Since 1 January 2025, Russian tax law has treated digital currency as property: income from its sale is subject to personal income tax (NDFL). NFTs on TON, including upgraded Telegram gifts, fall under the same logic. This guide is a step-by-step breakdown of the Russian tax side of gift flipping for a resident individual. Not legal advice — consult a licensed tax adviser for your specific case.
TL;DR
- Upgraded Telegram gifts are TON NFTs. Any sale is a taxable event.
- PIT rates: 13% up to RUB 2.4M annual income, 15% above. Mining/validation has an extended progressive scale up to 22%.
- Recognition moment: the trade transaction date, not the date you withdraw funds from the marketplace.
- Costs reduce the base — lot purchase price, marketplace fees, TON network fees, with proper documentation.
- 3-NDFL filing: by 30 April of the year following the reporting year; payment by 15 July.
- From 1 July 2026 the next digital-currency rule package takes effect — watch FNS clarifications.
Legal basis
Core rules governing digital-asset taxation in Russia:
- Federal Law 418-FZ of 29.11.2024 — amendments to the Tax Code, classifying digital currency as property for PIT purposes. Effective from 1 January 2025. Published on pravo.gov.ru.
- FNS Letter SD-4-3/14625@ of 25.12.2024 — the 3-NDFL filing procedure for digital currency operations. See nalog.gov.ru.
- Tax Code Chapter 23 — PIT; articles 207 (residents), 210 (base), 217 (exemptions), 220 (deductions).
- Tax Code Art. 122, 119 — penalties for non-payment and non-filing.
- Criminal Code Art. 198 — criminal liability for large-scale evasion.
The digital rouble law and related subordinate acts (see cbr.ru) do not formally cover NFTs but are used in supervisory practice as part of the wider regulatory contour.
iWhy an upgraded gift is an NFT
After upgrade, the gift instance gets a unique identifier, is minted as a TEP-62 token on TON, and is held at the owner’s address. Those are all NFT hallmarks in the civil-law and tax sense. Regular gifts, which cannot be transferred to a third-party wallet, do not fit the NFT definition and create no taxable event (no realisation).
What counts as income from flipping
Taxable events for a flipper:
- Selling an upgraded gift on a marketplace (Portals, Tonnel, MRKT) for TON. Income = TON received × TON/RUB rate on the transaction date.
- Swapping a gift for another gift or for other crypto. Income = market value of the received asset in RUB on the swap date.
- Receiving TON or a gift from a marketplace referral programme. Income = market value in RUB at the moment of credit.
- Selling a gift for RUB via P2P or an exchange (when such venues exist). Income = RUB proceeds.
Holding a gift in your wallet does not create income on its own — even if the collection floor 10x’s. Tax arises only on realisation.
Not income:
- Transferring a gift between your own wallets (Tonkeeper → MyTonWallet etc.).
- Receiving a gift as an actual gift from another person (Art. 217 of the Tax Code: gift between individuals is generally exempt, except for high-value gifts from non-relatives).
- Buying a gift for personal use without subsequent sale (income arises only on sale).
Computing the tax base
Base formula:
Tax base = income (in RUB) − documented costs
Income and costs are aggregated for the year across all trades.
Deductible costs:
| Cost category | Required proof |
|---|---|
| Upgraded-gift purchase price | Trade screenshot + on-chain transaction |
| Regular → upgraded upgrade cost | Telegram Stars receipt or TON transaction |
| Marketplace fee on buy | Marketplace open-data calculation + on-chain |
| Marketplace fee on sale | Same |
| TON network fee (gas) | Transaction hash on Tonscan |
| Inter-marketplace transfer cost | Transaction hash |
Not deductible:
- Analytics service subscriptions (no professional-deduction rule for crypto traders).
- “Training” — courses, consultations.
- Hardware, internet — unless you are formally registered as an individual entrepreneur (IP, see below).
Converting to roubles
The narrow spot, especially when a trade is in TON and there is no direct TON/RUB pair with sufficient volume.
The approach most tax advisers apply:
- Use a TON/USD volume-weighted average across top exchanges with >RUB 100B daily volume (Binance, OKX, Bybit, sometimes Coinbase) at end of trade day.
- Convert USD → RUB using the Central Bank of Russia daily rate on the same date (cbr.ru).
- Fix this methodology and use it consistently throughout the tax year.
Other sources FNS recognises:
- CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap aggregated quote — acceptable if date and source are documented.
- The marketplace’s own fiat-denominated quote, if displayed.
The key rule is consistency over the year. Switching methodology mid-year is a path to disputes with the inspectorate.
Worked example
Hypothetical numbers (illustrative, not a forecast):
- 15 February 2026. Bought an upgraded Plush Pepe on Portals for 50 TON. TON/USD ≈ $3, CBR USD/RUB ≈ 94. Cost in RUB: 50 × 3 × 94 = 14,100 RUB. Marketplace fee 5% = 2.5 TON ≈ 705 RUB. Network fee 0.05 TON ≈ 14 RUB. Total cost: 14,819 RUB.
