TAX ADVISORY \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0 KAZAKHSTAN<\/p>\n
Bond Stone advises foreign investors and multinational corporations on withholding tax (WHT) and double taxation treaty (DTT) planning in Kazakhstan \u2014 WHT rates on dividends (15% general \/ 5% for qualifying shareholders), interest (10% domestic rate from 2026), and royalties (15%), treaty eligibility and beneficial ownership requirements, the OECD Multilateral Instrument (MLI), and structuring to access reduced treaty rates on cross-border payments.<\/p>\n
Primary authority: Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 214-VIII dated 18 July 2025; Kazakhstan bilateral double taxation treaties (50+). Verify treaty rates at adilet.zan.kz<\/a><\/p>\n WHT rates \u2014 domestic law<\/p>\n Under the Tax Code No. 214-VIII, the following WHT rates apply to payments to non-resident recipients: dividends \u2014 15% general rate (5% for shareholders holding \u226525% on dividend amounts up to 230,000 MCI, approximately USD 1.9 million; 20% to offshore jurisdictions); interest \u2014 10% (reduced from 15% under the new Tax Code No. 214-VIII); royalties \u2014 15%; services income (where the service is deemed performed in Kazakhstan) \u2014 20% (expanded scope under new Tax Code). Note: the interest WHT rate has been reduced from 15% to 10% under Tax Code No. 214-VIII \u2014 the domestic 10% rate now broadly aligns with the rate in most of Kazakhstan’s DTTs, reducing the practical need to rely on treaty benefits for interest payments. These domestic rates are reduced or eliminated by applicable double taxation treaties. Bond Stone advises on the applicable domestic WHT rate and available treaty relief for specific cross-border payment flows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kazakhstan DTT network \u2014 50+ treaties<\/p>\n Kazakhstan has concluded double taxation treaties with over 50 states. Treaties with key investor states include: China (5% on dividends for 25%+ corporate shareholders); Germany (5\u201315% on dividends); Netherlands (5\u201315%); Russia (10%); UAE (no WHT on dividends); UK (5\u201315%); USA (5\u201315%). Rates vary by treaty and by the level of shareholding \u2014 Bond Stone advises on treaty-specific rates applicable to the investor’s structure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Beneficial ownership \u2014 treaty access requirement<\/p>\n To access reduced DTT withholding tax rates, the recipient of the payment must be the beneficial owner of the income \u2014 not a mere conduit passing the payment to a third party. Kazakhstan’s tax authority actively applies beneficial ownership analysis on dividend, interest, and royalty payments to treaty partners. Conduit arrangements \u2014 where an intermediate holding company has no substantive economic activity and merely passes through payments \u2014 are at risk of treaty denial. Bond Stone advises on structuring holding arrangements to satisfy beneficial ownership requirements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n OECD Multilateral Instrument \u2014 MLI<\/p>\n Kazakhstan has signed and ratified the OECD Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (MLI). The MLI modifies Kazakhstan’s covered DTTs to implement: the Principal Purpose Test (PPT) \u2014 denying treaty benefits where obtaining the benefit was one of the principal purposes of an arrangement; the Simplified Limitation on Benefits (SLOB) provision; and hybrid mismatch anti-avoidance rules. Bond Stone advises on the MLI’s impact on existing Kazakhstan-related holding and financing structures.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Documentation \u2014 claiming reduced WHT rates<\/p>\n To apply a reduced DTT withholding tax rate at source, the Kazakhstani paying entity must obtain from the recipient: a tax residency certificate issued by the competent authority of the recipient’s home state (apostilled); and a declaration of beneficial ownership of the payment. The documentation must be obtained before the payment is made \u2014 retroactive treaty claims are procedurally complex. Bond Stone advises on the documentation package required for compliant treaty application.