How a Ukrainian Sole Proprietor Can Pay Taxes from Abroad

A sole proprietor (ФОП) in Groups 1–3 of the simplified tax system can pay their Ukrainian taxes and single social contribution (SSC) from abroad through their Ukrainian hryvnia account. Before paying, check your group, the amounts owed in taxes and SSC, any tax or SSC debt, and whether you qualify for an exemption. Get current payment details from the State Tax Service (STS) Electronic Cabinet, make the payments, save the bank documents, and check how the STS recorded the funds.

Being abroad does not by itself exempt you from the single tax, military levy, or SSC. If you already use the STS single account, pay these liabilities through it. If you do not, make separate payments to the relevant accounts. Paying the money also does not replace filing a tax return.

What to prepare before paying

This process covers a sole proprietor’s own payments under the simplified tax system. Separate rules apply to VAT, taxes on employee wages, the general system, and Group 4.

Prepare:

• access to Ukrainian online banking and enough hryvnias in your account;
• access to the private section of the STS Electronic Cabinet;
• your tax identification number (РНОКПП), the individual’s tax number;
• details of your group, single tax rate, and tax address;
• your quarterly income calculation if you are in Group 3;
• documents confirming exemption from a specific payment, if you qualify;
• previous payment documents and filed tax returns for reconciliation.

You can sign in to the Cabinet using a qualified electronic signature (КЕП), a cloud signature, Diia.Signature, or an available identification method through id.gov.ua, including BankID. A КЕП is a qualified electronic signature used to sign electronic documents. Signing in through BankID does not mean you can use it to sign every application or tax return. Check in advance which signature method the document requires.

If your signature certificate has expired or you have lost your key, contact your qualified electronic trust service provider. The process for getting a new key or renewing one depends on the provider.

How much to pay and when

For 2026 calculations, the minimum wage is UAH 8,647 and the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons is UAH 3,328. Apply the amounts below if you are not exempt and pay at the standard rates.

For Groups 1–2, the local council sets the actual single tax rate based on the business activity. If you conduct several types of activity, the highest rate set for those activities applies. If you operate in the territories of more than one local council, the maximum rate provided by the Tax Code for your group applies. The owner’s physical presence abroad does not by itself determine where a store operates.

The minimum SSC is calculated as follows: 8,647 × 22% = UAH 1,902.34 per month. For a full quarter without an exemption: 1,902.34 × 3 = UAH 5,707.02. A sole proprietor may choose a higher contribution base. For a standard sole proprietor, the maximum monthly base in 2026 is UAH 172,940, and the contribution on that base is UAH 38,046.80.

If a store has no sales, Groups 1–2 generally still owe the fixed single tax and military levy. For Group 3, these payments depend on taxable income: if income is zero, the corresponding amount is zero. Without a separate exemption, the minimum SSC remains mandatory for all three groups.

Exceeding the income limit and violations specified in the Tax Code may result in the 15% single tax rate applying to the relevant income. This includes activity prohibited under the simplified system and an impermissible method of settlement; for Groups 1–2, it also includes certain activity outside the group’s conditions or outside the registered business activities. In this situation, calculate the liability separately and check whether you can continue operating in your group.

Example payment calendar

• Groups 1–2: single tax and military levy for October 2026 are due by October 20, inclusive.
• SSC for Q3 2026 is due by October 19, inclusive.
• Group 3 return for Q3 2026 is due by November 9, inclusive.
• Group 3 single tax and military levy for Q3 2026 are due by November 19, inclusive.

These dates follow the general deadlines: 40 calendar days to file a quarterly return, then 10 calendar days to pay. The standard annual return deadline for Groups 1–2 is 60 calendar days after the end of the year. Changing groups, exceeding the income limit, or closing the sole proprietorship may change the reporting procedure.

If a tax payment deadline falls on a weekend or public holiday, the next operating day becomes the final day. SSC has a separate rule: the deadline moves to the next working day after a weekend, public holiday, or non-working day. Check the tax return deadline separately from the payment deadline.

Groups 1–2 may pay the single tax and military levy in advance for a quarter or year, but only through the end of the current reporting year. Do not carry 2026 amounts into a payment plan for the following year without recalculating them.

