Ukraine Tax Discount 2026: How to Get Your Income Tax Refund

You paid tuition or mortgage interest in 2025. The Ukrainian government owes you money back. Not a favour, not a benefit for insiders — a legal PIT refund under Article 166 of the Tax Code. The catch? Most salaried employees either don’t know the mechanism exists or freeze at the word “declaration” and push it off. Until May 2 arrives. And their right to a 2025 refund disappears forever.

Ukraine’s tax discount isn’t unique — every European country has an equivalent. But the Ukrainian version has its own quirks: strict per-category spending limits, a hard link to officially declared wages, and — this matters — a refund ceiling equal to exactly the PIT your employer actually transferred to the state on your behalf. Not a hryvnia more.

# What actually qualifies for a PIT refund in 2026

According to DPS (Ukraine’s State Tax Service) data, the three most common approved categories are tuition, mortgage interest, and life insurance. Everything else is either a niche case or a category with a high rejection rate.

Tuition is the most widely claimed category. Article 166.3.3 of the Tax Code allows you to include expenses for studying at Ukrainian universities, colleges, and vocational schools — your own education or a child’s up to age 23. The institution must hold a licence from the Ministry of Education. Payments to foreign universities don’t qualify.

Mortgage interest falls under Article 175 of the Tax Code. You get back 18% of the mortgage interest you paid during the year — not the principal, just the interest. But there’s a size restriction: if your apartment or house exceeds 100 m², only the proportional share of interest corresponding to 100 m² counts toward the calculation.

And here’s something many people miss: the mortgage discount only applies to the first property you ever purchased on credit. If you’ve already paid off a previous mortgage, check with DPS individually.

Life insurance and NPF contributions are less popular but genuinely work. The life insurance contract must run for at least 10 years — anything shorter and rejection is almost guaranteed.

# How to calculate your refund: formula and example

The formula has two caps — and both matter.

Step 1. Add up your qualifying expenses in each category, respecting the limits.

Step 2. Total them — that’s your discount base.

Step 3. Multiply by 18% — that’s your theoretical refund.

Step 4. Compare with the PIT actually withheld from your wages during the year. Your refund can’t exceed that figure.

A real-numbers example.

Iryna is a teacher from Kharkiv. Her official gross salary in 2025: UAH 22,000/month (~$550). PIT withheld: 22,000 × 18% × 12 months = UAH 47,520 (~$1,188) for the year.

In 2025 she paid:

• Tuition at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv for her daughter: UAH 48,000 (~$1,200) for the academic year (UAH 4,000/month)
• Mortgage interest: UAH 36,000 (~$900) for the year (apartment: 67 m²)

Tuition calculation: Monthly limit — UAH 8,400 × 12 = UAH 100,800. Iryna paid UAH 48,000 — well within the cap. Full UAH 48,000 goes into the base.

Mortgage calculation: 67 m² ≤ 100 m² — no pro-rata reduction needed. Full UAH 36,000 goes into the base.

Total base: UAH 48,000 + UAH 36,000 = UAH 84,000 (~$2,100). Theoretical refund: UAH 84,000 × 18% = UAH 15,120 (~$378). Cap — total PIT paid: UAH 47,520.

UAH 15,120 < UAH 47,520 — the cap doesn’t kick in. Iryna gets UAH 15,120 (~$378) transferred directly to her bank card.

But what if her salary had been UAH 12,000/month (annual PIT = UAH 25,920)? She’d still get the full UAH 15,120 — the paid tax is enough. If the annual PIT were only UAH 10,000, though, the refund would be capped at UAH 10,000.

# PIT refund for tuition: limits and conditions 2026

The tuition limit is tied to the minimum wage. In 2025: minimum wage UAH 8,000 × 1.4 (statutory coefficient) = UAH 11,200/month — the maximum monthly tuition expense that can enter the calculation. Annualised, that’s UAH 11,200 × 12 = UAH 134,400 (~$3,360).

Honestly, you’d need a pricey private university to hit that ceiling. Most state universities charge UAH 30,000–70,000 per year — the limit won’t cut your claim.

So when will DPS reject it outright?

• The university has no Ministry of Education licence (check the ЄДЕБО — Ukraine’s Unified State Electronic Education Database).
• Your child turned 23 before December 31, 2025.
• You paid cash without an official receipt rather than by bank transfer to the institution’s account.
• The contract is in the child’s name, not the parent’s — in that case the child must file their own declaration (provided they have official wages).

Paid for a master’s degree abroad? Doesn’t count. Article 166.3.3 covers Ukrainian institutions only. This is one of the most common disappointments for parents who sent children to Polish universities.

