Tax audit in Ukraine: find the risks before the tax office does
A voluntary review of a Ukrainian company’s tax accounting, ordered while the errors can still be fixed without consequences. We read the books as an inspector would: same returns, same documents, same cross checks against state registers. You get the risks, the tax each one could trigger and a way to close it.
A tax audit is an independent review of a company’s tax accounting and returns, done before the tax authority arrives. The auditor walks through each tax, finds errors in returns and supporting documents, estimates the possible assessment and says how to close every risk. Owners order it before an inspection, after a tax query or before selling a stake. It is not the statutory audit of financial statements.
When a tax audit is worth doing
Ukraine publishes its plan of scheduled inspections in advance, so you get months of notice. Errors you find first can still be fixed by an amended return.
A new accountant inherits the predecessor’s errors, and the company answers for them. The review records the books as they stand on the handover date.
Buyer, investor and lender look at tax exposure first. Better to know the number before talks than during due diligence.
Requests are rarely random: behind them stand specific transactions or counterparties. Check whether that part of the accounting holds before drafting the answer.
Ukraine has a general regime and a simplified single tax regime. Moves between them, and VAT registration, create transitional entries that are hard to explain later.
Months without an accountant, a change of software, documents lost in a relocation. We measure the scale, then if needed carry out restoration of records.
What we check, tax by tax
Taxable profit starts from the accounting result and is then adjusted by statutory differences. We follow that bridge, then the costs most often disallowed: services with no evidence of a result, royalties, related party interest.
Every Ukrainian VAT invoice goes into a state electronic register and can be blocked there. We reconcile returns against the register, then check input VAT from risky counterparties, apportionment and export rates.
Personal income tax, the military levy and the unified social contribution: calculation, deadlines, reporting. Then payments not always treated as income: gifts, rent from an employee, fees to individual entrepreneurs whose work looks like employment. The area can move to payroll outsourcing.
Dividends, interest, royalties and fees paid to any non-resident draw close attention. We check the source of the income, the rate applied, the residency certificate on the payment date and the beneficial owner.
We establish whether you have controlled transactions and whether all reached the report, then review documentation, method and comparables. Usually missed: intragroup services, loans, a related trader.
Many Ukrainian companies and most local contractors sit on the simplified regime. We check income volume and the moment of recognition, permitted activities, settlements bypassing the bank account.
What you get at the end
A list of risks with amounts
Each risk in substance: transaction, period, document, what an inspector would object to and what it costs on our estimate. Sorted by amount.
A way to close every risk
Next to each item stands an action: gather documents, redraft a contract, register an invoice, file an amended return.
A management letter
For the owner and the director, in plain language: state of the accounting, weak points in the paper flow, what to change next period.
Tax audit and statutory audit of financial statements
The aim: see the exposure and cut it before an inspection. The subject: tax returns and tax accounting, depth set by the assignment. Only you see the result, the report is filed nowhere.
It covers the financial statements as a whole, not the taxes, and the report is published for third parties. Ukrainian law sets who falls under it: if that is you, see statutory audit of financial statements. The rest sits under audit services.
Four steps from request to report
We clarify the regime, taxes, periods and the reason. Reply within 1 business day.
We send a checklist. Documents go into secure storage, nobody travels.
We take the taxes one by one and raise findings at once, so you fix things as we go.
We discuss risks with management and accountants, and help answer a tax query.
Most common questions
Will the tax office see our report?
No. The audit is done on your instruction, the report stays inside the company and is filed nowhere.
Which periods should be covered?
Usually the periods that can still fall under an inspection. If the reason is one tax query or one payment abroad, start there.
Can we get the report in English?
Yes. Reports come in English and Ukrainian, so the owner or the group auditor reads the findings directly.
How much does it cost?
A proposal follows once we have seen the assignment. Price depends on the regime, the taxes and periods, the volume of transactions, exports and payments abroad.
What if you find an error?
We say so at once, without waiting for the report. Then the options: gather documents that support the transaction, or file an amended return.
Do you work only in Kyiv?
The office is in Kyiv at 30 Tarasivska Street. We work across Ukraine remotely and reply within 1 business day.
Request a tax audit
Proposal after we review the assignment. Reply within 1 business day.