Ukraine
Taxes, residence and daily life for people moving to Ukraine: for a wealthy family, an expat employee and a remote worker. Researched .
Open Ukraine in the interactive guide
At a glance
For an EU-citizen family of five living off a €30M portfolio, the guide's default reader. The interactive guide recomputes everything for other passports and situations.
- Ruled out
- Weak rule of law
- Tax on a €30M portfolio
- €109,500 a year
- Wealth tax
- none
- Children inherit
- tax-free, with conditions
- Living costs, family of five
- €133,567 a year
- EU member
- no
- Currency
- UAH
- Capital
- Kyiv
Tax on investments, inheritance and wealth
Ukraine is under martial law. Residents are taxed on worldwide income: investment profit (gains on securities) at 18% PIT plus a 5% military levy (23%); Ukrainian dividends at 5% + 5%; foreign dividends at 9% + 5%. One real-estate sale per year held over three years is exempt. There is no wealth tax. Inheritances and gifts from close family (spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren) are taxed at 0% with no military levy when the family member is a Ukrainian tax resident. The war, martial-law restrictions and security risk dominate any relocation decision.
- Ordinary tax residence: Ordinary residence; worldwide income taxed at 18% PIT plus the 5% martial-law military levy.
Inheritance law and trusts
Minor or disabled children, a disabled spouse and parents are guaranteed half of their intestate share. Ukraine has no trust law and is outside the Hague Trusts Convention. Choice of foreign law is unconfirmed.
Daily life, scored out of 100
From public indicators (World Bank, UNDP, Transparency International and others); higher is better.
| Measure | Score |
|---|---|
| Safety and personal security | 51 |
| Political and institutional stability | 42 |
| Corruption and government integrity | 36 |
| Legal system and property rights | 38 |
| Healthcare quality and access | 64 |
| Education quality | 59 |
| Human development and quality of life | 56 |
| Infrastructure and connectivity | 63 |
| Cost of living and housing | 100 |
| Business opportunities and economy | 49 |
| Cultural fit and lifestyle | 44 |
Research notes
Ukraine — family-office tax dossier
Last reviewed: 2026-10-15 Tax year: 2026 Reviewer: research agent (Claude), unreviewed by a tax adviser
Summary
Ukraine is under martial law. Residents are taxed on worldwide income: investment profit (gains on securities) at 18% PIT plus a 5% military levy (23%); Ukrainian dividends at 5% + 5%; foreign dividends at 9% + 5%. One real-estate sale per year held over three years is exempt. There is no wealth tax. Inheritances and gifts from close family (spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren) are taxed at 0% with no military levy when the family member is a Ukrainian tax resident. The war, martial-law restrictions and security risk dominate any relocation decision.
Residence and eligibility
Cascade: permanent home in Ukraine; if homes in two countries, centre of vital interests; otherwise 183+ days in the calendar year; finally Ukrainian citizenship.
- Residence permit (EU, US, OTHER): Ukraine is not in the EU; foreigners need a temporary or permanent residence permit. Martial law affects entry and exit. Not researched.
Standard regime eligibility: Resident under the permanent home / centre of vital interests / 183-day / citizenship cascade. Foreigners need a residence permit.
Capital gains
Investment profit (gains on securities and corporate rights) is passive income taxed at 18% PIT plus the 5% military levy, 23% in total. Real estate: the first sale in a calendar year of property held more than three years is exempt; further sales in the year are taxed at 5% PIT plus 5% military levy (10%) for residents.
JSON values: headline rate 23% (0.23); listed securities domestic 23% (0.23), foreign 23% (0.23); private business sale 23% (0.23); local real estate 10% (0.1); foreign real estate not known (null).
- How the JSON numbers were derived: Securities and private business: 18% + 5% military levy = 23%. Local real estate: 0% for the first qualifying sale each year, 10% (5% + 5%) for further sales; 10% used as the top-end rate. Foreign real estate left null (treatment as foreign-source income at 18% + 5% not confirmed).
