Russian Tax Bill on Cryptocurrency Operations Passes First Reading

On June 9, the State Duma of Russia approved in the first reading a draft law concerning the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions, as reported by TASS. The document aligns the Tax Code with the forthcoming law "On Digital Currency and Digital Rights."

What Will Change

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

For personal income tax (PIT) purposes, brokers, trust managers, and digital depositories will act as tax agents for these transactions 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 transactions, excluding mining, under foreign trade contracts will be included in the overall profit tax base. Foreign digital rights in this context are planned to be treated the same as cryptocurrencies.

Sales of non-deliverable foreign digital rights that only certify monetary claims are proposed to be exempt from VAT. This exemption will also apply to the services of depositories and organizations engaged in cryptocurrency exchanges.

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

Timeline

The Russian government submitted the draft law 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 start on January 1, 2030.

For reference, the previous version of the tax law from November 2024 proposed a PIT rate of 13-15% and a 25% profit tax rate for legal entities.

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

ForkLog provided a detailed analysis of its provisions in a podcast.