplified tax system at 6%. Neither regime depends on tax residency.

Deposit interest

Since 2025 a non-resident has paid a flat 15% on interest in Russian banks (Federal Law 176-FZ). Before that the rate matched the resident one: 13%, or 15% on income above 5 million rubles a year. The general 30% does not apply to deposits. The tax-free amount is the same as for a resident: 1 million rubles multiplied by the highest Bank of Russia key rate in force on the first day of any month of the year (Article 214.2).

For 2026 that is at least 160,000 rubles (about 1,900 US dollars): the key rate stood at 16% on 1 January and 1 February, and the Bank of Russia lowered it afterwards. For 2025 the tax-free amount is 210,000 rubles.

Worked example: a deposit of 10 million rubles at 14% a year earns 1.4 million rubles in 2026. The taxable part is 1,240,000 rubles. A non-resident pays 186,000 rubles, a resident 161,200 rubles. The tax service calculates the tax itself and sends a notice; payment is due by 1 December of the following year.

Dividends and securities

On dividends from Russian companies a non-resident pays 15% from the first ruble, withheld by the company or the broker. A resident pays 13% up to 2.4 million rubles a year and 15% above, so on large amounts there is almost no difference.

Gains on shares and bonds are worse: the broker withholds 30% instead of 13-15%. The relief for holding securities longer than three years and the deductions on an individual investment account are not available to a non-resident. The broker has to be told about the change of status by the account holder: if it finds out at the end of the year, the tax is recalculated for all months at once.

Tax on property, land and cars

These taxes do not depend on residency. A flat is taxed at up to 0.1% of cadastral value a year (local authorities may cut the rate to zero or raise it to 0.3%), and properties worth more than 300 million rubles at up to 2.5%. Vehicle tax rates are set by the region. The notice arrives in the taxpayer's online account, and payment is due by 1 December.

Sole traders and the self-employed as non-residents: what stays the same

A sole trader on the simplified tax system pays 6% of revenue even without spending a single day of the year in Russia. The special tax regimes are tied to where the business is registered, not to days in the country, and this is the main lawful way to stay out of the 30% rate.

The self-employed

The regime is open to citizens of Russia and of EAEU countries with income up to 2.4 million rubles a year; hiring employees is not allowed. The experiment runs until 31 December 2028 (Federal Law 422-FZ).

Working from abroad under this regime is possible, with a caveat. In a letter of 18 November 2019 the Federal Tax Service allowed the place of remote activity to be chosen: either where the contractor is or where the customer is. So the regime works from abroad with Russian customers. But if both the contractor and the customer are outside Russia, there is no link to a Russian region and the regime cannot be used.

Sole traders

The simplified system is available with income up to 490.5 million rubles in 2026 (about 5.9 million US dollars): the base figure of 450 million rubles is indexed every year. Since 2025 sole traders and companies on the simplified system have paid VAT once income exceeds a threshold. In 2025 the threshold was 60 million rubles; from 2026 it is lower: 20 million rubles (about 240,000 US dollars) on income for 2025-2028, 15 million for 2029 and 10 million from 2030 (Article 145 as amended by Federal Law 228-FZ of 4 July 2026). Their VAT rates are 5% or 7% with no input deductions, or the general 22% with deductions.

A sole trader's own social contributions for 2026 are 57,390 rubles (about 690 US dollars) plus 1% of income above 300,000 rubles, capped at 321,818 rubles. They are due wherever the entrepreneur lives and whether or not there was any income.

The awkward detail: Russian sole-trader status does not exempt anyone from taxes in the country of residence. The state where the entrepreneur has become a resident is entitled to tax the same income at its own rates, and local authorities may require the business to be registered there. Both countries have to be calculated together.

Corporate profit tax, VAT and payroll contributions in 2026

A Russian company in 2026 pays 25% profit tax and 22% VAT, and both rates have gone up within two years. Profit tax rose from 20% to 25% on 1 January 2025, VAT from 20% to 22% on 1 January 2026.

Of the 25% profit tax, 8% goes to the federal budget and 17% to the regional one; this split applies until the end of 2030 (Article 284 of the Tax Code). Accredited IT companies pay 5% in 2025-2030. Small businesses usually move to the simplified system at 6% or 15%.

For an owner who has left, something else matters: what is withheld on payments abroad.

A double tax treaty that is in force lowers these rates: the treaty with Kazakhstan, for example, caps the tax on dividends at 10%, and so does the new treaty with the UAE. For countries whose treaties are suspended, the full Tax Code rates apply.

The 22% VAT is the standard rate. The reduced 10% remains for food, children's goods, medicines and medical devices, and exports are zero-rated. On top of salaries the employer pays social insurance contributions: 30% up to 2,979,000 rubles per employee a year and 15.1% above that amount.

A non-resident may remain the founder and director of a Russian company; the law does not prohibit it. How to choose a country for a new company and what to consider when moving a business is covered in our company registration section.

Which countries have suspended double tax treaties with Russia

Russia suspended the key articles of 38 tax treaties with a single document: Presidential Decree No. 585 of 8 August 2023. For anyone who moved to Europe, the United States, Canada or Japan this means Russian tax on Russian-source income can no longer be reduced under a treaty.

