Learn › Filing a tax return in Ukraine

In short: Most employees in Ukraine do not file a tax return, because their employer already withholds the 18% personal income tax and the 5% military levy as a tax agent. You must file the annual declaration of property status and income only if you had income that was not taxed at source — for example foreign income, rent, income from another private person, a gift or inheritance from a non-relative, certain investment gains, or income as a general-system sole proprietor. For the 2025 tax year the declaration is due by 1 May 2026, and any tax owed must be paid by 1 August 2026. You can file through the Diia portal, the electronic cabinet at cabinet.tax.gov.ua, or on paper at your local tax office.

Filing your tax return in Ukraine

Kontoo editorial team · Updated 06/29/2026 · 8 min read

Ukraine's tax year mostly runs on autopilot for ordinary workers. Your employer acts as a tax agent, withholding 18% personal income tax and the 5% military levy from each paycheck, so the state already has its share. The annual filing — the declaration of property status and income (deklaratsiia pro mainovyi stan i dokhody) — exists for the income that slipped past that withholding: rent, foreign earnings, gifts from non-relatives, self-employment, and similar. This lesson explains who actually has to file for the 2025 tax year, the deadlines, and how the Diia portal and electronic cabinet have made it a few-clicks job. It is educational background, not tax advice — confirm any figure that matters with the State Tax Service.

Check whether you even need to file. If all your income for 2025 was salary already taxed by your employer (the tax agent), you generally have nothing to submit. Filing is for untaxed income — see step 2.
Identify reportable income. You must file if you received foreign income, rental income, income from another individual, an inheritance or gift from someone who is not a close relative, certain investment profits, or income as a sole proprietor on the general system or in independent professional activity.
File by the deadline. The declaration for 2025 income must reach the State Tax Service (DPS) by 1 May 2026. The easiest routes are the Diia portal and the taxpayer's electronic cabinet at cabinet.tax.gov.ua; paper at your local tax office is still allowed.
Pay what you owe. Any self-assessed personal income tax (18%) and military levy (5%) shown on the declaration must be paid by 1 August 2026.

What matters

Ukraine runs a flat personal income tax: 18% applies to salary, business income, foreign income, and most other income. On top of it sits the military levy, which in wartime was raised from its long-standing 1.5% to 5% by Law No. 4015-IX, in force from 1 December 2024. Together that is an effective 23% on most income. For salaried employees this is invisible — the employer, acting as a tax agent, withholds both and remits them, so the worker rarely touches a tax form. The annual filing is the declaration of property status and income (deklaratsiia pro mainovyi stan i dokhody). Its purpose is to capture income the withholding system missed. You are obliged to file if, during 2025, you received income from someone who is not a tax agent (for example rent from a private tenant or income from another individual), foreign income, an inheritance or gift from a non-close relative, certain investment profits, or income as a sole proprietor on the general taxation system or in independent professional activity. People who became Ukrainian tax residents during the year, and those who controlled foreign companies (CFC rules), also file. The timetable for the 2025 year is straightforward: submit by 1 May 2026, and pay any self-assessed tax by 1 August 2026. The State Tax Service (DPS) is the authority. Filing has been heavily digitised — the DPS and the Ministry of Digital Transformation launched a service to declare and claim a refund directly in the Diia portal, alongside the long-standing electronic cabinet at cabinet.tax.gov.ua. Paper filing at your registration office remains an option. Because wartime rules and figures change, treat the numbers here as a 2026 snapshot and verify them on tax.gov.ua.

ExampleSuppose in 2025 you rented out a flat to a private tenant for UAH 120,000 over the year and had no other untaxed income. Because the tenant is not a tax agent, this is reportable. On the declaration you self-assess 18% personal income tax (120,000 x 18% = UAH 21,600) plus the 5% military levy (120,000 x 5% = UAH 6,000), for UAH 27,600 total. You file the declaration by 1 May 2026 and pay the UAH 27,600 by 1 August 2026. (Rounded and illustrative; rental rules can differ in detail, and a notary or other agent sometimes withholds tax up front. As of 2026 — check the official source when in doubt.)

