When and how much will a sole proprietor pay taxes in Ukraine

The author of the article: Denis Korablyov

Modified date: 08 November 2025

Imagine you have just opened a sole proprietorship or are just planning this step. Joy and a lot of questions: when do you need to pay taxes, when do you start accepting payments, and what about the unified social contribution in 2025? Don’t worry – I’ll put everything in its place. This article will be useful for beginning entrepreneurs who have just registered a sole proprietorship or are just planning to do so. You will learn how to properly enter the tax regime, when to start accepting payments from clients, what to pay attention to in the first months of activity, and whether it is possible not to pay the unified social contribution in 2025. This material will help you avoid typical mistakes of newly created sole proprietors.

Payment of taxes for sole proprietors on the general system

If you just opened a sole proprietorship and immediately applied for a simplified system – stop! There is an important nuance here that new entrepreneurs often ignore.

In the month of state registration of the sole proprietor, you are not yet a payer of the single tax of groups 1-2. According to the Tax Code, you officially become a “single tax payer” only from the first day of the month following the month of registration.

For example: a sole proprietorship is opened on June 10, an application for a simplified tax system is submitted before the end of the month – you will become a single tax payer only from July 1. Until that moment, you are formally on the general tax system. This is also confirmed by tax officials in the official consultation.

Why is this important? After all, it is during this transition period that completely different rules for calculating the unified social contribution and taxes apply.

• The unified social contribution for the general system worker is calculated from net income (income minus expenses) at a rate of 22%. If there is no income or activity in the month, there is no need to pay the unified social contribution. But if you received at least something, and the expenses are not confirmed, you will have to pay the minimum unified social contribution (1760 UAH).
• If you receive payment during this time: you will have to pay 18% personal income tax, 5% military tax and 22% unified social contribution. That is why our accountants advise not to accept payments and not to conduct business in the first month after registration until you officially become a single tax payer.

To switch to the simplified system, you need to submit an application:

• for the 1st and 2nd groups – until the end of the month of registration (even if this is the last day!);
• for the 3rd group – within 10 days after registration.

If you miss the application deadline, you will be able to switch to the simplified tax system only from the new quarter (provided that you submit the application no later than 15 calendar days before the start of the quarter).

Individual entrepreneurs of 1, 2, 3 groups of single tax (ST): when to start paying taxes?

In the first days after registration, the single tax is not paid – the debt arises only from the month when the simplified system officially began to operate for you.

How can you find out from what date you became a single tax payer? There are several proven methods:

• In the taxpayer’s personal account – in the section “Taxpayer’s registration data”. The date of registration as a single taxpayer is clearly indicated there.
• In the Diya application – section “Taxes of sole proprietors”, tab “Data on registration of a single tax payer”.
• Through OpenDataUA, simply enter your INN (registration number of the taxpayer’s registration card (RNOKPP)), and within 2-3 days after registration you will see all the necessary information.

Important! It is from this date that the obligation to pay the unified social tax, unified social contribution and military tax begins.

Therefore, for individual entrepreneurs of groups 1 and 2, the rules of the “general system” apply in the month of registration:

• There was no income (or expenses exceed income) – the unified social contribution is not paid.
• There is a net income – the unified social tax is paid at a rate of 22%, but not less than the minimum contribution (1760 UAH).

What about the 3rd group of the single tax? Everything is different here! Why? Because for this group there is no so-called transition period – you automatically become a single tax payer from the date of state registration of the individual entrepreneur.

Imagine: you registered a sole proprietorship on July 15 – from that day onwards you need to calculate and pay the single tax, unified social contribution and military tax.

In order not to miss anything and always pay on time, you should use a tax calendar. For example, the Taxer company has a free and convenient version with all the terms and amounts for each group.

And also – agree on support with an accountant. Then you definitely won’t have to worry about deadlines, details and correctness of tax payment. The bukh.ua team is always in touch.

Sole proprietor group 1: when and how much to pay taxes?

Individual entrepreneurs of group 1 pay a single tax (ST) in advance – before the 20th day of each month. If you want, you can pay the amount for several months or even for the whole year (the main thing is that it is the current calendar year).

Even if there is no profit, you still need to pay taxes! Miss a payment? Get a “bonus”:

• the tax rate increases by 50%
• Two quarters without payment – and you are automatically transferred to the general tax system.

There is an exception – “tax holiday”
An entrepreneur in group 1 has the right to take a “tax holiday” once a year per month (for example, due to illness). During this period, taxes may not be paid, but income cannot be received in this month. If the money does arrive, you will have to pay the tax.

So the total tax amount for group 1 is:

• Single tax: up to 302.80 UAH/month (no more than 10% of the subsistence minimum for able-bodied persons established on January 1 of the year)
• Military tax: 800 UAH/month (10% of the minimum wage)
• Unified social contribution: 1760 UAH/month

Total: 2862.80 UAH per month.

Remember:
If you forgot to pay the tax in January and February. Already in March you can receive a notification about the transfer to the general system – and these are completely different taxes and reports!

Individual entrepreneur group 2: when and how much to pay taxes?

The second group also has its own peculiarities, because if you don’t know the nuances, then hello 45% tax. In general, as in the case of group 1, there is a “transition period”. You will become a single tax payer only from the 1st of the following month. For example, if you registered on June 10, you are not yet a single tax payer until June 30, you are on the general system. This means that you can only pay taxes under the simplified system from July 1. Until the 1st, you are on the general system. If there is no income, you do not pay anything. But if you receive income during this time, you pay: 18% personal income tax; 5% military tax and 22% unified social contribution. Total 45%.

