Russian Tax Bill on Cryptocurrency Operations Passes First Reading

On June 9, the State Duma of Russia approved the tax bill for cryptocurrency operations in its first reading, as reported by TASS. This document aligns the Tax Code with the forthcoming law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights."

What Will Change

The tax base for cryptocurrency operations is proposed to be defined as the positive difference between income and documented expenses, which will be calculated using the FIFO method. The bill also introduces the possibility of netting—offsetting positive and negative financial results from operations with digital currencies and foreign digital rights within a single tax period.

Tax agents for personal income tax (PIT) in these operations will include brokers, trust managers, and digital depositories if they are the source of income payments to individuals. The State Duma's Budget and Tax Committee suggested discussing the extension of these functions to exchanges in the second reading.

For companies, income and expenses from digital currency operations, excluding mining, under foreign trade contracts will be included in the overall profit tax base. Foreign digital rights will be equated to cryptocurrencies in this context.

The implementation of foreign digital rights that only certify monetary claims will be exempt from VAT. This exemption will also apply to the services of depositories and organizations that facilitate cryptocurrency exchanges.

Periodic payments on debt digital financial assets (DFAs) not linked to buybacks are proposed to be included in the profit tax base according to the rules for interest income from loans. For ruble-denominated debt DFAs from Russian issuers traded on organized markets, a preferential rate similar to that for bond interest will be introduced.

Timeline

The Russian government submitted the bill to the State Duma on April 29. If the document is approved, it will come into effect one month after its official publication.

Provisions regarding the market valuation of cryptocurrencies for miners are expected to take effect on January 1, 2028, while a separate regime for debt DFAs will begin on January 1, 2030.

It is worth noting that the previous version of the tax law from November 2024 proposed a PIT rate of 13-15% and a 25% profit tax for legal entities.

The basic project "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights" was approved by deputies in its first reading on April 21, 2026.

ForkLog discussed its provisions in detail in a podcast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFwUCJ4Lhe4