Unified Social Contribution (USC) When Paying Salaries: What the Bank Checks and Which Documents to Prepare

Before paying salaries, an employer must prepare a payment instruction to pay the single contribution for compulsory state social insurance (USC), or proof that it has actually been paid. As a general rule, the bank checks whether the contribution is at least 22% of the salary amount payable, as stated in salary payment instructions or cash checks. If the contribution is lower, the payment requires a calculation certificate approved by the tax authority, unless the employer qualifies for an exception under the Procedure.

To prepare a salary payment, first calculate salary, deductions, and the USC due separately. Then check the bank threshold, make sure the periods shown in the documents match, and confirm that you have proof of any payment already made. Arrange approval of the certificate in advance so the required documents are ready by payday.

Which employers are subject to the check

These rules apply in Ukraine. They are set out in Part 2 of Article 24 of Ukrainian Law No. 2464-VI, “On the Collection and Accounting of the Single Contribution for Compulsory State Social Insurance,” and in the Procedure approved by Order No. 291 of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. Banks and non-bank payment service providers that service the employer’s account conduct the check. For convenience, we refer to them below as the bank.

The requirement applies to employers covered by Clause 1 of Part 1 of Article 4 of Law No. 2464-VI, including businesses and individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) that pay salaries to employees. A shop owner who is an FOP must also prepare documents for the check. The owner’s contribution for themselves and the USC on shop assistants’ salaries should be treated separately: proof of the entrepreneur’s personal contribution does not replace proof of the contribution on employees’ salaries.

How to apply the 22% bank threshold correctly

Under Clause 3 of Procedure No. 291, the bank compares the USC paid or directed for payment with the amount of funds intended for salary payments for the relevant period. For a standard transfer to employees, this is the after-deduction amount stated by the employer in the salary payment instruction. If the employer withdraws cash to pay salaries, the bank uses the amount shown on the cash check.

To prepare the documents, use this formula: amount in salary payment instructions or checks for the relevant period × 22%. This is the control ratio used by the bank. The accountant calculates the actual contribution under Articles 7 and 8 of Law No. 2464-VI, based on the statutory contribution base, the applicable rate, the maximum base, and any other relevant conditions.

In particular, Part 4 of Article 7 requires USC to be charged on payments before reducing them by taxes and other deductions. The general rate under Part 5 of Article 8 is 22%; for employees with disabilities, Part 13 of that article sets a rate of 8.41%. The employer charges USC as its own expense; tax deductions from an employee’s salary and the employer’s contribution must be accounted for separately.

Illustrative check

Suppose a shop lists UAH 100,000 in payment instructions as salary to be transferred to employees. The bank threshold is: UAH 100,000 × 22% = UAH 22,000. If the documents for the relevant period confirm payment of UAH 22,000 or more in USC, this ratio is met.

If, in this illustrative example, the documents confirm a contribution of UAH 18,000, the shortfall against the control threshold is UAH 4,000: 22,000 − 18,000 = 4,000. That difference alone does not prove that USC has been underpaid. These figures illustrate only the bank’s check; they are not a calculation of the contribution due on a specific salary. The accountant must verify the actual assessment, and if the lower amount is correct, prepare a calculation certificate for approval.

Which documents to submit with a salary payment

Clauses 3 and 5 of Procedure No. 291 allow employers to prove payment of the contribution in several ways. Choose the option that matches the actual movement of funds.

For a contribution paid earlier, an instruction that has been prepared but not yet executed does not prove actual payment. It is practical to keep executed payment documents together with the salary register for the relevant period so the accountant can provide them to the bank right away.

What to check when using a single account

For the bank’s check, you need a receipt confirming a positive result from processing the notice to direct funds from the single account to a non-budget account under technological code 71010000. This direction covers USC charged by employers on salaries, remuneration under civil law contracts, temporary disability benefits, and maternity benefits. The receipt must show the salary accrual period.

Simply funding the single account does not replace this receipt. Before submitting the salary documents, check the result of processing the notice, the direction code, amount, and period. If you do not yet have a receipt with the required details, the proof package for the bank is not ready.