Want to see how the money you keep after the 18% + 5% deductions could grow if you invested it? Try the Kontoo compound-interest calculator at /compound-interest-calculator. For the authoritative rules, current forms and deadlines, use the State Tax Service of Ukraine (DPS) at tax.gov.ua and your electronic cabinet at cabinet.tax.gov.ua.

In depth

Why the military levy jumped to 5%

The military levy is a separate charge on the same base as personal income tax. Introduced at 1.5% back in 2014, it was raised to 5% for individuals by Law No. 4015-IX, effective 1 December 2024, to fund the armed forces during the full-scale war. For declared income on the 2025 return this means an effective 23% (18% PIT + 5% levy) on most categories. A narrow exception keeps the 1.5% levy for active service members. Because it is a wartime measure, the rate is the kind of figure to re-check each year on tax.gov.ua.

Tax discount: a reason to file voluntarily

Even if you are not obliged to file, you may want to. The tax discount (podatkova znyzhka) lets resident individuals claim back part of the personal income tax withheld from their salary against qualifying expenses, such as certain tuition or mortgage interest. To claim it for 2025 you file the same declaration, but the deadline is generous — until 31 December 2026 — because you are asking for money back rather than reporting a liability. The Diia service was specifically built to make this refund a few-clicks process.

Diia and the electronic cabinet

Two digital channels now handle almost all filing. The Diia portal, run with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, lets eligible taxpayers submit the declaration of property status and income — and claim a tax-discount refund — in a few clicks. The taxpayer's electronic cabinet at cabinet.tax.gov.ua is the longer-standing tool, giving you access to your tax data and pre-filled information from the State Tax Service's registers. Paper filing at your registration office stays available for anyone who prefers it. Whichever channel you use, the deadlines are the same: submit by 1 May 2026 and pay any tax due by 1 August 2026.

Checklist

If your only 2025 income was salary already taxed by your employer, you generally do not file a return.
You must file the declaration of property status and income if you had untaxed income — foreign income, rent, income from another individual, a gift or inheritance from a non-relative, certain investment gains, or general-system sole-proprietor income.
For 2025 income the filing deadline is 1 May 2026, and tax due is payable by 1 August 2026.
You can file through the Diia portal, the electronic cabinet at cabinet.tax.gov.ua, or on paper at your local tax office; the authority is the State Tax Service (DPS).

Common myths

Myth: Every adult in Ukraine has to file an annual tax return.

Reality: No. The withholding system already settles tax for most salaried workers through their employer, so they file nothing. The annual declaration is for people with income that was not taxed at source, or for those voluntarily claiming a tax discount.

Myth: Filing the declaration and paying the tax happen on the same day.

Reality: They are two separate deadlines. For 2025 income the declaration is due by 1 May 2026, but any self-assessed tax can be paid later — up to 1 August 2026. Missing the filing deadline can trigger an administrative fine even if you would have owed little.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

I only earn a salary. Do I have to file a tax return?

Usually no. Your employer is a tax agent and already withholds 18% personal income tax plus the 5% military levy from your pay, so the obligation is settled. You only need to file if you also had income that was not taxed at source, or if you choose to file to claim a tax discount (podatkova znyzhka).

When is the deadline, and when do I pay?

For 2025 income, the declaration of property status and income must be submitted by 1 May 2026. Any tax shown on it — the 18% PIT and 5% military levy on your declared income — must then be paid by 1 August 2026. If you are filing voluntarily only to claim a tax discount, you have until 31 December 2026.

How do I actually submit it?

The State Tax Service (DPS), together with the Ministry of Digital Transformation, lets you file and even claim a refund through the Diia portal in a few clicks. You can also use the taxpayer's electronic cabinet at cabinet.tax.gov.ua, or submit on paper at the tax office where you are registered.

All lessons · Glossary · Editorial · Kontoo does the math and explains – this is general education, not tax, legal or financial advice.

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