One Account for Taxes and SSC: Setup, Payments, and Error Correction

A sole proprietor or business may voluntarily set up a single account to pay taxes, fees, the single social contribution (SSC), and other payments administered by the State Tax Service (STS). Once set up, payments covered by this mechanism must be made through it. VAT, excise tax on the sale of fuel and ethyl alcohol, and the portion of net profit payable by state and municipal unitary enterprises and their associations must be paid separately. Submit a notice to use the account or opt out through the Electronic Cabinet; an opt-out takes effect on 1 January of the next calendar year.

Before switching, check outstanding debts, overpayments, and upcoming payment deadlines. Use the account details shown in your own Electronic Cabinet and complete the structured payment purpose fields. Funds are allocated in the order set by law: first SSC arrears, then tax debt and relevant other arrears, followed by other liabilities. After making a payment, check the funds’ movement, the payment register, and whether each tax or contribution has been credited.

What is a single account, and who can use it?

The single account is held with the Treasury in the name of the STS. The taxpayer transfers funds to it, the STS prepares a register for their allocation, and the Treasury transfers the payments to the relevant recipients. The funds in this account do not belong to the STS.

The mechanism is available to individuals, including entrepreneurs, legal entities, and their separate subdivisions that are required to pay the relevant payments. For a physical or online store, switching is voluntary. If you do not submit a notice to use the single account, the payment procedure through it does not apply.

Once the account is set up, payments covered by the mechanism must be made through it. Taxes must still be assessed, returns and calculations filed, payment deadlines determined, and compliance with obligations checked separately.

Which payments can be made through the single account?

The excise exception applies specifically to tax on the sale of fuel and ethyl alcohol. It should not be extended to all excise payments made by a retailer. Identify each payment type and check whether it falls within the list of exceptions.

Funds may be credited to the single account in hryvnias, including transfers from the taxpayer’s account at a bank or non-bank payment service provider. Electronic money may not be accepted into the account.

What to check before setting up the account

The business owner or accountant should list the liabilities to be paid and reconcile them against the data in the Electronic Cabinet. Pay particular attention to SSC arrears and tax debt, as they affect how subsequent incoming funds are allocated.

1. Check assessments, debts, and overpayments for each payment in the taxpayer’s integrated accounts. An integrated account is the STS’s record for an individual tax, fee, or SSC.
2. Separate out payments that may not be made through the single account.
3. Reconcile filed tax returns, calculations, and amendments against your own records.
4. Check payments made before the switch, especially advance payments for periods for which a return has not yet been filed.
5. Decide who will submit the notice, prepare bank payments, check STS messages daily, and monitor crediting.

For a legal entity with separate subdivisions, a notice to use or opt out of the account must be submitted for each separate subdivision. Compare the list of stores with the company’s legal structure to determine for whom a notice must be submitted.

How to set up the single account

1. Sign in to the private section of the Electronic Cabinet and select the notice to use the single account.
2. Complete, sign, and submit the notice electronically.
3. Save the submitted notice and its processing receipts. Make sure the document has been accepted.
4. Check that you have been added to the register of taxpayers using the single account, and confirm the start date.
5. Get the single account details in your own Cabinet. Enter them in the bank payment instruction and check the payer and recipient details.
6. Update bank templates for payments that must now be made through the single account.

Under clause 35-1.2 of the Tax Code, use begins on the day after the notice is submitted. Procedure No. 321 provides for entry in the register no later than the next working day after submission. When switching around weekends, allow for these time limits and check the registration details and account information before transferring funds.

You may give notice to use the account or opt out only once during a calendar year. Switching requires a decision in advance: you cannot stop using the account immediately after setting it up.

Can you pay into ordinary tax accounts after setting up the single account?

Once use of the single account begins, the taxpayer must make all payments covered by it through that account. If such payments are made to other Treasury accounts, they are considered paid in error. Refunds are made under the established procedure.

After switching, review saved templates, recurring payments, and instructions for your accountant. Separate payment methods remain in place for VAT, excise tax on the sale of fuel and ethyl alcohol, and the portion of net profit covered by the statutory exception.

How to complete a payment instruction

Complete the payment purpose in the structured format set out in Ministry of Finance Order No. 148. For transfers to the STS single account, two options are available: without specifying allocation destinations or with destinations specified.

Option 1. Transfer without specifying destinations

In the structured “Payment purpose” field, complete only the “Additional record information” field. Enter information about the transfer in free form, for example, “Funds to pay liabilities through the single account”.

You can specify allocation destinations through the Electronic Cabinet. If you do not specify them, the STS will allocate the funds based on the tax information provided for in clause 35-1.5 of the TCU, following the statutory order of priority. This takes into account payment instructions, tax returns, SSC calculations, and other relevant data.

