Ukraine’s Register of Non-Profit Institutions and Organizations is kept by the State Tax Service (STS). An organization that is not on the Register is not treated as a non-profit for corporate income tax purposes, even if its charter meets every requirement. You can get on the Register during state registration or by filing Form No. 1-RN, the application for inclusion, and you can be removed from it for misusing or distributing income, among other reasons.
The conditions for non-profit status are set by clause 133.4 of Article 133 of the Tax Code of Ukraine, and the process by the Procedure for Maintaining the Register approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 440 of 13 July 2016 (Procedure No. 440). All rules are cited as in force on 2 October 2026.
What requirements a non-profit organization must meet
For corporate income tax purposes, a non-profit is an organization that meets all four requirements of sub-clause 133.4.1 of the Tax Code at the same time:
- it was set up and registered under the law governing that type of non-profit organization;
- its founding documents (or those of the higher-level organization it operates under) prohibit distributing income, in whole or in part, among founders (participants), members, employees (other than their wages and the single social contribution payable on them), members of governing bodies and other related parties;
- its founding documents provide that, if the legal entity is terminated, its assets pass to one or more non-profit organizations of the same type or are credited to the budget;
- it has been entered on the Register.
Funding the organization’s upkeep and its statutory activities does not count as distributing income. The requirements for founding documents do not apply to budget institutions, and the asset-transfer requirement does not apply to condominium associations (OSBBs), associations of OSBBs or housing construction cooperatives.
A compliant charter is not enough on its own. Sub-clause 133.4.2 of the Tax Code requires income to be used solely to finance the organization’s upkeep and to pursue the purpose (goals, objectives) and areas of activity set out in its founding documents. This is the requirement the tax authority tests against actual spending during audits.
What the non-profit status code means
When an organization is entered on the Register, the STS assigns it a four-digit non-profit status code that identifies its group (clause 4 of Procedure No. 440). As a general rule, the date the code is assigned marks the start of non-profit status, and the date it is cancelled marks the end.
| Code | Type of organization |
|---|---|
| 0031 | Budget institutions |
| 0032 | Public associations |
| 0033 | Political parties |
| 0034 | Creative unions |
| 0035 | Religious organizations |
| 0036 | Charitable organizations |
| 0037 | Pension funds |
| 0038 | Unions |
| 0039 | Associations and other unions of legal entities |
| 0040 | Housing construction cooperatives (from the first day of the month after a building they constructed or acquired is put into operation) |
| 0041 | Dacha (summer-house) and dacha construction cooperatives |
| 0042 | Gardening and garage (garage construction) cooperatives (societies) |
| 0043 | Condominium associations (OSBBs), associations of residential building owners |
| 0044 | Trade unions, their associations and trade union organizations |
| 0045 | Employers’ organizations and their associations |
| 0046 | Agricultural service cooperatives |
| 0047 | Cooperative associations of agricultural service cooperatives |
| 0048 | Other legal entities whose activities meet the requirements of clause 133.4 of the Tax Code |
How to get on the Register of Non-Profit Organizations
Procedure No. 440 offers two routes.
During state registration. The request for inclusion can be made in the application for state registration of a new legal entity, and in an application to register changes if the changes to the founding documents affect how the organization is taxed. No separate application is then needed. The data reaches the tax authority from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs and Public Formations (the State Register), and Form No. 1-RN is generated automatically.
By separate application. File Form No. 1-RN (Annex 1 to Procedure No. 440) with the tax authority at the organization’s principal place of registration, together with copies of the founding documents signed by the head or a representative and stamped with the seal, if the organization has one. Copies are not needed if the founding documents are published on the Ministry of Justice’s e-services portal. Housing construction cooperatives also attach certified copies of documents confirming when the building was put into operation and that the cooperative built or acquired it.
The application can be filed in person, by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt and a list of contents, or electronically. The electronic route is available if the founding documents are published on the e-services portal (clause 6 of Procedure No. 440).
A decision is made within three working days of receiving the application or the data from the State Register (clause 8 of Procedure No. 440). The Procedure names two grounds for refusal: an incomplete set of documents and failure to meet the requirements of clause 133.4 of the Tax Code. After a refusal, you can fix the shortcomings and file again without changing the charter provisions the tax authority did not object to.
The Procedure does not require the decision on inclusion to be served on the organization. A formal decision on the Annex 2 form is prepared and served when the organization is refused inclusion or a change of code, or is removed from the Register. Inclusion is recorded as an entry on the Register with the date and number of the decision, so check the result on the Register or with an extract.
Why the first 10 days matter
A newly created organization can be treated as a non-profit from the day of its state registration. To qualify, it must file the documents for inclusion during registration or within 10 days afterward, and the tax authority must then enter it on the Register (paragraph 7 of sub-clause 133.4.1 of the Tax Code). The rule does not say whether these are calendar or working days, so it is safer to count calendar days. The same rule applies when an organization files for inclusion after the state registration of changes to its details (paragraph 8 of the same sub-clause). If the deadline is missed, non-profit status starts on the date the code is assigned rather than on the registration date.
