Because freelancers aren’t Mellow employees, income you receive through Mellow needs to be declared independently – we don’t withhold or remit taxes on your behalf (Article 222 of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus).
To carry on tax accounting in the Republic of Belarus for your Mellow income, you need to:
Be a tax resident
Have a tax ID number
Meet your tax obligations
Tax residence
Residents pay taxes on all their income, wherever it comes from. Non-residents only pay taxes on income earned in Belarus.
Individuals are considered tax residents of Belarus if they meet at least one of the following criteria:
You spend more than 183 days in the country during a calendar year – including time away from the country for medical treatment, vacation, or business trips.
You’re a Belarusian citizen or hold a residence permit, spend more than 183 days abroad annually, but don’t qualify as a tax resident anywhere else.
Belarus has double taxation avoidance agreements with a number of countries (full list), the provisions of which may override the applicable tax residence rules and other provisions of national legislation.
Taxpayer ID number
Your Taxpayer Registration Number (UNP) is your unique identifier in Belarus’s tax system. You get one when you register with the tax authority, and it’s used for everything tax-related – filing reports, paying taxes, fees, duties, and other mandatory payments. The full procedure is laid out in Resolution of the Ministry of Taxes and Duties No. 96 dated December 31, 2010.
The 9-digit number comes in two flavors:
Individual UNP – yours for life. It stays with you even if you move to another city.
Individual Entrepreneur or legal entity UNP – issued when you register a business and expires when you close it.
Freelancer Statuses and Taxes
Tax liabilities in Belarus depend on the chosen tax status and/or eligibility for certain criteria. Freelancers earning income through Mellow can choose between three tax statuses in Belarus:
Quick note: Belarus-based freelancers can’t pick their tax status directly within Mellow – the feature isn’t available. You can, however, enter your UNP in your account or when you register.
Here’s what you need to know about each status.
Individual Status
Being an individual is the baseline – it’s the default for anyone (Belarusian citizen, foreigner, or stateless person) who earns income in Belarus or from abroad. No registration required; you’re automatically in this category unless you’ve set up another status.
Here’s what you’ll pay as an individual:
Personal income tax rate depends on the type of income:
13% – applies to income that doesn’t come from employment or business activity.
So what counts as business activity? Under Article 1 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Belarus, it’s working independently at your own risk, under your own property liability, with the aim of systematically earning profit from work performed or services rendered. Crucially, these services need to be for sale to others – not just for your own use.
20% – kicks in if your work qualifies as business activity.
25% – only applies if specific income types exceed BYN 220,000 per year, and only on the amount above that threshold. These income types are:
Dividends;
Salary and other employment-related payments;
Payments under independent contractor agreements for work or services.
One important detail: the 25% rate only applies to income from Belarusian sources, which means it doesn’t affect income through Mellow.
If you qualify for tax deductions under Articles 209–212 of the Tax Code, you can lower what you owe. More about deductions.
Filing your declaration. You’ll need to complete and submit your personal income tax declaration by March 31 of the year following the reporting year. Fill it out manually or use the program. Find the current declaration form here. You’ve got three ways to file:
Online through your personal account on the tax service website
In person at the tax inspection office where you’re registered
By registered mail with return receipt
Also helpful:
Report your Mellow income in Section 2, Item 3. Pull the income source for column 2 from your offer agreement:
Payment timeline. Once your declaration is in, the tax authority calculates what you owe and sends a payment notice by April 30 of the year following the reporting year. You’ve got 15 calendar days from when you receive it to pay up. The notice counts as received:
The day it’s handed to you in person with your signature
10 calendar days after it’s sent by mail or posted to your taxpayer’s personal account
Final deadline to pay: June 1 of the year following the reporting year.
To learn about penalties for late filing or non-payment, check the Belarusian tax service website.
Unified tax. Both individuals and IEs can pay unified tax instead of personal income tax – but only for certain activities listed in Article 337 of the Tax Code (Chapter 33 of the Tax Code).
To use this system, submit a notice on the established form no later than the day before you start the activity that month. File it in person or through your taxpayer’s personal account. The tax authority handles the calculation based on your notice and the tax base and rates in the declaration. What you pay depends on your activity type, following Annex 24 to the Tax Code. Working under unified tax? You might qualify for benefits listed in Article 340 of the Tax Code.
Submit reports through your personal account, via program, or on paper using the official form. See a completion example.
Unified tax payment (Article 343 of the Tax Code) is due:
No later than the day before you start work
Or no later than the day after receiving your notice
Here’s the catch: Unified tax only works when you provide services to individuals (subparagraph 2.1 of Article 336 of the Tax Code). If you’re working with companies or IEs, this regime won’t fit. That means you can’t use unified tax for income through Mellow.
Social security and pension contributions. As an individual, these aren’t mandatory – they’re voluntary.
Self-Employed Status
If you’re self-employed, you work in specific types of activities defined by law – no need to register as an IE. Self-employed people operate under a special tax regime called the professional income tax (PIT), introduced January 1, 2023 (Chapter 40 of the Tax Code).
Worth noting: working under PIT doesn’t count as business activity (Article 7 of Law No. 230-З dated December 30, 2022 “On Amendments to Laws on Taxation Issues”).
Getting started. Register as self-employed through the “Professional Income Tax” app.
Here’s what you’ll pay:
Professional income tax is calculated at the following tax rates:
10% (4% for pensioners) on income received from:
Individuals, foreign IE and organizations - no income cap. Income from Mellow falls into this category (per Ministry of Taxes and Duties clarifications.
