How to Claim a Refund of Overpaid or Mistakenly Paid Taxes in Ukraine

When can you ask for a tax refund?

Article 43 of the Tax Code of Ukraine allows taxpayers to recover mistakenly or excessively paid monetary liabilities and penalties when the statutory conditions are satisfied.

An excessive payment is generally an amount credited to the relevant budget above the monetary liability due at that time. A mistaken payment can arise, for example, when money is sent using the wrong budget payment details or when an amount is paid that should not have been paid.

The refund is made from the budget to which the money was credited, or from the single account where the applicable single-account procedure is used.

How long do you have to apply?

You must normally submit the refund application within 1,095 days from the date the mistakenly or excessively paid amount or penalty arose.

Do not assume that the current martial-law regime automatically freezes this deadline. State Tax Service guidance confirms that the general running of Tax Code deadlines was restored from 1 August 2023 after the earlier wartime suspension provisions were changed.

If an older payment falls near the deadline, establish the exact date on which the excessive or mistaken amount arose before relying on the remaining application period.

Can you get the money back if you have tax debt?

A key Article 43 condition concerns existing tax debt. If a taxpayer has tax debt, a direct refund of the excessive or mistaken payment to the taxpayer's account is generally made only after the tax debt has been fully repaid.

Instead of asking for cash back, Article 43 also permits a taxpayer to direct the amount toward another monetary liability or tax debt administered by the tax authorities, regardless of the type of budget involved.

What must the refund application contain?

The application is submitted in free form under Article 43 and the Ministry of Finance refund procedure, although the Electronic Cabinet provides structured electronic forms.

The official procedure requires the taxpayer to identify:

• the name of the mistakenly or excessively paid tax, fee or payment;
• the amount;
• the date of payment;
• details from the payment document;
• the budget revenue classification code;
• the budget account to which the money was transferred;
• the identifying details of the relevant territorial Treasury authority;
• the requested direction for the returned funds.

If several payment documents created the overpayment, the electronic application should contain the corresponding payment dates and rows for those individual payments.

Where can you ask the money to be sent?

The Tax Code allows several refund or transfer directions. You may request that the amount be sent:

• to your account with a bank or non-bank payment service provider;
• to the single account, if you use it;
• toward another monetary liability or tax debt administered by the State Tax Service;
• in cash where you do not have an account with a bank or non-bank payment service provider and the statutory conditions for cash payment are met.

Choose the direction carefully. Incorrect or incomplete account information can prevent the requested transfer from being executed correctly.

How do you submit the refund through the Electronic Cabinet?

The State Tax Service confirms that the procedure can be completed electronically without visiting a tax office. Access the private part of the Taxpayer's Electronic Cabinet using an accepted electronic identification method.

The current State Tax Service knowledge base instructs taxpayers to open the reporting/input section, select the relevant period and the J(F)13 request category, and use:

• F1302002 for individuals;
• J1302002 for legal entities.

Complete the payment information, specify the refund direction, attach the relevant electronic payment-document copies where applicable, electronically sign the application and send it to the territorial State Tax Service authority that administers the mistaken or excessive payment.

Before filing, you can also use the Electronic Cabinet to request an official extract showing your settlements for taxes, fees, payments and the single social contribution. This can help confirm that the overpayment is actually recorded in your taxpayer account.

Where do you file a paper application?

A paper application is submitted to the territorial State Tax Service authority at the place of administration or accounting of the mistakenly or excessively paid amount. In practical terms, this means the tax authority where the payment was actually credited and is being administered.

Do not automatically send the application to another tax office simply because it is closer to your residence or business location. The authority administering the payment is the relevant authority for the refund procedure.

How long does the refund take?

Article 43 establishes a two-stage timetable. The tax authority must prepare the conclusion on returning the money and send it to the Treasury no later than five working days before the end of the 20-day period from the date the taxpayer submitted the application.

After receiving that conclusion, the Treasury has five working days to return or transfer the mistakenly or excessively paid amount according to the approved direction.

The official rules therefore describe separate tax-authority and Treasury stages rather than guaranteeing that the funds will appear in a bank account on one fixed calendar day after submission.

Does the normal refund route apply to VAT?

There is a specific rule where an overpaid VAT liability was credited to the budget from the taxpayer's account in the electronic VAT administration system. In that situation, the amount is generally returned to the taxpayer's electronic VAT account.

If that electronic VAT account no longer exists when the taxpayer requests the refund or when the refund is actually made, the Tax Code permits the money to be transferred to the taxpayer's account with a bank or non-bank payment service provider.

This Article 43 mechanism should not be confused with the separate statutory VAT budget-reimbursement procedure.

Is overpaid personal income tax always claimed with this application?

No. Article 43 expressly provides an exception for excessively withheld or paid personal income tax that the tax authority returns on the basis of the taxpayer's annual property and income declaration following recalculation of annual taxable income.

If your refund results from annual personal income tax reconciliation, the appropriate route may therefore be the annual declaration rather than a separate Article 43 refund application. Helpydo explains the filing process in the guide to filing an individual property and income tax declaration online.

A tax discount is also a different tax mechanism. For qualifying personal expenses, see how to claim a Ukrainian personal income tax discount.

When can the refund fail?

A refund can be prevented or delayed when the statutory conditions are not satisfied. Important problems include:

• filing after the 1,095-day deadline;
• asking for a direct refund while outstanding tax debt remains;
• sending the request to a tax authority that does not administer the payment;
• incorrect payment, budget or destination-account details;
• failing to establish that the amount was actually credited in excess or by mistake;
• trying to use Article 43 for a payment governed by a separate statutory procedure;
• being subject to sanctions that prohibit the return of mistakenly or excessively paid amounts under the current Tax Code rule.

Article 43 currently prohibits return during the applicable sanctions period where relevant special economic or other restrictive measures have been imposed on the taxpayer or the specified founders, participants or ultimate beneficial owners under Ukraine's Law on Sanctions.

Can you move the overpayment to another tax instead?

Yes. A taxpayer does not always have to request money back. The application may direct the excessive or mistaken amount toward another monetary liability or tax debt administered by the State Tax Service.

This can be useful where you have another tax obligation due and would rather reallocate the existing budget payment than receive it into your bank account.

Can an FOP or company use the same procedure?

Yes. Article 43 applies to taxpayers generally, including individuals, sole proprietors and legal entities where the relevant payment is governed by these rules. The Electronic Cabinet provides separate electronic forms for individuals and legal entities.

If the payment issue arose while operating as a sole proprietor, do not confuse correcting an overpayment with changing the business registration itself. Changes to FOP registration information follow the separate procedure for changing FOP business details or KVED codes.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Waiting until the 1,095-day application period has expired.
• Assuming martial law currently suspends the normal Article 43 filing deadline.
• Requesting a direct bank refund without checking for outstanding tax debt.
• Leaving out the tax name, payment date, amount or budget-payment details.
• Using one payment date for an overpayment created by several different payment documents.
• Sending the application to the wrong territorial tax authority.
• Entering bank details that do not correspond to the intended refund destination.
• Using the ordinary Article 43 procedure for an annual personal income tax refund, VAT budget reimbursement or the single social contribution when separate rules apply.