- 5 April 2026. Sold the same lot for 70 TON. TON/USD ≈ $3.2, USD/RUB ≈ 93. Proceeds: 70 × 3.2 × 93 = 20,832 RUB. Marketplace fee 5% = 3.5 TON ≈ 1,042 RUB. Net proceeds: 19,790 RUB.
- Tax base for this trade: 19,790 − 14,819 = 4,971 RUB. PIT at 13% = 646 RUB.
This calculation is summed with all other trades for the year; if total annual income (incl. salary) exceeds RUB 2.4M, the excess is taxed at 15%.
!Lot accounting: FIFO or weighted average
With many trades on one collection, the question is how to match purchases to sales. The law does not prescribe a method. In practice FIFO or weighted-average is used. The key is to fix your methodology at the start of the year and not change it mid-stream.
PIT rates in 2026
For a regular individual resident (not mining, not validation):
| Annual income (RUB) | Rate |
|---|---|
| Up to 2,400,000 | 13% |
| 2,400,000 – 5,000,000 | 15% (on excess above 2.4M) |
For mining / validation income — extended progressive scale, up to 22% at income above RUB 50M. Gift flipping does not fall under this scale — it is a property-trading activity, not mining.
Residency. A resident is an individual physically in Russia ≥183 calendar days within 12 months. Non-residents pay PIT at a flat 30% on the gross amount (no cost deduction) — a material difference for Russian traders living abroad.
3-NDFL filing
Process for an individual flipper:
- During the year — keep a trade journal: date, marketplace, lot ID, TON price, TON/RUB rate on date, fees. Excel/Google Sheets is enough.
- By year-end — reconcile the journal with your wallet’s on-chain history via Tonscan or Tonviewer. Investigate discrepancies immediately.
- By 30 April of the year following the reporting year — file 3-NDFL via lkfl2.nalog.ru (taxpayer personal account). Since 2025 the form has a dedicated sheet for digital-currency operations — procedure approved by FNS Letter SD-4-3/14625@.
- By 15 July — pay the computed PIT.
Documents are not attached to the filing but must be kept for at least 4 years in case of audit. Screenshots, exports, on-chain hashes — all in one archive.
What changes on 1 July 2026
The next digital-currency regulation package is expected to take effect in H1 2026. At the time of writing (May 2026) details are being clarified. Already confirmed in public discussion:
- Expanded FNS authority to request data from Russian crypto onramps and exchanges.
- Mandatory user identification for centralised operators on Russian territory.
- Clarification of tax accounting for NFT operations.
What does not change is the underlying PIT logic for individuals: sale = income, costs reduce base, rates 13/15%. The changes target market operators more than individual traders. Watch FNS clarifications in H1 2026 — official texts will be published on nalog.gov.ru and the legal-information portal.
When to register as an IP
If flipping turnover starts resembling continuous entrepreneurial activity (regular trades, systematic income), consider IP (individual entrepreneur) status:
- USN 6% on gross income can be more efficient than PIT at large turnover with thin margins.
- NPD (self-employed) regime does not apply to NFT operations (the law restricts eligible activities).
- Without entrepreneur status, systematic trading risks reclassification by FNS as entrepreneurial — with penalties.
The “systematic activity” threshold is vague in the law; a rough guide is ≥3-4 trades per month on a stable basis, plus targeted marketing activity (e.g. running a public channel with trade ideas).
!This is not a consultation
The IP-or-not decision and choice of tax regime is individual — depends on your income mix, region, and other sources. Consult a tax specialist: annual tax can differ by hundreds of thousands of RUB.
Documentation: what to keep
Minimum archive per trade:
- Marketplace listing screenshot (price, lot ID, seller/buyer).
- Buy/sale TON transaction hash (Tonscan).
- TON/USD rate on the date (source: exchange quote, screenshot).
- CBR USD/RUB rate on the date (cbr.ru).
- Wallet export (Tonkeeper/MyTonWallet) of transaction history.
- Trade journal (Excel/Sheets) with year-end summary calculation.
Practical takeaways
- Keep a trade journal from your first flip.
- Know your annual income to determine bracket (13% or 15%).
- Fix your RUB conversion methodology at start of year and do not change it.
- Store on-chain hashes of every operation.
- File 3-NDFL for 2026 by 30 April 2027.
- Pay computed PIT by 15 July 2027.
- At turnover >RUB 1M/year — get advice on switching to IP.
Sources
- Tax Code RF, Chapter 23 (PIT) — consultant.ru
- Federal Law 418-FZ of 29.11.2024 — pravo.gov.ru
- FNS Letter SD-4-3/14625@ — nalog.gov.ru
- Taxpayer personal account — lkfl2.nalog.ru
- CBR daily rates — cbr.ru/currency_base/daily/
This article reflects the state of Russian legislation as of May 2026. For your specific situation, consult a licensed tax adviser or attorney.
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