ASTANA, Kazakhstan, April 30. Following the approval of the new rules by the Majilis (the lower house of the Parliament of Kazakhstan) at a plenary session from January 1, 2026, Kazakhstan will introduce changes to its tax system, including an increase in the VAT rate to 16 percent, Trend reports.
The VAT rate in Kazakhstan will increase from 12 percent to 16
percent, and the threshold for VAT registration will be raised to
40 million tenge (approximately $80,000).
“The initially proposed government rate of 20 percent has been
reduced to 16 percent. The mandatory VAT registration threshold has
been increased from 15 million tenge (approximately $30,000) to 40
million tenge (approximately $80,000),” said deputy Berik
Beisengaliyev during the plenary session of the Mazhilis.
According to Berik Beisengaliyev, Kazakhstan will introduce reduced VAT rates for medicines and medical services: 5 percent from 2026 and 10 percent from 2027. Goods and services provided within the framework of guaranteed free medical care, mandatory health insurance, and the treatment of orphan diseases and socially significant diseases will be exempt from VAT.
He also noted that VAT exemptions will apply to socially important food products and domestically published books, as well as services related to the publication of books in print. To support agricultural producers, the VAT creditable amount has been increased from 70 percent to 80 percent.
The reform of the simplified declaration has introduced a
prohibited list of types of activities instead of a permissive
one.
“A uniform rate of 4 percent has been set, with the possibility of
adjustment by the maslikhats by ± 50 percent to account for
regional specifics: from 2 percent to 6 percent. The application of
the special tax regime for business-to-business operations has been
expanded,” specified Berik Beisengaliyev.
In cases of inefficient use of agricultural land, the new Tax Code increases rates up to 100 times the current size. The rates for the use of subsoil are also revised, depending on the license term and the number of sites.
The tax reform also includes several changes aimed at
simplifying the tax system: reducing tax reporting by 30 percent,
reducing the number of taxes by 20 percent, optimizing tax
benefits, introducing differentiated rates, stimulating investment
activity, and increasing the burden on luxury goods.
