In 2026, a self-employed individual applying the special tax regime must calculate and pay social payments in accordance with the Social Code of the RK and the legislation on CSHI; when working through an online platform, the platform operator withholds and remits them as a tax agent (Articles 720, 721 of the Tax Code of the RK).
What a self-employed individual must pay
The special tax regime for self-employed individuals provides for a simplified procedure for calculating and paying individual income tax and social payments. The taxable item is income received from activities included in the list of permitted activities (Article 719 of the Tax Code of the RK).
The social payments of a self-employed individual comprise:
- mandatory pension contributions — MPC;
- employer mandatory pension contributions — EMPC;
- social contributions — SC;
- contributions for compulsory social health insurance — CSHI.
IIT under this regime is calculated at a rate of 0%. Social payments are calculated and paid in accordance with the Social Code of the RK and the Law of the RK “On Compulsory Social Health Insurance” (Article 720 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Obligations under the regime are associated not with all receipts of an individual, but with income from permitted activities. The date of income recognition is the settlement date for goods sold, work performed, or services rendered, including the date on which money or its equivalent is received or paid. The tax period is a calendar month (Article 719 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Eligibility to apply the regime is determined by the conditions established by the Tax Code. The regime for self-employed individuals is deemed selected in the month in which receipts are generated in the special mobile application or, when operating in a location without a public telecommunications network, in the period specified in the payment documents (Article 716 of the Tax Code of the RK).
How to determine the base and apply rates
For calculations under the regime, the income received by the self-employed individual during the tax period from permitted activities is taken into account. All such income, calculated IIT, and social payments are recorded in the special mobile application (Articles 719, 720 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Income earned by self-employed individuals is recorded in the income register, which is generated in the special mobile application based on receipts and information obtained from other sources. This rule applies except when operating in locations without a public telecommunications network (Article 719 of the Tax Code of the RK).
When operating in an area without a telecommunications network, records are maintained independently in a simple form. It specifies the date, transaction description, amount of each transaction, and total amount for the day and month. The self-employed individual also independently calculates IIT and social payments for the relevant tax period (Articles 719, 720 of the Tax Code of the RK).
The Tax Code does not establish separate MPC, EMPC, SC, and CSHI rates for calculations under this chapter. It requires social payments to be calculated and paid in accordance with the Social Code of the RK and the Law of the RK “On Compulsory Social Health Insurance.” Therefore, the rates, calculation bases, limits, and exemptions for each payment are applied directly under the relevant sector-specific law (Article 720 of the Tax Code of the RK).
If activities are conducted through an online platform, the platform operator acts as a tax agent. It withholds and remits IIT and social payments for a self-employed individual who provides services through that platform. Income for which this obligation is fulfilled by the tax agent is excluded from the taxable item on which the self-employed individual independently calculates payments (Articles 720, 721 of the Tax Code of the RK).
The operator remits the withheld IIT to the budget no later than the 15th day of the month following the reporting month. Under the standard procedure, IIT is payable no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting month. The deadlines for paying social payments are determined by the Social Code of the RK and the legislation on CSHI (Articles 720, 721 of the Tax Code of the RK).
What an accountant should check for the reporting month
It is convenient to conduct the practical review separately for each calendar month because the month is the tax period under the regime for self-employed individuals (Article 719 of the Tax Code of the RK). The accountant should:
- Ensure that the individual applies the special tax regime for self-employed individuals and conducts an activity included in the list of permitted activities.
- Identify the income received from activities under this regime.
- Determine the income recognition date based on the date of the relevant settlement or the receipt or payment of money or its equivalent.
- Reconcile the income against receipts and the income register in the special mobile application.
- If there is no telecommunications network, check the independently prepared record of transactions for the day and month.
- Determine the amounts of social payments in accordance with the relevant legislation.
- Check whether the online platform operator has withheld the payments as a tax agent.
- Exclude from the independent calculation any income for which the platform operator fulfils the obligation to calculate, withhold, and pay the amounts.
Personal transfers, refunds, and other receipts may not be included in business income solely because they were credited to a bank account. For the purposes of the regime, income associated with the sale of goods, performance of work, or provision of services within permitted activities is taken into account; information about it is recorded in the records prescribed for the regime (Article 719 of the Tax Code of the RK).
A self-employed individual applies the regime with the mandatory use of the special mobile application. An exception applies to activities in locations without a public telecommunications network: independent record-keeping, calculation, and payment of IIT and social payments are permitted there (Articles 719, 720 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Transitional rules have been established for taxpayers who applied regimes based on a patent or the special mobile application before 1 January 2026. If they did not submit a notification to transition to the simplified declaration by 1 March 2026, the tax authority automatically deregisters them as IEs on 1 March 2026. The commencement of the regime for self-employed individuals is determined by the month of the first payment document where no network is available or by the date of the first receipt in the special mobile application in all other cases (Article 840 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Frequently asked questions
Must a self-employed individual make social payments? — Yes. The special regime provides for their calculation and payment in accordance with the Social Code of the RK and the legislation on CSHI. When working through an online platform, the operator withholds and remits the payments as a tax agent (Articles 720, 721 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Must a self-employed individual pay pension contributions? — Pension contributions are social payments calculated in accordance with the Social Code of the RK. The Tax Code determines the procedure for recording them under the special regime, including calculation through the mobile application and withholding by the online platform operator (Articles 720, 721 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Must payments be calculated on all amounts received on a bank card? — No. The taxable item is income from permitted activities, and the date of its recognition is the settlement date for goods, work, or services, including the receipt or payment of money or its equivalent (Article 719 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Who calculates the payments when work is performed through an online platform? — The online platform operator, acting as a tax agent, withholds and remits IIT and social payments. The relevant income is reduced by the amounts for which the operator fulfils the obligation (Articles 720, 721 of the Tax Code of the RK).
When does a self-employed individual pay IIT? — If paid independently, the deadline is no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting month. When withheld by the online platform operator, the tax is remitted no later than the 15th day of the following month. The IIT rate under the regime is 0% (Articles 720, 721 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Is the use of the special mobile application mandatory? — Yes, except for activities in locations without a public telecommunications network. In such locations, income is recorded independently, and the period during which the regime applies is confirmed by payment documents (Articles 716, 719, 720 of the Tax Code of the RK).
Sources
Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan: special tax regime for self-employed individuals