How to complete a calculation certificate if the contribution is below 22%

When the contribution is below the bank threshold, Clause 3 of Procedure No. 291 requires an approved calculation certificate using the form in Appendix 1. The bank accepts it electronically or as an original paper document. The payer obtains the electronic certificate through the electronic cabinet and submits it to the bank in accordance with the requirements for electronic documents.

First, enter the date, the legal entity’s name or, for an entrepreneur, their surname, first name, and patronymic if available, the payer’s identifying details, account number, and bank name. For a legal entity, the form requires its code from Ukraine’s Unified State Register of Enterprises and Organizations (EDRPOU). For an individual, it requires the taxpayer registration number or the passport details provided for by the form for a person who has officially refused that number on religious grounds.

Next, fill in the figures following the approved form’s structure:

In the “Information for the payment service provider” section, enter the salary amount from the check or payment instruction, as well as the date, number, and amount of the approved payment instruction for USC. Complete the signature fields provided for the head and chief accountant. An authorized person of the supervisory authority completes the approval section.

The certificate formulas are for completing the document under Procedure No. 291. The accountant must separately verify the actual contribution assessment under Law No. 2464-VI and the documents showing accrued payments. Do not determine whether tax deductions are lawful or calculate the salary contribution based only on this table.

Where to submit the certificate and when it is approved

Submit the certificate to the tax authority where the USC payer is registered. Prepare the paper form in triplicate: once approved, one copy goes to the bank, one stays with the tax authority, and one stays with the employer.

Under Clause 4 of Procedure No. 291, the supervisory authority approves an electronic or paper certificate without delay. This clause provides three grounds for refusal:

• the certificate does not match the form in Appendix 1;
• the certificate contains inaccurate information;
• the document was submitted to a tax authority other than the one where the USC payer is registered.

Practical tip: before submitting the certificate, check the account, salary amount, period, overpayment details, and payment instruction details. If it is refused, check the stated reason and correct the relevant information or submit it to the correct authority.

Who is exempt from the check under Procedure No. 291

Clause 2 of the Procedure lists specific exemptions. The Procedure does not apply to:

• enterprises and organizations of all-Ukrainian public associations of people with disabilities, including the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf (UTOG) and the Ukrainian Society of the Blind (UTOS), where people with disabilities make up at least 50% of all employees and their payroll accounts for at least 25% of total labor costs;
• enterprises and organizations of public associations of people with disabilities subject to the same conditions: at least 50% of employees are people with disabilities, and their payroll accounts for at least 25% of labor costs;
• diplomatic missions and consular offices of foreign states, as well as branches, representative offices, and other separate units of foreign enterprises, institutions, and organizations, including international organizations, located in Ukraine;
• budget-funded institutions serviced by the Treasury, as well as the Pension Fund of Ukraine and its territorial bodies under Clause 12 of Section XV of the Ukrainian Law “On Compulsory State Pension Insurance”;
• Diia City residents within the meaning of the Ukrainian Law “On Stimulating the Development of the Digital Economy in Ukraine.”

A regular shop does not qualify for an exemption simply because it employs a person with a disability. If applying the 8.41% rate brings the contribution below the bank threshold, the employer must prepare a calculation certificate under the general rules.

Organizations on the list must provide the bank with proof of their status when opening an account, after acquiring the status, or if they have not reported it before. This information can be provided electronically or on paper. Any change in status must be reported within five working days following the date of the change.

For a Diia City resident, the basis for exemption from the Procedure is confirmed status. Clause 2 does not require a separate special certificate from the tax authority for this purpose. However, exemption from the bank check does not remove the obligation to assess and pay the contribution correctly.

When you can get a certificate without a check of USC amounts

The certificate in Appendix 2 is different from the calculation certificate in Appendix 1. Under Clause 6 of Procedure No. 291, it may be issued to a payer applying for approval of a calculation certificate if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The USC in the calculation certificate is below 22% of the salary amount specifically because the maximum contribution base applies.
2. During the twelve calendar months before the certificate application date, the payer has not violated legislation governing USC assessment and payment.
3. The head of the supervisory authority, or a person authorized by them, has decided to issue the certificate.

