Payroll in Russia 2026: NDFL, insurance contributions, payslips

In Russia the employer withholds personal income tax (NDFL) from each salary, 13% on annual income up to RUB 2.4 million and progressively more above it, while employees pay no social contributions. The employer pays insurance contributions of 30% up to the 2026 base limit and 15.1% above it, plus injury insurance of 0.2% to 8.5%.

Payroll in Russia at a glance

Insurance contributions

Since 2023 Russia has a single tariff of insurance contributions that covers pension, sickness and maternity and health insurance. It is paid entirely by the employer and administered by the Federal Tax Service. The base is counted cumulatively for each employee from 1 January.

Additional pension tariffs apply to work in harmful or hazardous conditions: for example 9% for underground work and hot shops, or a rate of 0% to 8% set by the class from a special assessment of working conditions.

Small and medium-sized businesses: what changed in 2026

Since 1 January 2026, under Federal Law No. 425-FZ of 28 November 2025, reduced rates are no longer open to every company in the SME register:

• Priority sectors: SMEs whose main activity is on the government's list (Order No. 4125-r of 27 December 2025), and for which that activity brings at least 70% of total income, pay 30% on each employee's monthly pay up to 1.5 MROT (RUB 40,639.50 in 2026) and 15% on the part above it.
• Manufacturing SMEs keep the 7.6% rate on the part of monthly pay above 1.5 MROT.
• Other SMEs no longer have a reduced rate and pay the general tariff of 30% and 15.1%.

The main activity must be recorded as the main OKVED code in the state register. If the conditions are not met, the reduced rate is lost from the start of the period in which that happened.

Injury insurance

Contributions for injury and occupational disease insurance are paid to the Social Fund of Russia (SFR), not to the tax office. For 2026 the law keeps 32 tariffs from 0.2% to 8.5%, set by the occupational risk class of the employer's main economic activity.

NDFL: income tax on salaries

The employer is the tax agent: it calculates NDFL, withholds it when the salary is actually paid and transfers it to the budget. The amount withheld from one payment cannot exceed 50% of that payment. For tax residents, the tax on employment income is calculated cumulatively from the start of the year, so a higher rate kicks in during the month in which the employee's year-to-date income crosses a threshold.

Since 2025 residents' main income, including salaries, is taxed on a progressive scale. Each higher rate applies only to the part of income above the threshold:

There is no general personal allowance. Standard deductions, for example for children, are claimed through the employer; an employee with no children usually has none. Pay for work in the Far North and areas of equal status, and in other regions with special climatic conditions, stays at 13% up to RUB 5 million a year and 15% above, with no further steps. Non-residents pay 30% on most Russian income, although some employment income of non-residents is taxed on the progressive scale.

Minimum wage, working time and mandatory pay

• Minimum wage: the federal MROT is RUB 27,093 a month from 1 January 2026. A full-time employee who works the full monthly norm cannot be paid less; regions can set a higher regional minimum wage.
• Working time: normal working time cannot exceed 40 hours a week, and the employer must record the hours each employee actually works.
• Overtime: at least 1.5 times pay for the first two hours and at least double for the following hours; at the employee's request, extra rest of at least the same length can replace the higher pay.
• Annual leave: 28 calendar days of paid basic leave a year; holiday pay is due no later than three days before the leave starts.
• Extra pay: Russian law does not require a 13th salary; bonuses depend on the contract and the employer's rules.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

Taxes and contributions are paid as a single tax payment to the employer's single tax account (ENS). Before the payment you file a notification of the amounts calculated, unless a return covering them is already due.

A deadline that falls on a weekend or public holiday moves to the next working day. When the RSV includes section 3 on each employee, the personalised information for the last month of the quarter is treated as filed. Employers with more than 10 employees must file the RSV and 6-NDFL electronically. Hiring and dismissals are also reported to the SFR on form EFS-1.

Payslip: with every salary payment the employer must tell each employee in writing what their pay is made of, any other amounts accrued (including compensation for late payment), the amounts of and grounds for deductions, and the total paid. The employer approves the form of the payslip (raschetny listok), taking into account the opinion of the employees' representative body.

Worked example: RUB 100,000 a month

A single employee in Moscow with no children, a resident, paid RUB 100,000 gross a month (RUB 1.2 million a year, so below the 2.4 million threshold). The employer pays the general tariff and is in the lowest injury risk class, 0.2%.

The 30% applies all year, because RUB 1.2 million stays below the RUB 2,979,000 limit. For a priority-sector SME, the contributions would be 30% on RUB 40,639.50 and 15% on the remaining RUB 59,360.50.

Common mistakes

1. 1Applying 13% to the whole year's income of a high earner: once year-to-date income passes RUB 2.4 million, the excess is taxed at 15% and above.
2. 2Keeping the old SME rate in 2026 when the main activity is not on the priority list or brings less than 70% of income.
3. 3Mixing up the payment dates: NDFL has two payment dates a month, contributions are due on the 28th of the following month and injury insurance on the 15th, to a different authority.
4. 4Missing the notification by the 25th, so the single tax payment cannot be allocated to NDFL and contributions on time.
5. 5Paying salary once a month, or later than 15 days after the period, instead of at least every half month.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly does not ship a built-in payroll profile for Russia. An administrator enters Russia's payroll rates once in the payroll tax settings: the income-tax bands, the personal allowance, the employee and employer contribution rates and the minimum wage. Clientlly then calculates gross to net and the employer contributions and produces payslips for each employee.

Alongside payroll, the human resources module handles leave requests and approvals with a leave calendar and keeps HR documents, and attendance and time tracking records working hours and overtime. To close the books after the payroll run, see our month-end close checklist.