Kyrgyz VAT on Stripe Digital Services in QuickBooks

A software company in Austin sells a $30 monthly plan. A student in Bishkek subscribes. Kyrgyzstan's Tax Code makes that one sale enough: a foreign company selling electronic services into the country has to register with the State Tax Service before it starts, through an online portal, and pay 12 percent VAT every quarter. There is no turnover threshold. What trips people up is the timing. Kyrgyzstan taxes these sales by the quarter in which you were paid, and Stripe Tax counts them by the date the invoice finalized.

Stripe's Kyrgyzstan entry gives the short version: "Remote sellers providing digital goods or electronically supplied services (digital products) to Kyrgyz customers must register for VAT purposes if there is at least one transaction of digital goods and services provided to customers in Kyrgyzstan within a year." It lists the registration threshold as "1 transaction within a year" and says that "Stripe only supports collecting VAT for digital services" there.

This guide works from the Tax Code of the Kyrgyz Republic of 18 January 2022 No. 3, in the edition of 31 December 2025 published by the State Tax Service, from the Service's VAT-Office portal for foreign internet companies, and from Stripe's documentation. The Code is in Russian and Kyrgyz; the quotes below are our translations. It covers who is caught, what counts as an electronic service, how the customer's location is decided, registering, the rate, the quarterly return, a worked example, and what reaches QuickBooks. It is bookkeeping guidance, not tax advice.

Acodei brings Stripe Tax amounts into QuickBooks, so the Kyrgyz VAT you collect sits in a liability account when each quarter closes. Start a free trial.

The legal basis

The regime has been in force since 1 January 2022. The VAT-Office portal says: "Starting from January 1, 2022, the foreign entity that provide services in electronic form without using a domain name or IP address registered in Kyrgyzstan, with the place of supply in Kyrgyzstan should calculate and pay value added tax (VAT)." Several articles of the Code do the work:

• Article 28(4) describes the foreign company the regime is built around: one providing services in electronic form, or selling goods online, to Kyrgyz resident individuals "without using a domain name or IP address registered in the Kyrgyz Republic." That activity does not create a permanent establishment. The rest of the Code calls this business "the foreign organization specified in part 4 of Article 28."
• Article 253(1)(3) makes a foreign entity supplying services to Kyrgyz resident individuals, where Kyrgyzstan is the place of supply, a VAT payer.
• Article 111(2) and (3) set out registration through the tax authority's website, covered below.
• Article 254(3) sets the rate, and Articles 313, 314 and 319 set the quarter, the tax point and the deadlines.

The domain and IP condition matters. Article 28(2)(13) treats electronic services provided through a domain name or IP address registered in Kyrgyzstan as creating a permanent establishment, which puts you under the general rules rather than this simplified regime. A company selling from a .com site hosted abroad is in the simplified regime. A company that runs a .kg storefront on a Kyrgyz server should get local advice.

What counts as an electronic service

Article 32(1) defines a service in electronic form as business carried on through information networks, including the internet, and lists 14 kinds. Among them:

• granting rights over networks to use software for any electronic device, "including computer games, including online games," and databases, including by remote access, with updates and added features
• granting rights to use e-books and other electronic publications, educational materials, images, music and audiovisual works over networks
• advertising services and selling advertising space online
• online marketplaces that connect buyers and sellers
• storing and processing information, and providing computing power in real time
• domain names and hosting
• automated services that run when the buyer enters data, including search and real-time automated translation

SaaS, apps, games, streaming, online courses and paid newsletters all fit.

Article 32(2) lists what doesn't count: software or databases sold on a physical medium, internet access, and "the provision of consulting services by electronic means of communication." That last exclusion is where Kyrgyzstan differs from Armenia, whose list includes consultation provided over the network. A paid "ask an expert" service delivered by email or video call is outside the Kyrgyz e-services regime. An automated product where software produces the answer is inside it.

How the customer's location is decided

Article 263(7) treats a service to an individual (who isn't a sole trader) as supplied in Kyrgyzstan if at least one of these is true:

• the customer lives in Kyrgyzstan
• the bank holding the account used to pay, or the electronic money operator used to pay, is in Kyrgyzstan
• the network address used to buy the service is registered in Kyrgyzstan
• the international country code of the phone number used to buy or pay is Kyrgyzstan's

That is a wider net than Armenia's, which weighs four similar tests against each other. In Kyrgyzstan one indicator is enough. A customer living in Almaty who pays with a card from a Bishkek bank is, on the text, a Kyrgyz supply.