To avoid this – do not accept payments in the first month or register group 3 at once, where the transition occurs from the date of registration. Or keep records and prepare to file the right to income.

So the total tax amount for the 2nd group is:

• Single tax: 1600 UAH/month (no more than 20% of the minimum wage established by law on January 1 of the reporting year)
• Military tax: 800 UAH/month
• Unified social contribution: 1760 UAH/month

Total – 4160 UAH.

Individual entrepreneur group 3 (single tax): when and how much to pay taxes?

But with group 3 sole proprietors, the situation is completely different! As mentioned above, there is no “transition period” here, as in group 1 or 2. The entrepreneur is considered a single tax payer immediately from the day of registration. Therefore, both taxes and the unified social contribution begin to accrue from the very first day.

For example, if a sole proprietor is registered in June, then you start paying in June:

• 5% single tax on income
• 1% military tax
• full monthly unified social tax (even if income has not yet been received!)

Payment of single tax and military tax: no later than 10 calendar days following the last day of filing the quarterly declaration (within 50 days after the end of the reporting quarter). Unified social contribution: quarterly, within 19 days following the quarter for which payment is made.

Filing declarations: For the first quarter, the declaration is submitted before May 12, 2025. For the second quarter – before August 11, 2025. For the third quarter – before November 10, 2025. For the fourth quarter – before February 9 of the following year.

And even if income has not yet appeared in June, the unified social contribution will still have to be paid in a fixed amount, without proportions (1760 hryvnia per month).

And you should also know: in the 3rd group, taxes are not paid in advance, as in the 1st or 2nd. You report not monthly, but quarterly: you file a declaration, and only after that – within 10 days – you pay the tax amount for the quarter. Sounds simpler, right? But there are some peculiarities here too.

Important point: it is impossible to calculate the total tax amount for group 3 in advance. Group 3 sole proprietors consistently pay UAH 1,760 in unified social tax and 6% of their income (5% single tax + 1% military tax). And the income each month may be different – or absent altogether. In this case, only unified social tax is paid.

Who pays the unified social tax and how much?

From January 1, 2025, most entrepreneurs are again required to pay the single social contribution, regardless of the group. The amount is UAH 1,760 per month. Quarterly (for 3 months) – UAH 5,280.

For individual entrepreneurs of groups 1-2, the obligation arises from the first month of being on the simplified system. For group 3 – from the month of registration.

How does it work in practice?
If there was no income in the first month (on the general system), you do not have to pay the unified social contribution or pay it voluntarily. But as soon as you switch to the simplified system, the contribution becomes mandatory, even if you have not yet received any income! You need to pay on time to avoid debts and fines.

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Frequently asked questions:

“Is it possible not to pay the unified social contribution, as it has been since 2022?”

In general, there are certain exceptions. Only certain categories are allowed not to pay the unified social tax:

• Persons with disabilities, if they receive social benefits or a pension;
• Pensioners by age or length of service;
• Individual entrepreneurs – general system operators who have no income;
• Individual entrepreneurs are hired workers, if the unified social contribution is paid for them by the employer at their main place of work;
• Mobilized entrepreneurs – if they have submitted supporting documents and an application, they may not pay the unified social contribution for the duration of their service.

Everyone else must pay the minimum contribution from 2025 – no exceptions!

How to calculate the unified social contribution?

• Individual entrepreneur on the general system – 22% of net income, but not less than 1760 UAH. If there is no income, you do not need to pay.
• Individual entrepreneurs on the simplified system (groups 1, 2, 3) – payment of the unified social tax is made quarterly.
• For example, registered for group 1 or 2 in May? In May, you are still on the general system – if there was no income, you do not have to pay the unified social tax or pay it voluntarily. And from June, when you officially became a single taxpayer, payment of the unified social tax is mandatory regardless of income: at least 1760 UAH per month.

Important: in July you need to pay the unified social contribution for June. If you registered for Group 3 in May, the unified social contribution is paid from the month of registration – for May and June together in July (1760 UAH for each month).

Don’t be alarmed if you see “5280 UAH” on your payment order – in reality you will be paying 1760 UAH for each month of being on the simplified tax system or proportionally to the number of months!

Conclusion

One of the most common mistakes of beginning sole proprietors is to pay taxes “in advance”, even before you officially become a taxpayer. Or not to pay at all, because “you haven’t earned anything yet”. To start confidently – we fix the main thing:

• Do not pay the single tax until you are entered into the register of taxpayers (in groups 1-2) or until the funds have been received (in group 3).
• Since 2025, the unified social contribution has been mandatory to pay, but there are exceptions for those who can legally not do so.
• In the first month after opening, it is better to check everything three times: which group you have chosen, whether you have confirmed your tax application, whether your status is still valid.
• If you missed something, don’t panic. You can often file a request for clarification or return overpaid funds.
• The most important thing is to understand when exactly you become a single tax payer and from what moment the single social contribution is calculated. Carefully monitor the deadlines, avoid accepting payments during the transition period (if not in the 3rd group), and do not postpone paying contributions.

And, of course, don’t be shy about asking. One short comment from an accountant can often save you from a long explanation at the tax office.