# Taxes first: how much to set aside > How much to set aside for taxes when self-employed in Ukraine: a group 3 FOP's single tax, military levy and social contribution, moved out the day the money arrives, with a rule that still works in a thin quarter. - Course: [Personal Finance: Budget, Safety Cushion, Debt and Investing](https://productovi.com/courses/personal-finance.md) - Module: How to live on irregular income? - Lesson 14/32, ~18 min - Source: https://productovi.com/courses/personal-finance/taxes-first ## How much to set aside for taxes **Alex Tutor:** Still helping Dana with her money. Today: the quarterly taxes she pays as a FOP. **Dana:** In April I paid the quarter's taxes from the money I had put aside for rent. Every quarter it feels like a fine for working. **Alex Tutor:** Because the tax money sat on your card for three months, looking like yours. Part of every payment from Klasna was never yours to spend. Move it out the day it arrives, and the quarter stops being a surprise. **Alex Tutor:** As of 2026, a **FOP** (a self-employed sole proprietor in Ukraine) on single-tax group 3 like Dana pays three things: the **single tax**, 5% of income; the **military levy**, 1% of income; and the **social contribution** (ЄСВ), at least 1,902.34 UAH a month, paid quarterly. **Sofia:** So two percentages and one fixed amount. In March that is 6% of 52,000 plus the month's contribution. > **Exercise:** In March 2026 Klasna paid Dana 52,000 UAH. Using the group 3 rule (6% of income plus 1,902.34 for the month), how much should go to her tax account for March? Round to kopiykas. ## A year of quarters **Alex Tutor:** Here is Dana's last year, by tax quarter. The percentages follow the income; the contribution is the same 5,707.02 every quarter. **Dataset (CSV):** [Dana's taxes by quarter, October 2025 – September 2026](https://productovi.com/datasets/personal-finance/taxes-first/dana-tax-by-quarter.csv) Group 3 as of 2026: single tax 5% and military levy 1% of income, social contribution 1,902.34 a month. Amounts in UAH. - `quarter`: Tax quarter - `income_uah`: Income in the quarter - `single_tax_uah`: Single tax, 5% - `military_levy_uah`: Military levy, 1% - `esv_uah`: Social contribution (ЄСВ), 3 months - `total_uah`: Total for the quarter **Sofia:** The contribution column reads 5,707.02 in every row, whatever the income next to it. **Dana:** The summer quarter was the smallest in income, but the tax barely dropped. **Alex Tutor:** Because almost half of the bill doesn't care about income. Over the year the contribution was 22,828.08 of the 48,628.08 in total. Add up the column and see what share of income that is. > **Exercise:** Use the quarters table. What **share of her 430,000 UAH income** did Dana pay in taxes over the year? Round to two decimals. ## Why a flat percentage fails in summer **Dana:** Then I'll just put 12% of every payment aside. That covers 11.31% with room to spare. **Alex Tutor:** Over the year, yes: 12% of 430,000 is 51,600. Now check the summer quarter. 12% of 69,000 is 8,280, and the bill was 9,847.02. **Sofia:** Short exactly when money is tightest. And a quarter with no income at all would still owe the 5,707.02. **Alex Tutor:** So the rule copies the tax itself: 6% of every payment, plus 1,902.34 every month whatever comes in. It is exact in every quarter, thin or fat. > **Exercise:** If Dana had set aside a flat **12%** of every payment, how much would she have been **short** for the July–September quarter (income 69,000 UAH, taxes 9,847.02)? Round to kopiykas. ## When taxes are due and where the money waits **Alex Tutor:** As of 2026 the contribution for a quarter is due by the 20th of the month after it: for July–September, by 20 October. The single tax and the levy are also paid after each quarter. Put the dates in a calendar once. **Dana:** And the money waits where? Not on my card again. **Alex Tutor:** In a separate tax account, apart from both the card and the cushion. Tax money in the cushion makes the cushion look bigger than it is. **Sofia:** So each Klasna payment splits three ways on the day it lands: tax, the 10% saving, the rest for living. > **Exercise:** **True or false:** as of 2026, a group 3 FOP whose quarter brings no income at all still owes the minimum social contribution for that quarter. ## Rules change **Alex Tutor:** Two cautions. The contribution minimum follows the minimum wage, so it changes when that changes, usually in January. And how long the military levy lasts depends on when martial law ends and on decisions not yet made. **Dana:** So every January I check the numbers and update the rule. **Alex Tutor:** Yes. The method stays: percentages times income, plus the fixed part. The numbers are as of 2026; check the current rules, ideally with an accountant. This is education, not tax advice. **Sofia:** And the percentages could change too, not only the fixed part. > **Exercise:** Which belong in Dana's **tax account** each month? Select all that apply. ## Your turn: Dana's tax rule **Dana:** Write the rule so I never pay taxes from my rent again. **Alex Tutor:** What moves, when, where to, and when it is paid. With one example from a real month. **Sofia:** And what she does in January. **Alex Tutor:** Good. Short enough to set up in the bank app tonight. > **Exercise:** Write Dana's tax set-aside rule in 2–4 sentences: what moves, when, where to, when it is paid, and one example with a real payment. Use the 2026 group 3 numbers: 6% of income plus 1,902.34 a month, paid each quarter. > **Key ideas** > > - Part of every payment is the state's. Move it out **the day the money arrives**, to a separate tax account, not the card and not the cushion. > - As of 2026, group 3: **5%** single tax and **1%** military levy of income, plus the social contribution of at least **1,902.34** a month (5,707.02 a quarter), due by the 20th of the month after the quarter. > - Dana's year: 48,628.08 of taxes on 430,000, **11.31%**; the contribution alone was 22,828.08. > - A flat 12% covers the year but falls **1,567.02** short in the summer quarter, because the contribution is fixed. The exact rule: 6% of each payment plus 1,902.34 a month. > - The minimum contribution changes with the minimum wage, and the levy's duration is not settled. Check the current rules each January: this is education, not tax advice. **Alex Tutor:** Next: what is left after taxes, turned into a steady salary that Dana pays herself, summer included. - Previous lesson: [A year, not a month](https://productovi.com/courses/personal-finance/a-year-not-a-month.md) - Next lesson: [Paying yourself a salary from a buffer](https://productovi.com/courses/personal-finance/paying-yourself-a-salary.md) --- Productovi Learning. Free, no sign-up needed to read.