Experts explain how to pay the deposit tax without penalties.
The Federal Tax Service (FTS) has started sending out notifications to citizens regarding the need to pay tax on bank deposit income for 2024. According to the agency, expected budget revenues from this tax in 2025 are estimated at 304.6 billion rubles, nearly triple the 110.7 billion collected last year. Further growth is projected, with collections reaching 567.6 billion rubles by 2026, as per the draft federal budget for the upcoming three-year period. This article clarifies who is required to pay this tax and how to do so.
Calculation Specifics
The tax on interest income from deposits was first introduced in Russia last year. At that time, approximately 1.8 million depositors received payment notifications, which constituted only about 2% of all open bank deposits in Russian banks. The FTS reported that the average tax amount per individual liable for deposit tax in 2024 was 63,000 rubles. As Yury Eidinov, Director of Retail Business at «Tsifra Bank,» noted, roughly 55% of the country`s population held savings in deposits and accounts last year, confirming that this tax affected only a small fraction of citizens.
The exact number of individuals liable for deposit tax this year will be known after December 1st. However, given the authorities` expectation of significantly higher budget revenues compared to last year, the number of Russians who will pay this tax is expected to increase.
According to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, as of September 1, 2025, the total volume of Russian bank deposits reached a record 61.2 trillion rubles, the highest since records began in 2012. However, as tax expert Dmitry Shumeiko of «Shumeiko and Partners» clarified, not all depositors are required to pay the deposit tax in 2025. This obligation applies only to those whose interest income from bank savings in 2024 exceeded a special non-taxable limit of 210,000 rubles. The tax liability only arises when the total interest income from deposits surpasses this amount.
Depositors do not need to calculate the tax themselves. Ekaterina Golubtsova, Associate Professor at the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, explained that the tax authority calculates the tax on interest income from deposits based on information received from banks, as banks pay interest income to depositors without withholding tax. Tax authorities aggregate income from all banks, subtract the non-taxable amount (210,000 rubles), and apply the relevant tax rate. The non-taxable amount is recalculated annually using a simple formula: 1 million rubles multiplied by the maximum key rate of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation for the reporting year. Since the maximum key rate last year was 21%, the non-taxable amount was set at 210,000 rubles. If the total interest income from deposits exceeds this figure, the tax will be paid at the following rates:
- 13% for annual deposit income below 2.4 million rubles;
- 15% for income exceeding 2.4 million rubles.
For instance, if a citizen earned 260,000 rubles in deposit income, the tax will be calculated on 50,000 rubles (260,000 — 210,000 = 50,000). Since this is less than 2.4 million rubles, a 13% rate will be applied, resulting in a payment of 6,500 rubles to the FTS. Shumeiko also noted that the only exception to this rule is for deposits held in foreign banks, which may require a tax declaration.
Payment Procedure and Deadlines
Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global, explained that citizens will receive their tax notifications based on their chosen method:
- Via the «Gosuslugi» portal: a message will be sent, and the notification can be downloaded from the portal.
- By mail: the notification will be found in their mailbox.
- In the FTS mobile application or on the FTS website: the notification will appear in their personal account upon login.
All taxes must be paid by December 1, 2025. Otherwise, penalties will begin to accrue from December 2, 2025.
The deposit tax is mandatory for all depositors whose total funds across all deposit and savings accounts in 2024 amounted to at least 1 million rubles. Milchakova clarified that interest income from deposits below 1 million rubles is not subject to taxation. Given that the average size of a bank deposit in Russia as of July 1st this year was 422,000 rubles, according to the Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA), it can be concluded that the majority of citizens with savings will again not be affected by this tax.
Those who are required to pay the tax can do so in several ways:
- Using the FTS`s official website electronic services: «Taxpayer`s Personal Account for Individuals» and «Payment of Taxes and Duties,» by selecting «Top up Unified Tax Account (UTS)».
- Using the «Taxes FL» mobile application.
- Through the personal account on the «Gosuslugi» portal.
- Via mobile banking applications.
- At bank branches or Russian Post offices.
- By scanning the QR code provided in the tax notification.
Elman Mekhtiev, CEO of the Association for Financial Literacy Development, advised transferring funds to the Unified Tax Account (UTS) at least three days before the payment deadline (i.e., before December 1st) to minimize the risk of late payment.
