ESV base: what it means

The ESV base is the amount on which the single social contribution is paid at 22%. For an employee it is the salary, for a sole proprietor on the general system it is net income, and a sole proprietor on the single tax chooses the base themselves, from one minimum wage (UAH 8,647) to 20 minimum wages (UAH 172,940 in 2026).

For the pension the base matters more than the fact of payment. Record is earned for any month in which the contribution is at least the minimum, but the earnings coefficient is calculated from the base: it is divided by the national average wage in the same month. The minimum base of UAH 8,647 gives a coefficient of about 0.35, a third of average earnings.

So a sole proprietor who pays ESV on the minimum base all their life will most likely get the minimum pension. To get a bigger pension the base has to be raised substantially: with 35 years of record the effect appears only from a base above 1.23 minimum wages.

In detail, with examples: Pension for sole proprietors: what record and what pension you will get

Related terms

Single social contribution (ESV) Earnings coefficient Insurance record