Overview of tax legislation submitted to the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan

On April 30, 2025, deputies of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan (the “RK”) passed the following draft legislative acts in the second reading:

1. Draft of the New Tax Code of the RK;
2. Draft Law of the RK “On Amendments and Additions to the Code of the RK “On Taxes and Other Mandatory Payments to the Budget” (Tax Code) dated December 25, 2017, and Certain Legislative Acts of the RK Regarding Its Enactment”;
3. Draft Law of the RK “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the RK on Taxation”.

These draft legislative acts were registered by the Apparatus of the Senate of the Parliament of the RK on May 8, 2025.

Draft of the New Tax Code of the RK

The new Tax Code is expected to be adopted by July 2025 and enter into force on January 1, 2026.

The full text of the draft Tax Code is available on the official website of the Senate of the RK.

Key Amendments and Additions

The corporate income tax (“CIT”) rate will be increased to 25% for second-tier banks and gambling businesses. However, the 20% CIT rate will remain for banks on income derived from lending to business entities. Reduced CIT rates are established for organizations operating in the social sector — 5% in 2026 and 10% starting from 2027.

Progressive taxation introduced for personal income tax (“PIT”):

• Wages: income up to 8,500 MCI is taxed at 10%; the excess income is taxed at 15%.
• Dividend income: income up to 230,000 MCI is taxed at 5%; the excess income is taxed at 15%.

The standard value added tax (“VAT”) rate is set at 16%. The registration threshold for VAT payers is reduced from 20,000 MCI to 10,000 MCI.

Turnovers from the sale of pharmaceuticals and medical services under the guaranteed volume of free medical care and mandatory medical insurance, as well as for the treatment of orphan and socially significant diseases are exempted from VAT.

Turnovers from the sale of socially important food products (as per the Entrepreneurial Code), domestically published books, printed book publishing services, and archaeological services are also exempted from VAT.

5% VAT rate in 2026 and 10% starting from 2027 will apply to the turnover from the sale and import of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, as well as to medical services.

The amount of additional VAT offset for agricultural producers is increased from 70% to 80%.

Draft Law of the RK “On Amendments and Additions to the Code of the RK “On Taxes and Other Mandatory Payments to the Budget” (Tax Code) dated December 25, 2017, and Legislative Acts Regarding Its Enactment”

This draft Law will enter into force 60 calendar days after its official publication, except for specific provisions with retrospective effect.

The full text is available on the official website of the Senate of the RK.

Key Amendments and Additions

9% PIT rate is introduced for individuals engaged in private practice.

The standard deduction for PIT purposes is raised from 14 MCI to 30 MCI, with the annual amount of deduction at 360 MCI.

Transitional Provisions for CIT in 2025:

• Tax agents are entitled to deduct from their CIT base the amount of PIT paid at their own expense from the taxable income of individuals at the source of payment for the period from January 1, 2025, until the last day of the month in which the Law enters into force, in cases where the individual’s application for PIT deductions (as per the authorized body’s form) was annulled during the same period.

Suspension of the provisions of Paragraphs 3 and 5 of Article 3 of the Tax Code from January 1, 2025, to January 1, 2026, with respect to taxpayers applying Paragraph 1 of Article 302 (Calculation of CIT amount), Articles 223 (CIT taxable items) and 313 (CIT rates) of the Tax Code.

We remind that Paragraph 3 of Article 3 of the Tax Code governs the applicability of the tax legislation of the RK, namely that amendments and additions concerning tax administration, the specifics of establishing tax reporting, and improvements to the position of the taxpayer (or tax agent) may only be adopted no later than December 1 of the current year.

Also, Paragraph 5 of Article 3 of the Tax Code regulates the applicability of tax legislation in the RK, stipulating that the introduction of new types of taxes, increases in tax rates, and deterioration of taxpayer conditions shall not have retrospective effect.

Draft Law of the RK “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts of the RK on Taxation”

This draft Law will enter into force on January 1, 2026, except for certain provisions that will be enacted retrospectively.

The full text is available on the official website of the Senate of the RK.

Amendments and Additions are introduced into the following legal acts:

1. Entrepreneurial Code of the RK (Oct 29, 2015);
2. Civil Procedure Code of the RK (Oct 31, 2015);
3. Customs Regulation Code of the RK (Dec 26, 2017);
4. Environmental Code of the RK (Jan 2, 2021);
5. Social Code of the RK (Apr 20, 2023);
6. Budget Code of the RK (Mar 15, 2025);
7. Water Code of the RK (Apr 9, 2025);
8. Law “On State Registration of Legal Entities and Registration of Branches and Representative Offices” (Apr 17, 1995);
9. Law “On Notaries” (Jul 14, 1997);
10. Law “On Electronic Documents and Digital Signatures” (Jan 7, 2003);
11. Law “On State Regulation of Tobacco Product Production and Turnover” (Jun 12, 2003);
12. Law “On the Securities Market” (Jul 2, 2003);
13. Law “On Regulation of Trade Activities” (Apr 12, 2004);
14. Law “On Communications” (Jul 5, 2004);
15. Law “On Electric Power Industry” (Jul 9, 2004);
16. Law “On Accounting and Financial Reporting” (Feb 28, 2007);
17. Law “On Transfer Pricing” (Jul 5, 2008);
18. Law “On National Security of the RK” (Jan 6, 2012);
19. Law “On Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy” (Mar 7, 2014);
20. Law “On Permits and Notifications” (May 16, 2014);
21. Law “On Mandatory Social Health Insurance” (Nov 16, 2015);
22. Law “On Lotteries and Lottery Activities” (Apr 9, 2016);
23. Law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control” (Jul 2, 2018);
24. Law “On Advocacy and Legal Assistance” (Jul 5, 2018);
25. Law “On Industrial Policy” (Dec 27, 2021);
26. Law “On Online Platforms and Online Advertising” (Jul 10, 2023);
27. Law “On Public Procurement” (Jul 1, 2024).

We hope you find this information useful.

We will be glad to meet with you to discuss any additional issues, as well as the most relevant updates in Kazakhstan’s tax legislation and their impact on your business.