Before you start

A valid residence permit if you want to register locally rather than at 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, 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
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. If you cannot attend in person from abroad, the card and a clear copy of the identity document can be sent by post with signatures certified as the law requires.
In personWho: You, at ДПСTypically 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 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
The simplified regime for individual entrepreneurs (ФОП) taxes qualifying turnover at a low single-tax rate and is what a large share of Lviv's IT contractors use instead of employment. 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 — and with SoftServe, Eleks, Intellias and N-iX all headquartered or heavily staffed here, it is a live question in almost every Lviv tech contract. Pay for a Ukrainian accountant rather than copying a colleague.
In personWho: You, with an accountantA consultation before you sign a contract, not afterAccountancy fees; far cheaper than restructuring later
4
Check your home country's rules before assuming they stop mattering
Ukraine has a wide treaty network, but tax residence is determined by facts — days present, centre of vital interests, permanent home — not by which permit you hold. This bites particularly in Lviv, where a lot of people spend meaningful time on the Polish side; days counted in two countries is a real problem, not a theoretical one. US citizens remain filing-liable wherever they live.
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 much published material still says 1.5%.

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

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

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

A 2023 Cabinet resolution ties issue of the РНОКПП to lawful presence — exceed 90 days in 180 on visa-free entry and you will be refused. Because the tax number gates the bank account, the licence exchange and the doctor's declaration, one immigration slip cascades into everything.

Source: ДПС

In Lviv's IT sector, ФОП versus Diia City versus employment is the question you will be asked in your first week.

The city's industry is built on contractor structures, and which one you sign changes your tax, your social contributions and your legal protections. It is not a formality and it is not the employer's decision to make for you.

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

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

The permit makes you lawful; the РНОКПП makes you functional. Bank account, licence exchange, family-doctor declaration and most contracts all ask for it. Get it in the first week after the permit.

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.
Letting a visa-free stay run past 90 days in 180 and losing access to the tax number as a result.
Copying a colleague's ФОП setup without advice. The conditions are individual and the anti-abuse rules are real.
Splitting your life across the Polish border without counting days. Dual tax residence is a genuine risk in this city.

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