Option 2. Transfer with destinations specified

Complete the following structured fields for each payment:

• “Account number” — the IBAN of the budget or non-budget account to which the relevant portion of the funds should be directed.
• “Tax amount” — the amount to be credited to that account. The field with this name is also used for SSC.
• “Tax notice (decision) information” — the number of the tax notice-decision, decision, demand, and/or SSC decision, if the payment is made on the basis of such a document.
• “Additional record information” — a free-form payment explanation that makes its purpose clear.

The IBAN of the single account in the recipient’s main details and the account number in the structured payment purpose serve different functions. You transfer the total amount to the first. The second identifies the budget or non-budget account to which the Treasury should direct a specific portion of the funds.

You can specify several destinations in one payment instruction. To do so, repeat the set of structured fields for each payment and check that the total matches the sum of all components.

These two ways of paying into the single account are governed by the special rule in section II, clause 6 of Procedure No. 148. It does not require the “Payment type code” field to be completed. Do not add code 101 as a universal marker for a transfer to the single account. Complete the structured fields in the relevant form provided by your bank or other payment service provider.

Illustrative example: allocating UAH 6,000

Suppose the accountant has already determined current liabilities of UAH 4,000 in tax and UAH 2,000 in SSC. The total transfer is UAH 6,000: 4,000 + 2,000 = 6,000.

If the accountant specifies destinations in the payment instruction, they complete two sets of structured fields: one for UAH 4,000 to the relevant budget account, and another for UAH 2,000 to the relevant non-budget SSC account. The account numbers are taken from the details available in the accountant’s own Electronic Cabinet.

This example illustrates only the arithmetic and payment structure. It does not specify the store’s actual taxes, rates, or payment deadlines. If there are SSC arrears or tax debt, the statutory allocation order applies.

In what order are funds allocated?

Clause 35-1.6 of the TCU establishes seven priority levels. The register is prepared within the available funds, taking into account relevant amounts paid in error or in excess.

1. SSC arrears.
2. Tax debt and arrears on other payments administered by the STS. The order in which the debt arose for the relevant tax or fee and the rules in clause 131.2 of the TCU are taken into account.
3. Liabilities under tax notices-decisions. The chronological order in which instructions containing the date and number of the relevant notice-decision were received applies.
4. Liabilities for taxes, fees, and SSC determined by the taxpayer or tax agent. The chronological order of instructions containing the payment purpose and recipient is taken into account.
5. Liabilities for national taxes and fees under tax returns. Their order of receipt, liability amounts, and payment deadlines are taken into account.
6. Liabilities for local taxes under tax returns. Their order of receipt, liability amounts, and payment deadlines are taken into account.
7. Other payments administered by the STS. The chronological order of instructions containing the payment purpose and recipient is taken into account.

Specifying a particular recipient does not change the statutory order of payment. If there are SSC arrears or tax debt, plan amounts for current payments with their repayment in mind.

When are funds included in the allocation process?

The STS prepares registers daily, except on weekends, public holidays, and non-working days. Procedure No. 321 sets separate processing time limits:

• Funds received in the single account after 15:00 are included in the incoming funds information for the next working day.
• Notices to specify or correct a payment purpose received after 14:00 are included in the relevant information for the next working day.
• The STS sends the consolidated register to the Treasury by 16:30.
• After checking, the Treasury automatically processes records by 17:30 on the day it receives the register.

Schedule transfers well ahead of the payment deadline. The time the bank debits the funds, their arrival in the single account, and the allocation showing against individual payments may differ.

How to check the result and which documents to keep

The entrepreneur or accountant responsible for taxes carries out the checks. After transferring funds, check the following in order:

1. Bank execution. Reconcile the amount, date, payer, recipient, and structured payment purpose against the executed payment instruction and bank statement.
2. Receipt into the single account. Check the movement of funds in the Cabinet. The STS shows it in the single account record in real time, but no later than the next working day after receiving information from the Treasury.
3. Allocation. Review the available payment register and match the amounts and accounts to the relevant liabilities.
4. Record for each payment. Check credits in the integrated accounts and the remaining liability, debt, or overpayment.
5. STS messages. Make sure there are no uncorrected errors or discrepancies.

Keep the notice to use the account or opt out, its processing receipts, executed payment instructions, bank statements, allocation details, tax returns and calculations, and correspondence about errors. If a payment is based on a notice-decision, decision, or demand, keep that document too.

What to do about an error or overpayment

The STS cannot identify the recipient

If an error in the payment instruction makes it impossible to identify the proper recipient, the relevant amount is initially left out of the allocation register. The STS sends a notice through the Electronic Cabinet.

No later than the next working day after receiving the notice, identify the proper recipient for the payment through the Cabinet. Check the account, amount, and supporting document. If you do not do this within the set time, the information will be treated as not identifying the recipient, and the funds will be allocated according to tax information and the statutory order of priority.