Check exemptions before creating payments

An exemption from one payment does not cancel the others. Check the single tax, military levy, and SSC separately, for the specific months and supporting documents.

Vacation or prolonged illness

A Group 1 or 2 sole proprietor with no employees may skip the single tax and military levy for one calendar month of vacation per year. An exemption is also available for a period of illness lasting at least 30 calendar days and confirmed by an extract from the Electronic Register of Sick Leave Certificates.

Submit a free-form application to the STS for the relevant period. For illness, attach an extract from the register. Before a planned vacation begins, submit the application and check the amounts assessed in the Cabinet. Traveling abroad does not automatically count as registered vacation. These grounds do not exempt you from SSC.

Tax address in a combat zone or occupied territory

Groups 1–2 may be exempt from the single tax and military levy for periods defined by law if their tax address was in the relevant territory on the date hostilities or occupation began. Check the territory’s category and dates in the current official List, as well as the history of your tax address.

The exemption covers the period from the first day of the month in which the relevant circumstances began through the last day of the month in which they ended. Once a change of location to another territory in Ukraine is state registered, this exemption ends on the first day of the following month. Internally displaced person status or being abroad does not by itself qualify you.

If you use this exemption, the STS must not assess advance contributions, penalties, or interest for nonpayment for the relevant periods. If you rely on the territorial right not to pay the single tax and military levy, do not fill in a tax return for periods when you did not pay either of those two taxes on this legal basis. Report liabilities for periods when you made the payments. Check the Cabinet for any incorrect assessments.

Pension, disability, or SSC paid by an employer

The law exempts sole proprietors from their own SSC if they receive an old-age pension or a pension for years of service, have a disability, or have reached the statutory retirement age and receive a pension or social assistance. Participation in the system may be voluntary for these individuals.

A sole proprietor is also exempt from their own SSC for months in which an employer paid a contribution for them of at least the minimum insurance contribution. Check the amount for each month. The current rule does not limit this exemption to a primary place of employment. If the employer paid less than the minimum, part six of Article 4 of Law No. 2464-VI lets you determine the base for your own SSC for that month. If you choose to pay, the base may not exceed the statutory maximum, and your own contribution must be at least the minimum insurance contribution; this provision does not allow you to pay only the difference between the minimum and the employer’s contribution.

Working for a foreign company and paying social contributions abroad do not by themselves qualify you for this exemption from Ukrainian SSC. The applicable social insurance rules under an international treaty must be determined separately for the particular country.

The general wartime right for sole proprietors not to pay their own SSC, provided for in clause 9-19 of Section VIII of Law No. 2464-VI, is suspended for 2026. If you have no other legal grounds for exemption, pay your own contribution.

Military service

Mobilized sole proprietors and those serving under contract qualify for a special exemption from their own single tax and military levy. It covers the period from the first day of the month of mobilization or contract signing, but not earlier than February 24, 2022, through the last day of the month of demobilization or discharge. The STS applies the exemption based on registry information. If that information is unavailable, the sole proprietor may submit an application and the relevant military documents.

Exemption from your own SSC has separate conditions. In particular, clause 9-2 of Law No. 2464-VI expressly requires that you not have employer status. Sole proprietors with employees and reservists should check the relevant special provisions. If military service left you unable to meet obligations, the law sets separate deadlines after demobilization or completion of treatment or rehabilitation: 180 calendar days for tax obligations, 150 for SSC reporting, and 180 for paying SSC. An exemption does not mean all existing debts are automatically written off.

Get current payment details for your sole proprietorship

1. Sign in to the private section of the Electronic Cabinet.
2. Check your account details, group, and tax address.
3. Open “Budget payment status” and review the single tax, military levy, and SSC separately.
4. Check assessed amounts, amounts paid, overpayments, and debt. A taxpayer’s integrated account is the STS record of these transactions.
5. Get the details for each payment you need to make. Check the payment name, recipient, recipient code, and IBAN.
6. Check whether you already use the STS single account.

Do not use a saved bank payment template without checking it. The single tax account cannot be used to pay SSC: separate non-budget accounts are opened for contributions. If you have changed your sole proprietorship’s location, check the place of payment with the STS. Budget law provides for the relevant taxes to be paid at the previous place of registration until the end of the current budget period.

