The amount of one-time financial assistance in 2026

One-time material assistance in 2026: how to formalize and tax a payment to an employee

One-time material assistance is a single payment to an employee from the employer in connection with personal or family circumstances: treatment, a difficult life situation, the need for support, health improvement, etc.

For businesses, this is a legal way to support an employee. However, it is important to properly execute the documents so that such a payment does not look like part of the salary or a regular bonus.

What amount is not taxed in 2026

In 2026, non-targeted charitable assistance is not taxed within the limit of 4,660 UAH per year per individual.

This limit is determined as follows:

• the subsistence minimum for an able-bodied person as of January 1 of the year is taken;

• in 2026, this is 3,328 UAH;

• this amount is multiplied by 1.4;

• the result is rounded to the nearest 10 UAH.

Therefore:
3,328 × 1.4 = 4,659.2 UAH, after rounding — 4,660 UAH.

What this means: if an employer provides an employee with non-targeted charitable assistance in a total amount of up to 4,660 UAH in 2026, such payment is not included in the employee's taxable income.

Official sources:
Tax Code of Ukraine, subclauses 170.7.3, 169.4.1 — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2755-17
Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026", Art. 7 — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/4695-20

What taxes are paid

PIT and military tax

If the total amount of such assistance to an employee for the year does not exceed 4,660 UAH, then:

• PIT (Personal Income Tax) is not withheld;

• military tax is not withheld.

If the amount exceeds 4,660 UAH, taxes apply only to the excess amount.

Example:
The employer paid the employee 10,000 UAH.
Not taxed — 4,660 UAH.
Taxed — 5,340 UAH.

What this means: not the entire amount becomes taxable, but only the part exceeding the set limit.

Official source:
Tax Code of Ukraine, subclause 170.7.3 — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2755-17

SSC (Single Social Contribution)

SSC is not accrued on one-time material assistance provided to an individual employee in connection with personal circumstances.

But there is an important nuance here.

If the payment:

• is made systematically;

• is provided as a regular payment to all or most employees;

• actually replaces a bonus or part of the salary,

then during an inspection, it may be regarded as an element of the payroll fund. In this case, the tax consequences may be different.

What this means: for a safe tax approach, the assistance must be strictly one-time, and not a regular "surcharge".

Official sources:
Resolution of the CMU No. 1170, clause 14 of Section I — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/1170-2010-%D0%BF
Instruction on wage statistics No. 5, clause 3.31 — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0114-04

How to correctly formalize the payment at the enterprise

To reduce the risk of disputes with the tax office, the employer should document the assistance as a one-time individual payment.

1. Employee's application

The employee submits an application addressed to the head.

It is enough to briefly state the basis in the application, for example:

• due to family circumstances;

• in connection with treatment;

• due to difficult life circumstances.

It is not necessary to overly detail personal circumstances if there is no need for it.

2. Employer's decision

The head issues an order or directive on granting the assistance.

The document should preferably indicate:

• Full name of the employee;

• basis for the payment;

• amount of assistance;

• that the payment has a one-time nature;

• source of the payment.

3. Disbursement of funds

The assistance can be paid:

• together with the salary;

• as a separate payment.

The main thing — is that the documents clearly show that this is not a salary and not a bonus, but a separate one-time payment.

Is it mandatory to provide assistance only once a year?

No, the Tax Code does not contain a direct requirement that such assistance can be provided only once a year.

But the law speaks of the aggregate amount of assistance per year. It is this annual volume that is important for the tax-free limit.

At the same time, it is safer for businesses when such a payment has a strictly one-time and non-systematic nature. This helps to prove that we are not talking about hidden wages.

What this means: from the perspective of PIT, the total amount for the year is important, and from the perspective of tax security — that the payment does not become a regular practice.

Official source:
Tax Code of Ukraine, subclause 170.7.3 — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/2755-17

How to report the assistance

In the Tax calculation, such a payment is reflected in Annex 4DF with the income code "169".

This amount is not included in the base for calculating SSC, if it is strictly a one-time assistance on which SSC is not accrued.

Official sources:
Procedure for filling out the tax calculation and directory of income codes — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0111-15
Clarification of the State Tax Service on income code 169 — https://tax.gov.ua

When is there a risk for the employer?

For a company, the risk arises when "material assistance" is actually used as a substitute for salary or bonuses.

The most common risky situations:

• the payment is provided monthly or regularly;

• it is received by all employees on the same principle;

• there is no employee application or manager's order in the documents;

• the wording in the order is similar to a bonus;

• the payment is tied to work results.

In this case, the controlling body may question the tax regime of such assistance.

What this means: the more the payment looks like a salary, the higher the risk of additional accruals.

Assistance for health improvement: it's not the same thing

Do not confuse one-time non-targeted assistance with health improvement assistance.

Health improvement assistance is often provided by special rules for the public sector or collective agreements. In such cases, it is usually considered a payment related to remuneration.

That is, if "health improvement" payments are provided as a regular payment in the remuneration system, they can be taxed as salary:

• PIT;

• military tax;

• SSC.

What this means: one-time material assistance and "health improvement" assistance — are not always the same thing, and their tax regimes may be different.

Official source:
Instruction on wage statistics No. 5 — https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0114-04

Practical example

An employee applied to the employer with a statement due to family circumstances. The manager issued an order and paid 4,000 UAH of one-time assistance.

Tax consequences:

• PIT — not withheld;

• military tax — not withheld;

• SSC — not accrued;

• in 4DF — income code 169.

Another example:
if the employee was paid 7,000 UAH, then:

• 4,660 UAH — without PIT and military tax;

• 2,340 UAH — are taxed;

• SSC is not accrued only provided that the payment has a one-time nature and is not part of the payroll fund.

Conclusion for the entrepreneur

In 2026, a business can legally provide an employee with one-time material assistance with tax benefits.

Main rules:

• focus on the annual tax-free limit of 4,660 UAH;

• formalize the payment through the employee's application and the manager's order;

• emphasize the one-time nature of the assistance;

• do not use such a payment as a regular replacement for salary;

• correctly reflect it in the reporting.

Proper documentation is exactly what protects the business from claims during an inspection.

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