Russia raises its standard VAT rate from 20% to 22% from 1 January 2026

What changed in detail

Federal Law No. 425-FZ of 28 November 2025, adopted by the State Duma on 20 November and approved by the Federation Council on 26 November 2025, was officially published on 28 November 2025. It amends Part Two of the Tax Code.

• General rate. Article 2, item 8(v) replaces “20 per cent” with “22 per cent” in art. 164(3), the general VAT rate. Under art. 25(3) of the law, items 1 to 9 of article 2 take effect on 1 January 2026. The Federal Tax Service’s Stavropol office notes that the 22% rate applies to all supplies made from that date, regardless of when the contract was signed; there is no grandfathering for older contracts.
• Reduced rate. The 10% rate in art. 164(2) stays. Item 8(b) narrows its list slightly, excluding milk-containing products made with milk-fat substitutes and some spreads.
• USN exemption. Item 1 rewrites art. 145(1) so that the VAT exemption for taxpayers on the simplified tax system applies where income does not exceed RUB 20 million for 2025, RUB 15 million for 2026 and RUB 10 million for 2027 and later years, instead of RUB 60 million.

What it means

The 22% rate has applied since 1 January 2026 and remains Russia’s general VAT rate. Supplies shipped or performed from that date carry 22% even under contracts priced earlier, so the tax service’s guidance on transitional cases (prepayments received in 2025, price adjustments and corrected invoices) matters more than the contract date. The USN part has already moved again: Federal Law 228-FZ, in force since 4 July 2026, holds the exemption at RUB 20 million through 2028, with RUB 15 million for 2029 and RUB 10 million from 2030. The exemption regime itself started with Federal Law 176-FZ.