Taxes first: how much to set aside

As of 2026 a group 3 FOP (a self-employed sole proprietor in Ukraine) on the single tax pays three things each period:

• Single tax — 5% of income.
• Military levy — 1% of income.
• Social contribution (ЄСВ) — a fixed minimum, 1,902.34 UAH a month, regardless of income.

The two percentages add up to 6% that follows what you earn; the contribution is a flat monthly amount. So the set-aside for one month is 6% of that month's income plus 1,902.34.

For March, with 52,000 UAH: 5% × 52,000 = 2,600, 1% × 52,000 = 520, plus 1,902.34, which is 5,022.34 UAH. These are the 2026 numbers; the method stays even when the rates or the minimum change. This is education, not tax advice.

The percentages alone are 6% of income, but the social contribution adds a fixed amount on top, so the share of income that goes to taxes is always higher than 6% — and higher still in a thin year.

Dana's year: single tax 21,500 + military levy 4,300 + contribution 22,828.08 = 48,628.08 UAH on 430,000 of income. That is 48,628.08 / 430,000 = 11.31%. Almost half of the bill, 22,828.08, is the fixed contribution, which does not move with income.

Because the fixed part is spread over whatever you earn, the effective share rises when income falls. The lesson for budgeting: never assume taxes are "just 6%"; add the fixed contribution before deciding what is left to live on.

Setting aside a flat percentage of every payment feels simple, and across a whole year it can even over-save. But it breaks in a thin quarter, because the social contribution is fixed and does not shrink when income does.

Dana's summer quarter: income 69,000 UAH, real taxes 9,847.02. A flat 12% sets aside only 12% × 69,000 = 8,280, leaving her 1,567.02 short exactly when money is tightest. A quarter with no income at all would still owe 5,707.02, and a flat percentage would set aside nothing.

The fix is to copy the tax's own shape: a percentage of each payment (6%) plus the fixed monthly amount (1,902.34). That is exact in every quarter, thin or fat, and never leaves a summer gap.

The social contribution is a minimum, not a percentage, so it is owed even when a quarter brings no income at all. The single tax and the military levy are 6% of income, so they fall to zero with no income — but the contribution does not.

As of 2026 that minimum is 1,902.34 UAH a month, so an empty quarter still owes 3 × 1,902.34 = 5,707.02. A few groups are exempt, such as age pensioners and some mobilised FOPs, but the default is that the contribution is always due.

This is why the set-aside rule keeps a fixed monthly part: a buffer sized only as a percentage of income would have nothing for a quarter that earns nothing, yet the contribution would still have to be paid.

The tax account holds only the state's share, kept apart from both the spending card and the emergency cushion. Each month three things go in:

• 5% of income for the single tax,
• 1% of income for the military levy,
• the fixed social contribution (1,902.34 in 2026), even in a month with no income.

Everything else is Dana's own money and lives elsewhere. The 10% cushion saving is hers, kept for thin months and emergencies; next month's rent is a living cost. Mixing them in one account makes every pot look bigger than it is, and that is how a quarter becomes a nasty surprise.

One payment, three destinations the same day: tax, saving, living. Separate accounts keep each one honest.