# Ru Self Employed Npd

> > Use this skill whenever asked about the Russian self-employed tax regime for individuals and freelancers — the Professional Income Tax (Налог на профессиональный доход / НПД). Trigger on phrases like "самозанятый", "self-employed Russia", "НПД", "professional income tax Russia", "Мой налог", "4% 6% tax Russia freelancer", "налог для самозанятых", "register as self-employed in Russia", "Russian freelancer tax", or any request involving the НПД special regime, the 2.4 million ruble cap, the «Мой налог» app, чек (receipt) issuance, the 10,000 ₽ deduction, or whether a Russian freelancer must pay страховые взносы. Covers eligibility, the 4%/6% split, the deduction mechanics, monthly payment, and what happens when the cap is exceeded. References ru-usn and ru-income-tax for alternatives once НПД no longer fits.

- Skill: `openaccountants/ru-self-employed-npd` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add openaccountants/ru-self-employed-npd`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/openaccountants/ru-self-employed-npd/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: AI & ML
- License: AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (c
- Author: openaccountants (https://skillmd.com/u/openaccountants)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/openaccountants/ru-self-employed-npd

---


# Russia — Self-Employed Professional Income Tax (Налог на профессиональный доход / НПД)

> **General reference only.** This skill is general tax/accounting reference material for AI-assisted workflows. It has not been reviewed for any specific person's facts, documents, elections, deadlines, residency, filing status, or local procedures. Do not rely on it to file, pay, amend, or take a tax position without review by a qualified professional in the relevant jurisdiction.

The НПД (*Налог на профессиональный доход*) is the special tax regime for
*самозанятые* — self-employed individuals and freelancers in Russia. It is the
simplest legal way for an individual to earn and declare professional income:
no accountant, no separate filings, no cash register. Everything runs through
the **«Мой налог»** mobile app (or a participating bank). This skill helps the
agent classify a user's income, confirm НПД eligibility, compute the tax, and
explain when the user must leave the regime.

The AI replies to the user in the user's own language. Russian tax terms are
kept native (самозанятый, НПД, ФНС, «Мой налог», чек, страховые взносы) so the
meaning maps cleanly to the official wording.

---

## 1. Quick Reference

| Field | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Country | Russian Federation (RU) |
| Tax | НПД — Professional Income Tax, **4%** (income from individuals) / **6%** (income from legal entities & ИП) |
| Annual income cap | **2,400,000 ₽** per calendar year |
| Currency | RUB (Russian ruble, ₽) |
| Legislation | Federal Law No. **422-FZ** of 27.11.2018 ("Об эксперименте... НПД") |
| Authority | ФНС (Federal Tax Service / Федеральная налоговая служба) — nalog.gov.ru |
| App | **«Мой налог»** (lknpd.nalog.ru / mobile app) + bank-partner apps (Сбербанк, Т-Банк, etc.) |
| Tax period | Calendar month |
| Receipt (чек) deadline | At the moment of cash/card payment; for bank transfers, by the **9th** of the following month |
| Tax notice issued | By the **12th** of the following month in «Мой налог» |
| Payment deadline | By the **28th** of the month following the tax period |
| One-time deduction | **10,000 ₽** налоговый вычет (reduces 4%→3% and 6%→4% until exhausted) |
| Mandatory страховые взносы | **None** — pension/social contributions are **voluntary** |
| Regime status | Federal experiment running **01.01.2019 – 31.12.2028** (verify no extension/early end before relying long-term) |
| Contributor | Open Accountants Community |
| Quality tier | Research-verified — pending sign-off by a Russian accountant |
| Version | 1.0 |

### Conservative defaults

When facts are missing or ambiguous, the agent applies the **conservative
default** and flags it for review rather than guessing in the user's favour:

- **Counterparty unknown → assume the higher 6% rate.** If you cannot tell
  whether a payer is an individual (физлицо, 4%) or a legal entity / ИП
  (юрлицо/ИП, 6%), default to 6% and ask the user to confirm.
- **Activity borderline → assume excluded.** If an activity might be resale,
  agency, or property-related (see §2), treat it as **outside НПД** and require
  the user to confirm eligibility before generating чеки.
- **Cap proximity → warn early.** Once year-to-date income approaches
  2,400,000 ₽, warn the user *before* the next чек, because exceeding the cap
  strips НПД status retroactively from the start of the month of breach.
- **Ex-employer income → assume blocked.** Income from a current employer, or
  from any employer the user left **less than two years** ago, is excluded
  (anti-payroll-substitution rule). Default to excluded unless the user
  confirms the two-year gap.
- **Never invent rates or thresholds.** All figures above are verified for tax
  year 2026; if the user asks about a different year, give the formula and say
  "verify current value with ФНС".

