Letters from the tax office to individual entrepreneurs – how to check tax debt and what to do with fake letters

Main points

• Fraudsters are massively sending fake emails that pretend to be messages from the State Tax Service, with viral attachments or links.
• The official mail of the tax service has the domain @tax.gov.ua, and letters about tax debt should be checked in the taxpayer's electronic account.

Fake letters from the tax office are being sent en masse to individual entrepreneurs / Getty Images

Ukrainians have begun receiving suspicious emails masquerading as messages from the State Tax Service. The subject usually mentions a supposed “financial audit” or money laundering, but in reality it is a common fake.

What is known about fake letters to individual entrepreneurs?

Such letters have no relation to an official organization, the State Tax Service reported.

They are sent by scammers from other people's addresses, and inside there are dangerous attachments or links. If you open the file, you can easily “catch” a virus and actually open access to your computer to strangers.

There is a simple way to check the authenticity: the official tax mail always has the domain @tax.gov.ua. The main address is [email protected]. If you see any other options, it is almost certainly a fake.

A separate alarm signal is the attachment:

• Most often, scammers hide viruses in files of .pdf, .zip, .rar, or even .exe and .scr formats;
• They specifically pretend to be important documents to get a person to open the file.
• In fact, such attachments often contain embedded programs that give attackers remote access to your device.

To avoid getting caught, you should follow basic safety rules:

1. Do not open files from suspicious emails;
2. Always check which address the message came from;
3. Do not trust even familiar contacts without additional verification.

What to do when a tax debt letter arrives?

Entrepreneurs may receive letters about debt, but the data in them may be outdated or inaccurate, says tax consultant Mykhailo Smokovich.

They send letters by email, by mass mailing. They inform about the existence of a tax debt. Such information is OK. These letters are not always relevant, but if we receive them, we go to the payer's office and check,
– says Smokovich.

Such a debt may be accrued if the entrepreneur has not paid:

• ECV;
• single tax;
• or other tax.

To find out the real state of affairs, you should go to the taxpayer's electronic account. That's where you can see current information: is there a debt, an overpayment, or was everything paid on time:

• The account displays the complete history of fund movements and all accruals.
• Next, you need to check your budget calculations: select a specific tax, view the balance, and check for overpayments or debt.

What do you need to know about taxes and running a sole proprietorship in Ukraine?

• Individual entrepreneurs must pay taxes, including military duty and the single tax, by March 20, 2026. An application for a change or refusal from the simplified taxation system had to be submitted by March 16, and a declaration for 2025 had to be submitted by April 30.

• You can open an individual entrepreneur in Ukraine yourself online through the Diya portal, choosing the taxation system and KVEDs. Experts advise registering KVEDs “with a margin”, and for small businesses – a simplified taxation system.

• Individual entrepreneurs on the simplified taxation system must follow annual income limits that differ for each group. Exceeding the income limit results in a 15% tax on the excess, which can be transferred to another group or the general system.

• Sole proprietors can be fined 10 minimum wages for each unregistered employee upon the first inspection. In case of repeated violation within a year, the fine increases to 30 minimum wages, which is equal to 259,410 hryvnias in 2026.