- Holding periods: Real estate: exempt if first sale in the year and held >3 years (not required for inherited property). No holding-period relief for securities found.
- Professional-trader risk: No specific guidance found.
- Foreign assets: Residents taxed on worldwide income with treaty relief.
- Important exceptions / announced changes: Military levy (військовий збір) raised from 1.5% to 5% from 1 December 2024 (Law 4015-IX) while martial law lasts; it returns to 1.5% from 1 January of the year after martial law ends.
- Tax year / confidence / verification: 2026 / medium / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- Sources: Ukraine – Individual – Taxes on personal income; Ukraine – Individual – Income determination; Ukraine – Individual – Significant developments
Dividends
Dividends from Ukrainian CIT-paying companies: 5% PIT + 5% military levy (10%). Dividends from non-residents, mutual funds and non-CIT payers: 9% + 5% (14%). 'Not ordinary' dividends: 18% + 5%.
JSON values: headline 23% (0.23); domestic 10% (0.1); foreign gross 14% (0.14); foreign tax relief: credit.
- How the JSON numbers were derived: Domestic 5% + 5% = 10%; foreign 9% + 5% = 14% (PwC, reviewed 30 Jun 2026). Headline = 23% for non-ordinary dividends.
- Outbound withholding: 15% WHT on dividends to non-resident companies (treaty 0/5/10%); 5% (or 18%) to non-resident individuals plus military levy.
- Treaty network: About 71 treaties listed by PwC, including the United States and most EU states.
- Important exceptions / announced changes: Military levy (військовий збір) raised from 1.5% to 5% from 1 December 2024 (Law 4015-IX) while martial law lasts; it returns to 1.5% from 1 January of the year after martial law ends.
- Tax year / confidence / verification: 2026 / medium / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- Sources: Ukraine – Individual – Taxes on personal income; Ukraine – Individual – Income determination; Ukraine – Individual – Significant developments
Inheritance and gifts to children
No separate inheritance or gift tax; inheritances and gifts are PIT income. From resident family members of the first and second degree (spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren) the rate is 0% and no military levy is due (dtkt.ua, May 2026). From other resident persons: 5% PIT + 5% military levy. From or to a non-resident: 18% PIT (plus military levy).
JSON values: basis beneficiary, bracket mode marginal, children exempt_with_conditions, exemption UAH 0, marginal brackets above the exemption: none; other transfer costs 0% (0); gifts same as inheritance: True; tax-free after years: None.
- Gifts: Gifts follow the same rules as inheritances (0% from close family who are Ukrainian tax residents).
- Business relief: No business relief relevant (children exempt or not researched). Covers listed portfolios: no.
- Domicile / residence rules: Residence of testator and heir decides between 0% and 18%.
- Eligibility conditions: 0% only if both the family member and the recipient are Ukrainian tax residents; a non-resident testator/donor or heir triggers 18%.
- Important exceptions / announced changes: Military levy (військовий збір) raised from 1.5% to 5% from 1 December 2024 (Law 4015-IX) while martial law lasts; it returns to 1.5% from 1 January of the year after martial law ends. Law 4113 (4 Dec 2024) applies the 5% levy to taxable inherited/gifted property.
- Tax year / confidence / verification: 2026 / medium / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- Sources: Ukraine – Individual – Other taxes; Оподаткування подарунка та спадщини у 2026 році: правила для не родичів (22.05.2026); Ukraine – Individual – Significant developments
- Surviving spouse (
spouse_treatmentexempt_with_conditions): Spouse pays 0% only on inheritance from a resident decedent; from a non-resident the rate is 18% (PwC).
Wealth tax
Ukraine has no net wealth tax. Real estate tax is charged per square metre above exempt areas, plus UAH 25,000 a year for large residences.
JSON type: none.
- Property tax (not a wealth tax): Real estate tax set locally, capped at 1.5% of the minimum wage per m2 (max UAH 129.71/m2 in 2026) above 60 m2 (flat) or 120 m2 (house); plus UAH 25,000 a year per apartment over 300 m2 or house over 500 m2.
