From 2025, Federal Law No. 418-FZ of 11/29/2024 comes into force, which introduces new taxation rules for transactions with cryptocurrencies and mining. Acsour experts reviewed the law and talked about the main changes in the Tax Code in the field of mining and cryptocurrencies.
1. Main definitions
A significant change was the introduction of terminology into the Tax Code to describe the mining industry. Thus, according to the new law, digital currency is recognized as property for tax purposes (amendments made to paragraph 2 of Article 38 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
The legislator also regulates the activities of miners and mining infrastructure operators:
Miners should not register with the tax authorities, they should not mine within the established limit on electricity consumption — 6 thousand kWh per month
Information about miners is transmitted to the Federal Tax Service once a quarter by the mining infrastructure operator, who provides the relevant services.
Mining infrastructure operators must be included in the relevant registry.
Acsour experts draw attention to the fact that for violation of this obligation, the operator is fined 40 thousand rubles (Article 129.16 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
2. VAT
Transactions with cryptocurrency, including its mining, are not subject to VAT. The relevant amendments were made to paragraph 2 of Article 146 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation with a list of transactions that are not recognized as an object of taxation. Thus, miners, as well as other organizations and sole proprietors who use digital currency in their activities, will have to keep separate records (paragraphs 4 and 4.1 of Article 170 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
3. Income tax
Profit tax in the mining sector is regulated by clause 1 of the new Article 282.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
According to the innovation, the currency extracted during mining is included in non-operating income (new paragraph 32 of Article 250 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Income is determined based on the market quotation of the currency on the date when the miner was able to dispose of the extracted currency (new clause 20, clause 4, Article 271 and new Article 282.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
For these purposes, the market quotation of a currency is considered to be the closing price for transactions made with a foreign trade organizer (including an exchange) during the day. At the same time, if such transactions were made through several foreign trade organizers, then the taxpayer can choose any of their prevailing prices. If the price is formed in a foreign currency, then the recalculation in rubles is carried out at the exchange rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Moreover, if transactions were made in different currencies (trading pairs) for the same cryptocurrency, the taxpayer has the right to choose a pair for calculating the value of the currency independently (clause 2 of Article 282.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Moreover, the legislator defines the requirements for a foreign trade organizer:
the trading volume should be more than 100 billion rubles per day.
information about market quotations must be posted on the official website and stored there for at least three years.
Mining expenses are accounted for for tax purposes as part of indirect expenses (clause 5 of Article 282.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). If a loss is formed as a result, it is postponed to the future, but can only be accounted for against the tax base for transactions with cryptocurrency (clause 7 of Article 282.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
Acsour experts note that separate rules apply for currencies mined and accepted for accounting before January 1, 2025. The value of such a currency for taxation is assumed to be equal to the amount of mining costs that were not included in expenses as of the date of entry into force of amendments to Chapter 25 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Moreover, the current revaluation is not performed for the recorded digital currency (both mined and purchased), depreciation is not accrued on it (amendments made to clause 2 of Article 256 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and clause 6 of Article 282.3 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).
4. Personal income tax
According to the new clause 8.3 of Clause 2.1 of Article 210 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, from January 1, 2025, income from mining, sale or other transactions with cryptocurrencies will be taxed on a two-step scale:
13% for income up to 2.4 million rubles;
15% for amounts exceeding this threshold.
These revenues will be accounted for in the same tax base as income from transactions with securities and bank deposits.
Acsour experts note that since no amendments have been made to clause 3 of Article 224 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, non-residents pay tax on income from mined crypts at a rate of 30% (also independently). At the same time, a deduction in the amount of production costs is not applied, since this is not provided for in Article 210 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
Please note that the three-year period after which income from the sale of other movable property is exempt from personal income tax does not apply to cryptocurrency (amendments made to clause 17.1 of Article 217 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation). Therefore, you will have to pay the tax regardless of the period of ownership of the crypt.
5. Income taxes for organizations
Mining companies will pay a standard income tax of 25%. At the same time, they will not be able to use simplified tax systems or calculate income through self-employed status.
Acsour experts note that tax innovations in the field of mining are a significant step towards shaping the vector of development of the cryptocurrency industry in Russia. The new law reduces legal uncertainty and systematizes the market, which creates new opportunities for both private miners and businesses. However, a wide range of innovations creates challenges for miners: Acsour experts regularly monitor changes and will be happy to ensure that you correctly manage projects in full compliance with current legislation.
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