Because freelancers are not our employees and we don't pay taxes on payouts, they must declare any income received via Solar Staff by themselves (as per Articles 321 and 338 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
To carry on tax accounting in the Republic of Kazakhstan for your Solar Staff income, you need to:
Be a tax resident
Have a tax ID number
Select your tax status
Tax residence
Kazakh residents are taxed on their worldwide income, while non-residents are taxed only on their Kazakh-sourced income.
An individual shall qualify as a tax resident of Kazakhstan (Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan) if they:
Have spent 183 or more days in Kazakhstan within any 12-month rolling period ending during this tax year, or
Have their center of vital interests located in Kazakhstan, as evidenced by:
Citizenship / residence permit
Spouse or close relatives living in Kazakhstan
Real estate owned or held by the individual or their family and is available for living
Kazakhstan has double tax treaties with a number of countries (full list). The provisions of such treaties may override the tax residence rules and other provisions of national legislation.
Tax ID number
To pay tax in Kazakhstan on income received via Solar Staff, freelancers must obtain a 12-digit individual identification number (IIN). Citizens of Kazakhstan receive their IIN automatically when they are issued an identity card (birth certificate / passport). Foreign citizens who need to obtain an IIN should either apply through the Government for Citizens state corporation via one of its public service centers, or submit an application online. An online application requires a digital signature.
To obtain an IIN, you will need the following documents and information:
Application form (to be filled in using the form in Annex 1, directly at a public service center or online)
Identity card
Mobile phone number in Kazakhstan
Address you are staying at (no documentary evidence needed)
The document review takes one business day, after which you will receive your IIN registration certificate.
Taxes and contributions
Tax liabilities depend on the chosen tax status and/or eligibility for certain criteria. Freelancers earning income through Solar Staff can choose between two tax statuses in Kazakhstan:
IMPORTANT: Solar Staff does not have the option to choose a tax status for freelancers based in Kazakhstan, but you can fill in your taxpayer ID in your account.
Read on for more details.
Individual
Individual is the default tax status for every person. It requires no special registration and applies to both employed persons and freelancers.
With this status, you must pay the following taxes and contributions:
Personal income tax (PIT) at a rate of 10%. However, certain types of expenses are deductible for PIT purposes as listed in Article 342 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Reporting: The tax period for calculating PIT is a calendar year. As part of the universal filing, two reporting forms have been introduced:
Form 250.00 is a one-time form for reporting accumulated assets and liabilities (form completion instructions). The document is submitted only if there are grounds specified in Article 631 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (for example, owning property abroad), no later than September 15 of the year in which the obligation to submit the document arose.
Form 270.00 is a form, in which individuals should report income and property received during the reporting period (form completion instructions). It is submitted annually no later than September 15 of the year following the reporting period. This can be done either online or in person / by mail sent to the tax authority. Information on income received via Solar Staff must be shown in Annex 1 to the tax return.
Tax payments must be made online no later than 10 calendar days after the deadline for submitting the tax return.
Useful links: PIT calculator; penalty calculator.
Mandatory social security contributions: individuals are not required to make these payments. However, you may make pension contributions voluntarily.
Individual entrepreneur
Individual entrepreneur is the status of a person who engages in entrepreneurial activities, having sole ownership of a business and bearing the corresponding risks.
You must register as an individual entrepreneur if you either employ workers on a permanent basis or receive annual income from private enterprise exceeding 12 times the minimum wage (in 2025: 85,000 * 12 = KZT 1,020,000).
IMPORTANT: For income received via Solar Staff, you only need to register as an individual entrepreneur if you hire permanent employees, as specified in Subclause 3 of Clause 3 of Article 35 of the Entrepreneur Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Registration takes one business day and must be completed online (as per Clause 5 of Article 36 of the Entrepreneur Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan) using one of the following methods:
e-License, Kazakhstan's portal issuing electronic licenses (learn more)
Mobile banking apps of second-tier banks
e-Salyq Business app
Limitations. Registration as an individual entrepreneur is available to Kazakh citizens, kandas (ethnic Kazakhs without Kazakh citizenship), and citizens of the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Armenia who hold a Kazakh residence permit.
Kazakhstan has the following tax regimes for individual entrepreneurs:
Read on for more details.
General tax regime
This is the default tax regime for individual entrepreneurs, with no restrictions on types of activities.
Accounting requirements. You must keep accounting records, prepare financial statements, and compile and store primary documents (invoices, receipts, waybills, and other financial documents) for at least five years (Article 2 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan On Accounting and Financial Reporting).