So a lower contribution amount alone is not enough. In particular, applying the 8.41% rate is not, by itself, a ground specified in Clause 6 for issuing this document.

The certificate in Appendix 2 states the bank’s name, payer details, account number, period without violations, and validity period. It is issued electronically or on paper. Its validity cannot exceed twelve calendar months, starting with and including the month of issue. After receiving it, the bank processes salary payments without checking USC amounts paid under payment instructions.

If the tax authority discovers a violation of legislation governing the assessment and payment of the contribution, it withdraws the certificate before it expires and sends the payer and bank the notice in Appendix 3. Starting on the next working day after receiving the notice, the bank applies the standard rules in Clause 3 of Procedure No. 291.

How to organize salary payments and avoid document errors

For a shop or retail chain, it is practical to assign the accountant the following preparation steps:

1. Calculate accrued salary, lawful deductions, the amount payable, and the actual USC. Keep the figures as separate entries.
2. Match the amount payable against the payroll register and salary payment instructions. If the payment documents change, recheck the 22% control threshold.
3. Prepare simultaneous payment of the contribution or collect the required proof of prior payment for the relevant period.
4. If the contribution is below the threshold, prepare an approved calculation certificate or check whether a valid exemption from the check applies.
5. Submit the complete document package to the bank and, after execution, keep the bank confirmations with the calculations for the relevant period.

Part 8 of Article 9 of Law No. 2464-VI requires an employer to pay the contribution accrued on a payment each time salaries are paid. Exceptions apply if the contribution has already been paid by the statutory deadline or an overpayment sufficient to cover the relevant obligation has been confirmed following reconciliation with the tax authority. For the bank, you must still prepare the documents required by Procedure No. 291. A balance calculated in an internal spreadsheet does not replace a confirmed overpayment.

Under Part 2 of Article 24, a bank that breaches the checking requirement must pay, from its own funds, an amount equal to the unpaid USC and is entitled to recover it from the payer. Therefore, a bank processing a salary payment does not release the employer from the obligation to assess and pay the contribution correctly. In practice, prepare the documents for the check as part of the regular salary payment process.

Payroll register in Torgsoft: how to reconcile salary before a bank payment

For a shop with shift work and sales bonuses, you can use the paid add-on “Salary and Staff Motivation”. It works with Torgsoft Ultra, Terminal, and Torgsoft Online licenses; it is not available in Torgsoft Start. For standalone versions, purchase the add-on for each workstation; for a local network, purchase one add-on per network; for a terminal license, purchase one per server. To get started, activate the add-on and configure the required accounting center, positions, and accrual rules. You can then generate a payroll register for a selected period for a store or retail chain. Registers are created in chronological order, with no overlapping periods. Accurate calculation requires completed records of actual hours worked, calculated cost of goods, and sales plans used in the accrual settings.

Before preparing a bank payment, reconcile the total “Amount payable” with employees’ payslips, advances taken into account, and payments already registered. According to the official payroll register instructions, users can view a breakdown of accruals and deductions and print the register. It is practical to use it to reconcile amounts and periods internally, while checking tax deductions and the USC due in a separate accounting calculation. To support the bank check, keep the actual bank documents, the required single account receipt, and the approved certificate if one is needed. A payment entry in the software does not replace bank proof, and the tax authority approves the calculation certificate.

Official rules and forms for preparing a salary payment

• Ukrainian Law No. 2464-VI, “On the Collection and Accounting of the Single Contribution for Compulsory State Social Insurance”: Article 4 covers employers as payers; Articles 7 and 8 cover the base and rates; Article 9 covers calculation and payment; Article 24 covers the duties and liability of banks and non-bank payment service providers.
• Order No. 291 of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine and the Procedure it approves for payment service providers accepting payment instructions for salary payments: Clause 2 covers exemptions; Clauses 3–5 cover the threshold, proof of payment, and approval of the calculation certificate; Clause 6 covers the certificate that removes the check of contribution amounts and its withdrawal.
• Appendix 1 — calculation certificate, Appendix 2 — certificate for releasing funds without checking USC amounts, Appendix 3 — notice of certificate withdrawal.