Taxes on trading shares, crypto and forex in Ukraine: how much to pay and how to declare

Who pays tax and on what

A Ukrainian tax resident declares income received both in Ukraine and abroad. Trading through a foreign broker does not exempt you from tax: it is simply foreign income that must appear in your tax return.

What is taxed is not the full sale amount but investment profit: the difference between what you sold an asset for and what you spent buying it, including documented fees. The reporting period is the calendar year, and the result is calculated across all your transactions with investment assets together.

Rates by instrument

Small amounts: if your total income from selling investment assets in a year does not exceed UAH 4,660, there is no tax. This is total sale proceeds, not profit, so the threshold is very low and only covers occasional small trades.

How to calculate the tax: an example with a foreign broker

Income and costs in foreign currency are converted into hryvnias at the NBU rate on the date of each transaction. This means the exchange rate difference is taxed too: if the hryvnia weakened while you held the asset, your profit in hryvnias is larger than in dollars.

The exchange rates in the example are illustrative. For your own calculations, use the official rate on the date of each trade.

How to avoid paying tax twice

Tax on dividends from foreign companies is often withheld abroad. It can be credited in Ukraine so you do not pay twice, but only on three conditions:

• you have a certificate from the foreign tax authority showing the tax paid and the tax base;
• the certificate is legalised, unless an international treaty provides otherwise;
• the amount credited does not exceed the tax due in Ukraine on that income.

If you do not have the certificate yet, you can apply to move the filing deadline to 31 December of the following year.

What about cryptocurrency

Ukraine's Law on Virtual Assets was passed back in 2022, but it has not taken effect because it was meant to start together with amendments to the Tax Code. The relevant bill No. 10225-d passed its first reading in September 2025, and as of the end of October 2026 it has not been finally adopted.

Until specific rules exist, the general principle applies: a resident's income must be declared and taxed. But the law does not spell out how to calculate income from cryptocurrencies. If the amounts are significant, the safest option is an individual tax consultation from the State Tax Service: it protects you if you acted on it, even if the tax authority's position later changes.

How to declare trading income

1. Download your broker's annual report with all trades, fees, dividends and taxes withheld.
2. Convert each transaction into hryvnias at the NBU rate on its date.
3. Work out the overall financial result for the year: profits minus losses across all transactions with investment assets.
4. File the property and income tax return by 1 May of the year following the reporting year. The easiest way is the taxpayer's e-cabinet.
5. Pay the tax by 1 August of the same year.

Common mistakes

• Thinking a foreign broker exempts you from tax. The duty to declare income from abroad applies directly to every resident.
• Calculating profit in dollars. Tax is calculated in hryvnias at the rate on the date of each trade, so exchange rate gains become part of the profit.
• Forgetting losing trades. A loss in the year reduces the overall result, so show all trades, not just the profitable ones.
• Not keeping documents. Purchase costs and fees reduce your tax only if they are backed by broker reports.

Tax is not the only risk of trading: how high leverage wipes out a deposit before you have a chance to earn is explained in our article on leverage, margin calls and stop-outs.

In short

• Trading profit is taxed at 18% income tax plus a 5% military levy, 23% in total.
• Through a Ukrainian bank or broker the tax is withheld for you; with a foreign broker you declare it yourself.
• The return is filed by 1 May of the following year and the tax paid by 1 August.
• Foreign currency amounts are converted into hryvnias at the NBU rate on the date of each transaction.
• OVDP are tax-free, and there is no specific tax law for cryptocurrencies yet.

This article is for information only and is not tax advice. Some instruments, including derivatives and cryptocurrencies, are accounted for in specific ways. If in doubt, request an individual tax consultation from the State Tax Service or speak to a tax adviser.