In simple terms
NDFL (НДФЛ) is the personal income tax: the tax on the income of individuals. Almost any income you earn in Russia is taxed this way: salary, bonuses, holiday pay, sick pay, money from renting out a flat, selling a car, winnings, and deposit interest above a limit.
Most of the time you do not even see this tax. Your employer withholds it from your salary and pays it to the budget itself — the employer is a tax agent. What you receive in hand is the amount after tax.
Rates in 2026
For tax residents, salary and similar income are taxed on a progressive scale. The higher rate applies only to the part of your income above the threshold.
| Income for the year | Rate |
|---|---|
| up to 2.4 million ₽ | 13% |
| from 2.4 to 5 million ₽ | 15% |
| from 5 to 20 million ₽ | 18% |
| from 20 to 50 million ₽ | 20% |
| over 50 million ₽ | 22% |
Deposit interest, income from the sale of property and dividends are taxed separately: 13%, and 15% on the amount above 2.4 million ₽. Non-residents, as a rule, pay 30%, but workers on a patent, citizens of EAEU countries and highly qualified specialists pay tax on salary at the resident scale.
Example with numbers
NDFL = (income − deductions) × rate
Salary: 120,000 ₽ a month. Tax: 120,000 × 13% = 15,600 ₽. Take-home pay: 120,000 − 15,600 = 104,400 ₽. Income for the year will be 1,440,000 ₽ — less than 2.4 million ₽, so the rate is 13% all year and the tax for the year is 187,200 ₽.
If this person has two children, they are entitled to a standard deduction of 1,400 + 2,800 = 4,200 ₽ a month. Then the tax is: (120,000 − 4,200) × 13% = 15,054 ₽, and take-home pay is 104,946 ₽. But the deduction applies only while income since the start of the year is not more than 450,000 ₽, that is, from January to March.
You can calculate your take-home salary in the NDFL calculator.
Calculate it yourself
Change the numbers and the step-by-step calculation updates instantly. Russian rules for 2026.
When you pay it yourself
- You rent out a flat as a private person, not as a self-employed person or a sole trader (IP).
- You sold a flat or a car before the minimum ownership period.
- You received income from abroad, or a gift (for example, a flat) not from a close relative.
In these cases you file a 3-NDFL tax return by 30 April of the following year and pay the tax by 15 July. For deposit interest and some other income no return is needed: the tax service (ФНС) will send you a tax notification itself, and it must be paid by 1 December.
What is not taxed
- Most state benefits (except sick pay), pensions, maternity capital.
- Alimony.
- Inheritance and gifts from close relatives.
- Income from selling property that you owned for longer than the minimum period.
How to avoid mistakes
- Do not assume that with income above 2.4 million ₽ all of your tax becomes 15%. The higher rate applies only to the amount above the threshold.
- Check your resident status if you spent a long time abroad: the rate depends on it.
- You can get part of the NDFL back through tax deductions — for treatment, education, buying a home.
In Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus
Russia
The rules are in Chapter 23 of the Tax Code («НК РФ»). Your employer withholds the tax from your salary; on other income you often pay it yourself: file a 3-NDFL return by 30 April and pay by 15 July of the following year. Non-residents, as a rule, pay 30%.
Kazakhstan
The Kazakh equivalent is individual income tax (ИПН, IPN): 10%, and from 2026 15% on annual income above 8,500 MRP (monthly calculation index). Before the tax is calculated, salary is reduced by pension contributions, health insurance (ВОСМС) and a deduction of 30 MRP.
Belarus
In Belarus it is income tax (подоходный налог) on individuals, with a basic rate of 13%. The employer withholds it; higher rates apply to large annual incomes.
Sources: Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Part Two («Налоговый кодекс РФ»), ConsultantPlus, Federal Tax Service of Russia («ФНС России»)