Russian Tax Bill on Cryptocurrency Passes First Reading

The Russian State Duma approved a bill on cryptocurrency taxation in the first reading.

On June 9, the Russian State Duma approved in the first reading a bill on the taxation of cryptocurrency operations, reports 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 determined as the positive difference between income and documented expenses. The latter are planned to be calculated using the FIFO method. The bill also introduces the possibility of offsetting — balancing positive and negative financial results from operations with digital currency and foreign digital rights within a single tax period.

Brokers, trust managers, and digital depositories will act as tax agents for PIT in such operations if they are the source of income payment to an individual. The State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes suggested discussing the extension of these functions to exchanges for the second reading.

For companies, income and expenses from operations with digital currency, excluding mining, under foreign trade agreements will be included in the general profit tax base. Foreign digital rights in this part are planned to be equated with cryptocurrencies.

It is proposed to exempt the sale of non-deliverable foreign digital rights, which only certify monetary claims, from VAT. The exemption will also apply to the services of depositories and organizations conducting cryptocurrency exchanges.

Periodic payments on debt DFA, not related to redemption, are proposed to be included in the profit tax base according to the rules for interest income on loans. For ruble-denominated debt DFA of Russian issuers traded on the organized market, a preferential rate is introduced similar to interest on bonds.

Timeline

The Russian government submitted the bill to the State Duma on April 29. If the document is finally adopted, it will come into force a month after official publication. 

The rules for market valuation of cryptocurrencies for miners are set to take effect on January 1, 2028, and a separate regime for debt DFA on January 1, 2030.

Previously, the November 2024 version of the tax law proposed a PIT rate of 13-15%, as well as a 25% profit tax for legal entities.

The basic project “On Digital Currency and Digital Rights” was approved in the first reading on April 21, 2026.

ForkLog provided an in-depth analysis of its provisions in a podcast.