Special Regimes for Business in 2026: What Has Changed
As of January 1, 2026, a new Tax Code is in effect in Kazakhstan — Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 214-VIII dated July 18, 2025. For small businesses, this is not a cosmetic amendment but a restructuring of the entire map of special tax regimes. The patent and retail tax in their previous forms have disappeared, the simplified declaration has received a new income limit of 600,000 MRP per year, and the monthly calculation indicator has increased to 4,325 tenge. The threshold for mandatory VAT registration has been halved — from 20,000 to 10,000 MRP, which is approximately 43.25 million tenge. All this changes the usual arithmetic by which entrepreneurs have chosen their form of work in recent years.
At West Star Ltd, we automate accounting and data exchange between 1C, cash registers, and government services, and through our projects, it is clearly visible how the reform affects real companies. In this article, we analyze what exactly has changed in special regimes for individual entrepreneurs and LLPs, where new obligations are hidden, and what decisions need to be made before the key deadlines. No panic, but also no illusions: the changes are serious, and they directly affect part of the business.
WHAT HAS DISAPPEARED: PATENT AND RETAIL TAX
The main structural change is the reduction in the number of special regimes. Previously, an entrepreneur could choose between a patent, a special mobile application, a simplified declaration, a retail tax, and a regime for agricultural producers. As of 2026, this showcase has noticeably narrowed.
The regime based on the retail tax and the regime for agricultural producers in their previous forms have been excluded as of January 1, 2026. The retail tax has effectively been merged into a unified format of the simplified declaration — there is no longer a separate rate and separate reporting for it. The patent and special mobile application as independent regimes for most types of activities are also leaving: the legislator is pushing microbusinesses to switch to simplification.
Here is the first strict deadline. Those who worked under a patent or through a special mobile application until January 1, 2026, and did not submit a notification of transition to a simplified declaration are subject to automatic deregistration as an individual entrepreneur from March 1, 2026. Simply put, inaction leads not to the preservation of the old regime but to the closure of the entrepreneur's status. This is a case where a missed notification costs more than any tax.
SIMPLIFICATION HAS BECOME BROADER, BUT NOT WITHOUT CONDITIONS
The simplified declaration in 2026 has become the main regime for small businesses, and its parameters have become noticeably more flexible.
The basic income tax rate is 4 percent per half-year. At the same time, local akimats have the right to set a local rate ranging from 2 to 6 percent, so the final figure depends on the region. Social payments and deductions for employees are paid separately from this tax.
The income limit for applying the simplification has been raised to 600,000 MRP per year. With an indicator of 4,325 tenge, this is about 2.595 billion tenge in turnover — an amount that covers the overwhelming majority of small and a significant part of medium-sized companies. Another relaxation: the limit on the number of hired workers has been removed. The previous ceiling, which forced businesses to split to remain within the regime, has been removed.
The circle of counterparties has also expanded. Individual entrepreneurs and legal entities on simplification are now allowed to work not only with the population but also with other individual entrepreneurs and legal entities. This removes the artificial restriction that previously prevented some entrepreneurs from serving corporate clients while remaining in the preferential regime.
The reporting remains recognizable but requires discipline. The simplified declaration in form 910.00 is submitted once every half-year, and the calculation in form 200.00 for social payments for employees is submitted quarterly. Thus, the regime is called simplified, but it does not completely free from reporting, especially if there is hired personnel.
There is also an important restriction against splitting. If an individual is a founder of an LLP on simplification, they are not allowed to simultaneously apply simplification as an individual entrepreneur, and vice versa. One form of presence in the preferential regime must be chosen. The scheme where the same person held both an individual entrepreneur and an LLP on simplification for the sake of a double limit no longer works.
VAT HAS DESCENDED TO SMALL BUSINESS
Formally, VAT does not relate to special regimes, but it is the one that in 2026 most strongly presses on the boundary between small and medium-sized businesses.
The general VAT rate has increased from 12 to 16 percent. Reduced rates have been introduced for certain categories: 5 percent for pharmaceuticals and 10 percent for printed products. But the key for small businesses is not the rate itself, but the threshold for mandatory registration.
The threshold for VAT registration has been halved: from 20,000 to 10,000 MRP, which is approximately 43.25 million tenge in turnover per year. In practice, this means that many companies that were comfortably operating without VAT yesterday will fall under it in 2026. And exceeding the threshold without timely submission of an application threatens with the blocking of bank accounts — a sensitive and quick sanction.
This creates a paradox that is important to understand in advance. An entrepreneur can remain on simplification for income tax but at the same time become a VAT payer if their turnover exceeds 10,000 MRP. The special regime and VAT payer status in 2026 live in different planes, and one does not cancel the other.
