The Russian government has approved a draft law regulating the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions. What will change now in the country's tax base?

the Russian The government approved a draft law regulating Taxes on cryptocurrencies. The draft law prepared by the Ministry of Finance grants cryptocurrency ownership status, like Local media Reports. This means that companies must pay income tax on cryptocurrency transactions, while individuals will be subject to personal income tax.

The rate for Russian citizens from next year will vary depending on their income – from 13% to 22%. Cryptocurrency transactions will not be subject to VAT. Citizens and legal entities must report cryptocurrency transactions to the Federal Tax Service if receipts and write-offs exceed 600,000 rubles per year (about $6,000 at the time of writing).

Crypto mining Infrastructure operators will be required to transfer data related to the services provided to the tax service. If the information is not received within the specified period, the site will face a fine of 40 thousand rubles (about 400 dollars). It is noteworthy that the draft law was prepared in December 2020, but its consideration stopped at that time. The adoption of this provision appeared after the legalization of cryptocurrency mining in Russia On November 1, 2024. After registering in a special registry of the tax service, companies and individual entrepreneurs can mine cryptocurrencies (such as Bitcoin).

How will tax be paid on profits from cryptocurrencies?

The tax on mining profits will involve two steps. First, miners will make an upfront payment upon receiving the cryptocurrency in their wallets. After that, an additional tax will apply when selling digital assets. If the value of mined coins increases after the initial payment, miners will owe more taxes. Conversely, if the value decreases, overpayments may be recorded as losses.

According to the latest proposal from the Russian Ministry of Finance, the tax rate on the sale of cryptocurrencies could reach 13% starting in 2025 and 15% if a citizen's income exceeds 2.4 million rubles (about $24,000) annually. As well as the state-controlled Russian media Interfax Reportsdigital currency is recognized as property for the purposes of tax law.

The same principle was mentioned in the draft law during its first reading, which took place more than three years ago. Income from transactions in digital currency will be included in the general tax base along with income from the sale of stocks, bonds, investment units, repo transactions with securities, income from transactions with securities in individual investment accounts and deposits in Russian banks. This will come into effect in 2025.

If the total annual income of an individual from all these sources does not exceed 2.4 million rubles, the personal income tax will be 13%. If this amount is exceeded, the tax will be 15% of the amount exceeding 2.4 million rubles, in addition to a fixed amount of 312 thousand rubles (about 3,100 dollars), equivalent to 13% of 2.4 million rubles. In addition, the Ministry will determine the tax amount as follows: The tax base will be determined based on the market price of the digital currency at the time of receipt of income.

Foreign trading organizations will set the market price (closing price) based on the transactions that take place during the day. Foreign trading organizations are those whose cryptocurrency trading volume exceeds 100 billion rubles ($1 billion) per day.

If transactions are carried out for the same cryptocurrency on two or more foreign cryptocurrency exchanges, the taxpayer can choose the market rate independently. In this case, the proceeds from the sale of the cryptocurrency will be calculated based on the actual selling price, but not less than the 20% discounted market price.

Russia follows the path of North America

The media noted that the mechanism for paying taxes on cryptocurrencies is being formed according to the North American approach.