The decree did not cancel the treaties in full. The suspended articles are those that allocate taxing rights: dividends, interest, royalties, real estate, employment income, capital gains. The articles on who counts as a resident and on eliminating double taxation formally remain in force. Federal Law 598-FZ of 19 December 2023 confirmed the suspension.

Russia's Ministry of Finance announced Germany's decision on 14 July 2026: under an embassy note of 26 June, Berlin fully suspends the 1996 treaty from 1 January 2027.

What this means in practice

For a non-resident living in a country from the second, third or fourth row, the Russian rates of 30% and 15% apply with no relief. The country of residence taxes the same income as income of its own resident. Whether it credits the Russian tax is decided by its domestic law: many countries offer a unilateral credit, but each has its own rules and limits.

For a Russian resident the rule is mirrored: tax paid abroad is credited against Russian income tax only if an international treaty provides for it (Article 232). With no working treaty, paying twice is possible.

In countries with a treaty in force, a salary for work physically performed in the country of residence is usually taxed by that country. For the Russian employer to stop withholding income tax, or to refund what was withheld, it needs a tax residency certificate from that country with a notarised translation (clauses 6-9 of Article 232). Each treaty has its own conditions - compare the rules of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, the UAE and Georgia.

Foreign accounts, cash-flow reports and CFC rules: who they apply to after leaving

The fine for a missed CFC notification is 500,000 rubles (about 6,000 US dollars) per company, the most expensive formality for owners of a business abroad. The good news for those who have left: most of these duties disappear in a year when more than 183 days are spent outside Russia.

There are two sets of rules, and they are counted differently. Notifications about accounts and reports on them come from currency-control law (Article 12 of Federal Law 173-FZ). A CFC (controlled foreign company, KIK in Russian: a foreign firm or structure controlled by a Russian tax resident) is a Tax Code concept.

Accounts and reports

People living in Russia also skip the report if the account is in an EAEU country or in a country that automatically exchanges financial information with Russia, and the turnover for the year did not exceed 600,000 rubles (about 7,200 US dollars). The Federal Tax Service approves the list of such countries every year.

The trap is in coming back. In the first year with 183 days or fewer spent abroad the duties switch on again: every account opened during the absence has to be notified to the tax office, and the report filed by 1 June of the following year. How to open an account abroad with a Russian passport is covered in our article on foreign bank accounts.

CFC rules

A controlling person is a resident with a stake above 25%, or above 10% if Russian residents together own more than 50% of the company. CFC profit is subject to income tax on the 13-22% scale if it exceeded 10 million rubles for the year (about 120,000 US dollars). Instead of the calculation, a fixed tax can be paid: 5 million rubles a year for one company, 10 million for two, 25 million for five or more (Article 227.2).

All these duties rest only on Russian tax residents (Article 25.14). Anyone who ends the year as a non-resident files no CFC notification for that year and pays no tax on its profit. But if resident status returns, the participation notification is due by 1 March of the following year. Murblz specialists prepare the notifications and calculate the profit - details are on our CFC notifications and reporting page.

Who loses from non-resident status and what changes in 2027

Non-resident status wipes out Russian tax on foreign income but lifts the tax on most Russian-source income to 30%. Those whose money is already abroad win; those whose assets stayed at home lose.

It pays off for people earning from foreign employers and customers and for owners of foreign companies and accounts: Russia stops taxing that income, and the CFC rules and account reports fall away. It is neutral for remote employees of Russian companies on an employment contract, sole traders on the simplified system and the self-employed with Russian customers: the rates stay the same.

It costs money for anyone planning to sell real estate before the minimum holding period, letting a flat as a private individual, trading through a Russian broker or working in a Russian office: 30% instead of 13-15%. And for anyone counting on deductions for a mortgage, medical care or education: a non-resident does not get them.

What to check before leaving

How many days in Russia will add up over the calendar year, and in which year the large deals will fall. When the minimum holding period for real estate expires. What the employment contract says: without a remote-work clause the rate will be 30%. Whether the broker knows about the change of status. And how the destination country taxes Russian income: being a resident of one of the two countries is almost always unavoidable.

What is proposed from 2027

On 24 September 2026 the government approved the 2027-2029 budget package with Ministry of Finance amendments to the Tax Code, and on 30 September it submitted the package to the State Duma. The main proposal for individuals is to move dividends, deposit interest, income from securities and from the sale of property into the main income tax base. Residents would then pay the full 13-22% scale on them instead of 13-15%.

The same package raises from 15% to 35% the profit tax on dividends that Russian companies pay to non-residents from countries Russia designates as unfriendly into type "C" accounts - special ruble accounts with restrictions on withdrawing the money. The measure is framed as a profit tax, so it concerns foreign corporate shareholders. Neither proposal is law yet: the final wording will be decided by the State Duma.

Changes already adopted: from 1 January 2027 Germany fully suspends its tax treaty with Russia, and from 2 May 2027 residents will begin reporting transactions in digital currency through wallets outside Russian digital depositories. We wrote about restrictions on the property of those who left in our piece on the seizure of emigrants' assets, and about tax on crypto in the article on crypto and relocation.

Murblz specialists calculate the tax consequences of a move in both countries at once: status by days, real estate deals, the structure of income and reporting on accounts and companies. Legal support is handled by Murblz specialists together with locally licensed partners.

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