---

## 2. Eligibility — qualifying vs excluded income

НПД is available to **individuals** (and ИП who opt in) who earn income from
their own labour, skills, or use of their own property, without employees under
labour contracts, and whose income stays within the cap.

### Income that QUALIFIES (typical самозанятый activities)

- Freelance services: software development, design, copywriting, translation,
  tutoring, consulting, marketing, photography/video.
- Personal services: hairdressing, manicure, repairs, cleaning, delivery,
  driving (own labour).
- Sale of goods the person **made themselves** (handmade / self-produced).
- Rental of **own residential** property (жилое помещение / квартира).
- Creative and professional work performed personally.

### Income that is EXCLUDED from НПД (Federal Law 422-FZ, Art. 4 & 6)

The agent must NOT generate НПД чеки for any of the following — they require a
different regime (see ru-usn / ru-income-tax) or are taxed as ordinary income:

- **Employment salary** under a labour contract (трудовой договор) — that is
  PIT/НДФЛ income, never НПД.
- **Income from a current or former employer** where the user left **less than
  2 years** ago (anti-substitution rule).
- **Resale of goods** purchased for resale — buying to sell on (перепродажа) is
  prohibited; only self-made goods qualify.
- **Sale of excisable (подакцизные) goods** and goods subject to mandatory
  labelling (обязательная маркировка).
- **Mining / extraction and sale of mineral resources** (полезные ископаемые).
- **Agency, commission, and intermediary activity** for third parties
  (посредническая деятельность / договоры поручения, комиссии, агентские) —
  except certain delivery-with-receipt arrangements.
- **Rental of non-residential / commercial property** (нежилые помещения).
- **Sale of property and securities**, sale of shares/units, transfer of
  property rights (other than the residential rental above).
- Income of notaries, lawyers (адвокаты), arbitration managers, mediators,
  appraisers — these have their own regimes.
- Persons employing workers under labour contracts.

### Refusal catalogue (R-RU-n)

The agent must refuse to produce an НПД result and route the user elsewhere in
these cases:

- **R-RU-1** — User wants to declare **salary / employment income** as НПД.
  Refuse: this is НДФЛ. Do not generate чеки.
- **R-RU-2** — Income comes from a **current employer or an employer left <2
  years ago**. Refuse НПД treatment for that income.
- **R-RU-3** — Activity is **resale** of purchased goods, excisable, or
  labelled goods. Refuse; recommend ИП on УСН (see ru-usn).
- **R-RU-4** — Activity is **agency/commission/intermediary**, mining, or
  **rental of commercial (non-residential) property**. Refuse НПД.
- **R-RU-5** — Year-to-date income **exceeds 2,400,000 ₽**. НПД status is lost;
  see §4 and route to ru-usn / ru-income-tax.
- **R-RU-6** — User has **employees under labour contracts**. НПД is
  unavailable; route to ИП regimes.
- **R-RU-7** — User is a **non-resident / works outside the territory covered**
  by the experiment, or activity falls outside Russia entirely. Flag as Tier 2;
  do not assume eligibility.
- **R-RU-8** — User asks the agent to **issue a чек the user cannot legally
  back** (e.g. backdating beyond the allowed чек deadline, or for excluded
  income). Refuse.

---

## 3. The 4% vs 6% split and the 10,000 ₽ deduction

### The two rates

НПД has exactly two rates, set by the type of **payer (counterparty)**, not the
type of work:

| Payer (counterparty) | Rate |
|----------------------|------|
| **Individual** (физическое лицо) | **4%** |
| **Legal entity** (юридическое лицо) or **ИП** | **6%** |

Each чек is taxed at the rate matching that specific payer. A self-employed
person can have both rates in the same month — invoice a private client at 4%
and a company at 6% on the same day.

### The налоговый вычет (10,000 ₽ one-time deduction)

Every newly registered самозанятый receives a one-time **10,000 ₽ tax
deduction** (бонус). It is **not** a cash payment and **not** a reduction of
income — it reduces the **tax rate** until the 10,000 ₽ "credit" is used up:

- On 4% income, the rate drops to **3%** — i.e. the deduction covers **1
  percentage point** of the 4%.
- On 6% income, the rate drops to **4%** — i.e. the deduction covers **2
  percentage points** of the 6%.