Belarusian IEs and companies - up to BYN 60,000;
20% (8% for pensioners) on income received from Belarusian IEs and companies – on amounts above BYN 60,000
Reporting – Skip the declarations – self-employed folks just issue receipts to customers through the “Professional Income Tax” app. When to issue them:
Right away for cash payments
by the 7th of the following month for non-cash payments
You can check PIT payer receipts online.
How it’s calculated and paid. The tax authority does the math each month based on your receipts – they’ll have it ready by the 10th of the month following the reporting month. First-time registrants get a tax deduction of BYN 2,000 (full details).
Pay the tax by the 22nd of the month following the reporting month.
Social security and pension contributions. These are built into PIT automatically – 60% of the tax amount. If you want to boost your future pension, you can make additional voluntary contributions to the Social Protection Fund (SSF). For a full year to count toward your employment record, you need to pay at least 29% of 12 minimum wages – that’s BYN 726 in 2025. If you pay less, your employment record gets credited proportionally (more details).
Useful links:
“Professional Income Tax” app: web version, App Store, Google Play
Individual entrepreneur Status
Individual entrepreneur (IE) is a status requiring special registration (how to register) that comes with restrictions on permitted business activities (list of permitted activities).
Registration happens at the tax authority where you live and takes up to two business days from when you submit your application.
Since October 1, 2024, you can only register for activities on the official list – you’ll need to specify them in your application. If you’re already an entrepreneur, you have until December 31, 2025, to continue working in activities not yet on the list.
You’ll need these documents to register:
State registration application
Identity document (passport or residence permit)
Proof of state fee payment (or ERIP operation number)
Your photograph
Some activities require additional documents.
You can submit everything in person or online through the egr.gov.by portal if you have an electronic digital signature.
Once registered, you’ll receive an IE tax identification number.
As an IE, you can choose between two taxation systems:
IE on general tax system
Under the general system, you pay:
Personal income tax is calculated at 20% on the difference between income and expenses. Expenses may be deducted either at their actual amount with proper documentation, or at a flat rate of 20% of income without requiring proof. Once your income crosses BYN 500,000 in a calendar year, the rate jumps to 30% for the entire tax period (paragraph 3, Article 214 of the Tax Code). The general system lets you claim tax deductions (paragraph 1, Article 209 of the Tax Code; more details).
Reporting – File your personal income tax declaration quarterly, no later than the 20th of the month after each quarter ends. You need to file even with zero income. Submit it:
Online through your tax service personal account
In person at your local tax office
By registered mail with return receipt
Download the declaration form here.
Payment – Due by the 22nd of the month following each reporting quarter.
Value Added Tax (VAT) required once your revenue from selling goods, works, or services exceeds BYN 500,000 since the start of the year. Below that threshold, you can register for VAT voluntarily. The standard rate is 20% (this applies to Mellow income if you become VAT-liable).
Reporting – Submit your VAT declaration (form) quarterly by the 20th of the month after each quarter. File through your personal account, with software, or on paper.
Payment – Due quarterly by the 22nd of the month following each reporting quarter.
Mandatory insurance contributions – Calculated at 35% on:
Your actual income if it’s below 12 minimum wages (income for this calculation matches your personal income tax base)
An amount equal to 12 minimum wages once your annual income reaches or exceeds that level (paying more is optional)
Reporting – Not required. The Social Protection Fund gets your income data automatically from your personal income tax declaration and calculates what you owe.
Payment – Due by March 31 of the year following the reporting year.
IE on unified tax system
Unified tax – Works the same way as for individuals, but with different deadlines for filing reports and paying taxes:
File your declaration by the 1st of each reporting quarter
Pay monthly by the 1st of the month you’re conducting the activity (Article 343 of the Tax Code)
Mandatory social security and pension contributions – For IEs on unified tax, these are calculated at 35% on the minimum wage for each month you paid unified tax (more details).
Payment – Due by March 31 of the year following the reporting year.
Whatever taxation system you choose, if your income exceeds BYN 500,000, you’ll need to establish a legal entity starting January 1 of the year after you cross that threshold.
Important: Legal entities can’t work as subcontractors in Mellow.
Do Belarusian freelancers need to register their Mellow offer agreement?
Under Decree No. 37 of February 12, 2021 of the National Bank of Belarus, foreign currency contracts between residents and non-residents need registration if they involve currency operations under Article 13 of the Law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control.” Registration is required when the contract amount isn’t determined or, as of signing, equals or exceeds:
2,000 base amounts for individuals
4,000 base amounts for IE
The base unit value:
From January 1, 2024 – BYN 40 (Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 944 of December 27, 2023)
From January 1, 2025 – BYN 42 (Decree of the Council of Ministers No. 848 of November 16, 2024)
Register contracts on the National Bank website.
Your Mellow offer agreement doesn’t need registration as long as it stays under:
From January 29, 2024 – BYN 79,999 for individuals/self-employed and BYN 159,999 for IEs (or the equivalent at the National Bank exchange rate on payment date)
From January 23, 2025 – BYN 83,999 for individuals/self-employed and BYN 167,999 for IEs (or the equivalent at the National Bank exchange rate on payment date)
Getting close to the limit? You can re-conclude your offer agreement with Mellow – just contact our support team. Track your total easily in the Documents section:
After re-concluding, your reporting documents (completion certificates and invoices) will reflect the new acceptance date:
Useful Resources
Learn more about Belarus taxes on the Ministry of Taxes and Duties website: individuals, self-employed, IEs. Find reporting forms for all statuses.
Intentional tax evasion in significant amounts carries criminal liability under Article 243 of the Criminal Code – penalties include fines, bans from certain positions or activities, arrest, or restriction of freedom.
Mellow documents for tax authorities:
Report your Mellow income using your offer agreement along with payment information from your work completion certificates and invoices.
Have Questions?
Reach us through the online chat in your Mellow account or email [email protected] – we’re here to help.