- Tax year / confidence / verification: 2026 / high / partially_verified (checked 2026-10-15)
- Sources: Ukraine – Individual – Other taxes
Special regimes
None modelled; see the summary and open questions for regimes considered and rejected.
Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)
Headline CIT rate in JSON: 18% (0.18).
CIT 18%; financial institutions (except insurers) 25% from 2025; banks a temporary 50%. 15% WHT on dividends to non-resident companies.
Cost of living notes
City: Kyiv.
- Prime rent (monthly): USD 3,200 (about UAH 144,000) (2026). Median asking rent of 224 distinct long-term listings of flats with 4+ rooms and at least 120 m² in the Pechersk district (Lipky, Pechersk, Chorna Hora, Zvirynets) on DOM.RIA, snapshot 2026-10-15; interquartile range USD 2,200-4,500. DOM.RIA reported 688 matches; duplicates removed. Prices as converted to USD by DOM.RIA (most quoted in USD; NBU rate 15 Oct 2026: USD 1 = UAH 44.98). Wartime market.
- International school fee (annual, per child): USD 19,600 (2026-27). Kyiv International School (QSI), one tuition band for ages 5 and up through Grade 12; plus Capital Fund USD 1,600 a year and a one-off USD 600 application fee. Pechersk School International's website returned 504 errors, so its fees were not read.
- Health insurance, housekeeper and price per m² not sourced.
Open questions
- Martial law and the ongoing war make long-term relocation impractical for most families; the tool should flag this beyond tax.
- The 5% military levy reverts to 1.5% only after martial law ends.
- Cost of living: Pechersk School International's fees (psi.kiev.ua was unreachable) not checked; health insurance, housekeeper and price per m2 not sourced.
- (standard / capital_gains) The PwC pages do not set out a separate capital gains section for securities; the 18% rate relies on 'investment profit' being passive income at 18%.
- (standard / capital_gains) Treatment of a sale of foreign real estate not confirmed.
- (standard / dividends) Whether foreign WHT can be credited against the military levy as well as PIT was not verified.
- (standard / inheritance) Exact state duty / notarial costs on inheritance of real estate were not quantified.
- (standard / inheritance) Whether a non-resident parent leaving assets to a resident child triggers 18% (PwC wording: 'from or by a non-resident') was not confirmed against the Tax Code.
US citizens: US–Ukraine income tax treaty exists (listed by PwC); saving clause means US tax still applies.
Sources
- Ukraine – Individual – Taxes on personal income — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (professional)
- Ukraine – Individual – Income determination — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (professional)
- Ukraine – Individual – Significant developments — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (professional)
- Ukraine – Individual – Other taxes — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (professional)
- Оподаткування подарунка та спадщини у 2026 році: правила для не родичів (22.05.2026) — Дебет-Кредит (dtkt.ua) (professional)
- Ukraine – Individual – Residence — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (professional)
- Ukraine – Corporate – Taxes on corporate income — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (professional)
- Ukraine – Corporate – Withholding taxes — PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries (professional)
- DOM.RIA - Оренда квартир у Києві, Печерський район, 4+ кімнати (search API) — DOM.RIA (other)
- Kyiv International School - Fees 2026-2027 — Kyiv International School (QSI) (other)
- NBU official exchange rates, 15 Oct 2026 — National Bank of Ukraine (government)
Change log
- 2026-10-15: initial research.
- 2026-10-15 (household cost pass): added Kyiv prime rent USD 3,200 a month (DOM.RIA, Pechersk 4+ room flats of 120 m²+, n=224) and Kyiv International School fee USD 19,600 (2026-27).
- 2026-10-15: family rent re-checked against the upper-middle-class standard: kept (USD 3,200).
- 2026-10-16: added surviving-spouse treatment.
Residence and succession sources
- HCCH status table: Convention of 1 July 1985 on the Law Applicable to Trusts and on their Recognition — Hague Conference on Private International Law
- Civil Code of Ukraine — Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine
Tax sources are cited in the research notes above.