The deduction is consumed automatically by «Мой налог» as tax accrues, until
the cumulative 10,000 ₽ benefit is exhausted; after that, the full 4%/6% rates
apply. Mechanically:

```
deduction_used_on_a_receipt =
    receipt_amount × 0.01   (for a 4% / individual receipt)
    receipt_amount × 0.02   (for a 6% / legal-entity receipt)

remaining_deduction = 10,000 ₽ − cumulative deduction_used
```

Once `remaining_deduction` hits zero, the reduced rates stop and standard
4%/6% resume. Key rules:

- It is granted **once per lifetime**, automatically — no application needed.
- It does **not expire** by date; it persists until used.
- If the user deregisters and re-registers, the **unused remainder is
  restored** (it is not re-granted in full, and it is not forfeited).

---

## 4. Чек issuance, monthly payment, and exceeding the cap

### Issuing a чек (receipt) — mandatory for every payment

For **each** payment received for a qualifying activity, the самозанятый must
form a **чек** in «Мой налог» (or via a bank partner). The чек is the legal
proof of income; there is no cash register and no other invoice required.

- **Cash or card (electronic means of payment):** form the чек **at the moment
  of settlement**.
- **Bank transfer (безналичный расчёт):** form the чек no later than the
  **9th day of the month following** the month the payment was received.
- The чек records: date, amount, description of the service/good, and the
  payer's status (individual vs legal entity / ИП — which sets the 4% vs 6%
  rate). A B2B чек must include the buyer's INN.
- A чек can be cancelled (e.g. refund or error), which reduces the taxable base.

If the user records income but issues **no чек**, the income is still taxable
and ФНС can assess penalties. The agent should always pair "income received"
with "чек issued".

### Monthly tax — calculation and payment

- The tax period is the **calendar month**. There is **no annual return** to
  file — «Мой налог» computes everything automatically from the чеки.
- By the **12th** of the following month, ФНС posts the calculated tax amount
  in «Мой налог».
- The user pays by the **28th** of that following month (the app supports
  card/auto-pay). No tax is due in a month with zero income.
- **No страховые взносы are mandatory.** The 4%/6% is the only obligatory
  payment. Pension/social contributions to the СФР are **voluntary**; without
  them (or parallel employment) no страховой стаж accrues. Voluntary buy-in of
  pension stage is possible — treat the exact buy-in figure as a separate,
  Tier 2 question (verify current value with СФР).

### Exceeding the 2,400,000 ₽ cap

The cap is on **income received within the calendar year** (not profit; there
are no deductible expenses under НПД). When cumulative income in the year
exceeds 2,400,000 ₽:

1. The user **loses НПД status** — effective from the **beginning of the month
   in which the cap is breached** (income up to the breach remains under НПД).
2. Income received **after** the loss must be taxed under another regime:
   - An **individual (not ИП):** the excess is ordinary personal income taxed
     as НДФЛ (see ru-income-tax), unless the person registers as ИП.
   - An **ИП:** must switch to **УСН** (Упрощённая система — simplified, see
     ru-usn), ЕСХН, or the general regime **ОСНО**, by filing the relevant
     application within the statutory window (an ИП who applies for УСН within
     ~20 days of losing НПД can move to УСН from the date of loss — confirm the
     exact deadline for the year before relying on it).
3. The agent should warn the user **before** the cap is hit and present the
   ru-usn vs ru-income-tax fork as the next step.

> The cap **resets each calendar year**. A user who hit the cap in one year may
> re-register for НПД from 1 January of the next year if otherwise eligible.

---

## 5. Worked examples

All figures are illustrative for tax year 2026. Verify rates/cap with ФНС.

### Example 1 — Individual clients only (4%), deduction active

A tutor earns **80,000 ₽** in March, all from private individuals.

- Rate with deduction: **3%** (4% − 1pp covered by the вычет).
- Tax = 80,000 × 3% = **2,400 ₽**.
- Deduction consumed = 80,000 × 1% = **800 ₽**; remaining вычет = 10,000 − 800
  = **9,200 ₽**.
- Чеки issued per payment; tax shown by 12 April, paid by **28 April**.

### Example 2 — Company clients only (6%), deduction active

A freelance developer earns **150,000 ₽** in March from one OOO (legal entity).

- Rate with deduction: **4%** (6% − 2pp covered by the вычет).
- Tax = 150,000 × 4% = **6,000 ₽**.
- Deduction consumed = 150,000 × 2% = **3,000 ₽**; remaining вычет = 10,000 −
  3,000 = **7,000 ₽**.
- Each чек carries the client's INN. Bank-transfer чек due by **9 April**;
  tax paid by **28 April**.

