Title: Astana Hub and AIFC: Tax Incentives for IT
By early 2026, more than 2,000 IT companies had become residents of Astana Hub, over 490 of which had foreign participation: investors and developers from Singapore, Japan, China, South Korea, UAE, and Germany. The total revenue of residents for 2025 exceeded $1.7 billion, the export of IT services amounted to about $634 million, and there were more than 32,000 jobs in the ecosystem. In 2025 alone, approximately 700 new companies joined the hub. These figures explain why the question "whether to apply for residency" has ceased to be theoretical and has become part of the financial model of almost any IT business in Kazakhstan.
At West Star Ltd, we develop and integrate software, and clients regularly ask us not about code, but about structure: where to register the company, how to calculate taxes on service exports, whether to go to a technopark or a financial center. We are not tax consultants, but over the years, we have gone through these decisions ourselves and have seen dozens of other cases. Below is an analysis of the two main regimes, Astana Hub and AIFC, without advertising: what they really offer, who they suit, and where the pitfalls lie.
WHAT IS ASTANA HUB AND WHAT DOES IT OFFER
Astana Hub is an international IT startup technopark created by the government as a tool for industry development. Its purpose is not to rent desks but to provide a special tax regime. A resident earning income from priority activities in the ICT sector applies exemptions for three key taxes.
The first is corporate income tax. The accrued CIT is reduced by 100 percent, meaning that the rate on the incentivized income is effectively zero. The second is VAT. The sale of a participant's own goods, works, and services is exempt from VAT, which is especially noticeable against the general rate, which increased to 16 percent from 2026 under the new Tax Code. The third is personal income tax on employee payments within the framework of priority activities.
Instead of these taxes, the resident pays an annual contribution to the technopark—about one percent of income. For a company that exports services and keeps most of its revenue in development, the savings are significant compared to the general regime. It's important to understand the term: the CIT and PIT benefits are set until January 1, 2029. This is not "forever," and any long-term model needs to be built with this date and possible condition revisions in mind.
WHO IS ASTANA HUB SUITABLE FOR, AND WHO IS IT NOT
The key word in the law is "priority activities in the ICT sector." There is an established list: software development, data processing, certain types of consulting, and several related areas. Income that does not fall into this list is taxed under general rules. In practice, this means that you cannot bring a company into the hub that sells, say, goods or non-core services and expect zero CIT on all revenue. The incentive is targeted, and it needs to be correctly applied in accounting, separating income streams.
From 2026, the rules have tightened. The hub shifted its focus to companies with a real IT product, not those who used residency solely for tax optimization. Stricter reporting requirements have been introduced, including auditor confirmation and reciprocal obligations. For an honest developer, this is not a problem, but it is an additional administrative burden that needs to be planned for in advance.
Simply put, Astana Hub is well-suited for product and service IT companies, service exporters, outsourcing development, and SaaS. It is not suitable for those for whom IT is just a label on top of a trading or other non-core model.
HOW AIFC DIFFERS AND WHERE IT FITS IN IT
The Astana International Financial Centre, AIFC, is often placed alongside Astana Hub, but it is fundamentally different. AIFC is not a technopark but a financial center with its own jurisdiction. It operates based on English common law, has its own independent court and arbitration center, a separate financial services regulator, and a regime of free capital movement.
The AIFC tax regime is also generous but with a different horizon and focus. The center's bodies and participants, as well as their employees, are exempt from a number of taxes until January 1, 2066. The corporate income tax exemption primarily applies to income from core financial services: banking, insurance and reinsurance, brokerage, asset management, investment consulting, underwriting, and related areas defined by joint acts.
From this, a simple conclusion for an IT specialist. If you write and sell software, your natural home is Astana Hub. AIFC becomes relevant when IT intersects with finance: fintech, payment and investment services, asset management, and when it comes to structuring a holding, attracting foreign investors, and working in a legal environment they understand—English law. The horizon until 2066 and the independent judicial system are what investment and fintech projects come to AIFC for, not an ordinary development studio.
HOW TO CHOOSE AND CAN YOU COMBINE
In practice, the choice rarely boils down to "either-or." We advise clients to start with an honest description of income sources. If 80 percent or more of the revenue is development and IT services for export, the basic choice is almost always Astana Hub: there, the incentive is targeted at your activity, the entry threshold is lower, and the ecosystem is product-oriented.
If there is a financial component in the model—you run an investment fund, build a payment service, plan to attract foreign capital through a clear holding structure—then AIFC comes into play, sometimes in conjunction: operational development in one regime, financial or holding overlay in another. Such constructions are legal but require careful design and professional tax support because an error in income separation is more expensive than any saved rate.