The transfer came from an unregistered or unidentified payer

If the sender is not included in the register of single account users or the STS cannot identify them, the funds are returned to the account from which the transfer was made. They are not considered credited to the single account and do not appear in the taxpayer’s single account record.

Check that the notice to use the account was accepted, that registration is complete, and that the payer code in the executed instruction is correct. After resolving the cause, prepare a valid payment and monitor the return of the previous transfer.

After setting up the account, funds were paid to another tax account

For payments that must be made through the single account, such a transfer is considered erroneous. Keep the instruction and bank statement, check where the funds are recorded, and request a refund under the procedure in Article 43 of the TCU. Separately check that the relevant liability has been paid through the single account.

You need to use an overpayment or get a refund

Through the Electronic Cabinet, a taxpayer can specify how available monetary liabilities and late-payment interest paid in error or in excess, which are taken into account when preparing the register, should be used. As a general rule, to obtain a refund under Article 43 of the TCU, you must submit an application and specify where the funds should be transferred. If there is tax debt, a refund to the taxpayer’s account or to the single account is possible only after the debt has been repaid in full. During the period in which sanctions apply, a refund is prohibited if the relevant decisions have been made in respect of the taxpayer and/or its founders, participants, or ultimate beneficial owners. Under clause 43.3 of the TCU, as a general rule, the application must be submitted within 1,095 days from the date the erroneously or excessively paid amount or late-payment interest arose. The period from 18 March 2020 through 31 July 2023 is excluded when calculating this time limit.

SSC has a separate procedure for crediting amounts against future payments or obtaining a refund. Procedure No. 321 distinguishes refunds of budget payments from SSC refunds. Before applying, establish which payment and account the amount is recorded under, and follow the relevant procedure.

For the offset and refund mechanism under clauses 19–22 of Procedure No. 321, the amounts considered are those that, according to STS records, arose from 1 January 2021 onward and have not been refunded. Separate clause 23-1 regulates funds paid before the reporting deadline for a period preceding the taxpayer’s entry in the register: they are credited against the same type of income under which they are recorded.

The STS and Treasury made an allocation error

Clause 28 of Procedure No. 321 provides for correcting technical or methodological errors involving amounts already transferred. The STS must send documents to return the funds to the single account no later than the next working day after detecting the error.

If you notice a discrepancy, contact the STS with the payment instruction, bank statement, and register details. State the amount, date, and specific discrepancy. Once it has been corrected, check the movement of funds and the integrated accounts again.

How to opt out of the single account

Submit a notice to opt out through the Electronic Cabinet, and keep the notice and its receipts. No later than the next working day, the STS enters the exclusion in the register, effective 1 January of the next calendar year.

Until that date, continue making payments covered by the account through it. Before switching back, check balances, unallocated amounts, overpayments, and debts. Once use ends, obtain the correct details for separate payments and update your bank templates.

The single account and tax obligations during martial law

The single account determines how funds are transferred. Whether a lawful exemption from a particular payment, an extension of a deadline, or another special provision applies must be established for the relevant tax or SSC and the specific taxpayer.

If a special provision affects the amount or deadline of your liability, take it into account before preparing the payment and keep the documents that support its application. Setting up a single account does not itself grant a tax relief or exemption from liability. For amounts due, check the account for payment, the allocation order, and how the payment is recorded by the STS.

Official sources

• Tax Code of Ukraine No. 2755-VI: Article 35-1, clauses 35-1.1–35-1.10 — payments, exceptions, setting up and opting out, allocation, and overpayments; Article 42-1 — Electronic Cabinet; Article 43 — refunds of monetary liabilities and late-payment interest paid in error or in excess; clause 89.7 of Article 89 and clause 131.2 of Article 131 — provisions taken into account in allocation.
• Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 29 April 2020 No. 321, “On Approval of the Procedure for Operation of the Single Account and Implementation of the Provisions of Article 35-1 of the Tax Code of Ukraine by Central Executive Authorities”: clauses 3–17 — exceptions, registration, account details, transfers, errors, and registers; clauses 19–23-1 — crediting and refunds; clauses 26–28 — processing registers and correcting errors.
• Order of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine dated 22 March 2023 No. 148, “On Approval of the Procedure for Completing the ‘Payment Purpose’ Details of a Payment Instruction…”: clause 1 of section I — structured format; clauses 1–6 and 9 of section II — fields, payment options through the single account, and payer; Appendix 1 — payment type codes; clauses 3 and 5 of the Order — end of the previous procedure and entry into force.
• Resolution of the Board of the National Bank of Ukraine dated 29 July 2022 No. 163, “On Approval of the Instruction on Cashless Settlements in the National Currency by Users of Payment Services”: appendix to the Instruction, clauses 5–8, 11–13, 16, and 18 — amount, identification of payer and recipient, accounts, payment purpose, and authentication of the instruction.