If you have tax debt, the STS applies tax payments to that debt in order of when it arose, regardless of the payment purpose entered. This rule does not apply to funds intended to pay SSC. SSC has its own order of allocation: amounts paid first cover existing SSC arrears, penalties, and interest in order of when they arose. Before paying, check tax debt and SSC arrears separately, and calculate how much is needed to cover old and current liabilities.

If you use the single account

The single account is a special account for paying several types of liabilities through the STS. Joining is voluntary: the sole proprietor files an electronic notice in the Cabinet, and use begins the following day. After that, pay your own single tax, military levy, and SSC through this account. Funds paid for these liabilities to other Treasury accounts will be treated as paid in error.

Get the single account details from the Cabinet. If you do not specify how the funds should be allocated in the payment instruction, fill in only the “Additional information for the entry” field in the payment purpose with a free-form description of the transfer. You can specify allocation directions in the Electronic Cabinet; if you do not, the STS will allocate the funds using tax information and the order set by law. If you specify directions in the payment instruction itself, provide the relevant budget or non-budget account, amount, and additional information for each payment. Include the number of a tax notice-decision, decision, or demand if you are paying under that document. Confirm with your bank how to fill in these fields, then check the allocation in the Cabinet after the transfer. You may notify the STS of your decision to use or leave the single account once per calendar year. Leaving it ends its use only on January 1 of the following year. VAT is not paid through this account.

How to fill out separate hryvnia payments

If you do not use the single account, create a separate payment instruction in online banking for each payment: single tax, military levy, and SSC. A payment instruction is your order to the bank to transfer a specified amount to the account you name.

1. Select your account as the source of funds.
2. Enter the current recipient details from the STS Cabinet.
3. Check that your name and tax number appear in the payer details.
4. Enter the full amount of the relevant liability.
5. For an ordinary payment, enter payment type code 101 and additional payment information.
6. Check the fee, available balance, and processing date, then confirm the transfer.

For example, in the additional information you can enter “Single tax for October 2026,” “Military levy for October 2026,” or “SSC for myself for Q3 2026.” If your activity requires a license or special permit, Procedure No. 148 also requires you to state the reporting period and permit details: type, number, and date.

Code 101 identifies an ordinary payment of taxes, levies, payments, or SSC. It is not an account number or budget classification code. If you pay for yourself from your own account, leave the separate “actual payer” details blank because the payer and actual payer are the same person.

If your bank does not display separate fields for the code and additional information, ask the bank how it formats those details. Do not copy old payment purpose templates without checking them.

Example for Group 2

Assume your local single tax rate is at the maximum, you have no exemptions or debt, and you pay the minimum SSC for all three months of the quarter. Your October payments and SSC for Q3 would be:

• Single tax for October: UAH 1,729.40;
• Military levy for October: UAH 864.70;
• SSC for Q3: UAH 5,707.02.

Total: 1,729.40 + 864.70 + 5,707.02 = UAH 8,301.12. These are liabilities with different payment deadlines. If the assumed bank fee is UAH 5 for each of the three transfers and is charged separately, you need UAH 8,301.12 + 15 = UAH 8,316.12 in your account. Check your actual fee with your bank.

Example for Group 3

Assume a Group 3 sole proprietor using the 5% rate has taxable income of UAH 240,000 for Q3. There are no exemptions, debt, or overpayments, and the SSC is the minimum for all three months. The single tax is 240,000 × 5% = UAH 12,000, the military levy is 240,000 × 1% = UAH 2,400, and the SSC is UAH 5,707.02. Total funds required, before fees: 12,000 + 2,400 + 5,707.02 = UAH 20,107.02.

At the 3% rate, the single tax on this income would be UAH 7,200, but VAT must be calculated and paid separately. Use the rules in Article 292 of the Tax Code to determine quarterly taxable income; a store’s sales figure is not always the same as this tax base.

Adding funds to your account and help from a representative

If you do not have enough hryvnias, first agree with your bank on how to add funds to your Ukrainian account from abroad. Ask about the transfer currency, required details, restrictions, conversion rate, fees, and posting time. Calculate your available hryvnias after all transfer and exchange costs.