### Example 3 — Mixed clients, deduction running out mid-month

In one month a designer earns **100,000 ₽** from individuals (4%) and
**200,000 ₽** from a company (6%). Assume the вычет **remaining at the start of
the month is 4,000 ₽**.

- Reduced rates apply only until the 4,000 ₽ remainder is used:
  - On the 4% stream the вычет covers 1pp; on the 6% stream it covers 2pp.
  - «Мой налог» applies the remaining deduction across accruing чеки in order
    until 4,000 ₽ is exhausted, then charges full 4% / 6%.
- A clean way to bound it: full-rate tax = 100,000 × 4% + 200,000 × 6% =
  4,000 + 12,000 = **16,000 ₽**; the вычет reduces this by **up to the 4,000 ₽
  remainder**, so tax = **≈12,000 ₽** (exact split depends on чек ordering —
  the app computes it). After this month the deduction is fully used and
  standard 4%/6% apply thereafter.

### Example 4 — Hitting the 2,400,000 ₽ cap mid-year

A consultant has earned **2,350,000 ₽** by 1 August. On **14 August** a new
**100,000 ₽** payment would take the year-to-date to **2,450,000 ₽**.

- The cap (2,400,000 ₽) is breached **in August**. НПД status is lost from
  **1 August**.
- Income up to the breach stays under НПД; the agent must stop generating НПД
  чеки for August onward and warn **before** accepting the 100,000 ₽.
- Next step: if the user is an individual, the post-loss income is НДФЛ
  (ru-income-tax) unless they register as ИП; if already ИП, file for **УСН**
  promptly (ru-usn) to avoid landing on ОСНО.
- The user may re-register for НПД from **1 January** next year if eligible.

### Example 5 — Excluded income (refusal path)

A user wants to declare **rental income from a commercial shop unit** as НПД.

- **R-RU-4** applies: rental of **non-residential** property is excluded.
- The agent refuses to issue НПД чеки and explains that residential rental
  would qualify, but commercial rental must be declared as НДФЛ or under an ИП
  regime (route to ru-income-tax / ru-usn).

---

## 6. Tier 2 — reviewer judgement required

Flag these to a qualified Russian accountant rather than deciding
deterministically:

- **B2B re-characterisation risk.** A company paying a single самозанятый
  regularly, exclusively, on schedule, looking like disguised employment — ФНС
  may reclassify it as a labour relationship (with НДФЛ + взносы owed by the
  payer). Flag patterns that resemble employment.
- **Ex-employer two-year rule edge cases** (secondment, group companies,
  contract renewals around the 2-year line).
- **Cross-border / non-resident** activity, foreign-platform income, or work
  performed outside Russia (see R-RU-7).
- **Mixed / borderline activities** — e.g. self-made goods vs resale (assembly
  from purchased components), delivery-with-receipt arrangements, marketplace
  sales.
- **Cap-year transition mechanics** — exact deadline and effective date for an
  ИП moving НПД → УСН after a cap breach (verify current statutory window).
- **Voluntary СФР pension buy-in** — whether and how much to contribute; the
  annual buy-in figure changes yearly (verify current value).
- **Regime end date** — НПД is an experiment scheduled through 31.12.2028;
  confirm no legislative change before giving long-horizon advice.

---

## 7. Bank statement reading guide

Russian самозанятые usually receive money to a personal card/account. When
reading a statement to reconstruct НПД income, the agent should:

- **Identify the payer type** to set 4% vs 6%:
  - Inflows from another personal card / СБП (Система быстрых платежей) from an
    individual → likely **4%** (physлицо).
  - Inflows naming an OOO / AO / ИП, or carrying an INN/KPP in the narrative →
    **6%** (legal entity / ИП). Default to 6% when unsure (conservative).
- **Sberbank / Сбербанк (SberBank Online):** look for "Перевод от …" (transfer
  from), СБП incoming transfers, and salary-labelled credits ("Зарплата",
  "Аванс") — **salary credits are NOT НПД income** (R-RU-1). Sber also has a
  built-in "Своё дело" самозанятый module that mirrors «Мой налог».
- **Tinkoff / Т-Банк:** statements label СБП and card-to-card transfers; the
  Т-Банк app has a самозанятый feature that issues чеки and reports to ФНС
  automatically — reconcile its чек log against the bank statement.
- **Other banks / platforms (ВТБ, Альфа-Банк, ЮMoney, payment aggregators):**
  match each business inflow to a чек. Aggregators paying out on behalf of
  many end-clients may need per-end-client чеки; flag as Tier 2.
- **Exclude non-income credits:** refunds, transfers between the user's own
  accounts, loans, personal gifts, and salary. These are not НПД income.
- **Reconciliation rule:** every business inflow should map to exactly one чек.
  Inflows with no чек → flag (income under-reported). Чеки with no inflow →
  flag (possible cancelled/erroneous чек).

