How an Entrepreneur or Company Pays a Lawyer or Notary

How an Entrepreneur or Company Should Properly Pay for Lawyer or Notary Services

The main rule is as follows: first, you must determine the status of the service provider — whether they operate as a lawyer engaged in independent professional activity, a law firm, a lawyers' association, or a private notary. This determines what documents are required for payment, whether taxes must be withheld, whether a cash register (RRO/PRRO) is needed, and how to reflect the expenses in accounting. The safest option for businesses is a non-cash transfer from a business account to the provider's account using IBAN details, accompanied by a full package of primary documents. (Law of Ukraine)

When paying a lawyer or a private notary who works as a self-employed individual within independent professional activities, the key document is a copy of the certificate form No. 34-OPP. This provides the tax agent with the basis not to withhold personal income tax (PIT) and military tax from such a payment. Then, everything must be properly recorded in accounting: have a contract, an invoice or another payment document, a document confirming the actual services provided, payment confirmation, and reflect the payment in tax reporting. For a sole trader on the general tax system and for a legal entity, such payment can be recognized as an expense if it is related to business activities and supported by proper documents; for a sole trader on the single tax, the expense itself does not reduce the single tax amount. (Zir Tax)

Who Exactly You Are Buying the Service From

1. A lawyer working individually

The law allows a lawyer to practice individually. In this case, they are a self-employed person engaged in an independent professional activity. The lawyer's authority is confirmed by documents specified by the Law on Advocacy, and the procedure for paying the fee is established by the parties in the legal assistance agreement. (Law of Ukraine)

2. A law firm or lawyers' association

A lawyer can work not only personally but also through a law firm or a lawyers' association. This is a different format of relationship: you are settling accounts not with a self-employed individual, but with a legal entity. For a business, this means the standard settlement procedure with a corporate counterparty: a contract, an invoice, an act or other primary document, a payment order, and if necessary, VAT documents under general rules. (Law of Ukraine)

3. Private notary

A private notary cannot engage in entrepreneurial or advocacy activities. For performing notarial acts, a private notary charges a fee, the amount of which is determined by agreement with the client, and notarial acts are performed after they are paid for and necessary documents are submitted. Therefore, for a notary, advance payment before performing a notarial act is a normal model if it corresponds to the agreement of the parties and the essence of the notarial act. (Law of Ukraine)

The Safest Payment Method

For an entrepreneur or company, the best option is to pay from a business current account to the provider's account using IBAN details. Such a payment best confirms the business purpose of the expense, simplifies accounting, and reduces disputes about whether it was a settlement transaction that required a cash register. The tax authority explicitly states that when transferring funds from a current account to a current account via a bank, including through online banking, using IBAN details, a cash register (RRO/PRRO) may not be required. (cvp.tax.gov.ua)

In practice, this means that to pay for the services of a lawyer or notary, it is better not to rely on random settlement methods but to execute the payment so that clear traces of the operation remain: who provided the service, based on what document, what exactly was paid for, and to which account the funds went. This is critical both for tax accounting and for protection in the event of an audit or dispute. (Law of Ukraine)

What Documents to Obtain Before Payment

If paying an individual lawyer

You need to have:

Separately, it is worth checking the lawyer's current status in the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine to ensure the certificate is not suspended and the service is provided by the exact person the contract is concluded with. (erau.unba.org.ua)

If paying a law firm or association

You need standard corporate counterparty documents:

If paying a private notary

You need to have:

Whether to Withhold PIT and Military Tax

If you pay an individual engaged in independent professional activities, the tax at the source of payment is not withheld only if this person has provided a copy of the tax registration certificate form No. 34-OPP. The tax authority separately confirms this for both PIT and military tax. This rule does not apply if a civil law contract actually covers an employment relationship. (Zir Tax)

For a business, this means a very simple practical thing: without a copy of 34-OPP, there is no safe basis not to withhold PIT and military tax. Therefore, asking for this document before the first payment is not a formality, but a mandatory element of tax security. (Zir Tax)

How to Reflect Such a Payment in Reporting

Income paid to a self-employed person is reflected in Annex 4DF with the income sign "157". The tax authority also clarifies that when payment is made within business or independent professional activities, the columns regarding accrued and paid income are filled out in 4DF, and the income sign is specifically set to "157". (tr.tax.gov.ua)

Entrepreneurs and other self-employed persons acting as tax agents submit a tax calculation in the form and manner approved by the Ministry of Finance Order No. 4. Therefore, an entrepreneur who pays for the services of a lawyer or notary as a self-employed person must not only make the payment but also correctly reflect it in the reporting. (zp.tax.gov.ua)

Is a Cash Register (RRO/PRRO) Needed?

For self-employed individuals engaged in independent professional activities, the tax authority explicitly states: the Law on RRO applies to business entities, and self-employed persons who are not such entities within independent professional activities are not obliged to use an RRO/PRRO. If the same individual simultaneously conducts entrepreneurial activities, then regarding business transactions, the RRO/PRRO applies on general grounds. (rv.tax.gov.ua)

Therefore, for the service recipient, the important question is not "is there a receipt at any cost", but "in what status is the service provided". For an individual lawyer or private notary, the basic evidence of the transaction is the contract, 34-OPP, a document confirming the actually provided service, and bank payment confirmation. For a law firm, association, or other business counterparty, the usual rules apply thereafter, including regarding RRO/PRRO depending on the payment method. (rv.tax.gov.ua)

How to Include the Payment in Expenses

For a legal entity, the foundation is the same: a business transaction must be supported by primary documents. The Law on Accounting explicitly requires primary documents to be the basis for accounting and to contain mandatory details: document name, date, enterprise name, content and volume of the transaction, responsible persons, and signature or other identifying data. Documents can be paper or electronic. (Law of Ukraine)

For a sole trader on the general system, expenses are recognized only when they are directly related to business activities and are documented. The tax authority separately emphasizes that expenses not related to the activity, as well as undocumented expenses, are not included in costs. Therefore, the services of a lawyer or notary can only be expensed when they are genuinely needed for the business: contracts with counterparties, claims work, corporate matters, registration actions, dispute defense, formalizing property rights, etc. (Zir Tax)

For a sole trader on the single tax, the logic is different: taxation is primarily tied to income, not to the fact of incurring expenses. Therefore, even a properly executed payment to a lawyer or notary does not reduce the single tax amount itself. This does not mean documents are unnecessary — they are needed to confirm the reality of the transaction, for internal control, and other tax matters, but not to reduce the single tax base under the general rule. (dn.tax.gov.ua)

Special Situations Often Forgotten

Brief Example from Official Practice

In a publication by the State Tax Service in Rivne region dated October 10, 2023, the tax authority explicitly stated that a self-employed person — a private notary — is not obliged to use an RRO/PRRO within their independent professional activity. At the same time, if such a person conducts entrepreneurial activity in parallel, the general rules on RRO/PRRO already apply to entrepreneurial transactions. For the client, this is a good guideline: first check the provider's status, and then apply the requirements for settlement and documents. (rv.tax.gov.ua)

Practical Pre-Payment Checklist

Official Sources

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