Pay your own single tax and military levy in hryvnias. Use the hryvnia process for your mandatory SSC as well. The law provides narrow cases for paying SSC in foreign currency related to voluntary participation and specified categories of people; an ordinary sole proprietor’s presence abroad does not by itself put them under those rules.

A representative may handle tax matters under the law or a duly certified power of attorney. If you arrange one abroad, check how it must be certified, whether it will be recognized in Ukraine, and what powers it needs to grant. Being related to the sole proprietor does not itself grant the right to represent them.

For the standard process, pay from your own account. Transferring a tax liability to another person is prohibited; the Law on SSC also separately prohibits transferring the obligation to pay SSC. Do not treat the technical “actual payer” field as permission for a relative to pay all your liabilities from their account.

When a payment is considered made

For the separate budget accounts for the single tax and military levy, check that the transfer was processed and credited to the budget. The Budget Code ties the crediting of state and local budget revenue to the day the funds arrive in the relevant Treasury accounts. A message that the payment was “created” or “accepted” does not yet confirm that the transfer is complete.

For SSC correctly paid in hryvnias from your own account, the payment date is the day the funds are actually debited, regardless of when they are credited to the relevant account. For taxes and levies paid to the single account, the Tax Code sets a special rule: the obligation is fulfilled once initiation of the transfer is complete. Under the Law on Payment Services, this is when the payment service provider accepts the instruction for execution.

Check your Ukrainian bank’s operating hours and the terms of your agreement. An instruction submitted after operating hours may be processed on the next operating day or within another agreed period. The time shown on your phone abroad does not set this deadline. Plan to pay several working days early so you have time to fix a payment that is returned or not processed.

After paying, save the receipt with the payment details, the document showing the completed status, and the account statement showing the debit. A receipt confirming acceptance of a payment, a bank statement, and a receipt confirming acceptance of a tax return document different events.

How to check a payment and get an STS statement

After the transfer is processed, return to “Budget payment status.” Review the relevant payment, amount received, and any remaining debt or overpayment. Do not make a second transfer just because the entry has not appeared yet: first check with your bank and verify the payment details. There is no guarantee that every payment will appear in the account instantly.

For documentary confirmation, submit an electronic request for a statement of account status under Ministry of Finance Procedure No. 416. Send the request to the STS office where you are primarily registered. Specify a period within the last five calendar years, including the year of submission. Submit a separate request for each calendar year.

The start of the period must be the first day of a month. The end must be the first day of a month or the date the request is submitted. By default, the STS issues an electronic statement broken down by payment type, with a qualified electronic seal and without a penalty interest calculation. A version bearing the qualified electronic signature of the STS head or deputy head is available if the end date is the first day of a month. You can request a version that includes a tax penalty interest calculation if needed.

The date the electronic request was accepted is recorded in the first receipt. You must receive the electronic statement no later than the second working day after that date. This deadline applies to issuing the statement, not to the appearance of a bank payment in the STS records.

What to do if a payment does not appear or was sent in error

1. Check whether your bank processed the payment, debited the funds, and did not return them.
2. Verify the IBAN, recipient code, your tax number, amount, and payment method: separate accounts or the single account.
3. Review other payment accounts and any previous debt: the funds may have been applied to that debt.
4. Contact the STS through electronic correspondence. Identify the payment, amount, date, instruction number, and recipient account, and describe the discrepancy.
5. Attach the receipt, the statement showing the debit, and the document confirming processing. Ask the STS to reconcile the records and tell you which application to submit for your situation.
6. Save the documents you sent and the STS response, then check your account again after the correction.

Clause 42-1.5 of the Tax Code provides for reporting inaccurate information and attaching supporting documents. Its rule on correcting information within two working days is subject to conditions, including confirmation of the facts and verification of the data. It does not mean every mistaken payment will automatically be transferred within two days.

Single tax or military levy sent in error

To get back or redirect a tax payment made in error or in excess, submit an application under Article 43 of the Tax Code and Procedure No. 60 to the STS office where the amount is recorded. The general deadline to apply is 1,095 days from the date the amount arose. State the payment name, amount, date, details of the original transfer, and your preferred destination: your own account, the single account if you use it, or payment of another relevant tax liability. Attach the payment document for reconciliation.