> The bank statement is supporting evidence only. The legally authoritative
> record of НПД income is the set of чеки in «Мой налог».

---

## 8. Reference + test suite

### Reference

- **Federal Law No. 422-FZ** of 27.11.2018 — establishes the НПД experiment
  (rates 4%/6%, cap 2,400,000 ₽, excluded activities, 10,000 ₽ deduction).
- **ФНС** — nalog.gov.ru; «Мой налог» portal lknpd.nalog.ru.
- **Tax period:** calendar month; **payment** by the 28th of the following
  month; **tax shown** by the 12th; **bank-transfer чек** by the 9th.
- **No mandatory страховые взносы**; voluntary pension via СФР.
- **Regime window:** 01.01.2019 – 31.12.2028 (experiment).
- Related skills: **ru-usn** (Упрощённая система for ИП), **ru-income-tax**
  (НДФЛ for individuals) — used when НПД is unavailable or the cap is exceeded.

### Test suite (agent self-checks)

1. Payer is a private individual → applies **4%** (3% while deduction lasts). ✔
2. Payer is an OOO with an INN → applies **6%** (4% while deduction lasts). ✔
3. Income from a company the user left 8 months ago → **R-RU-2 refusal**. ✔
4. User buys phones to resell → **R-RU-3 refusal** (resale). ✔
5. Year-to-date reaches 2,400,001 ₽ → **R-RU-5**, НПД lost from start of the
   breach month, route to ru-usn / ru-income-tax. ✔
6. User asks if they must pay pension взносы → **No, voluntary.** ✔
7. Payer type unknown → default **6%** and ask. ✔
8. Bank-transfer income on 3 March → чек due by **9 April**, tax by **28 April**. ✔
9. Commercial property rental → **R-RU-4 refusal**; residential would qualify. ✔
10. New registrant, first 80,000 ₽ from individuals → tax 2,400 ₽ at 3%,
    remaining вычет 9,200 ₽. ✔

---

## PROHIBITIONS

The agent must NOT:

- Treat **salary / employment income** as НПД (R-RU-1), or treat income from a
  current/recent (<2 years) employer as НПД (R-RU-2).
- Issue НПД чеки for **excluded activities** — resale, excisable/labelled
  goods, mining, agency/intermediary, or rental of **non-residential** property
  (R-RU-3, R-RU-4).
- Continue НПД treatment once year-to-date income **exceeds 2,400,000 ₽**
  (R-RU-5); it must route the user to ru-usn / ru-income-tax.
- Apply НПД where the user has **employees** under labour contracts (R-RU-6).
- **Invent or assume** rates, the cap, the deduction amount, or deadlines for a
  year other than 2026 — give the formula and say "verify current value with
  ФНС".
- Claim страховые взносы are mandatory — they are **voluntary** under НПД.
- Backdate or fabricate a чек, or generate a чек for income the user cannot
  legally back (R-RU-8).
- Provide a definitive disguised-employment, cross-border, or pension-buy-in
  conclusion without flagging it as Tier 2 for a qualified reviewer.

---

## Disclaimer

This skill is **research-verified** against ФНС (nalog.gov.ru), Federal Law
No. 422-FZ, and reputable secondary sources for **tax year 2026**, but it is
**pending sign-off by a qualified Russian accountant**. It is general
information, not individual tax advice. НПД is a time-limited experiment
(through 31.12.2028) and figures, deadlines, and eligibility rules can change;
always confirm current values with ФНС and «Мой налог» before filing or
relying on a result. A qualified Russian accountant or tax adviser must review
any output before it is acted upon. Maintained by the Open Accountants
Community — openaccountants.com.

---

_Source: [OpenAccountants](https://openaccountants.com/skills/ru-self-employed-npd) — open tax Guides for AI, reviewed by named CPAs/CAs/EAs. Quality: **source-cited draft**. For always-current figures and named-accountant backing, connect the OpenAccountants MCP server (`openaccountants-mcp`)._