Concerning the recent changes in the legislation relating to PIT (taxation of securities sold outside the RoK, transactions with digital assets, income of individuals engaged in private practice, etc.)
On 15 July 2025, the RoK President signed the Law “On Introducing Amendments and Additions to the Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Taxes and Other Obligatory Payments to the Budget” (Tax Code) and the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan concerning the issues of its enactment” (the “Law”).
The text of the Law was published in the “Kazakhstanskaya Pravda” on 16 July 2025
The Law introduced many important changes in the sphere of personal income tax (PIT).
For example, an important innovation has been introduced with regard to the sale of securities registered outside the Republic of Kazakhstan, according to which the total outcome of all transactions involving the sale of securities registered outside the Republic of Kazakhstan, except for preferential securities, for the tax period is recognized as:
– income from capital gains, if such amount has a positive value;
– equal to zero if such amount has zero or negative value.
The Law also provides for specific taxation requirements for transactions with digital assets.
In particular, the Law prescribes that income received from transactions with derivative financial instruments, where the underlying asset is a digital asset, is determined as the difference between the value of the digital assets received upon completion of such a transaction and the value of the entity’s own digital assets used in the transaction.
When determining the positive difference between the cost of sale and the cost of acquisition of digital assets, the first-in method of accounting is used in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standard.
The cost of selling a digital asset, except for the cases specified in paragraph 4 of Article 332-1 of the Tax Code, is determined when:
1) asset is transferred to be sold for foreign or national currency – in the amount of the transaction in the relevant foreign or national currency;
2) asset is transferred to be exchanged for an unsecured digital asset with a fixed value – in an amount expressed in the unsecured digital asset with a fixed value involved in the transaction;
3) asset is transferred to be exchanged for a digital asset, other than that specified in the third part of this paragraph, – to the extent of the value of the transferred digital asset determined in the manner prescribed by paragraph 12 of this Article;
4) asset is transferred outside the Republic of Kazakhstan in order to be exchanged for any property, other than a digital asset – to the extent of the value of the transferred digital asset determined in the manner prescribed by paragraph 12 of this Article;
5) digital asset is transferred under a gift or inheritance agreement – at a zero rate;
6) there is no realisable value of digital assets- to the extent of the value of the transferred digital asset, determined in the manner prescribed by paragraph 12 of Article 332-1 of the Tax Code.
The Law introduces changes to the taxation of individuals engaged in private practice (private notary, private bailiff, lawyer, professional mediator). In particular, it renews the requirement that amounts of PIT assessed shall be subject to payment monthly not later than the 5th day of the month following a month in which the taxable income was earned.
Please note that there is a clarification according to which a person engaged in private practice pays PIT assessed on taxable income for the period from 1 January 2025 to the last day of the month in which the Law was put into effect, no later than the 5th day of the month following the month in which the Law was put into effect (i.e. no later than 5 October 2025).
Some changes have been made to the procedure for submitting and filling the declaration of assets and liabilities.
In particular, it has been legally established which individuals are required to submit a declaration of assets and liabilities, as follows:
1) persons who are obligated to submit a declaration on assets and liabilities in accordance with the Constitutional Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Elections in the Republic of Kazakhstan” and the laws of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Combating Corruption”, “On Banks and Banking Activities in the Republic of Kazakhstan”, “On Insurance Activities”, “On the Securities Market”;
2) citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan if they have the following property outside the Republic of Kazakhstan based on the right of ownership (claim):
property for which rights and (or) transactions are subject to state or other registration with the competent authority of a foreign state in accordance with the legislation of a foreign state;
money held on bank accounts in foreign banks in an amount that totally exceeds 1,000 times the monthly reference index for all bank deposits;
investment gold;
participation interests in the authorized capital of a legal entity created outside the Republic of Kazakhstan.
participation interests in housing construction;
securities whose issuers are registered outside the Republic of Kazakhstan, with the exception of derivative securities whose underlying asset is securities whose issuers are registered in the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
money on foreign brokerage accounts;
intellectual property items, copyright outside the Republic of Kazakhstan;
debts of other persons to an individual (accounts receivable) and (or) debts of an individual to other persons (accounts payable) outside the Republic of Kazakhstan, as specified in paragraph 5 of Article 631 of the Tax Code;
other property specified in paragraph 4 of Article 631 of the Tax Code;
3) citizens of the Republic of Kazakhstan, residents of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the case of presence of digital assets;
4) private practitioners.
Furthermore, the Law, for example, clarifies that the estimated value of property in the declaration of assets and liabilities with a unit value exceeding 1,000 times the monthly reference index must be determined no later than the deadline for submitting the declaration established by Article 632 of the Tax Code. The foregoing provision does not apply to property subject to state or other registration, as well as property for which rights and (or) transactions are subject to state or other registration.
Other amendments and additions have also been made to the Tax Code.
The Law comes into effect upon expiration of sixty calendar days after the date of its first official publication, although some provisions may become effective on other dates.
Yerlan Galiyev,
Independent Partner of MinTax Group, Lawyer, Ph.D.
