# Kazakhstan: taxes, residence and cost of living

Source: https://domicile.wiki/places/kazakhstan/ (domicile.wiki, researched 2026-10-15). Data licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Research, not tax or legal advice.

## At a glance

For an EU-citizen family of five living off a EUR 30M portfolio (the guide's default reader).

- Score for a wealthy family: 61 / 100
- Tax on a €30M portfolio: €63,750 a year
- Wealth tax: none
- Children inherit: tax-free
- EU member: no
- Currency: KZT
- Capital: Astana

## Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth

Kazakhstan taxes residents on worldwide income under a new Tax Code in force from 1 January 2026. Capital gains on foreign securities are ordinary income at 10% up to 8,500 MCI (KZT 36.76M) and 15% above; gains on securities listed on the Kazakhstan exchanges (KASE, AIX) sold in open trading, and on Kazakh shares held over three years, are exempt. Dividends have their own scale: 5% up to 230,000 MCI (about KZT 995M, roughly USD 1.9M) a year and 15% above, so this family's dividends would be taxed at 5%. No wealth, inheritance or gift tax. Corporate tax 20%.

- **Kazakhstan tax residence**: Worldwide taxation; 10%/15% on gains, 5%/15% on dividends; no wealth or inheritance tax.

## Inheritance law and trusts

Minor children, disabled children, a disabled spouse and parents are guaranteed at least half of what they would inherit by law, whatever the will says (Civil Code art. 1069). A foreign resident's movables are governed by the law of residence and land by Kazakh law. Outside the Astana International Financial Centre there is no trust law; the AIFC offers private foundations.

## Daily life (0-100, higher is better)

- Safety and personal security: 58
- Political and institutional stability: 49
- Corruption and government integrity: 41
- Legal system and property rights: 38
- Healthcare quality and access: 65
- Education quality: 29
- Human development and quality of life: 67
- Infrastructure and connectivity: 68
- Business opportunities and economy: 63

## Research notes

### Kazakhstan — family-office tax dossier

Last reviewed: 2026-10-15
Tax year: 2026
Reviewer: research agent (Claude), unreviewed by a tax adviser

#### Summary

Kazakhstan taxes residents on worldwide income under a new Tax Code in force from 1 January 2026. Capital gains on foreign securities are ordinary income at 10% up to 8,500 MCI (KZT 36.76M) and 15% above; gains on securities listed on the Kazakhstan exchanges (KASE, AIX) sold in open trading, and on Kazakh shares held over three years, are exempt. Dividends have their own scale: 5% up to 230,000 MCI (about KZT 995M, roughly USD 1.9M) a year and 15% above, so this family's dividends would be taxed at 5%. No wealth, inheritance or gift tax. Corporate tax 20%.

#### Residence and eligibility

Resident if present 183+ days in any rolling 12-month period ending in the tax year, or if the centre of vital interests is in Kazakhstan (citizenship or residence permit, family living there, and real estate available to the family, all at once). Treaty tie-breakers apply with an apostilled foreign residence certificate.

- **Residence permit (incl. investor permit)** (EU, US, OTHER): Foreigners need a temporary or permanent residence permit. An investor residence permit (reported as up to 10 years for an investment of about USD 300,000) exists; threshold and terms not verified in this pass.

#### Capital gains

Capital gains of residents are taxable income: 10% on annual income up to 8,500 MCI (KZT 36,762,500 in 2026) and 15% above (Tax Code of 18 July 2025, in force 1 January 2026). Gains on foreign listed shares and bonds are taxed. Exempt: securities on the official list of a Kazakh exchange (KASE/AIX) sold in open trading; shares in Kazakh resident companies held over three years (not subsoil users); government securities; units of open-end and interval funds.

- **Rate basis:** Top marginal PIT rate 15% applies above 8,500 MCI (MCI 2026 = KZT 4,325, derived from PwC's KZT 36,762,500). A gain of EUR 1.2M (~KZT 700M) is almost entirely in the 15% band. Domestic listed 0 = KASE/AIX open-trade exemption; private business 0 = Kazakh company held >3 years, not a subsoil user (15% otherwise). Real estate scored at 15% because no exemption was verified.
- **Professional trader:** Individual entrepreneurs are taxed like companies on business income; a private investor's portfolio is taxed under the rules above.
- **Holding period:** 3 years for shares in Kazakh resident companies (non-subsoil); no holding period for foreign securities.
- **Foreign assets:** Worldwide taxation; foreign tax credit with an apostilled foreign certificate of tax paid. Residents who are citizens or permit holders must also disclose foreign accounts (>~USD 15,000), property and securities in the universal declaration.
- **Thresholds:** 10% up to 8,500 MCI of annual income (KZT 36,762,500 for 2026), 15% above.
- **Important exceptions:** AIFC: the Constitutional Statute on the Astana International Financial Centre exempts, until 1 January 2066, income from securities listed on the AIX; this helps only for AIX-listed securities, not a foreign portfolio held abroad.
- **Confidence:** medium (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON numbers:** headline 0.15; listed domestic 0.0, listed foreign 0.15, private business 0.0, local real estate 0.15, foreign real estate 0.15.

