How Ukraine's Tax Authority Tracks Your Income Without Accessing Bank Accounts: 4 Key Channels

Ways Ukraine's Tax Service Collects Financial Information

According to ХВИЛЯ: Attorney Bohdan Yankiv outlined four methods the Ukrainian tax authority uses to gather data on citizens' earnings without directly accessing their bank accounts. Despite lacking automatic access to banking details-since bank secrecy laws remain in place-the tax service still obtains financial intelligence through alternative routes. According to Yankiv, these four channels are:

• The National Bank of Ukraine compiles data and forwards it to the tax authority;
• Financial monitoring systems flag and block high-risk clients;
• The tax service petitions the courts for information;
• Tax officials launch audits and demand bank account statements.

The threshold for the National Bank to begin collecting data on card transactions is an annual turnover of at least 540,000 Ukrainian hryvnias. The tax authority also accesses real estate data through property tax assessments and minimum tax obligations on agricultural land. Regarding rental income, the tax service learns about leases when properties are rented to individual entrepreneurs or legal entities, as these tenants act as tax agents. However, there have been no widespread fines for illegal rentals between private individuals so far.

Public Statements Scrutiny and International Data Sharing

Tax officials also monitor public statements made by businesspeople in media and social networks regarding their revenues-which can range from 50 to 150 million hryvnias. These declarations are used as evidence in court. Starting in July, Ukraine joined the CRS agreement for automatic exchange of tax information. Under martial law, foreign income and accounts totaling up to $250,000 are not subject to taxation. The first real application of CRS involves data exchanged between Ukraine and the United Kingdom concerning Ukrainians' earnings on the OnlyFans platform: claims for 2022 will be issued in late 2024, while those for 2023 will follow at the end of 2025.

In March 2025, rules for fiscal receipts will also change, requiring financial institutions like NovaPay to include the names of payment recipients. A declaration for income derived from these receipts must be filed by May 1, 2026. Additionally, a draft law on marketplace reporting is under review in the Verkhovna Rada, potentially taking effect on January 1, 2027. This legislation would cover freelance exchanges such as eBay, Amazon, and other platforms, but it will not apply retroactively-only income earned from the start of 2027 will be reported.

In summary, Ukraine's tax service actively employs various channels to obtain income information despite bank secrecy restrictions. The adoption of automatic tax information exchange under the CRS agreement highlights growing international cooperation to combat tax evasion. Meanwhile, changes to fiscal receipt rules and the proposed marketplace reporting law underscore the state's efforts to tighten income monitoring and ensure fairness in the tax system.

As the Ukrainian tax authority enhances its methods for tracking income, it is also expanding its focus on peer-to-peer transactions. Recent court rulings set for 2025 will empower the agency to implement taxation on these transfers, marking a significant shift in financial oversight. For a deeper understanding of how these changes might affect taxpayers, explore the implications of new legal decisions regarding P2P transfers.