Investing and capital income in Ukraine
If you put money to work in Ukraine — a bank deposit, shares, a brokerage account, or government bonds — the return is usually taxable, and during the war there are two taxes stacked on top of each other: personal income tax (PIT, ПДФО) and the military levy (військовий збір). The rates differ sharply by instrument, and one popular asset, the OVDP government bond, is exempt from both. This lesson walks through how each kind of capital income is taxed as of 2026, who withholds the tax, and what you have to declare yourself. It is educational background, not tax advice — confirm any figure or your own situation with the official source before acting.
- Identify the income type. Capital income in Ukraine splits into interest (deposits, bonds), dividends, and investment profit (capital gains on shares and securities) — each has its own rate.
- Apply personal income tax. The standard PIT rate is 18%, but dividends from a Ukrainian corporate-tax-paying company are taxed at just 5%, and dividends from single-tax companies, investment funds or non-residents at 9%. OVDP government-bond interest is exempt.
- Add the military levy. Since 1 January 2025 the wartime military levy is 5% (up from 1.5%) and applies on the same base as PIT — so deposit interest and capital gains are effectively taxed at 18% + 5% = 23%. OVDP interest is exempt from the levy too.
- Settle up. Banks and Ukrainian companies usually withhold the tax for you as tax agents. For foreign brokerage income you self-declare: file an annual return with the State Tax Service (ДПС) by 1 May and pay by 1 August of the following year.
What matters
Capital income in Ukraine looks complicated because the rate depends entirely on the instrument, and because two taxes apply at once during the war. Start with the backbone: the standard personal income tax (PIT) rate is 18%, and on top of it sits the military levy. Introduced at 1.5% in 2014, the levy was raised to 5% for individuals from 1 January 2025 as a wartime measure and is charged on the same base as PIT. For most capital income that means an effective 18% + 5% = 23%. The three main buckets behave differently. Bank deposit interest is taxed at the full 18% + 5% = 23%, and the bank withholds it automatically as your tax agent, so there is usually nothing to declare. Investment profit — the gain when you sell shares or securities for more than you paid — is also 18% + 5%; within a year, losses on one trade offset gains on another, and only the net investment profit is taxed. Dividends are the lighter category: 5% PIT on dividends from a Ukrainian company that pays corporate income tax, or 9% on dividends from single-tax companies, mutual and collective-investment funds, and non-residents — each plus the 5% military levy. Then there is the standout exception. Interest from OVDP, the domestic government bonds of Ukraine (including the war bonds marketed to ordinary savers through banks, brokers and apps like Diia), is exempt from both PIT and the military levy. That is deliberate policy to channel household savings into financing the state, and it makes OVDPs noticeably more attractive after tax than a deposit at the same headline rate. Finally, the paperwork. Ukrainian banks and companies withhold tax at source, so domestic deposit interest and dividends are handled for you. Foreign income — dividends and gains through an overseas broker — is your responsibility: convert each amount to hryvnia at the NBU rate on the day it was received, file an annual return (declaration) with the State Tax Service (ДПС) by 1 May, and pay any tax due by 1 August of the following year. Because the military levy is a wartime measure scheduled to drop back to 1.5% after martial law ends, treat the 5% figure as a 2026 snapshot and check the official source before relying on it.