Simplified Tax System and VAT 2026: 5/7/22 Rates in Receipts and POS Reconfiguration

Starting in 2026, the standard VAT rate in Russia is raised to 22% (previously 20%), and some entrepreneurs on the Simplified Tax System (STS) who previously had nothing to do with VAT have become payers upon exceeding the income threshold. For a POS system, this is not an abstract tax issue: the VAT rate is a mandatory detail on every receipt, and if it is specified incorrectly, it constitutes a violation of cash register regulations. We break down who is affected by the new obligation, which rate to choose, and how to reconfigure your POS system.

1. Who Under the Simplified Tax System Becomes a VAT Payer#

Previously, the simplified tax system almost always exempted businesses from VAT. Starting in 2026, this is no longer the case: if income exceeds the threshold (under conditions relevant for 2026 — around 20 million RUB per year; check with an accountant or the Tax Code for the exact threshold and calculation rules), an organization or sole proprietor on the simplified tax system becomes a VAT payer from a specific point onward, rather than retroactively from the beginning of the year. This applies not only to large businesses — a small coffee shop or a chain of service locations could easily cross the threshold due to turnover growth, even if it had never considered VAT rates before.

2. Rate Options: 5%, 7%, or General 10%/22%#

After exceeding the threshold, a simplified tax system taxpayer has a choice between two fundamentally different paths:

The special rates of 5% and 7% are lower than the general ones, but the trade-off is the lack of deductions: input VAT on purchases simply increases the cost of sales. General rates give you the right to a deduction, but the rate itself is higher. Which option is more profitable depends on the share of purchases with VAT in your expense structure — calculate this with your accountant before making a choice, not after.

Important: choosing a special rate is not fixed for just one quarter — you cannot unilaterally switch from a special rate to the general one (or vice versa) during the selected period; the decision is made several years in advance (see Section 6).

3. Reconfiguring the POS: Checklist#

1. Determine the exact date when the VAT obligation arises — the date of changing the rate on receipts must coincide with it; the date is determined by the accountant, not the POS.
2. Select the rate (5%/7% or 10%/22%) and document the decision.
3. Check the taxation system in the POS settings — it remains "STS Income" / "STS Income minus Expenses" (paying VAT does not change the taxation system attribute), but the rate for items is no longer "without VAT".
4. Update the VAT rate in item/category cards — manually per dish/item or in bulk by category.
5. Print a test receipt — the rate, VAT amount, and taxation system must be consistent.
6. Warn cashiers if the rate is selected manually — this is the most common source of errors. Some CRE models require a firmware update for new rates — check with the manufacturer or service center.

A breakdown of FFD versions and what a receipt can contain in general is available in the article "FFD 1.05, 1.1, and 1.2: What's the Difference".

4. Moratorium on Checking the 22% VAT Rate in Receipts — What It Means#

The FTS declared a moratorium on checking the correctness of applying the 22% VAT rate in receipts until 01.04.2026 — meaning they should not issue fines specifically for the rate itself (for example, if the old 20% rate remained somewhere during the transition period) during this period. However, the moratorium is narrow and does not waive other obligations:

• a receipt must still be issued/sent to the customer on time, with the settlement amount and payment method indicator being checked as usual;
• complete failure to use cash registers is not covered by the moratorium at all — this is a separate, much more serious offense (see "Fines under 54-FZ");
• after 01.04.2026, rate correctness will be checked under standard procedures again — errors from the transition period will still have to be identified and fixed retroactively using correction receipts (see "Correction for Incorrect VAT Rate").

Check the current status and scope of the moratorium on the FTS website — the wording of such temporary measures is sometimes clarified further.

5. Exemption Below the Threshold — "Not Subject to VAT"#

As long as income does not exceed the threshold, the simplified tax system remains exempt from VAT, and the receipt must display the "Not Subject to VAT" attribute — a distinct value for the tax rate field, rather than "0%" or a blank field. Confusing an exemption with a "0%" rate (for example, export operations for VAT payers) is also an error in receipt details, even if the final total looks the same to the customer.

