Kazakhstan's new Tax Code 2026: what changed for companies

What changed on 1 January 2026

The new Code rewrote almost every chapter, but these are the changes a foreign-owned company feels first.

Corporate income tax stays at 20%. Banks, except on income from lending to business, and gambling now pay 25%.

VAT: higher rate, lower threshold, no easy exit

The threshold is counted cumulatively from 1 January. A new LLP or branch counts from its registration date, and a company leaving a special regime counts from the date it switches. Once turnover passes 10,000 MCI, the application is due within 5 business days. If one deal alone would cross the line, you file before that deal. A late application costs a fine of 50 MCI, which is KZT 216,250 in 2026, and ignoring the tax office's notice leads to a freeze on outgoing payments.

Getting out is harder too. Under Article 103 a company leaves the VAT register only when it moves to a special regime or is liquidated, so a quiet year doesn't take you out.

Check what the 4-point rise did to your contracts: a price agreed “including VAT” in 2025 now leaves less margin. A VAT-registered company buying services from abroad also pays 16% VAT on the non-resident's behalf.

Simplified regime: who can still use it

Three special regimes remain, and the simplified declaration is the one companies use. Its base rate is 4% of income (Art. 726), and local councils can move it by up to half in either direction; Astana and Almaty set 3% for 2026. Annual income must stay within 600,000 MCI, and only residents qualify.

Article 723 shuts the regime for:

• an LLP in which other legal entities hold more than 25%, which covers most foreign subsidiaries; this bar carries over from the old Code;
• a company whose founder also owns another company on a special regime, or uses one personally;
• Astana Hub participants, special economic zone participants and non-profits.

The genuinely new restriction is Government Decree No. 970, which bars 44 activities from the regime, including consulting, marketing, accounting, audit and legal services. Software development is not on that list.

There is a knock-on effect even for companies that keep the regime. A buyer on the general regime can't deduct purchases from a simplified-regime supplier (Art. 286), so many corporate clients now ask suppliers to switch. If you are still choosing a structure, settle the regime before company registration, not after.

Payroll: lower social tax, higher income tax at the top

The employer pays 6% social tax on salaries, with a minimum base of 14 MCI a month, and social contributions no longer reduce it. Pension contributions paid by the employer rose to 3.5% in 2026 and will reach 5% by 2028. The employer's 5% social contributions and 3% health insurance contributions stay as they were, and so do the 10% pension and 2% health contributions withheld from salary. For employees, income tax is now progressive: 10% up to 8,500 MCI of annual income and 15% above, which hits senior IT salaries. Dividends paid to resident individuals are taxed at 5% up to 230,000 MCI and 15% above.

Payments abroad and foreign owners

Withholding tax on services paid to non-residents is 20%, as it was before 2026, and dividends, royalties and capital gains carry 15%. Interest on loans and debt securities dropped from 15% to 10%. Dividends to a non-resident owning at least 25% are taxed at 5% up to 230,000 MCI. Treaty rates still need a residency certificate delivered on time, and the Code denies them if the Kazakh company pays the tax at its own expense instead of withholding it (Art. 698). A branch of a foreign company pays 20% corporate income tax plus 15% on its net income. Full rates are in our guide to tax rates in 2026.

Filing and controls

Filed returns can no longer be withdrawn. If a return listed in your online taxpayer profile isn't filed on time, the system generates it with zero tax, and penalties follow if the tax office later finds turnover. A desk-review discrepancy notice gives 30 business days to answer with an amended return or an explanation; otherwise bank payments and e-invoicing are suspended. The corporate income tax return is due by 31 March.

Astana Hub participants keep their benefits until 1 January 2029 (Art. 848); our Astana Hub guide covers the conditions. Non-financial AIFC companies pay 20% corporate income tax and 16% VAT like everyone else.

What to check in your company now

1. Turnover since 1 January against 10,000 MCI, every month.
2. Your activity codes against Decree No. 970, and your ownership against the 25% rule.
3. VAT clauses in contracts signed before 2026.
4. Residency certificates from foreign contractors before you pay them.
5. Payroll: 6% social tax, 3.5% pension contributions and 15% income tax on high salaries.
6. The forms listed in your online taxpayer profile.

Our 2026 tax checklist turns this into a list you can work through. If you'd rather hand it over, accounting under the 2026 Code starts from KZT 220,000 / month on the general regime with VAT.

Sources

• Tax Code of Kazakhstan No. 214-VIII of 18 July 2025, Art. 99, 101, 103 and 503: VAT registration, deregistration and rates.
• Tax Code, Art. 715, 723 and 726: special regimes, the simplified declaration and its rate.
• Tax Code, Art. 357, 363, 556–557, 682 and 698: corporate tax, income tax, social tax, withholding tax and treaty relief.
• Government Decree No. 970 of 14 November 2025: activities barred from the simplified regime.