Stamp Duty and Contracts

You signed a contract. Work began, the invoice was issued, and payment was received. Everything seems fine.

Months later, during an audit, it turns out that the stamp tax for that contract was never paid — along with late interest.

What is it applied to?

Stamp tax is levied on written documents that establish a legal status between individuals or institutions and serve as evidentiary proof.

The most common ones are: service and sales contracts, lease agreements, letters of commitment, tender decisions, guarantee and collateral documents, and payroll related to wage payments.

The critical criteria are: does the document state a specific monetary amount and have the parties signed it? If both apply, stamp tax has most likely accrued.

Invoices, e-invoices, and dispatch notes are not subject to stamp tax. This is a common misconception: issuing an invoice does not incur stamp tax, but signing a contract does.

How is it calculated?

There are two methods. For documents containing a monetary amount, such as contracts, a proportional (ad valorem) tax is applied: a specific per-mille rate over the amount in the document.

For some documents, a fixed amount is charged.

There is an upper limit for proportional tax; for very high-value contracts, the tax does not exceed this cap. Rates and the cap are re-evaluated every year; consult your financial advisor for the current values.

The issue of copies: In the past, every single copy was subject to separate tax. Regulations have changed this; however, the number of copies you draw up for your contracts is still a detail you should ask your financial advisor about.

Who pays?

By law, the signing parties are jointly and severally liable. This means if one party fails to pay, the tax office can pursue the other.

Writing "stamp tax will be paid by X" in the contract is valid between the parties, but it does not eliminate liability toward the tax office. If the other party does not pay, it can be requested from you, and you can subsequently seek recourse from them.

Therefore, for high-value contracts, request proof of payment from the other party and keep it together with the contract.

Declaration and recordkeeping

Businesses with continuous stamp tax liability report this tax via a monthly tax return. Those without continuous liability must declare it within a specific period from the date the document is issued.

What needs to be done on the pre-accounting side is simple yet effective: add every signed contract to your records. Keep the date, parties, amount, and stamp tax status in one place.

Storing contracts by associating them with the relevant current account simplifies both this tracking and future disputes. We explained this routine in our document management article.

Frequently asked questions

Are agreements made via email covered?

Documents issued in an electronic environment and signed with an electronic signature may also fall within the scope. Consult your financial advisor regarding the status of mutual email correspondence.

Does a tax accrue on a contract with an unspecified amount?

Proportional tax does not accrue on contracts that do not contain a specific monetary amount. However, subsequently adding an amount to the contract may change this situation.

Who pays in a lease agreement?

The parties are jointly and severally liable. For commercial leases, there is also a withholding tax (stopaj) obligation; do not confuse the two.

What happens if it is not paid?

The principal tax, late interest, and penalties come into play. Additionally, deficiencies may be detected when the document is processed in official offices.

Stamp tax may seem like a minor item, but when it surfaces retroactively years later, it grows along with interest. Keeping records of your contracts is the cheapest precaution.

Open a free account on Qolay.App and store your contracts and documents along with your records.