Social tax in Uzbekistan: the 12% rate, base and payment deadlines

Social tax rates in 2026

The rates of Article 405 apply to the employer’s payroll costs. For IEs, members of a family enterprise, IEs’ employees and certain other individuals, minimum amounts in BCV apply instead of a percentage (Article 408) — see below.

• 12% — all employers except those listed below (Article 405)
• 25% — budget organisations (Article 405)
• 7% — the “SOS Children’s Villages of Uzbekistan” associations (Article 405)
• 4.7% — employers using the labour of persons with disabilities in specialised workshops, sections and enterprises (Article 405)
• reduced rates for certain categories may be set by a decision of the President (Article 405)

Who pays social tax

Taxpayers are listed in Article 402: legal entities of Uzbekistan, foreign companies operating through permanent establishments, representative offices and branches, and certain categories of individuals — under the rules of Articles 408 and 409.

The tax regime does not affect this obligation. Turnover tax replaces only VAT and profit tax (Article 462), so a company on that regime pays social tax on the general basis.

What is included in the base

The object of taxation is the employer’s expenses on employee remuneration (Article 403), and the base is payments that Article 371 classifies as employment income (Article 404). This means salaries, bonuses and allowances, compensation payments, pay for time not worked, including holiday pay, as well as payments to individuals under civil-law contracts for works and services (except income of IEs) and remuneration of supervisory board members.

• Foreign personnel provided by a non-resident under a contract: the base is the payments to the personnel, but not less than 90% of the total cost under such a contract (Article 404).
• Not taxed: pay for seasonal cotton-picking work and pay of employees of “Mahalla Service” companies for improvement of mahallas and socially significant services (Article 403).

IEs, family enterprises and the self-employed

For individuals, Article 408 sets not a percentage but minimum amounts linked to the base calculation value. From 1 September 2026 the BCV is UZS 440,000 (Presidential Decree No. UP-115).

• IE — at least 1 BCV a month, i.e. from UZS 440,000, regardless of the number of days worked; payment no later than the 15th of the month in which the activity was carried out.
• Family enterprise: a family member registered as an IE — at least 1 BCV a month; other family members aged 18 or over — 50% of the BCV, i.e. UZS 220,000 a month.
• IE’s employees — at least 1 BCV a year for each; paid by the IE by 31 December, the amount calculated at the BCV on the day of payment.
• Self-employed — voluntarily, to accrue length of service, at least 1 BCV a year.
• For IEs and other payers under Article 408 who are entitled to an old-age pension, and for persons with Group I and II disabilities, the minimum is reduced to 50%.
• A newly registered IE pays the tax from the month following the month of registration.

Can tax be paid on the actual salary

IEs and their employees may pay the tax based on actual remuneration at the rates of Article 405, but not less than the minimum amounts. To do so, an application for voluntary payment is filed together with the annual total income declaration; minimum amounts already paid are offset (Article 408).

Individuals whose employer is not required by law to calculate and withhold the tax may also pay it voluntarily — on employment income shown in the annual declaration, within the PIT payment deadlines for that declaration (Article 409).

Filing and payment deadlines

• The tax period is the calendar year, the reporting period is a month (Article 406).
• The tax is calculated monthly from the base and the rate (Article 407).
• Return — no later than the 15th of the month following the reporting month; for the year — no later than 15 February of the following year (Article 407).
• Payment — monthly, no later than the return deadline (Article 407).
• Late payment interest is charged at 1/300 of the Central Bank refinancing rate for each calendar day (Article 110).

Worked example

• A company’s monthly payroll is UZS 50,000,000. Social tax: 50,000,000 × 12% = UZS 6,000,000, payable no later than the 15th of the following month.
• PIT at 12% on the same UZS 50,000,000 — UZS 6,000,000 — is withheld from employees’ salaries (Article 381). The employer’s payroll costs including social tax are UZS 56,000,000.
• A budget organisation with the same payroll pays 25%: UZS 12,500,000.
• A company’s service contract with an individual who is neither an IE nor self-employed, for UZS 5,000,000: social tax of UZS 600,000 at the customer’s expense and UZS 600,000 PIT withheld from the fee.
• A contract with a non-resident for the provision of foreign personnel for UZS 100,000,000: the base is at least UZS 90,000,000, the tax at least UZS 10,800,000.

Social tax and PIT: the difference

• Who bears the cost: social tax — the employer (Article 407); PIT — the employee, with the employer withholding it as tax agent (Article 386).
• Base: social tax — the employer’s payroll costs (Articles 403, 404); PIT — the individual’s total income (Article 365).
• The rate is in most cases the same — 12% (Articles 381, 405), but budget organisations pay social tax at 25%.
• Filing deadlines coincide: monthly no later than the 15th, annually no later than 15 February (Articles 389, 407).

Typical mistakes

Rates and base look simple, but payroll tax audits most often find the same violations:

• social tax not charged on payments to individuals under civil-law contracts;
• the 4.7% rate applied to employees outside specialised workshops, sections and enterprises;
• an IE did not pay the minimum tax for employees by 31 December;
• the base for foreign personnel taken below 90% of the contract value;
• tax paid after the 15th — late payment interest is charged (Article 110).