A refund to your own or single account when you have tax debt is possible only after the debt has been fully paid. Restrictions also apply to taxpayers subject to sanctions provided by law. If you do not use the single account, an overpayment of the same tax may cover its liabilities without an application; to redirect an overpayment of another type of payment, submit the relevant application. Users of the single account follow a special procedure: when the STS prepares the payment register, it takes into account amounts recorded as paid in error or in excess. You can specify how to use those amounts through the Electronic Cabinet under clause 35-1.8 of the Tax Code.

If the full tax amount was paid on time to another budget account, the Tax Code provides special grounds for exemption from financial liability and for not charging or for canceling penalty interest. To qualify, you must take the steps under Article 43 to recover the mistaken payment. Do not automatically apply this rule to SSC paid in error or to a payment made under another person’s tax number.

SSC sent in error

Procedure No. 417 applies to funds sent to a non-budget SSC account. Submit the application using the form in Appendix 1 of that procedure to the STS office where the incorrect or excess amount is recorded. You can submit it through the Electronic Cabinet. You must attach a copy of the payment document certified by you; for an electronic application, attach an electronic copy.

The STS reviews the application within no more than 10 working days and issues a conclusion or notifies you of a refusal. This is not a guaranteed deadline for the refund to arrive. Grounds for refusal may include an incorrect form, inaccurate information, submitting it to the wrong authority, no payment document, or outstanding SSC debt or unpaid financial penalties.

Excess SSC paid to the correct account is applied to future payments through that same account in calendar order. If SSC was mistakenly transferred to a budget account, clause 6 of Procedure No. 417 provides for a refund under Article 43 of the Tax Code. The correction procedure therefore depends on where the funds actually went.

What happens if you pay late

Penalty interest may also accrue. For a tax liability you determined yourself, Article 129 of the Tax Code provides that it starts after 90 calendar days have passed from the payment deadline, at 100% of the annual National Bank of Ukraine policy rate in effect on each relevant day. The procedure may differ for amounts assessed by the STS, including a rate of 120%. The 90-day rule does not mean there is no penalty before that deadline.

For SSC, penalty interest is 0.1% of the unpaid amount for each day of delay, from the day after the payment deadline through and including the day of actual payment. There is no 90-day waiting period for SSC.

Example: if the full SSC amount of UAH 5,707.02 remained unpaid for 10 days of delay, including the day of payment, the 20% penalty would be UAH 1,141.40 after rounding, and penalty interest would be 5,707.02 × 0.1% × 10 = UAH 57.07. The example assumes there is no legal exemption or other circumstance that changes liability.

If your bank caused the delay, get written confirmation of when it accepted the instruction, debited the funds, and processed the payment, and the reason for the delay. The Tax Code separately governs a payment service provider’s liability and penalty interest caused by its fault. Submit the evidence to the STS if it assessed debt or penalties against you. A statement that “the bank delayed it” is not enough to confirm the cause.

What to do if you are objectively unable to meet an obligation

Being abroad does not automatically prove that you were unable to pay. If wartime circumstances actually made it impossible to meet a specific tax obligation, Ministry of Finance Procedure No. 225 applies. For example, documented loss of records or equipment due to hostilities, or specified circumstances involving treatment, may be relevant.

The sole proprietor submits an application and supporting documents, including through the Electronic Cabinet. In the application, state your details, tax address, STS office, specific obligations you did not meet and the relevant periods, the reasons you were unable to meet them, and a list of attachments with their details. The documents must show the link between the circumstances and your inability to meet the obligation by the relevant deadline.

If you met your obligations and then lost the ability to do so because of wartime circumstances, the procedure requires you to file the application within 60 calendar days starting from the first day of the month after the month in which you regained the ability to submit the application and documents. If the STS has already recognized that you were unable to meet your obligations and you regain that ability, you must also notify it within the prescribed 60-day period. After regaining the ability, meet the relevant overdue tax obligations within 60 calendar days starting from the first day of the month after the month in which you regained that ability. This is a condition for exemption from liability under subclause 69.1 of the Tax Code. If you do not regain the ability, this provision requires you to meet the obligations within six months after martial law ends or is lifted.

