Taxation
Taxation tests the Kazakh Tax Code as applied in practice: corporate income tax, VAT, individual income tax and withholding, plus administration through electronic filings. Rates and thresholds are amended often, so confirm the currently effective figures before the exam rather than memorising a stale table.
Core rules
- Corporate income tax: the standard rate has been 20%. Deductions require a link to taxable income, documentary support and statutory limits on items such as representation costs and fines.
- VAT: the standard rate has been 12%, applied on an offset basis - output VAT less allowable input VAT. Registration is compulsory above the turnover threshold.
- Zero rating versus exemption: zero-rated exports keep input VAT recoverable; exempt supplies do not, so input VAT on them is expensed.
- Individual income tax: flat rate on employment income, with mandatory social contributions borne by employer and employee.
- Withholding tax: applies to certain payments to non-residents, reduced by an applicable double tax treaty where documentation is in place.
- Administration: declarations, electronic invoices and asset records are filed through state revenue information systems.
Worked example
Domestic taxable sales are 40,000,000 KZT and exports 20,000,000 KZT. Output VAT is 40,000,000 × 12% = 4,800,000 KZT; exports are zero-rated. Input VAT on purchases is 3,000,000 KZT, all attributable to taxable and zero-rated supplies, so it is fully creditable. VAT payable is 4,800,000 − 3,000,000 = 1,800,000 KZT. If the 20,000,000 had been exempt rather than zero-rated, the related input VAT would be non-creditable.
Traps
- Treating a zero-rated supply as exempt and losing the input credit.
- Deducting fines, penalties and non-documented expenses.
- Applying a treaty rate without a valid residency certificate.
- Assuming last year's rate still applies.