2026 Tax Amendments for SMEs: Transitional Relief and Its Limits

On 25 April 2026, amendments under Federal Law No. 104-FZ entered into force, refining the transition to the 2026 tax rules. This is not a general exemption for all SMEs: the measures target particular categories and depend on the taxpayer’s activity, dates and financial indicators.

Temporary rule for food-service businesses

The Federal Tax Service has explained a VAT exemption from 1 April to the end of 2026 for qualifying organisations and individual entrepreneurs in the food-service sector using the simplified tax system, provided the statutory conditions are met. The transitional measure looks in particular at whether the share of income from the principal activity in 2025 reaches the required level. Cash-register settings and documents must also be configured correctly; the rule should not be carried forward automatically into 2027.

Some interest income should not remove an individual entrepreneur’s relief

The amendments introduced a separate exemption for certain individual entrepreneurs on the simplified tax system whose 2025 threshold was exceeded only because of interest on deposits and account balances in Russian banks, subject to an additional aggregate-income limit. Having a bank deposit is not enough by itself: check every criterion and the relevant period.

How to establish eligibility

Prepare the income tax calculation, documents confirming the main business activity and cash-register settings. Check whether a special transitional provision applies rather than assuming the general rule. The law also adjusted certain deadlines for entrepreneurs combining the patent system and the simplified tax system and some insurance-contribution conditions.

• Check the business activity and income share for the relevant period.
• Keep the threshold calculation and primary documents.
• Reconcile the regional legislation with the current Tax Code.

Federal Law No. 104-FZ contains several independent transitional provisions. Before relying on a specific measure, verify that the company meets every condition of that measure.

Transitional VAT exemption for food service

Federal Law No. 104-FZ introduced a temporary measure from 1 April to 31 December 2026 for certain organisations and individual entrepreneurs in food service using the simplified or patent tax system who became VAT taxpayers from 1 January because of the new rules. Conditions include total 2025 income of no more than RUB 60 million and a food-service income share of at least 70%. The salary condition that applies to the ordinary food-service exemption does not apply to this temporary measure. It is a narrow transitional exception, not a benefit for every café.

Check whether the actual activity qualifies as food-service activity under the law, how income is counted where tax regimes are combined and whether particular sales are excluded. Prepare the tax calculation and primary documents. The measure ends on 31 December 2026, so the tax regime from 1 January 2027 should be assessed in advance.

A separate interest-income rule for certain individual entrepreneurs

The law contains a transitional exemption for certain individual entrepreneurs on the simplified tax system whose 2025 income exceeded RUB 20 million only after including interest on deposits and account balances in Russian banks, provided the prescribed aggregate limit of up to RUB 60 million is met. The composition of income and each criterion must be proved; a bank deposit alone is insufficient. Do not extend this provision to organisations or to every type of interest income.

How to check the relief

• Identify the exact provision: food service or the relevant individual-entrepreneur rule.
• Calculate income in the tax register for the relevant period.
• Document the business profile and revenue share.
• Adjust the cash register and accounting during the period of the measure.
• Prepare for the transition after the relief ends and work from the full text of the law.

Federal Law No. 104-FZ also changes other individual transitional rules. Qualifying for one measure does not automatically qualify a taxpayer for another.

What food-service businesses should not confuse

The transitional exemption beginning in April should not be confused with the ordinary exemption for food-service activities. The temporary measure has its own period and income and activity-share criteria; continuing relief later is subject to the general requirements, including the average-salary condition. A café that used the transitional measure in 2026 should therefore prepare separate evidence for any relief claimed after 31 December.

When calculating the 70% share, reconcile the revenue records with the actual nature of the services and with menus and receipts. If a company sells not only prepared food but also goods or provides separate services, classification matters. Confirm with the accountant which transactions belong in the numerator and denominator and keep the calculation methodology with the supporting documents.

Discuss the matter with Binjaminov & Partners