Stripe Tax works from one address. For invoices and subscriptions it uses one location for the customer: the shipping address if there is one, then the billing address, then the payment method's billing details, then the IP address. Checkout uses the address collected in the session. In most cases the law and Stripe agree. Where they don't, the law's test is the one that counts, so keep the card country and IP evidence your checkout collects.

Business customers: read carefully

The Code is less tidy here than for consumers, and Stripe's setup doesn't settle it.

• Place of supply. Article 263(4) treats an electronic service as supplied in Kyrgyzstan when the buyer is a business registered and operating there, a Kyrgyz branch or permanent establishment, or a sole trader living there.
• Who accounts for the VAT. Article 53(2)(5) makes a Kyrgyz business a tax agent for VAT on services it buys from a foreign company without a permanent establishment, "except for a foreign organization specified in part 4 of Article 28, registered in the Kyrgyz Republic in accordance with part 2 of Article 111." Read literally, once you are registered, your Kyrgyz business customers stop withholding, which suggests the VAT on those sales is yours to account for.
• The catch. Article 28(4) describes the regime in terms of sales to resident individuals, and it isn't clear from the text whether that limits services or only online sales of goods. The Tax Code doesn't spell out how a registered provider reports business sales.

Stripe's side is easier to describe. Its customer tax ID table lists kg_tin, the Kyrgyzstan Tax Identification Number, with "No" in the column for impact on the tax calculation. Storing a Kyrgyz business's TIN won't stop Stripe charging VAT. And Stripe's Kyrgyzstan entry counts only "B2C sales of digital products" in its threshold monitoring.

If you sell to Kyrgyz businesses, ask the State Tax Service how to treat them before your first return. The VAT-Office portal lists a contact address, tax-service@sti.gov.kg. Then test a checkout with a kg_tin in Stripe's test mode so you know what your invoices will show. Our entry on the Stripe customer tax ID covers collecting tax IDs at checkout.

Registering from abroad

Article 111(2) puts registration online: the tax registration of a foreign organization under Article 28(4) "is carried out through the information resource posted on the open official website of the authorized tax authority" and "is simultaneously recognized as its registration as a VAT payer." The same part adds that it happens "without state registration," so you don't form a Kyrgyz company or branch.

Article 111(3) sets the timing: the application has to be filed "before the start of activity." Read with the one-transaction trigger in Stripe's entry, that means registering before you open sales to Kyrgyzstan, not after the first sale arrives.

The registration runs through the State Tax Service's VAT-Office for foreign internet companies, which is available in English and Russian. Its FAQ says the login for your personal account is sent to the email in your application, and you set the password while filling in the application. The procedure in the Code doesn't call for a local tax representative, unlike North Macedonia or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

One thing to watch on Stripe's page: the "Domestic VAT registration" link under Official resources currently points to kgd.gov.kz, which is Kazakhstan's State Revenue Committee, not Kyrgyzstan's tax service. The Kyrgyz portal is vat.salyk.kg. Once registered, add the registration in Stripe Tax so it starts charging Kyrgyz customers.

The rate

Article 254(3): "The VAT rate is set at 12 percent in respect of supplies by a foreign organization specified in part 4 of Article 28." The portal calls it "an estimated VAT rate of 12%." It's the same 12 percent as Kyrgyzstan's general rate in Article 254(1).

Article 308(2) makes the taxable value the total paid "excluding VAT," so the 12 percent goes on top of a tax-exclusive price. A $30 plan carries $3.60 of VAT. If you price tax-inclusive, the VAT is 12/112 of the total: $3.21 of a $30.00 price.

There's no input VAT to offset. Article 315(7) denies a foreign organization under Article 28(4) the right to credit VAT paid on its own purchases. The return is a straight 12 percent of what was paid in the quarter.

The tax point is the end of the quarter in which you're paid

Article 313(2) sets the tax period for these suppliers as "a calendar quarter." Article 314(3) sets when the tax base is fixed: "the last day of the tax period in which payment (partial payment) for the service was received."

