What is PIT

What is PIT

The abbreviation PIT, often heard in accounting, stands for Personal Income Tax. It is paid by all citizens of the country and foreign residents, as well as individuals registered as individual entrepreneurs. However, there are several exceptions. For instance, income tax in Kazakhstan is not levied on individual entrepreneurs who pay land tax under the special regime of the Special Tax Regime (STR). Also, persons who pay gambling tax are exempt from paying it.

The tax applies to parents (guardians or foster parents) raising children with disabilities or those disabled since childhood, as well as to individuals with disabilities. However, they can receive a tax deduction (regulated by Article 346 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan), which significantly reduces the final amount. In 2024, this deduction amounts to 882 MCI per calendar year. As of January 1, 2024, 1 MCI is equal to 3,692 tenge. Thus, the deduction exceeds 3,000,000 tenge. Therefore, when applying this deduction, the tax will simply be zero.

What income is subject to PIT

Personal income tax is charged on the taxpayer's income. This includes not only wages but also income of individuals engaged in private practice who are not individual entrepreneurs, as well as pensions, scholarships, income received from winnings, in the form of dividends, or as a result of debt forgiveness. Taxation also applies to property income and individual entrepreneurs' income. The full list can be found in the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Article 321).

However, it should be noted that some incomes (for example, compensation for business trips or medical examinations) are not included in the income calculation.

How to pay the tax

As a rule, an individual does not need to calculate and pay the tax independently – this is done by a tax agent on their behalf. In most cases, the tax agent is the employer, who withholds the tax when paying wages. Individual entrepreneurs calculate PIT independently when filing a tax return.

What is the percentage of Personal Income Tax (PIT) in Kazakhstan

Previously, the rate depended on the type of income. But from January 1, 2023, the rate was unified, meaning it became the same for all types of income. Thus, today the PIT rate is 10%.

How to calculate PIT

To understand the amount you need to contribute to the state budget, you can perform simple calculations. However, there are nuances.

Let's consider the calculation step by step::

1. Summarize all received income.
2. Deduct income that is not subject to taxation. This is regulated by Article 341 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The most common items include alimony (not only for children but also for dependents), rewards on deposits and debt securities, and military personnel's incomes related to military service.
3. Subtract the standard deduction (14 MCI, i.e., 51,688 tenge), as well as deductions for pension contributions (OPV) and medical insurance (VOSMS), and other deductions provided by law (for example, 882 MCI if the taxpayer is a parent of a child with a disability or a war veteran).
4. Apply the 10% rate to the resulting amount (i.e., multiply by 0.1).

Let's examine a specific example. Suppose a citizen of the Republic of Kazakhstan receives 200,000 tenge monthly, and there are no incomes that are not subject to taxation.
From 200,000, we need to deduct OPV (10% of 200,000 tenge, i.e., 20,000 tenge). Thus:

1. 200,000 – 20,000 = 180,000 tenge. Next, we deduct medical insurance contributions (2% of
2. 200,000 tenge, i.e., 4,000 tenge). Thus: 180,000 – 4,000 = 176,000 tenge. Even if the citizen
3. is not entitled to any special deductions, they can use the standard deduction, which is 14
4. MCI, i.e., 51,688 tenge. Subtracting, we get 176,000 – 51,688 = 124,312 tenge. We apply the 10% rate to this amount, i.e., 124,312 tenge. 124,312 x 0.1 = 12,431 tenge.

This is the amount of PIT.

This is the amount of PIT

If the employer pays the tax instead of the individual (in most cases), they must transfer the PIT no later than 25 calendar days after the end of the month in which the salary was paid to the employee. For example, if the employer paid the employee’s salary for May on June 10, they must transfer the PIT by July 25 (i.e., they have time until the end of June + 25 calendar days).

However, specific payment dates for individual entrepreneurs depend on the taxation regime chosen by the entrepreneur. For instance, under the simplified regime, PIT is paid twice a year – by August 25 (for the first half of the year) and by February 25 of the following year (for the second half of the year).

From 2021 to 2023, nearly half (more than 48%) of Kazakhstan’s budget consisted of tax contributions, including PIT. These funds are distributed between the state budget and local budgets and are used to address various needs. Financing of state programs, maintenance of schools and hospitals, payment of social benefits, procurement of vaccines – all these needs are covered by tax contributions.


This article has been translated from its original language using neural network-based translation technology.