Before you start

A valid residence permit if you want to register at your local tax inspection rather than the regional office
Your passport, and a certified Ukrainian translation of its data page
A legal stay — a foreigner who has overstayed the 90-in-180 short-stay limit will NOT be issued a РНОКПП
Form 1ДР, the account card, completed with your name, date and place of birth, address in Ukraine, citizenship and home-country tax number if you have one

Step-by-step

1
Apply for the РНОКПП in Kharkiv oblast
Foreigners and stateless persons submit to the regional bodies of the State Tax Service; those holding a temporary or permanent residence permit may register at the state tax inspection for the district or city matching the address on the permit. Bring the passport, the certified Ukrainian translation and the completed Form 1ДР. Check the oblast office's current service-centre addresses and hours before you go — several have moved since 2022 and none keep the pre-war schedule.
In personWho: You, at ДПС in Kharkiv oblastTypically a few working daysFree
2
Understand what the employer withholds
On a Ukrainian employment contract the employer withholds 18% personal income tax and 5% military levy from gross salary and pays the unified social contribution on top as an employer cost. A straightforward employee files no separate annual return — the withholding is final — but foreign-source income, rental income and capital gains must be declared.
Via employerWho: Your employerMonthly payroll23% of gross in combined PIT and levy
3
Decide whether ФОП or Diia City applies to you
Ukraine's simplified regime for individual entrepreneurs (ФОП) taxes qualifying turnover at a low single-tax rate and is the default arrangement across Kharkiv's IT sector. Diia City, created by Law No. 1667-IX in 2021, is a separate legal and tax regime for registered IT companies and the specialists they engage. Both are legitimate and both carry conditions and anti-abuse rules; pay for a Ukrainian accountant rather than copy what a colleague did.
In personWho: You, with an accountantA consultation before you sign a contract, not afterAccountancy fees; far cheaper than restructuring later
4
If you are paid by a foreign employer for work done in Kharkiv, get advice early
A great deal of Kharkiv's technology work is delivered to foreign clients from a Ukrainian base, and some of it is delivered by people who have moved away and back. Ukrainian tax residence turns on days present, centre of vital interests and permanent home — not on which permit you hold and not on where your client is. Establish your position before the first payment rather than during the spring declaration campaign.
In personWho: You, with a Ukrainian tax adviserBefore you start work
5
Check your home country's rules before you assume they stop mattering
Ukraine has a wide treaty network, but US citizens in particular remain filing-liable wherever they live, and several countries treat a move to an active conflict zone as a fact pattern worth documenting carefully.
OnlineWho: You, with an adviser in both countriesBefore you start work

Documents you’ll need

Passport plus a certified Ukrainian translation of the data page
Residence permit, if registering at a local tax inspection
Form 1ДР (the taxpayer account card)
Proof of address in Ukraine — the register extract, or the permit itself

Things most newcomers don’t know

The military levy went from 1.5% to 5% on 1 December 2024, and a great deal of published material still says 1.5%.

A 3.5-point change in take-home pay on every hryvnia of salary. Anyone budgeting a Kharkiv offer from a pre-December-2024 guide is over-estimating their net, and an employer quoting a 19.5% total deduction is quoting stale law.

Source: ДПС / Law of Ukraine No. 4015-IX of 10 October 2024

ФОП is close to the default here, which makes the anti-abuse question more live, not less.

Kharkiv's IT sector runs on the simplified regime, so 'everyone does it this way' is true and is not a defence. Structuring what is really employment as a contractor relationship is a known risk area and the consequences fall on both sides.

Source: community-reported, confirmed as a standard Ukrainian tax-practice concern

Overstay the short-stay limit and you will not get a tax number at all.

The issue of the РНОКПП is tied to lawful presence. Because the tax number then gates the bank account, the licence exchange and the doctor's declaration, one immigration slip cascades into everything else.

Source: ДПС

The tax number is the real unlock, not the permit.

The permit makes you lawful; the РНОКПП makes you functional. Get it in the first week after the permit — in a city with fewer usable counter hours, sequencing matters more.

Source: ДПС / ГСЦ МВС / НСЗУ document lists

Common mistakes to avoid

Quoting or budgeting the 1.5% military levy. It has been 5% since 1 December 2024.
Leaving the tax number until you need it — it gates the bank, the licence and the doctor.
Travelling to a tax service centre without checking it has moved.
Copying a colleague's ФОП setup without advice.
Assuming a Ukrainian residence permit ends your home-country filing obligations. It does not.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.