As a general rule, the STS reviews the application within 20 calendar days starting from the day after receipt. If the documents are insufficient, it may send a preliminary decision requesting additional evidence; you have 10 calendar days starting from the day after receiving the decision to submit it. Keep the documents and monitor your correspondence. This procedure may exempt you from liability under specified conditions and requires you to meet your obligations afterward.

When you need a separate residency review

Living abroad for a long time may require a separate analysis of your tax residency. The Ukrainian Tax Code takes into account your place of residence, permanent home, personal and economic ties, and registration as an entrepreneur. The 183-day criterion is applied in a specified order; it is not the only condition.

If both countries consider you a resident, your residence facts and the applicable international treaty must be reviewed. This may affect taxation and eligibility for the simplified system, because nonresidents cannot be ordinary Group 1–3 single tax payers. Do not stop making Ukrainian payments just because you have been abroad for a long time.

Foreign tax or social contributions do not automatically reduce your Ukrainian single tax, military levy, or SSC either. Any possible credit requires a specific legal basis, the type of income, and proper documents. If you decide to close your sole proprietorship, complete the state registration of closure, final calculations, and reporting; leaving the country or stopping sales does not replace those steps.

Official sources

• Tax Code of Ukraine No. 2755-VI: subclause 14.1.213, clauses 13.4–13.5, Article 19, clauses 35.1–35.3, 35-1.1–35-1.3, Article 38, clauses 42-1.2, 42-1.5, Article 43, subclauses 49.18.2–49.18.3, clauses 49.20, 57.1, 87.1, 87.7, 87.9, subclause 112.8.8-1, clause 122.1, Articles 124, 129, subclause 291.5.7, Article 292, clauses 293.1–293.4, 293.6–293.7, 294.1, 295.1–295.8, subclause 298.3.2; clause 11 of Subsection 8 of Section XX; subclauses 1.1–1.3, 1.11–1.13 of clause 16-1, clause 25, and subclause 69.1 of Subsection 10 of Section XX.
• Law “On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026” No. 4695-IX: Articles 7, 8, 32, and clause 3 of the Final Provisions.
• Law “On the Collection and Accounting of the Unified Contribution to Compulsory State Social Insurance” No. 2464-VI: parts 4–6 of Article 4, clause 3 of part 1 of Article 7, part 5 of Article 8, parts 5–8, 10, 12–13 of Article 9, parts 9–11, 13 of Article 25; clauses 9-2, 9-18, 9-19, 9-21–9-22 of Section VIII.
• Budget Code of Ukraine No. 2456-VI: parts 5 and 8 of Article 45 and part 5 of Article 78.
• Law “On Payment Services” No. 1591-IX: Article 40, part 6 of Article 41, Articles 43–49, 85–87.
• Instruction on Cashless Settlements in the National Currency, approved by NBU Resolution No. 163 of July 29, 2022: clauses 18 and 24 of Section I; clauses 37, 37-3, and 40 of Section II.
• Procedure for Filling in the “Payment Purpose” Field, Ministry of Finance Order No. 148 of March 22, 2023: clauses 1–4 of Section II and code 101 in Appendix 1.
• Instruction on the Calculation and Payment of SSC, Ministry of Finance Order No. 449 of April 20, 2015: clause 5 of Section IV.
• Procedure for Documenting Account Status, Ministry of Finance Order No. 416 of August 20, 2025: clause 2 of Section I, clauses 1–3 of Section II, clauses 1–4 of Section III, and Appendix 1.
• Procedure for Information Exchange on Refunds of Tax Payments, Ministry of Finance Order No. 60 of February 11, 2019: clauses 1–2 of Section III.
• Procedure for Crediting and Refunding Excess or Erroneously Paid SSC, Ministry of Finance Order No. 417 of July 23, 2021: clauses 4–6 and 9–15 and Appendix 1.
• Procedure for Confirming the Ability or Inability to Meet Tax Obligations, Ministry of Finance Order No. 225 of July 29, 2022: clauses 2–8 of Section II, clauses 1–3 of Section III, and the List of Documents for Individuals.
• Official STS Electronic Cabinet help page: “Signing in to the private section.”