Bitcoin mining profits in Russia to face new 15% tax rules, officials say

The Russian government has greenlit draft amendments to a bill aimed at taxing crypto mining and transactions.

Russia is moving forward with a draft amendment to its Bitcoin (BTC) mining legislation, introducing new tax rules for crypto mining, transactions, and related infrastructure. According to an Interfax report, the amendments, announced by the Ministry of Finance, establish new guidelines for taxing income and expenses in the crypto mining sector, along with outlining the tax obligations for operators of mining infrastructure.

Under the changes, cryptocurrencies are defined as property for tax purposes. Income from mined tokens will be taxed based on their market value when received. Crypto miners can also subtract related expenses from their income, the report adds.

The amendments also state that crypto transactions will not be subject to value-added tax. Instead, income from these operations will be taxed alongside income from securities transactions. The highest personal income tax rate on cryptocurrency earnings is proposed to be set at 15%.

Additionally, crypto mining infrastructure operators will be required to notify tax authorities about individuals using their facilities for mining, though the exact details that operators should disclose about their customers remain unclear.

Since Nov. 1, crypto mining in Russia is allowed for registered individual entrepreneurs and organizations only. Those without entrepreneur status may produce Bitcoin via mining within a consumption limit of 6,000 Kw/h per month. The Russian government government has also set out temporary mining bans for certain regions, which will take effect from Dec. 1 until March 15, 2025 due to electricity deficit.