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n AIFC \u2014 0% WHT on dividends<\/p>\n Dividends paid by an AIFC participant entity to its shareholders are exempt from Kazakhstani WHT under the AIFC tax regime \u2014 regardless of the recipient’s treaty position. This is a significant advantage of structuring through an AIFC holding company for investors repatriating investment income from Kazakhstan. Bond Stone advises on AIFC participant eligibility and the WHT exemption scope as part of AIFC investment structuring mandates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Bond Stone has provided tax advisory as part of investment structuring and M&A mandates in Kazakhstan since 2007. Client confidentiality is maintained across all matters.<\/p>\n DTT Planning \u2014 Chinese Investor<\/p>\n WHT \u00b7 Kazakhstan \u00b7 China<\/p>\n Advising a Chinese corporate shareholder on applying the China-Kazakhstan DTT to reduce dividend WHT \u2014 5% rate eligibility for 25%+ shareholders, beneficial ownership documentation, residency certificate requirements, and coordination with Chinese tax advisers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n UAE Holding \u2014 0% WHT<\/p>\n WHT \u00b7 Kazakhstan \u00b7 UAE<\/p>\n Advising on structuring Kazakhstan investment income through a UAE holding entity \u2014 0% WHT on dividends under the Kazakhstan-UAE DTT, beneficial ownership analysis, and UAE substance requirements to withstand PPT challenge under the MLI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n MLI Impact \u2014 European Holding<\/p>\n WHT \u00b7 Kazakhstan \u00b7 Europe<\/p>\n Advising a European investor on the impact of the MLI on its Kazakhstan holding structure \u2014 PPT analysis, whether the structure has sufficient business purpose beyond treaty benefit access, and restructuring options to reduce MLI risk.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Interest WHT \u2014 Intercompany Loan<\/p>\n WHT \u00b7 Kazakhstan \u00b7 Corporate<\/p>\n Advising on WHT applicable to interest payments on an intercompany loan from a Kazakhstani subsidiary to its foreign parent \u2014 applicable DTT rate, beneficial ownership, documentation, and interaction with thin capitalisation limits on deductibility.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Royalty WHT \u2014 Technology Licence<\/p>\n WHT \u00b7 Kazakhstan \u00b7 Technology<\/p>\n Advising on WHT applicable to royalty payments from a Kazakhstani licensee to a foreign licensor \u2014 applicable DTT rate, beneficial ownership, residency certificate, and transfer pricing compliance for the licence fee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n AIFC 0% WHT \u2014 Investment Structuring<\/p>\n WHT \u00b7 AIFC \u00b7 Investment<\/p>\n Advising on structuring investment income flows through an AIFC participant entity to access the 0% WHT exemption on dividends \u2014 AIFC participant registration, qualifying activity scope, and interaction with DTT network for onward distributions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Why Bond Stone<\/p>\n \u2726 \u00a0Investment-perspective tax advisory \u2014 tax efficiency built into every investment and M&A mandate<\/p>\n \u2726 \u00a0AIFC RLA status \u2014 AIFC tax regime and 0% WHT structuring on a single mandate<\/p>\n \u2726 \u00a0Ranked Legal 500 EMEA and IFLR1000 \u2014 Almaty and Astana offices<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Primary authority: adilet.zan.kz<\/a><\/p>\n Contact Bond Stone for a confidential discussion about Withholding Tax & DTT in Kazakhstan.<\/p>\n \ud83d\udce7 info@bondstonelaw.com<\/a> Request a Confidential Consultation<\/a> TAX ADVISORY \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0 KAZAKHSTAN Withholding Tax and DTT in Kazakhstan Bond Stone advises foreign investors and multinational corporations on withholding tax (WHT) and double taxation treaty (DTT) planning in Kazakhstan \u2014 WHT rates on dividends (15% general \/ 5% for qualifying shareholders), interest (10% domestic rate from 2026), and royalties (15%), treaty eligibility and beneficial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4798","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.3","language":"ru","enabled_languages":["en","ru"],"languages":{"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":false,"content":false,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4798"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4798\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4800,"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4798\/revisions\/4800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bondstonelaw.com\/ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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