Two things follow:

• Payment decides the quarter, not the invoice. An invoice issued in March and paid in April belongs to the second quarter.
• Every paid sale in a quarter shares one date. Each one is treated as taxable on the quarter's last day.

Stripe counts it the other way. Its tax reports documentation says: "Stripe Tax records tax when the invoice finalizes, before payment. A failed or canceled payment doesn't decrease the total tax reported." For a one-off Checkout payment the two dates fall together. For a subscription invoice that finalizes on 31 March and gets paid on a retry on 2 April, Stripe puts it in the first quarter and Kyrgyzstan puts it in the second. Our glossary entry on the tax point covers the general idea.

The return and the payment

The deadlines come from Article 319, and the portal says which ones apply to foreign internet companies:

• The payment is due first. Article 319(2): "VAT is paid no later than the 25th day of the month following the reporting tax period."
• The return comes after. The portal says returns are submitted "no later than the last day of the month following the reporting tax period," citing Article 319(1)(2).

So for the first quarter you pay by 25 April and file by 30 April. Most countries put the money and the form on the same day. Here the money goes first, so work out the figure before the 25th rather than at filing time.

Currency. Article 67(1) says tax is paid in soms, except by a foreign organization without a permanent establishment, which under Article 67(2) "has the right to fulfil the tax obligation in foreign currency." The Cabinet of Ministers sets the list of currencies. The portal publishes bank details for VAT on electronic services "in USD, EUR, RUB and KZT," alongside som. We didn't find a rule in the Code on which exchange rate converts sales made in another currency, so check the return form in your VAT-Office account before you file.

A worked example: one quarter

An Austin company sells a $30 monthly plan, priced exclusive of tax, and registers in the VAT-Office before opening sales to Kyrgyzstan.

1. Registration. It applies online in December, receives its account login by email, and adds the Kyrgyz registration in Stripe Tax.
2. January and February. 40 consumers in Bishkek and Osh renew each month. Stripe adds 12 percent: $3.60 per invoice, $144.00 a month.
3. March. 40 invoices finalize on 1 March. Thirty-nine pay that day. One card fails, and Stripe's retry collects it on 2 April.
4. What Stripe reports for the quarter. Tax is recorded at finalization, so Stripe's first-quarter total is 120 invoices × $3.60 = $432.00.
5. What the Kyrgyz return covers. Under Article 314(3), only payments received in the quarter count: 119 payments, $428.40 of VAT. The late $3.60 belongs to the second quarter.
6. A business customer. A Bishkek agency buys 5 seats and enters its kg_tin. The tax ID doesn't change Stripe's calculation, so the invoice shows $18.00 of VAT on $150.00. Whether that sale goes on the return is the question the company put to the State Tax Service before filing (see the business section above).
7. Payment. By 25 April the company wires $428.40 in dollars to the account the portal lists for USD. Its bank charges a $25.00 outgoing wire fee.
8. The return. By 30 April it files the quarterly return in the VAT-Office.

What reaches QuickBooks, and what you book yourself

Acodei syncs the tax Stripe Tax calculated, so Stripe Tax has to be active in your Stripe account, and your Kyrgyz registration has to be set up in Stripe first.

For a US QuickBooks company, Acodei's method is the Tax Product: a non-inventory "Sales Tax" product mapped to a liability account, with all Stripe Tax amounts on a sale rolled into one line on the QuickBooks invoice or sales receipt. QuickBooks' Sales Tax Center doesn't let third parties create official tax rates for US companies, which is why the product approach is the one that works there. It needs Stripe Tax used with Stripe Invoicing or Stripe Checkout. Each $30 renewal in the example arrives with one $3.60 tax line, and the VAT builds up in the liability account. You then use Stripe's tax reports to file and pay from that account.

For a QuickBooks company outside the US, Acodei can map individual Stripe tax rates to QuickBooks tax codes you set up. One code at 12 percent covers Kyrgyz sales, and it shows on its own line in QuickBooks' tax reporting.

Refunds. Acodei's documentation says a refund issued through a credit note carries the line-level tax breakdown. A refund made on the payment alone may not show how much was tax, and that case can need a manual adjustment in QuickBooks. Use credit notes for Kyrgyz refunds so the tax side stays clear.

