Gross salary split into net pay and withheld taxes, with the employer contribution on top, next to a calculator

Employer costs in Ukraine in 2026: rates, caps and worked examples

ByMarina

Figures checked on 22 September 2026 against the laws listed at the end. They apply to 2026: the minimum wage and the contribution cap are reset in each year's State Budget law, so check the current law on zakon.rada.gov.ua before using these amounts for later months.

How Ukrainian payroll works — who withholds what, paydays, reporting — is explained in our briefing on how payroll works in Ukraine. This page puts the 2026 amounts on one card, names the article of the law each one comes from, and shows the arithmetic for three salaries. It is written for budget planning, not as tax advice for a specific case.

1. The 2026 rate card

Item 2026 value Source
Minimum wage, monthly UAH 8,647, from 1 January 2026 State Budget Law 2026, Art. 8
Minimum wage, hourly UAH 52 State Budget Law 2026, Art. 8
Personal income tax 18% of gross salary, withheld by the employer Tax Code, Art. 167.1
Military levy 5% of gross salary, withheld by the employer Tax Code, Section XX, subsection 10, para. 16-1
Single social contribution (SSC) 22% of gross salary, paid by the employer on top Law 2464-VI, Art. 8(5)
SSC for employees with disabilities 8.41% Law 2464-VI, Art. 8(13)
Minimum SSC per employee (main job) UAH 1,902.34 a month — 22% of the minimum wage Law 2464-VI, Art. 8(5)
Maximum monthly SSC base UAH 172,940 — 20 × the minimum wage State Budget Law 2026, Art. 32
Maximum SSC per employee UAH 38,046.80 a month 22% of the maximum base
Subsistence minimum, able-bodied person UAH 3,328, from 1 January 2026 State Budget Law 2026, Art. 7
Basic tax social benefit UAH 1,664 a month off the income-tax base, only if the monthly salary is UAH 4,660 or less Tax Code, Art. 169.1.1 and 169.4.1

What the lines mean in practice:

  • Employees pay no social contribution of their own. Their deductions are income tax and military levy; the SSC is an employer cost on top of gross salary.
  • The minimum SSC applies to an employee's main job: if the salary for the month is at or below the minimum wage, the SSC is still calculated on the minimum wage. The law names two exceptions, where the 22% applies to actual pay: pay from a job that is not the person's main workplace, and employment contracts with non-fixed working hours.
  • The cap. The SSC law itself names 15 minimum wages as the maximum base. For 2026 the budget law suspends that figure and sets 20 minimum wages. Income tax and military levy have no cap.
  • The tax social benefit is UAH 1,664 (50% of the subsistence minimum) and applies only to monthly salaries up to UAH 4,660 (the subsistence minimum × 1.4, rounded to the nearest UAH 10). Because the monthly minimum wage is higher than that limit, a full-time employee paid at least the minimum wage cannot receive the basic benefit. Higher amounts for some parents and other groups (Art. 169.1.2–169.1.4) have their own limits.
  • The military levy was raised from 1.5% to 5% on 1 December 2024 by Law No. 4015-IX. It stays at 5% during martial law; a law of 7 April 2026 fixed that it returns to 1.5% only from 1 January after the third full calendar year following the end of martial law.

2. Three worked examples

Monthly amounts in hryvnia, for an employee at their main job.

At the minimum wage Salary 30,000 Salary 250,000
Gross salary 8,647.00 30,000.00 250,000.00
Income tax, 18% 1,556.46 5,400.00 45,000.00
Military levy, 5% 432.35 1,500.00 12,500.00
Net pay to the employee 6,658.19 23,100.00 192,500.00
SSC, 22% (employer) 1,902.34 6,600.00 38,046.80 (capped)
Total employer cost 10,549.34 36,600.00 288,046.80
Total cost as a share of gross 122.0% 122.0% 115.2%

Up to the cap, every 100 of gross salary costs the company 122 and leaves the employee 77. Above a gross salary of UAH 172,940 a month, each additional hryvnia of salary costs the company one hryvnia, because no further SSC is due.

To run your own figures, use our salary calculator.

3. When the money is due

  • Income tax and military levy are paid at the moment salary is paid. Banks accept a salary payment only together with the payment of the tax (Tax Code, Art. 168.1.2).
  • The SSC is paid with each salary payment, and the amount for a month no later than the 20th of the following month; only mining companies have until the 28th (Law 2464-VI, Art. 9(8)). Not paying the SSC together with the salary costs a fine of 10% of the unpaid amount (Law 2464-VI, Art. 25(11)).
  • Salary itself is paid twice a month, no more than 16 days apart (Labour Code, Art. 115).

4. Fines that follow the minimum wage

Labour fines under Article 265 of the Labour Code are multiples of the minimum wage in force when the breach is found. At the 2026 minimum wage:

Breach Multiple Amount in 2026
Undeclared work: no employment contract, part-time registration for full-time work, or pay without taxes and the social contribution 10 × minimum wage per person UAH 86,470
The same, repeated within two years 30 × minimum wage per person UAH 259,410
Salary or other payments more than a month late, or paid short 3 × minimum wage UAH 25,941
Minimum pay guarantees not met 2 × minimum wage per person UAH 17,294
Guarantees for employees called up for military service or mobilisation duties not met 4 × minimum wage per person UAH 34,588
Refusing or obstructing an inspection 3 × minimum wage UAH 25,941
Refusing or obstructing an inspection on undeclared work 16 × minimum wage UAH 138,352
Too many contracts with non-fixed working hours, or false time records for them 3 × minimum wage per person UAH 25,941
Other breaches of labour law 1 × minimum wage per breach UAH 8,647
Other breaches, repeated within a year 2 × minimum wage per breach UAH 17,294

Employers paying the single tax in groups 1 to 3 receive a warning instead of a fine for a first case of undeclared work and for breaches of the guarantees for employees in military service.

5. What the card does not include

  • Sick pay: the employer pays the first five days of an employee's own illness; the Pension Fund pays from the sixth day.
  • Leave: at least 24 calendar days of paid annual leave, paid at average earnings.
  • Mobilised employees: since July 2022 employers no longer pay them average earnings during service. See our briefing on employing people under martial law.
  • Exchange rates: salaries for work in Ukraine are paid in hryvnia. Convert budgets at the current National Bank of Ukraine rate; we do not quote rates here because they change daily.
  • Service fees: if your people are employed through an employer of record, its fee comes on top of the employer cost above.

Sources

All on zakon.rada.gov.ua, checked on 22 September 2026:

  • State Budget Law 2026, No. 4695-IX of 3 December 2025 — Articles 7, 8 and 32
  • Tax Code of Ukraine — Articles 167.1, 168.1.2, 169.1 and 169.4.1; Section XX, subsection 10, para. 16-1
  • Law No. 2464-VI on the single social contribution — Articles 8(5), 8(13), 9(8) and 25(11)
  • Law No. 4015-IX of 10 October 2024 (military levy at 5%)
  • Labour Code of Ukraine — Articles 115 and 265

How ClarusApex can help

We run Ukrainian payroll and HR administration on software built for Ukrainian law, and we can employ your people through APEX AV LLC. Send us the role and the gross salary you have in mind: we come back with net pay, total employer cost and our fee for that person.

More from Insights

Payroll and accounting

Payroll Outsourcing in Ukraine

How payroll outsourcing works in Ukraine, what a provider takes over, and where the compliance risk sits if you keep it in house.

April 26, 2023 · 21 min

Similar Posts