Under this regime, taxpayers must pay the following taxes and contributions:
Personal income tax (PIT). Individual entrepreneurs who have opted for the general tax regime pay income tax at a rate of 10% of net annual profit (income minus expense). Losses can be carried forward ten years (Clause 1 of Article 300 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Reporting requires submitting a personal income tax return using Form 220.00 (form completion instructions). The deadlines for filing tax returns and paying the tax follow the same procedure established for individuals.
Value-added tax (VAT) is charged at 12% (with a 0% rate for certain goods and services, and possible exemptions). In Kazakhstan, VAT registration can be either mandatory or voluntary. Individual entrepreneurs must register for VAT if their annual turnover exceeds 20,000 times the Monthly Calculation Index (MCI). When VAT turnover exceeds this threshold, you must submit a registration application to the tax authority within ten business days after the end of the month when the excess occurred.
Reporting requires submitting a VAT return (Form 300.00) quarterly before the 15th day of the second month following the reporting month (Articles 423 and 424 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan). Form completion instructions.
Tax payment is due before the 25th day of the same month.
Accounting requirements. As a VAT payer, you must issue electronic invoices to recipients of goods, work, or services through the Electronic Invoice Information System (IS ESF) portal. Issue invoices no earlier than the date the sale took place and no later than 15 calendar days afterward.
IMPORTANT: For the purposes of VAT registration, turnover calculations include only transactions that are subject to VAT (Clause 1 of Article 369 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Mandatory social security contributions. Individual entrepreneurs must pay the following:
Obligatory pension contributions (OPC) – 10% of declared income, which may not exceed 50 minimum wages. OPC is paid to the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund.
Obligatory employer pension contributions (OEPC) – 1.5% of declared income (no less than 1 minimum wage and not more than 50 minimum wages). OPC and OEPC are calculated using the same declared income amount (learn more). OEPC is also paid to the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund.
Social insurance contributions – 3.5% of declared income (at least 1 minimum wage and not more than 7 minimum wages) minus OPC. Social insurance contributions are paid to the State Social Insurance Fund.
Obligatory medical insurance contributions (OMIC) – 5% of 1.4 minimum wages, paid to the Social Health Insurance Fund.
Payment of contributions is due monthly by the 25th day of the month following the reporting month. No separate reporting is required. To learn more about types and amounts of social insurance contributions, see here.
Social tax. It is calculated using the MCI:
For each employee: 1 MCI minus social insurance contributions (for 2025, MCI is KZT 3,932)
For yourself: 2 MCI minus social insurance contributions
Reporting. The reporting period is a calendar month. Individual entrepreneurs must submit a tax return using Form 200.00 monthly before the 25th day of the month following the reporting month (for example, a June tax return must be submitted before July 25). See form completion instructions here.
Tax payments must be made by the reporting deadline.
Local taxes. Individual entrepreneurs that own commercial property, land, or transport must pay property and/or land tax and file the corresponding reports.
Special tax regimes
Individual entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan can choose a special tax regime, though restrictions apply to certain types of activities (listed in Subclause 3 of Clause 2 of Article 683 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Accounting requirements. Individual entrepreneurs using one of the special tax regimes (except for those under the retail tax regime) are not required to maintain bookkeeping records or prepare financial statements if they are not VAT registered and are not classified as natural monopolies. The requirements for keeping and storing primary documents match those for individual entrepreneurs under the general tax regime.
Patent regime
This special tax regime enables individual entrepreneurs to conduct business activities under a patent without employing workers.
Limitations under this regime apply both to types of activities (listed in Subclause 3 of Clause 1 of Article 685 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan) and income, which must not exceed 3,528 MCI per year. Also, you are not eligible for the patent regime if you provide services under an agency agreement.
Under this regime, you are exempt from maintaining accounting records and filing financial or tax reports. Patent holders need not register for VAT or pay the social tax.
Registration can be completed online by submitting your patent calculation using Form 911.00 either online through your taxpayer account or by mail / in person at the tax authority based on your registered address (form completion instructions). A patent can be issued for a month, quarter, six months, or twelve months.
The patent fee includes the personal income tax and the obligatory social contributions. You must pay the patent fee before submitting your calculation and attach proof of payment. To determine the patent fee, estimate your total income for the patent period and calculate 1% of that amount (this represents your personal income tax), plus OPC, OEPC, social insurance contributions, and OMIC amounts matching those under the general tax regime. A calculator is available to help determine your patent amount.