#### Dividends

Dividends are taxed on a separate annual scale: 5% up to 230,000 MCI and 15% above (PwC, 2026 Tax Code). Dividends on securities on the official list of a Kazakh exchange are exempt. Foreign tax is credited.

- **Rate basis:** 230,000 MCI x KZT 4,325 = about KZT 995M (PwC: roughly USD 1.9M). EUR 0.6M of dividends (~KZT 350M) stays inside the 5% band, so domestic and foreign rates are scored at 0.05; headline 0.15 applies above the band.
- **Outbound WHT:** Dividends to non-residents: 15% WHT, reduced 5% up to 230,000 MCI of distributions (PwC); exemptions for listed securities meeting active-trade criteria; treaty rates.
- **Treaty network:** About 40 treaties (PwC list, including the US, UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore).
- **Holding companies:** Companies pay 20% CIT; a company wrapper is not scored.
- **Confidence:** medium (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON numbers:** headline 0.15, domestic 0.05, foreign gross 0.05, credit method `credit`.

#### Inheritance and gifts to children

No inheritance, estate or gift tax (PwC).

- **Gift tax:** No gift tax. Whether a gift to a child counts as taxable income of the child under the 2026 Tax Code was not verified (gifts within the family were exempt under the old code).
- **Foreign assets:** No tax on any asset.
- **Domicile rules:** Not relevant.
- **Confidence:** medium (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON numbers:** basis `none`, children `fully_exempt`, exemption 0, brackets none, other transfer cost 0.0.

#### Wealth tax

No net wealth tax (PwC).

- **Property taxes:** Annual property tax on immovable property (PwC quotes 1.5% of average book value for entities; individuals pay a separate tax on the value of their dwellings, rates not verified). Not a wealth tax.
- **Confidence:** high (partially_verified), verified 2026-10-15.
- **JSON:** type `none`.

#### Special regimes

None modelled. No special tax regime for newly arriving wealthy residents was found.

#### Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

CIT 20% on worldwide profits; 25% for banks and gambling; special economic zones can give full CIT exemption.

AIFC (Astana International Financial Centre): English common-law court and tax exemptions for AIFC participants on financial services until 2066.

#### Cost of living notes

No cost-of-living items were sourced in this pass.

**US citizens:** US citizens remain US-taxed; a US-Kazakhstan income tax treaty exists, and Kazakh tax paid can be credited.

#### Open questions

- A holding-period exemption for real estate (reported for property held more than one year under the old code) was not verified under the 2026 Tax Code; real estate is scored at 15%.
- Whether foreign securities listed on AIX (Astana International Exchange) and sold there in open trading qualify for the exemption was not verified.
- PwC does not say explicitly that foreign-source dividends use the same 5%/15% scale; assumed because the scale applies to 'dividend income' of residents.
- Whether the old-code exemption for dividends from Kazakh companies held over three years survives in the 2026 Tax Code was not verified.
- Income-tax treatment of gifts and inheritances received by individuals under the 2026 Tax Code not verified.

#### Sources

- [Kazakhstan - Individual - Income determination (last reviewed 23 Jul 2026)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/individual/income-determination)
- [Kazakhstan - Individual - Taxes on personal income (last reviewed 23 Jul 2026)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/individual/taxes-on-personal-income)
- [Kazakhstan - Individual - Significant developments (Tax Code of 18 July 2025)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/individual/significant-developments)
- [Kazakhstan - Corporate - Withholding taxes](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/corporate/withholding-taxes)
- [Kazakhstan - Individual - Foreign tax relief and tax treaties](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/individual/foreign-tax-relief-and-tax-treaties)
- [Kazakhstan - Individual - Other taxes (last reviewed 23 Jul 2026)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/individual/other-taxes)
- [Kazakhstan - Individual - Residence (last reviewed 23 Jul 2026)](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/individual/residence)
- [Kazakhstan - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income](https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/kazakhstan/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income)

#### Change log

- 2026-10-15: initial research.


## Residence and succession sources

- [HCCH status table: Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition](https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=59) — Hague Conference on Private International Law
- [Civil Code of Kazakhstan (Special Part): index of articles, art. 1069](https://online.zakon.kz/Document/?doc_id=1013880) — Zakon.kz
- [Kazakhstan: inheritance disputes and the obligatory share](https://vitvet.com/articles/strany/kazahstan/kazakhstan-nasledstvennye-spory-nasledovanie-imushchestva/) — Vitvet
- [AIFC Foundations Regulations](https://aifc.kz/?p=1740) — Astana International Financial Centre