The State Budget Law has been published: key innovations

The Law on the State Budget of Ukraine for 2026 has already been published and effectively sets the “financial rules of the game” for the state, business and citizens for the next year.
The document preserves the wartime priority while strengthening the social component, support for communities and certain incentives for the economy.

Key macro indicators and deficit
Budget‑2026 provides for state budget revenues at 2.9046 trillion UAH (about 2.61 trillion UAH of the general fund), which is over 400 billion UAH more than planned for 2025.
Expenditures amount to about 4.77 trillion UAH, forming a significant deficit of around 1.9 trillion UAH, or more than 18% of GDP, which is planned to be covered by domestic resources and international assistance.

State debt in 2026 is projected to exceed 10.4 trillion UAH (over 100% of GDP), confirming the trend of high debt dependence typical for wartime.
The Government directly links budget sustainability to the continuation of cooperation programmes with international partners and maintaining discipline in the tax sphere.

Social standards: minimum wage, subsistence minimum, tax social benefit
One of the most tangible blocks for citizens is the increase in basic social standards.
From 1 January 2026 the minimum wage is set at 8,647 UAH, and the general subsistence minimum at 3,209 UAH, which affects the size of benefits, fines, alimony, court fees and other payments pegged to these indicators.

Tax indicators are also revised: the level of the tax social benefit is set at 1,664 UAH, which affects payroll calculation and the burden on employers with low‑paid staff.
For sole proprietors (FOP) the income limits under the simplified taxation system are changing, which is important for those operating in the micro and small business segment.

Revenue structure: focus on turnover‑based taxes
The main sources of income remain indirect taxes and personal income taxes.
A significant increase is planned in VAT on imports (over 680 billion UAH), VAT on goods and services produced in Ukraine (over 390 billion UAH), and revenues from personal income tax and military levy (over 560 billion UAH).

This focus means that the state continues to rely on taxing consumption, imports and payroll rather than targeted capital taxes.
Together with adopted or planned changes on taxation of digital platforms, the so‑called “OLX tax”, and certain excises (for example, on sugary drinks), Budget‑2026 shapes a stricter but more controllable fiscal base.

Expenditures: defence, security and resilience
The expenditure structure confirms that defence and security remain the key priorities, with a record amount of funds directed to these areas, exceeding half of the general fund resources.
At the same time, funding is increased for sectors that ensure state resilience in wartime: energy, critical infrastructure, digital services and community support.

This balance means that businesses and citizens will operate under high tax pressure while relying on state support in key areas such as access to finance, recovery and compensation for losses.
For local self‑government bodies, Budget‑2026 effectively sets the framework for development at community and regional level, as a significant share of resources remains centralised.

Social support and new programmes for the population
The social block is significantly strengthened: spending on social support for citizens increases by more than 10%, to around 465–467 billion UAH.
Within this scope several major programmes are highlighted: assistance to internally displaced persons, basic targeted support, benefits and subsidies, payments to vulnerable groups, support for persons with disabilities, care services and other social policy instruments.

Special emphasis is placed on supporting families with children: the one‑time allowance at childbirth increases to 50,000 UAH, and the monthly childcare allowance for children under one year rises to 7,000 UAH.
The “eRecovery” and “HOME” programmes continue the line of compensation for damaged and destroyed housing, which is critical for households affected by hostilities.

Healthcare, education and science
Healthcare expenditures include traditional programmes financed through the National Health Service of Ukraine as well as specific “targeted” initiatives.
These include substantial funding for centralised procurement of medicines for cancer patients, patients with cardiovascular diseases and people with orphan diseases, as well as a new preventive health screening programme for people over 40, with a targeted payment of 2,000 UAH for medical examination.

The education component of the budget not only increases total funding but also reshapes the approach to financing communities.
Part of the resources is allocated to subventions for basic educational needs, infrastructure modernisation and support of public investment projects to help communities maintain schools and ensure their energy resilience and safety.
For science, increased funding is envisaged according to the “money follows results” principle, and funds are allocated to create defence research centres.

Support for business, agriculture and communities
Budget‑2026 includes a block of business support instruments that have already become “traditional” for the war years: the “5‑7‑9%” programme, “eOselya” (affordable mortgage), support for defence and innovative projects.
In total more than 40 billion UAH is earmarked for such tools to stimulate investment, housing purchases and the development of high‑tech sectors.

Separate resources are provided for the agricultural sector to support farmers through credit programmes, per‑hectare subsidies and livestock support, as well as humanitarian demining of agricultural land, which is essential for restoring production.
Local budgets receive transfers in the form of basic grants and a range of subventions (for education, child nutrition, social protection and infrastructure projects), although their real autonomy and development potential remain largely constrained by the parameters of the state budget.

New fiscal accents and challenges for taxpayers
Budget‑2026 increases the tax burden not only by expanding the base (imports, payroll) but also through new tax initiatives – in particular excise duties on specific categories of goods (such as sugary drinks) and legislative changes to the taxation of digital platforms.
Combined with strengthened financial monitoring and expanded automatic exchange of information, this significantly narrows the room for “grey” schemes and increases risks for non‑compliant taxpayers.

For businesses this is both a challenge and an opportunity: on one hand, higher compliance costs, adaptation of accounting systems and work with risk‑based control criteria; on the other hand, more predictable rules, access to state support programmes, the possibility of reserving employees under updated wage criteria and participation in public projects.
For citizens it is equally important to take into account the new social standards and programmes to apply for due benefits, subsidies and reliefs in time and avoid losing support because of procedural errors.

Author: Ihor Yasko, Managing Partner of the law firm “Winner”, PhD in Law.
If you have any questions or issues related to planning your tax burden in 2026, assessing the impact of Budget‑2026 on your business or personal finances, preparing for inspections or arranging social benefits and reliefs, please contact our team for professional legal advice.