WHAT THIS CHANGES IN ACCOUNTING AND AUTOMATION
A preferential regime is not just fewer taxes but more discipline in accounting. Separate accounting of priority and non-core income, correct documentation of service exports, confirmation of the place of implementation, readiness for an audit check—all this requires that the data in the system be clean and traceable. This is where manual tables start to fail: the more complex the regime, the more costly each inaccuracy in the primary data.
In our practice, we see that companies that have pre-configured data export from the accounting system, income markup by activity type, and automatic reconciliation with bank receipts go through reporting periods calmly. Those who left it to the end of the quarter and the accountant's memory regularly catch discrepancies. Technically, the task is not difficult, but it needs to be set at the moment of entering the regime, not after the first request from the regulator.
HOW TO ENTER THE REGIME: STEP-BY-STEP
The practical path to Astana Hub is shorter than it seems but requires preparation. First, the company brings its NACE and charter in order so that the main activity corresponds to the priority ICT list. Then an application for residency is submitted with a description of the product or service—and it is important that from 2026, the hub wants to see a product, not a declaration of intent. After obtaining status, the company restructures its accounting for a separate regime and prepares for regular reporting with auditor confirmation.
We advise not to postpone three things. First, decide in advance which income is incentivized and which is not, and fix this in the accounting policy. Second, set up income export and markup immediately, not before the first report. Third, budget for audit and support, because for a preferential regime, this is not a luxury but part of the entry cost. Companies that go through these steps at the start then spend hours, not weeks, on reporting.
With AIFC, the order is different and heavier: participant registration, licensing with the financial regulator if the activity is licensed, and working in the English law environment. This is justified for fintech and investment structures but excessive for ordinary development, and it is better to soberly assess this difference before submitting documents, not after.
LIMITATIONS AND WEAK POINTS
None of these regimes is a magic pill. An honest list of drawbacks looks like this.
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Term. Astana Hub's CIT and PIT benefits are valid until January 1, 2029. Building a financial model for ten years ahead at a zero rate is self-deception; conditions may change.
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Targeted Incentive. The exemption applies only to priority activities. Non-core income is taxed under general rules, and it needs to be correctly separated—this is work for the accountant and the accounting system, not an automatic bonus.
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Increased Administrative Burden. From 2026, reporting requirements have been strengthened, including auditor confirmation. This is time and money, and for a micro-team, the burden is significant.
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AIFC is not for everyone. Its tax advantages are tied to financial services. An ordinary development studio will not get what fintech or a holding does from AIFC, and the entry threshold and compliance are higher there.
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Risk of Incorrect Qualification. Attempting to "stretch" non-core activities onto the incentive or inaccurately separate income results in additional charges and reputational losses that outweigh the savings.
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Dependence on State Policy. Both regimes are tools of state policy. Their conditions, lists, and terms are revised, and businesses accept these rules as a given, not as a guarantee.
PRACTICAL CONCLUSION
A specialist—accountant or developer—should understand the list of priority activities and the rules of separate accounting before entering the regime. Understanding which income is incentivized removes half of future questions and makes reporting predictable.
A manager should assess the administrative cost of the incentive in advance: who will maintain separate accounting, prepare auditor confirmation, and respond to requests. Tax savings are real, but they are not free in terms of processes, and this needs to be factored into the plan.
For an owner, the strategic horizon is more important. Astana Hub is a working tool here and now, with an eye on 2029. AIFC is about financial overlay, capital attraction, and a long horizon until 2066. Choosing a regime is essentially choosing a growth model, and it is better to make it with a tax consultant, not based on an article on the internet, including this one.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is it necessary to physically be in the technopark building to be a resident of Astana Hub?
No. Residency is a tax and legal status, not a workplace rental. A company can work remotely and distributedly, the main thing is to meet the activity and reporting requirements.
Is it true that Astana Hub residents do not pay taxes at all?
No. The exemption applies to priority ICT activities for CIT, VAT, and PIT, but instead, an annual contribution to the technopark of about one percent of income is paid, and non-core income is taxed under general rules.
Is AIFC suitable for a regular outsourcing development studio?
As a rule, no. AIFC's tax advantages are tied to financial services. For pure development, Astana Hub is more logical, and AIFC is considered by fintech, investment, and holding structures.
What will happen to Astana Hub's incentives after 2029?
As of today, CIT and PIT incentives are set until January 1, 2029. The future of the regime depends on state policy, so long-term models should be built considering possible condition revisions.