WHAT THIS MEANS IN NUMBERS
Let's gather the benchmarks in one place to have a starting point for planning:
- MRP in 2026 — 4,325 tenge, minimum wage — 85,000 tenge.
- Simplification: rate of 4 percent per half-year, akimats' range from 2 to 6 percent.
- Income limit for simplification — 600,000 MRP per year, about 2.595 billion tenge.
- Threshold for mandatory VAT registration — 10,000 MRP, about 43.25 million tenge.
- General VAT rate — 16 percent, preferential 5 and 10 percent for medicines and printed products.
- Threshold for mandatory registration of an individual as an individual entrepreneur — 360 MRP, about 1.557 million tenge per year.
These figures should be kept in mind throughout the year: they are tied to decisions about regime change, voluntary or mandatory registration, and whether it's time to revise pricing.
LIMITATIONS AND WEAK POINTS
The reform looks logical, but it has inconvenient sides that are more honest to speak about directly.
First. Automatic deregistration is a trap for the inattentive. An entrepreneur on a patent who simply did not notice the requirement to submit a notification loses the status of an individual entrepreneur from March 1, 2026. There may not be a fine as such, but restoration and explanation of gaps in activity take time and nerves.
Second. Lowering the VAT threshold to 10,000 MRP sharply increases the number of payers. For companies that have never kept track of incoming and outgoing VAT, this is a leap in complexity: electronic invoices are needed, correct accounting of offsets, discipline on deadlines. Simplification for income tax does not save from this burden.
Third. The local simplification rate from 2 to 6 percent makes planning less predictable. A business with branches in different regions may face different tax burdens on the same activity, and this needs to be taken into account when calculating unit economics.
Fourth. The ban on combining individual entrepreneurs and LLPs on simplification closes familiar optimization schemes. Those who built a structure around two preferential entities will have to restructure it, and not always painlessly.
Fifth. The transition period for inventory and VAT at the junction of 2025 and 2026 generates contentious situations that the regulations do not describe perfectly. For some operations, businesses will have to make decisions at their own risk and be prepared to justify them during an audit.
Sixth. Any reform figures are alive. Rates, benefits, and thresholds can be clarified by by-laws and explanations throughout the year, so it is necessary to rely on the current version of the code and official explanations, not on one-time publications, including this one.
PRACTICAL CONCLUSION
What to do with all this depends on the role.
For a specialist who keeps records. Check each client against two thresholds: annual turnover against 10,000 MRP for VAT and against 600,000 MRP for simplification. Make a list of those who were on a patent or mobile application and ensure that notifications of transition to simplification are submitted — the automatic deregistration deadline of March 1, 2026, does not forgive forgetfulness. Set up turnover control so that approaching the VAT threshold does not become a surprise in the middle of the year.
For a manager. Review pricing and contracts taking into account the VAT rate of 16 percent and the likely registration. If the company previously worked without VAT, budget for invoice accounting costs and possibly for an additional specialist or automation. Check whether the business structure is built on the link between individual entrepreneurs and LLPs on simplification, which is prohibited from 2026.
For an owner. The reform is an occasion to recalculate the model entirely, not to patch it pointwise. Somewhere it is more profitable to consciously enter VAT and work with corporate clients who need an offset; somewhere — to keep turnover within the threshold. The decision depends on the structure of clients and margin, and it is better to make it with numbers in hand, not by inertia. In our projects, we see that companies that have restructured accounting and automated threshold control in advance go through the transition year more calmly than those who waited until the last minute.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I stay on a patent in 2026?
For most types of activities, the patent as a separate regime is excluded. If you worked on a patent or special mobile application and did not submit a notification of transition to simplification, you will be automatically deregistered as an individual entrepreneur from March 1, 2026. The practical conclusion is to submit the notification in advance.
If I am on simplification, does that mean VAT does not concern me?
No. Simplification concerns income tax, and VAT is calculated separately. If your annual turnover exceeds 10,000 MRP, about 43.25 million tenge, you are required to register for VAT while remaining on simplification for income tax.
What is the income limit for simplification in 2026?
600,000 MRP per year, which is approximately 2.595 billion tenge at an indicator of 4,325 tenge. The limit on the number of employees has been removed, and now you can work with individuals, individual entrepreneurs, and legal entities.
Is it true that you cannot hold both an individual entrepreneur and an LLP on simplification simultaneously?
Yes. If an individual is a founder of an LLP on simplification, they cannot simultaneously apply simplification as an individual entrepreneur, and vice versa. One form of presence in the preferential regime must be chosen.