Foreign employers get one number wrong — the salary you offer isn't what an employee costs you. The true loaded cost is gross pay plus employer contributions, and what the person nets after NDFL, so your budget and your offer are both right.
What the employee nets after NDFL — 13% for a resident, 30% for a non-resident without a carve-out — which shapes the offer they actually receive.
Gross pay plus roughly 30% employer contributions — the loaded cost that your headcount budget has to reflect.
The salary you offer is not what an employee costs you in Russia. On top of gross pay, the employer pays social contributions, and personal income tax (NDFL) is withheld from the employee's salary. This guide breaks the total cost of employment into its parts so you can budget accurately. Figures are indicative — your adviser confirms them for your case.
Employment costs start with gross salary. From it, the employer withholds NDFL — 13% for residents, rising to 15% above an annual threshold, and up to 22% under the progressive scale for high incomes — and pays the remainder to the employee as net. NDFL is the employee's tax, but the employer administers it.
On top of gross salary, the employer pays unified social contributions at roughly 30% up to a base threshold, with a reduced rate above it. This is a genuine additional cost to the employer, not a deduction from the employee. Accredited IT companies and some other categories qualify for materially lower rates.
NDFL: 13% / 15% (up to 22% progressive), withheld from salary
Employer social contributions: ~30% on top of gross, reduced above the threshold
Reduced contribution tariffs for accredited IT and certain categories
The practical rule: budget the total employer cost as gross salary plus roughly 30% in contributions. For a foreign specialist on an HQS permit, add the permit and its renewals, but note the favourable 13/15% NDFL rate from day one. For a team of engineers in an accredited IT company, the reduced contribution rate changes the maths significantly.
Pick your situation — we'll tell you where you stand:
Compliant employment in Russia also means correct contracts, payroll runs, and personified reporting each period. The cost of getting this wrong — penalties, disputes — exceeds the cost of running it properly. We handle payroll, NDFL, contributions and reporting as one function.
A foreign employer can become a Russian NDFL tax agent — with registration and monthly reporting duties — without any Russian entity. It turns on whether the work runs through Russian infrastructure.
When you become a tax agent →Budget roughly 30% of gross salary in employer social contributions on top of the salary itself, up to a base threshold (less above it). NDFL is withheld from the employee’s salary rather than added to employer cost.
Residents pay 13%, rising to 15% above an annual threshold and up to 22% under the progressive scale for high incomes. Most non-residents pay 30%, but HQS holders pay 13/15% from day one.
Yes. Accredited IT companies qualify for materially reduced social-contribution tariffs on payroll, which significantly lowers the cost of employing developers.
This gives the number foreign employers get wrong — the salary you offer is not what an employee costs you. Your question is the true loaded cost: gross pay plus employer contributions, and what the person actually nets after NDFL, so your budget and your offer are both right.
Budgeting headcount in Russia? The loaded cost is well above gross salary — worth modelling before you make the offer.
Practical support for international business in Russia.