12. 11. 2026

Up to 23% for a quick car resale: the Rada introduces a 183-day rule

Selling a car a few months after buying it will become much more expensive. On 11 November the Verkhovna Rada adopted in the second reading and as a whole bill No. 16037-d amending the Tax Code. Even if it is the first sale of the year, 18% personal income tax (PIT) will have to be paid if fewer than 183 days have passed since the car was registered to the owner. 273 MPs voted for the document, Sud.ua (Judicial and Legal Newspaper) reports.

In short:

the first car sale of the year is free of PIT only if the car was owned for at least 183 days;
a sale before that period means 18% PIT and a 5% military levy, 23% in total;
the second sale of the year — 5% if the car was owned for at least 183 days, otherwise 18%;
the third and every subsequent sale — 18%;
the 183-day requirement does not apply to inherited cars;
the new rules are to start on 1 January 2027;
the law has been sent to the President for signature.

How the 183-day rule will work

Until now, the first sale of a passenger car, motorcycle or moped in a calendar year was not subject to PIT — regardless of how long the vehicle had been owned by the seller.

Amendments to Article 173 of the Tax Code add a condition: to sell the first car of the year without PIT, it must have been owned by the seller for at least 183 days from the date of its state registration to that person. If it is sold earlier, the rate will be 18%.

The tax is calculated on the income from the sale, not on the difference between the purchase and sale price.

Calculation example

An owner registered a car and three months later sold it for UAH 500,000:

PIT 18% — UAH 90,000;
military levy 5% — UAH 25,000;
total — UAH 115,000, that is 23% of the taxable income.

The second and third sale

For the second sale of a passenger car, motorcycle or moped in a year, the PIT rate remains 5% — provided the vehicle was owned for at least 183 days. If it is sold earlier, 18% will apply.

The third and every subsequent sale are, as before, taxed at 18%.

An exception was made for inherited vehicles: the 183-day ownership requirement does not apply to cars received by inheritance.

VIN and IMEI in tax invoices

VAT payers supplying vehicles under headings 8702–8705 of the UKT ZED classification will have to state VIN codes in tax invoices.

For smartphones and other specified categories of mobile phones, tax invoices will state the IMEI of each unit of goods.

What else the law changes

individual entrepreneurs (FOPs) who are VAT payers will be able to choose the reporting period: a month or a quarter. An application to switch to quarterly reporting is filed 15 calendar days before the start of the quarter, and the period may be changed once a year; a separate procedure is provided for newly registered payers;
the threshold of budget refund and/or negative VAT value that may be a ground for an unscheduled documentary audit (subparagraph 78.1.8 of the Tax Code) is raised from UAH 100,000 to UAH 1 million; other grounds for audits remain;
tax returns and tax invoices will be pre-filled automatically — based on data already held in the tax service’s systems;
consolidated tax invoices may be issued for transactions with buyers who are not VAT payers, if the supply is continuous or regular, — no later than the last day of the month.

Bill No. 16037-d was prepared on the basis of the government’s and an alternative initiative. Its adoption is linked to Ukraine’s commitments to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

When the law will enter into force

In general, the law is to enter into force on the day after its official publication. The rules on taxing car sales, the VIN and IMEI requirements, and quarterly reporting for FOPs who are VAT payers are set for 1 January 2027.

On 12 November the law was sent to the President for signature. More on the rates — in our article on the 183-day rule.