The Russian Ministry of Finance has released Guidance Letter No. 03-03-06/1/108990 on 25 November 2024, providing clarity on amendments to the loss restriction rules introduced by Federal Law No. 259-FZ.
These changes affect IT companies that qualify for a 0% corporate tax rate under the ultra-low tax regime from 2022 to 2024.
Under this regime, the corporate tax rate for IT companies was reduced from 3% to 0%. Taxpayers generally can carry forward tax losses to future periods, except in certain specified cases where the 0% corporate tax rate applies.
However, Federal Law No. 259-FZ has removed these specified cases, applying the restriction more broadly to any taxpayer with a 0% corporate tax rate from 2025 onwards.
The Ministry’s guidance clarifies that the loss restriction does not apply to losses incurred by IT companies during the period 2022 to 2024. This means that qualifying IT companies can carry forward their losses from these years, despite the general rule changes set to take effect in 2025.
This clarification ensures that IT companies benefiting from the 0% tax rate in previous years can still utilise their incurred losses in future periods, providing some continuity and predictability for these businesses as they plan their finances.
