Kazakhstan’s new Tax Code, effective 1 January 2026, marks a fundamental shift in how the country taxes, audits, and evaluates corporate activity. Beyond rate adjustments and digital reforms, the overhaul redefines where profits are taxed, how value is attributed, and what qualifies as legitimate substance.
Kazakhstan’s new Tax Code, coming into force on 1 January 2026, is more than a technical rewrite. It’s a full reset of the country’s approach to corporate taxation, profit allocation, and cross-border oversight.
Behind the headlines of digitalisation and administrative streamlining lies a clear message: companies will have to justify where value is created, who earns it, and how it’s priced.
A new structure for corporate income taxation
The standard 20% CIT rate stays in place, but it’s now joined by a layered system that ties rates to sector performance.
Banks and gambling operators will pay 25%, while industries tied to education, healthcare, and financial leasing benefit from a phased rate cut — 5% in 2026, rising to 10% from 2027. Agricultural producers, with an existing 70% relief, will see an effective rate of just 3%.
Fewer special regimes, tighter deductions
Kazakhstan is reducing its seven special tax regimes to three, claiming simplification but also closing off loopholes.
The simplified-declaration regime now extends up to KZT 2.36 billion in turnover, drops employee limits, and carries a 4% flat rate (potentially 2% with incentives). A new B2C regime covers retail and service businesses that sell directly to consumers and remain outside the VAT net. However, companies under the general regime can’t deduct costs from suppliers using special regimes.
Exploration and resource incentives
Exploration companies will be allowed a 100% deduction on capital expenditures for construction, equipment, software, and modernisation. At the same time, new incentives encourage domestic mineral processing, while low-profit deposits will enjoy a five-year MET holiday. Mature oilfields can opt into an alternative subsoil tax regime if the tax savings are reinvested locally.
For investors, these changes shift Kazakhstan’s extractive tax model toward reinvestment and modernisation. But they also demand better documentation to prove that reinvested funds meet eligibility criteria – a likely focus of future audits.
New Transfer pricing Law
The new law gives transfer pricing in Kazakhstan a sharper edge. From 2026, substance will officially prevail over form, particularly in transactions involving intellectual property. The authorities can now recharacterise deals that don’t reflect economic reality, moving Kazakhstan closer to OECD practice and ending the use of hollow intermediary structures that booked IP income abroad while the work was done locally.
A legal definition of “intangible asset” has been added, clarifying that any identifiable intellectual property or know-how qualifies for TP analysis. For companies trading in software, trademarks, or technical information, this means every license or service agreement will have to withstand functional scrutiny.
On the financing side, Kazakhstan is introducing a statutory risk-free rate for tenge, dollars, euros, and other currencies. This benchmark will serve as the base for determining arm’s-length interest on intra-group loans, forcing taxpayers to justify any additional spread.
The compliance window is also narrowing. Companies will now have 30 days — not 90 — to produce TP documentation when requested. The only viable strategy is to keep local files current and readily available.
Commodity pricing without “statistical cushions”
Exporters can no longer rely on statistical deviation ranges for pricing commodities traded through exchanges. Instead, transactions will have to be supported by concrete market data – contract terms, quality adjustments, freight differentials – leaving little room for under-invoicing. This move is designed to curb the use of artificial export pricing that has long eroded the tax base.
International taxation
The new Code also tightens rules on cross-border payments. From 2026, services such as information processing, advertising, design, and recruitment will be taxed in Kazakhstan even when performed abroad. Payments for these services will attract a 20% withholding tax, unless treaty relief applies.
The definition of royalties now explicitly includes software version upgrades but excludes bug fixes and basic maintenance. This will require software suppliers and clients to separate upgrade fees from regular support charges in their contracts.
The period for recognising unfulfilled advance payments to non-residents is shortened to 12 months. If a product or service isn’t delivered within a year, the advance becomes taxable income for the foreign supplier — accelerating WHT obligations for Kazakh payers.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is introducing progressive withholding rates:
- Dividends to non-residents owning 25% or more — 5% up to roughly KZT 904 million, 15% above that.
- Interest — down from 15% to 10%, easing the cost of external borrowing.
- Foreign salaries — 10% up toKZT 33.4 million, 15% above.
“Retro-bonuses” paid to distributors are now classified as marketing services, not trade discounts, and therefore fall under WHT.
The Astana Hub program remains a bright spot: its exemption on income and royalties paid to non-residents is extended until 2029, keeping the IT sector’s tax position stable despite wider tightening.