The quarter's payment, item 7. The liability account holds tax on what Stripe recorded: $432.00 for the quarter, plus $18.00 from the agency if it bought in the same quarter. The Kyrgyz payment covers what was paid in the quarter. Build that payment-basis figure from Stripe's data before the 25th: an invoice's status_transitions.paid_at timestamp is its payment date. In the example, debit the tax liability $428.40, debit bank charges $25.00, and credit the bank $453.40. The $3.60 for the April payment stays in the liability account and goes out with the second quarter.

The business sale, item 6. If the State Tax Service tells you business sales go on your return, the $18.00 is paid with the quarter like the rest. If it tells you otherwise, the $18.00 was charged in error: issue a credit note in Stripe for the tax and refund the customer, so the liability account and QuickBooks both come back down.

The same liability account holds US sales tax and every other country Stripe Tax collects for, so note the Kyrgyz slice each quarter. Our guide to reconciling the Stripe Tax report in QuickBooks covers the liability side, and the itemized export lets you filter on country_code KG.

Common mistakes with Kyrgyz VAT on Stripe sales

• Registering after the first sale. Article 111(3) wants the application before the activity starts.
• Filing Stripe's quarterly total as is. Stripe records tax at finalization. Kyrgyzstan counts payments received in the quarter, so invoices that straddle a quarter end move.
• Paying on the filing date. Payment is due by the 25th. The return can wait until the end of the month, but the money can't.
• Using Stripe's official-resources link. It points to Kazakhstan's tax authority. Kyrgyzstan's portal is vat.salyk.kg.
• Assuming a kg_tin removes the tax. Stripe marks it as not affecting the calculation, and the Code's treatment of business sales needs confirming with the State Tax Service.
• Counting email consulting as an e-service. Article 32(2) excludes consulting services provided by electronic means of communication.
• Looking for input VAT to offset. Article 315(7) gives foreign e-service providers no credit for VAT on their purchases.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do foreign SaaS companies have to register for VAT in Kyrgyzstan?

Yes, if they sell electronic services to customers there. A foreign company without a Kyrgyz domain or server registers online through the State Tax Service's VAT-Office under Article 111(2) of the Tax Code, before it starts selling, and the registration also makes it a VAT payer. Stripe's Kyrgyzstan entry lists the threshold as one transaction within a year.

What is the VAT rate on digital services in Kyrgyzstan?

12 percent under Article 254(3) of the Tax Code, added on top of a tax-exclusive price because the taxable value excludes VAT. A $30 subscription carries $3.60 of VAT. Foreign e-service providers can't credit VAT on their own purchases.

How often do foreign digital sellers file Kyrgyz VAT returns?

Quarterly. The tax is paid by the 25th of the month after the quarter, and the return is filed by the last day of that month. A sale belongs to the quarter in which it was paid. A foreign company without a permanent establishment may pay in foreign currency; the State Tax Service publishes bank details for US dollars, euros, rubles and tenge.

Does Stripe Tax charge Kyrgyz business customers?

Stripe marks the Kyrgyzstan Tax Identification Number, kg_tin, as not affecting the tax calculation, so storing it doesn't stop Stripe charging VAT. The Tax Code treats services to Kyrgyz businesses as supplied in Kyrgyzstan and relieves the business of withholding when the foreign provider is registered, but how a registered provider reports those sales isn't spelled out. Confirm with the State Tax Service before your first return.

Why doesn't my Stripe Tax report match my Kyrgyz return?

Because the two count at different moments. Stripe records tax when an invoice finalizes. Kyrgyzstan fixes the tax base on the last day of the quarter in which payment was received. An invoice finalized in one quarter and paid in the next is in Stripe's first quarter and Kyrgyzstan's second.

The short version

Twelve percent from the first sale, registered online before you start, with no representative and no input VAT. The quarter holds what was paid in it, not what Stripe finalized. Pay by the 25th of the following month and file by its last day, in som or in one of the listed foreign currencies. Settle the business-customer question with the State Tax Service before you file. Our guides to the countries that register you from the first sale, Armenian VAT and Georgian VAT cover how nearby countries handle the same sales.

Acodei syncs Stripe Tax into QuickBooks, so each Kyrgyz quarter starts from the liability account instead of a spreadsheet. Start a free trial.