# Mortgage tax discount: how much can you get back

Mortgage claims are where errors pile up — and it’s no surprise, the formula’s a bit more involved.

You reclaim 18% of the interest paid during the year. Not the principal repayment — only the interest portion. If you paid your bank UAH 60,000 total in 2025, of which UAH 42,000 was interest and UAH 18,000 was principal, only UAH 42,000 enters the calculation base.

If the property exceeds 100 m² — a reduction coefficient applies. The formula from Article 175.3 of the Tax Code: interest paid × (100 ÷ actual area). Say your apartment is 130 m² and you paid UAH 50,000 in interest: 50,000 × (100/130) = UAH 38,461 — only that amount enters the base. Refund: UAH 38,461 × 18% = UAH 6,923 (~$173) instead of a potential UAH 9,000.

One more thing — the discount only applies to mortgages issued by a Ukrainian bank for purchasing or building residential property in Ukraine. Refinancing with a different bank preserves your entitlement, provided the new contract is structured correctly.

According to the National Bank of Ukraine, the average rate on new mortgage loans in Ukraine in 2025 was around 15–17% per annum. On a UAH 1.5 million ($37,500) mortgage over 20 years, that’s UAH 220,000–255,000 in interest in year one alone. Potential refund: up to UAH 45,900 (~$1,148). That’s worth the paperwork.

# Documents required for the tax discount declaration

No documents, no refund — DPS doesn’t take anyone’s word for it. Here’s what you’ll need by category:

For tuition:

• Tuition contract with the educational institution (certified copy with official seal).
• Payment receipts or bank statements.
• Certificate confirming the student was enrolled during the relevant period.
• If you paid for a child — birth certificate.

For mortgage interest:

• Loan agreement.
• Certificate from the bank showing the total interest paid during the year (PrivatBank, Oschadbank, and Ukreximbank — Ukraine’s major state and commercial banks — issue these free of charge on request).
• Property ownership document showing the floor area.

For any category:

• Income certificate (Form 3DF) — issued by your employer’s accounting department; it shows the PIT withheld. Through the Diia electronic cabinet, you actually don’t need to request this from your employer — DPS pulls it directly from the registry. That saves about a week.
• Passport and tax identification number (TIN).

# Tax discount declaration: deadlines and filing methods in 2026

The window is January 1 to May 1, 2026, covering 2025 expenses. Miss the deadline and you lose the refund — Article 166.4.3 of the Tax Code provides no carryforward to the next year. No exceptions, unless the Cabinet of Ministers declares a force majeure event (as happened in 2022–2023 due to the war).

How to file:

1. Online via Diia (Ukraine’s official government services app) — the fastest option. The form pre-populates from DPS registries. Attach document scans. Sign with BankID or a qualified electronic signature (QES).

2. Via the electronic cabinet at tax.gov.ua — essentially the same process, slightly less polished interface. The upside: you can see your full filing history.

3. In person at a DPS service centre — paper declaration, Form No. 02. April queues are real. Go in February or March.

Online submission doesn’t mean automatic payment. After you submit, DPS runs a desk audit — up to 30 days. Then another 30 days to transfer the money. That’s up to 60 days total. In practice, Kompanion readers who filed online in February reported receiving funds in April or May.

One striking number: according to DPS data for 2024, roughly 280,000 Ukrainians were entitled to the discount — but only about 95,000 actually filed. The rest simply left money on the table.

# Common mistakes that cause DPS to reject your claim

Top of the list: payment documents in the wrong name. If the tuition receipt is in the child’s name but the parent is filing the declaration, DPS can reject it. Both the contract and the payment receipts must be in the same person’s name — either both in the parent’s name, or both in the student’s.

Second: the institution has no licence. Language schools, online courses, private tutors operating without a sole proprietorship or legal entity — none qualify. Only officially licensed educational institutions listed in the Ministry of Education’s registry.

Third: property area not stated, or exceeds 100 m² without the pro-rata calculation. If the declaration doesn’t show the correct reduction, the inspector either rejects the claim outright or recalculates it in the state’s favour.

And — the most frustrating mistake of all — missing the deadline. May 2 arrives, and your right to a full 2025 refund is gone. No appeals, no extensions, unless the government issues a special Cabinet decree the way it did during 2022–2023.

Worth noting for anyone running a business on the side: sole proprietors (ФОП) on the simplified tax system can’t claim the discount for their entrepreneurial income. But if they also hold salaried employment simultaneously, they can file as an individual — those are separate income streams under Ukrainian tax law.

# See also

• Credits and loans for individuals in Ukraine
• Bank deposits and savings accounts: current rates
• Financial calculators: tax and payment tools
• Life and property insurance in Ukraine