Social Tax in Uzbekistan 2026: 12% and 25% rates, deadlines

Yaroslav Kolesov

Partner, Accounting & Tax practice

DipIFR, CPA Uz, ACCA Affiliate · chief accountant, 15+ years in international companies

Last updated 2026-06-15 · 11 min read

✓ Facts verified against primary sources (lex.uz, soliq.uz)

Last updated 2026-06-15 · 11 min read · ✓ Facts verified against primary sources (lex.uz, soliq.uz)

Social tax in Uzbekistan is a tax the employer pays on its payroll at 12% for private companies (25% for budget-funded organizations), not a deduction from an employee's salary. That is exactly why it is so often underestimated: it never shows up on a payslip, yet it directly drives the cost of every job. In Uzbekistan the rate depends on who you are — a private company, a budget-funded organization, or a special category. Let's break down how much to pay in 2026, what the minimum base is, when to remit, and how foreign employees are treated.

What social tax is and who pays it

Social tax in Uzbekistan is a mandatory employer payment charged on labor costs and used to finance social programs (pensions, benefits, social security). The key difference from personal income tax (PIT): PIT is withheld from the employee's income, while social tax is paid by the company "on top," out of its own funds. It is invisible to the employee and a real part of the cost of staff for the business.

Under Article 402 of the Tax Code, the payers of social tax are:

The object of taxation is defined by Article 403 of the Tax Code — primarily the employer's labor costs: salaries, allowances, incentive payments, payments under civil-law contracts for works and services, and remuneration to members of governing bodies. Separately, income under contracts for the provision of foreign personnel to a non-resident legal entity is also an object — more on that below.

What are the social tax rates in Uzbekistan in 2026?

The main fork is the organization's status. A private company and a budget-funded body pay social tax at fundamentally different rates. Under Article 405 of the Tax Code, the following rates apply.

Note a counterintuitive point: a budget-funded organization pays social tax at a higher rate (25%) than an ordinary private company (12%). This often surprises foreign entrepreneurs who expect the opposite. For private business the base rate is 12%, and it applies to the overwhelming majority of LLCs.

Minimum base and the BCU: how the tax is calculated

For employer companies social tax is simple: the rate is multiplied by the payroll (the costs under Art. 403 of the Tax Code). But for certain individuals the law sets minimum amounts tied to the base calculation unit (BCU) — a safeguard against understating the base.

The base calculation unit (BCU) is an indexed benchmark that the state revises periodically. Because the minimum payments for individuals are expressed in BCU, the actual amount in sum changes as the BCU value changes. For example, a sole proprietor pays social tax of no less than one BCU per month regardless of days worked. Family-enterprise members and employees of sole proprietors have their own minimum BCU shares. Always check the exact amounts against the current BCU value on soliq.uz.

What are the social tax payment deadlines in Uzbekistan?

Social tax is closely tied to PIT reporting: they are filed in one return and paid on the same dates. For employers the rhythm is monthly.

1. 1

   Calculate the monthly tax

   At month-end, determine payroll and multiply it by your rate (12% for a private company, 25% for a budget-funded body).

2. 2

   File the PIT and social tax return

   The return is filed monthly. Social tax goes in the same reporting form as PIT.

3. 3

   Pay by the 15th

   Remit the tax no later than the 15th of the month following the reporting month — together with filing the return.

4. 4

   Close the year by February 15

   Annual social tax reporting is filed by February 15 of the year following the reporting year.

For individuals the deadlines differ: those paying social tax on a mandatory basis remit it by the 15th of the current month, while voluntary payers (the self-employed, citizens of Uzbekistan working abroad, etc.) pay by December 31 of the reporting year. Late payment triggers penalties and interest, so it is best to keep the monthly calendar under control — especially since payroll taxes (PIT + social tax) move together.

Social tax for foreign employees

This is one of the most frequent questions from our foreign clients. The logic is this: if a foreign specialist works for you under an employment contract, their salary is the employer's labor cost and therefore part of the social tax object under Art. 403 of the Tax Code, on par with payments to local staff. A separate case is the provision of foreign personnel: income under contracts where amounts are remitted to a non-resident legal entity for providing personnel to work in Uzbekistan is also recognized as an object of taxation.

In practice this means hiring a foreign employee gives no automatic saving on social tax: the rate is the same as for Uzbek citizens. But there is also no "penalty" higher rate for foreigners in social tax — payroll is taxed, not citizenship. The nuances of taxing the foreigner's own income (PIT for residents and non-residents) are a separate topic that we calculate together with social tax when planning compensation.

Reliefs and exemptions

Not everything paid to an employee falls under social tax. Under part 4 of Article 403 of the Tax Code, certain payments do not form an object — for example, the employer's costs to compensate health damage above the established norms and payments to seasonal cotton pickers. In addition, social tax is not charged on amounts that are not labor compensation at all: income not included in aggregate income (Art. 369), property and material-benefit income (Art. 375-376), and other income under Art. 377 of the Tax Code.

Separate preferences apply to pensioners who are members of a craftsmen's association (full exemption) and to people with first- and second-group disabilities (a reduction of the minimum rate with supporting documents). Importantly: general tax reliefs for other taxes do not automatically extend to social tax — an exemption must be expressly provided for it.

A calculation example for a private company

Let's show the logic with numbers. Suppose you run a private LLC and your monthly payroll was 100 million sum.

• The rate for a private company is 12%.
• Social tax for the month: 100m × 12% = 12 million sum.
• You pay this on top of salaries, from the company's funds, by the 15th of the next month.

If the same organization were budget-funded, the rate would be 25%, and the tax on the same payroll would rise to 25 million sum. A more-than-double difference clearly shows why the organization's status is the first thing to determine when planning payroll costs. And if foreign specialists are on staff, their salaries count in the overall payroll at the same rate.

Common social tax mistakes

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