In 2026, tax accounting is the process whereby a taxpayer or tax agent maintains accounting documentation to consolidate and systematize information on taxable items and tax-related items, calculate taxes and payments to the budget, and prepare tax returns (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
What Tax Accounting Is and How It Differs from Financial Accounting
The purpose of tax accounting is to collect and systematize information that enables the calculation of taxes and payments to the budget and the preparation of tax returns. As a general rule, tax accounting is based on financial accounting data. An exception is provided for certain individual entrepreneurs under the special tax regime based on a simplified declaration who are not required to maintain financial accounting or prepare financial statements (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Accounting documentation includes (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan):
- financial accounting documentation—for persons required to maintain it under the legislation on financial accounting and financial reporting;
- a standard audit file—for persons who submit it voluntarily;
- primary accounting documents—for individual entrepreneurs specified in paragraph 4 of Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- an invoice;
- tax registers;
- tax forms;
- a tax accounting policy;
- other documents used as the basis for determining taxable items and tax-related items, as well as for calculating tax liabilities.
Thus, tax accounting is not limited to completing declarations. It covers accounting documentation, information on taxable items and tax-related items, the calculation of tax liabilities, and the preparation of tax forms. The specific set of documents depends on the taxpayer’s status and the transactions conducted.
A taxpayer or tax agent independently organizes tax accounting and determines the methods for consolidating and systematizing information in tax registers. For joint activities, consolidated tax accounting is maintained by the authorized representative of the parties to a simple partnership agreement: both for the joint activities as a whole and for each participant’s share (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
How to Organize Tax Accounting in Practice
The process should begin with an analysis of the activities: which transactions the company or individual entrepreneur conducts, which taxable items and tax-related items arise, and which documents contain the information needed to calculate liabilities. It is then necessary to determine how the accounting documentation data will be consolidated in tax registers and transferred to tax forms.
The practical organization of accounting usually includes several steps:
- Determine the list of transactions and items for which information is required to calculate taxes and payments to the budget.
- Establish the accounting documents used to record each transaction.
- Document the applicable accounting procedure in the tax accounting policy.
- Determine the forms of tax registers used to consolidate and systematize information.
- Verify the correlation between the indicators in tax forms and the registers and documents on which the liability calculation is based.
- Separately organize the accounting of indicators for transactions subject to a separate recording procedure in tax registers.
It is important to align the tax accounting policy with the organization’s actual processes. The procedure described in it must correspond to how the accountant collects, consolidates, and transfers information to registers and tax forms. This helps ensure that the selected accounting methods are applied consistently throughout the reporting periods.
For ongoing control, it is useful to verify not only the final amount of the liability but also the availability of accounting documentation, the accurate recording of transactions, and the consistent transfer of indicators. When activities change, the working registers and provisions of the tax accounting policy applicable to new transactions should be updated.
Tax Accounting for Individual Entrepreneurs and Separate Tax Accounting
A special procedure is provided for individual entrepreneurs under the special tax regime based on a simplified declaration who are not required by law to maintain financial accounting or prepare financial statements. Such entrepreneurs organize and maintain tax accounting in accordance with the chapter on tax accounting, Chapter 21 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the rules approved by the authorized body (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
For these individual entrepreneurs, primary accounting documents form part of the accounting documentation. Therefore, the absence of an obligation to maintain financial accounting and prepare financial statements does not eliminate the requirement to maintain tax accounting: the entrepreneur must prepare accounting documents, systematize information on taxable items, and calculate tax liabilities (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Separate systematization of data is applied when indicators relating to different areas of activity or transactions must be accounted for separately. In practice, the tax accounting policy describes the procedure for recording the relevant indicators, while the registers provide separate rows, sections, or analytical attributes.
Information should not be combined in a way that breaks the link between an indicator in a tax form, a tax register, and the document used as the basis for determining the taxable item or calculating the liability. The structure of the registers must enable information to be consistently consolidated in accordance with the applicable accounting procedure.
If an entrepreneur has several areas of activity or transactions of different types, the tax accounting policy should specify which information is recorded separately and in which registers it is consolidated. This procedure must correspond to the actual organization of accounting and the entrepreneur’s set of documents.
For taxpayers with a complex activity structure, the principle remains the same: accounting is based on documentation that serves as the basis for determining taxable items, tax-related items, and tax liabilities. The level of detail in the registers is selected with due regard to the composition of transactions and reporting indicators (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
How to Choose Tax Accounting and Taxation Courses
Tax accounting courses should be assessed by their curriculum rather than their title. A course that links the provisions of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan with accounting documentation, financial accounting data, tax registers, and tax forms is useful for an accountant in Kazakhstan.
The curriculum should preferably cover the following topics:
- the concept of tax accounting and the composition of accounting documentation under Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
- the procedure for developing and applying a tax accounting policy;
- the preparation and verification of tax registers;
- tax accounting for individual entrepreneurs filing a simplified declaration who are not required to maintain financial accounting;
- the organization of the separate recording of indicators for different transactions and areas of activity;
- practical exercises on verifying documents, registers, and the logic of tax liability calculations.
Financial accounting and taxation courses should demonstrate the relationship between the two systems while distinguishing between their respective purposes. Students need to understand that, as a general rule, tax accounting is based on financial accounting data, while a special procedure is established for the category of individual entrepreneurs specified in Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Before starting the course, it is necessary to check which version of the legislation the curriculum covers. If a course is advertised as current for 2026, its examples and references to legal provisions must comply with the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan applicable in that year. It is also useful to assess whether the curriculum covers working with accounting documentation and whether its content is updated when legislation changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tax accounting the same as financial accounting? — No. Tax accounting is intended to systematize information on taxable items, calculate taxes and payments to the budget, and prepare tax returns. As a general rule, it is based on financial accounting data (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Which documents are included in tax accounting? — Accounting documentation includes financial accounting documentation for persons required to maintain it, a voluntarily submitted standard audit file, primary documents for the category of individual entrepreneurs specified in paragraph 4 of Article 202, an invoice, tax registers, tax forms, a tax accounting policy, and other documents serving as the basis for determining items and calculating liabilities (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Is an individual entrepreneur required to maintain tax accounting? — Yes. Individual entrepreneurs filing a simplified declaration who are not required to maintain financial accounting or prepare financial statements must organize tax accounting under a special procedure (Article 202 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
How should the separate accounting of indicators be organized? — The applicable procedure should be described in the tax accounting policy, and the necessary analytics should be provided in the tax registers. The indicators must be linked to the accounting documentation used as the basis for determining taxable items and calculating the liability.
What should be checked when choosing tax accounting courses? — Whether the curriculum is current for 2026, whether references to the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan are accurate, whether it includes practical work with accounting documentation and registers, and whether it separately covers the accounting procedure for the relevant category of individual entrepreneurs.