6. Selected 5% without deductions — can you change your mind to 22% with deductions?#

Technically — yes, but not at just any moment. The choice of a special rate without the right to deductions is usually fixed for several consecutive tax periods ahead, and early unilateral opt-out is generally not provided for — a transition is possible after the fixed period expires or on specific grounds (for example, exceeding the income range allowed for the special rate). Check the exact conditions of the transition with your accountant before choosing a rate — this is a decision that is difficult to reverse on the fly later.

7. Receipts at the Turn of 2025/2026: Sale on December 31, Return in January#

A return is processed using the same VAT rate that was applied in the original sales receipt, not the rate effective on the return date. If an item was sold on December 31 at the rate applicable at that time, and the customer returned it in January under the new rate, the "return receipt" copies the rate from the original receipt because the return reverses that specific calculation rather than creating a new one under current rules. Changing the rate to the "January rate" upon return is also an error that leads to a discrepancy between the sales receipt and the return receipt for the exact same item.

8. Advance Payment at One Rate, Offset at Another#

A similar logic works in reverse for advance payments: if an advance payment was received in 2025 at one rate, and the shipment (advance offset) takes place in 2026, the offset receipt indicates the rate effective on the date of shipment, not on the date the advance was received. The difference between the tax previously calculated from the advance payment and the tax on the date of shipment is an accounting matter, not a POS matter: the POS merely records the shipment at the current rate. A detailed breakdown of this scenario and an example can be found in the article "Advances, Installments, Credit, and BNPL in Receipts".

9. Example#

An equipment repair service on the simplified tax system "income minus expenses" in March 2026 exceeded the income threshold and became a VAT payer. The share of spare parts purchases with VAT in expenses turned out to be small, so the accountant chose a special 5% rate without the right to deduction. From the date the threshold was exceeded, the "VAT exempt" rate in all service item cards was replaced with 5%, and cashiers were notified that the rate on the receipt is now pulled from the card automatically.

10. How to do this in Cenaly#

• The VAT rate is set in the product/service card or at the category level — a bulk transition of the entire line to a new rate does not require editing each item individually.
• The tax system attribute is configured separately from the VAT rate and does not change automatically when the rate changes — check both parameters during the transition.
• Receipt history with the actual rate for each item — POS → Receipts (receipts) — is a convenient reconciliation point when preparing for the transition.
• For physical POS terminals via Cenaly Hardware Bridge, a correction receipt is issued directly from the Equipment section, without contacting a service center.

11. Frequently Asked Questions#

Moratorium until 01.04.2026 — does it mean there's no rush to reconfigure the cash register at all? No, the moratorium applies only to checking the correctness of the 22% rate itself during the transition period, and does not exempt you from the obligation to specify the correct rate. After it ends, errors from this period will need to be identified and corrected using correction receipts.

We have items with different rates (10% and 22%) — how do we reflect this on the cash register? The rate is set at the item/category level, not for the cash register as a whole — a single receipt can contain items with different rates if each is configured correctly.

We have already exceeded the threshold, but haven't selected a rate yet — what should be specified on the receipts now? "Not subject to VAT" can no longer be indicated after exceeding the threshold — this carries a risk of violating CRE operating procedures. Determine the rate with your accountant as quickly as possible; erroneous receipts already issued during this time will require correction.

Return of goods sold in 2025 at the 20% rate — should the return receipt specify 20% or the new 22%? 20% — the rate from the original receipt, as the return zeroes out that specific transaction (Section 7).

How do we know if 5%/7% without deduction is more advantageous for us than the general rate with deduction? It depends on the share of purchases with input VAT in your expense structure — the higher it is, the more attractive the deduction under the general rate becomes. An exact calculation based on your figures is the accountant's task, not the cash register's.

Related articles: advances, installments, credit, and BNPL · correction for incorrect VAT rate · FFD 1.05, 1.1, and 1.2 · fines under 54-FZ · how FNS analyzes cash registers

This material is for reference purposes only and does not replace consultation with an accountant. Primary sources: Tax Code of the Russian Federation (chapters on VAT and USN), 54-FZ "On the Use of Cash Registers", FNS clarifications on the transition period for the VAT rate increase, Art. 14.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.