Additional information. If your actual income exceeds your estimated income for the period, you must submit an additional calculation for the excess amount and pay the corresponding tax within five business days (Clause 4 of Article 686 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan). If your income is less than estimated, you may request a refund of overpaid amounts.
Simplified tax regime
Under this regime, individual entrepreneurs pay PIT, social tax, obligatory social contributions (for themselves only), and possibly VAT (depending on the turnover).
Limitations and conditions. To qualify for this regime, an individual entrepreneur must have no more than 30 employees, and income for the reporting period (half-year) must not exceed 24,038 MCI. When using the three-component integrated system for payments, income must not exceed 24,038 MCI + 70,048 MCI = 94,086 MCI (Subclause 2 of Clause 2 of Article 683 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan). You may not provide services under agency agreements, and must conduct activities within a single locality.
Under this regime, taxpayers must pay the following taxes and contributions:
Personal income tax and social tax. The combined tax rate is 3% (1.5% PIT + 1.5% social tax) of half-year income.
Reporting is submitted as a simplified small business return using Form 910.00 (form completion instructions) before the 15th day of the second month following the reporting six-month period:
First half-year: submit between July 1 and August 15
Second half-year: submit between January 1 and February 15
The tax payment is due before the 25th day of the second month following the reporting half-year (before August 25 and February 25 respectively).
VAT, mandatory social security contributions, and local taxes follow the same requirements as under the general tax regime.
Fixed deduction regime
In terms of the types and rates of taxes and amounts of social contributions, the fixed deduction regime is the same as the general tax regime.
The only difference is that for PIT purposes, expenses are deductible with no documentary evidence needed (up to 30% of income). An individual entrepreneur's taxable income is therefore calculated as "income – deductions – additional fixed deduction".
Reporting requires submitting a tax return using Form 912.00 (form completion instructions). Filing deadlines and tax payment schedules match those of the general tax regime.
Limitations and conditions. To use this tax regime, an individual entrepreneur must have no more than 50 employees and maintain annual turnover below 144,184 MCI. This tax regime is also available for individual entrepreneurs operating under agency agreements.
Regime available for users of a dedicated app
Under this regime, individual entrepreneurs interact with tax authorities using the e-Salyq Business app (accessed via IIN/password or digital signature); no accounting or filing of any tax returns is required. You can start using this regime from the date you choose in your app.
Limitations and conditions. For this regime, individual entrepreneurs must have no employees, provide services all by themselves, and have an annual income of below 3,528 MCI (Subclause 2 of Clause 2 of Article 683 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan). Also, you may not be registered as a VAT payer and engage in any activity listed in Subclause 3 of Clause 1 of Article 686-2 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Providing services under agency agreements is not permitted.
Under this regime, you must pay personal income tax at 1% and make mandatory social security payments as specified in the general tax regime.
Reporting consists of generating receipts through the mobile app, which you must send to service purchasers within three calendar days of receiving payment. Your PIT and social contributions are calculated monthly, no later than the 15th day of the month following the reporting one, directly in the app.
Tax payments are due before the 25th day of the month following the reporting one (Clauses 3 and 4 of Article 686-3 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan).
Retail tax regime
This regime exempts individual entrepreneurs from VAT and social tax for employees while allowing operations without territorial restrictions.
Limitations and conditions. To qualify for this tax regime, an individual entrepreneur must have no more than 200 employees, maintain annual income below 600,000 MCI, and conduct activities listed in Resolution No. 1240 of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated December 29, 2023. All economic activity codes (OKED) assigned to the individual entrepreneur must appear in the approved list.
Under this regime, taxpayers must pay the following taxes and contributions:
Personal income tax (PIT). The tax rate on income (after deducting employee salary expenses) is:
4% when the purchaser is an individual, individual entrepreneur, or legal entity not applying deductions (may be reduced by up to 50% based on activity type and location)
8% when the purchaser is an individual entrepreneur or a limited liability partnership (TOO) under the general tax regime that applies deductions and requires electronic invoices
You need to maintain separate accounting records.
Reporting must be submitted quarterly as a tax return for retail tax regime tax payers using Form 913.00 (form completion instructions) not later than the 15th day of the second month following the reporting quarter.
The tax payment is due before the 25th day of the second month following the reporting quarter.
Social tax, mandatory social security contributions, and local taxes follow the same requirements as under the general tax regime.
Additional information
Service for checking tax arrears.
Income received via Solar Staff is declared using certificates and invoices, and in accordance with the offer agreement.
If you have any questions, get in touch via the chat in your Solar Staff account or email us at [email protected]