We covered how to choose the form of a civic association and complete registration in our article on registering an NGO in Ukraine.
What to do after changing the charter
If the organization’s legal form or founding documents change, it files Form No. 1-RN marked “changes” with copies of the documents listed in clause 6 of the Procedure. The deadline is 10 calendar days from the state registration of the changes or, where no registration is required, from the date the relevant circumstances arose (clause 14 of Procedure No. 440).
Since 2025 a separate rule has applied, introduced by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 1514 of 27 December 2024. If, after the state registration of changes, the tax authority finds that the organization does not meet clause 133.4 of the Tax Code, it removes the organization from the Register as of the registration date. So check any new version of the charter against sub-clause 133.4.1 before it goes to the state registrar.
How to check your status on the Register and get an extract
Procedure No. 440 provides for open access to Register data on the STS web portal. During martial law, however, the STS has restricted access to public electronic registers. As of 2 October 2026, the “Register of Non-Profit Institutions and Organizations” section of the STS Electronic Cabinet (the tax service’s online portal) redirects to the login page.
A Register entry includes, among other things, the organization’s EDRPOU code (its state identification number), its name, the date of inclusion, the non-profit status code with the date it was assigned or changed, and the details of decisions on inclusion or removal (clause 11 of Procedure No. 440). When checking it, make sure the code matches the organization’s legal form, the assignment date matches the date from which the organization expects to hold non-profit status, and the entry shows no cancellation date.
The official confirmation of status is an extract from the Register. A request on the form in Annex 3 to Procedure No. 440 is signed by the head or another authorized signatory and filed with the tax authority at the principal place of registration in person, by mail or electronically (clause 12-1 of Procedure No. 440). The extract is issued free of charge within three working days following the day the request is received. In response to an electronic request, it is sent to the email address the request came from, bearing the tax authority’s electronic seal.
The extract reflects the data at the date and time it is generated and remains valid until the Register data on the organization changes. If there is no entry, you receive a notice that the Register holds no information instead of an extract. What people often look for as a “certificate of non-profit status” is, under the current Procedure, this extract.
An entry on the Register does not guarantee the status will last: it can be cancelled after an audit. To gauge the risk, review both your documents and your spending:
| What to check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Ban on distributing income in the charter | It covers founders (participants), members, employees, members of governing bodies and related parties; the exception is wages and the single social contribution |
| Spending | Expenses go to the organization’s upkeep or to the purpose, goals and areas of activity set out in the charter; the wartime exemption is assessed separately |
| Payments to founders, members and related parties | Payments for work and services are backed by a contract, proof of performance and a justified price; reimbursements and aid have their own grounds and documents |
| Charter changes | Form No. 1-RN marked “changes” was filed within 10 calendar days |
Grounds for removal from the Register of Non-Profit Organizations
Removal is decided by the tax authority. Clause 16 of Procedure No. 440 lists five grounds:
- using income for purposes other than the organization’s upkeep and pursuing the purpose (goals, objectives) and areas of activity defined under sub-clause 133.4.2 of the Tax Code;
- distributing income, in whole or in part, among founders (participants), members, employees (other than wages and the single social contribution payable on them), members of governing bodies and other related parties;
- the organization and/or its founding documents failing to meet the requirements of clause 133.4 of the Tax Code;
- an entry in the State Register on the state registration of the organization’s termination (through liquidation, merger, accession, division or transformation);
- the organization’s own initiative.
Separately, sub-clause 133.4.4 of the Tax Code makes it a ground for removal where the tax authority establishes that income was used to provide an undue advantage in committing criminal offenses under Articles 369 and 369-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The size of the advantage is irrelevant, and so is whether it was provided directly or through third parties.
The tax authority may detect misuse or distribution of income during a documentary tax audit. So it pays to review payments to founders and members of governing bodies, contracts with related parties and spending outside the statutory areas in advance. We explained how to structure a director’s work so that the pay does not look like a distribution of income in our case study on an NGO director.
What is not a violation under martial law
A wartime exemption applies for the duration of martial law or a state of emergency (clause 63 of sub-section 4 of section XX of the Tax Code). Transferring property, providing services or financing expenses outside the statutory areas is not a violation of clause 133.4 if it benefits the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military formations and designated security and defense agencies for defense needs. The same applies to civil protection forces, state and municipal healthcare facilities, and government accounts opened by the National Bank of Ukraine to support defense and humanitarian aid. The exemption also covers charitable aid to defined groups of people, including service members, families of fallen soldiers and residents of combat areas, but not to the organization’s founders, members or their related parties.
Charitable organizations have one more carve-out (sub-clause 133.4.4-1). Compensation and other payments to employees, including fringe benefits, are not a ground for removal if all of the following hold:
- they are linked to pursuing the organization’s goals and objectives;
- they are provided for in its founding documents and/or internal administrative documents;
- they do not contradict the Law of Ukraine “On Charitable Activity and Charitable Organizations”;
- their total for the year does not exceed 25% of the administrative expenses incurred.
Failing to file the Report on the Use of Income (Profits) of a Non-Profit Organization is not among the grounds for removal. As a general rule it carries a fine of UAH 340, or UAH 1,020 if the organization has already been fined for the same violation within the year (clause 120.1 of the Tax Code); under martial law, liability may be waived under sub-clause 69.1 of sub-section 10 of section XX of the Tax Code. Even so, failure to file is a ground for an unscheduled documentary tax audit (sub-clause 78.1.2 of the Tax Code), which may also uncover breaches of the non-profit conditions. Deadlines and the content of the filings are covered in our article on the financial statements a non-profit organization files.
What happens after removal
The date from which the non-profit status code is cancelled depends on the ground (clause 17 of Procedure No. 440):
- for a breach of clause 133.4 of the Tax Code, from the first day of the month following the month of the breach;
- for non-compliance found after the state registration of changes to the organization’s details, from the date of that registration (clause 8 of the Procedure);
- for termination of the legal entity, from the date of termination;
- for removal at the organization’s own request, from the date the tax authority receives the application.
If there are several grounds, the cancellation date is the date of the earliest event.
If the organization itself discovers that income was misused, sub-clause 133.4.3 of the Tax Code applies. It must file the Report on the Use of Income within 20 calendar days after the end of the month of the breach (the deadline moves if it falls on a day off). The Report covers the period from the start of the year, or from the later date on which non-profit status was acquired, to the last day of the month of the breach. In the Report, the organization self-assesses corporate income tax on the amount of the transactions in which assets were misused, at the base rate of 18% (clause 136.1 of the Tax Code). From the first day of the following month it is treated as a corporate income tax payer.
Example. In March 2026 a charitable foundation that has long been on the Register spent UAH 200,000 on purposes not provided for in its charter. These expenses are not part of its upkeep and do not fall under the wartime exemption. By 20 April the foundation files the Report for January–March and declares UAH 36,000 of tax (200,000 × 18%), which it must pay by 30 April (clause 57.1 of the Tax Code). From 1 April the foundation is treated as a corporate income tax payer. Until the end of the year it files quarterly returns on a cumulative basis along with financial statements, and from the following year it reports and pays tax under the general rules.
If the misuse is established by the tax authority, sub-clause 133.4.4 of the Tax Code provides for removal from the Register and for assessing corporate income tax, penalties and late-payment interest from the first day of the month in which the breach occurred. In other words, the code is cancelled from the following month, but the tax consequences of a breach found by the authority also cover the month of the breach itself.
Tax Code provisions tied to non-profit status apply as of the date of each transaction, so after removal neither the organization nor its partners can rely on them:
- Donors. A corporate income tax payer that adjusts its accounting profit for tax differences does not add back free-of-charge transfers to non-profits that were on the Register on the transfer date, up to 4% of the previous year’s taxable profit (sub-clause 140.5.9 of the Tax Code). From 2025 until the end of the year in which martial law is terminated or lifted, the cap is 8%, provided that transfers to charitable organizations on the Register account for more than 4% of that profit (clause 72 of sub-section 4 of section XX of the Tax Code).
- Aid recipients. The personal income tax exemption for non-cash charitable aid to people affected by the armed aggression, for defined needs, applies if the aid is distributed through the budget or through charitable organizations and the Ukrainian Red Cross Society entered on the Register (sub-clause 170.7.2 of the Tax Code).
A removal decision can be appealed. A complaint to the higher-level tax authority is filed within 10 working days following the day the decision is received (clause 56.3 of the Tax Code), or the decision can be challenged in court (clause 56.18 of the Tax Code). Procedure No. 440 also provides for re-inclusion on the Register: once the causes are fixed, the organization files a new Form No. 1-RN. Re-inclusion does not cancel the tax assessed for a breach already committed.
What the Ministry of Finance is preparing
The Commercial Code of Ukraine ceased to be in force on 28 August 2025 under Law No. 4196-IX. In response, on 7 May 2026 the Ministry of Finance published for public consultation draft amendments to the Tax Code that would replace the concept of non-profit organizations with “non-entrepreneurial companies, institutions and organizations” and rename the Register the Register of Non-Entrepreneurial Companies, Institutions and Organizations.
Organizations that are on the Register when the law takes effect but do not meet the new requirements would get six months to update their founding documents and file copies with the tax authority. Those that miss the deadline would not be entered on the new Register. As of 2 October 2026, the Tax Code in force does not contain these changes.
UHY Prostir supports accounting for non-profit organizations, including work with the Register and monitoring of the non-profit conditions, and carries out audits of non-profit organizations. If you need to prepare a filing for the Register, check compliance with the non-profit conditions or assess tax risks ahead of an audit, contact our team.