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- Question tip: some restaurants and cafes will be exempt from VAT by the end of the year
Question tip: some restaurants and cafes will be exempt from VAT by the end of the year
The authorities approved the small business relief. A number of small restaurants, cafes and bakeries will be allowed to avoid paying VAT until the end of the year, Izvestia found out. We are talking about enterprises that have faced a sharp increase in the tax burden since 2026. For example, those whose turnover was 20-60 million rubles, they started paying VAT only this January. Individual entrepreneurs will also make it easier to switch from the patent system to a simplified one, and they will also expand the opportunities for obtaining benefits on insurance premiums. Previously, restaurateurs complained massively about the increased workload. Who exactly will be affected by the breaks and why business needs them — in the Izvestia article.
The authorities decided to support catering
The government has approved a bill that temporarily exempts part of the catering business from paying VAT. This was reported to Izvestia by a source in the Cabinet of Ministers. The document (available to the editorial staff) was reviewed by the Legislative commission on March 30.
The relaxation will be valid from April 1 to December 31, 2026. The benefit applies to companies and sole proprietors based on the simplified taxation system (USN), which have lost VAT exemption since the beginning of the year, as well as to entrepreneurs who have lost the right to work on a patent, explained Vladimir Gruzdev, Chairman of the Board of the Russian Bar Association.
The patent system is a regime for sole proprietors with a fixed tax, and the simplified system assumes a tax either on income or on profits with simpler reporting. At the same time, starting in 2026, the revenue threshold for VAT exemption decreased from 60 million to 20 million rubles, which is why even small companies began to pay the fee.
"This has come as a shock to many small businesses, especially those with low profitability, including in the catering industry (cafes, bakeries, small restaurants),— said Olga Belenkaya, head of Finama's Macroeconomic Analysis Department.
Problems in the sector have accumulated before. In 2025, 35.4 thousand catering enterprises were liquidated, which is 10% more than a year earlier, said Maxim Barashev, managing partner of BBNP law firm. Hundreds of establishments have closed in Moscow, and, according to industry estimates, the market may lose up to 30% of players by the end of 2026.
A key factor in the withdrawal of catering companies from the market was a decrease in effective demand, recalled economist Andrei Barkhota. According to him, this figure fell by 15-35%, and tax changes only increased the impact on the industry.
The authorities de facto recognize that without "mitigating" measures, the burden on some small businesses could become excessive, said Andrei Shubin, executive director of Opora Russia.
"This is, in fact, a direct consequence of the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation following a meeting with the government, when the risks for SMEs from a sharp change in tax conditions from 2026 were announced," the expert said.
The decision here was largely the result of public outcry and consideration of the situation around the Mashenka bakery, which has become a symbol of the vulnerability of small catering enterprises to tax changes, Opora Russia added. During a direct line with the president, the owner of the Lyubertsy bakery, Denis Maksimov, said that he was forced to close the business due to the transition from a simplified taxation regime.
At the beginning of the year, the head of state said that it was necessary to support small businesses after changes in tax legislation. He positively assessed the idea of a transition period for the "simplified". Earlier, Vladimir Putin also expressed the hope that the VAT increase would be temporary. After that, the government presented a plan on relief for entrepreneurs who were supposed to start paying VAT as a result of the tax changes.
In general, the catering sector is characterized by a high proportion of employee costs, as well as rent and raw materials, and business risks due to the additional tax burden remain, Andrei Shubin concluded. Therefore, a targeted temporary release looks like a logical anti-crisis step.
What other relief measures are planned
The draft law of the Ministry of Finance introduces other benefits for SMEs, follows from the documents for the meeting of the Board of Directors.
Sole proprietors who have switched from the patent system to another tax regime will be able to refund part of the VAT already included in the cost of previously purchased but not yet used goods, works, services or property rights, Vladimir Gruzdev explained. That is, if purchases were made under a patent, and they began to be used after the transition, VAT on them can be deducted and the tax reduced.
In terms of insurance premiums, it is proposed to simplify the conditions under which small and medium-sized businesses can apply reduced tariffs and pay a lower percentage of employees' salaries to the Social Fund, Vladimir Gruzdev added. For companies and sole proprietors in the manufacturing industry, the requirement that at least 70% of income should be accounted for by the main activity is lifted — previously, the privilege was not applied without this condition.
For other SMEs operating in areas from the government's list, a more flexible approach is being introduced: now it is possible to summarize income for several suitable types of activities in order to gain the necessary share and qualify for reduced contributions (previously, only one main type of activity was taken into account), explained Vladimir Gruzdev.
It is also proposed to exempt operations on connecting gas equipment to distribution networks from VAT if such work is carried out free of charge for applicants as part of pre-gasification, concluded the chairman of the AYD.
Why did the business need support?
Even with the new measures, the situation of small businesses remains difficult, noted economist Andrei Barkhota. According to his estimates, if the relief had been introduced earlier, the number of closed catering enterprises in early 2026 could have been 15-25% lower.
Small businesses are already recording a decline in revenue and margins, said Andrey Shubin from Opora Russia. This is especially noticeable in small retail, where tax increases quickly lead to either higher prices or staff reductions.
The choice in favor of catering is explained by the high sensitivity of this industry to changes in the tax burden and the impact on employment and prices, explained Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Finance Global.
— In fact, this is an investment in preserving the tax base over the horizon of several years: it is better now to "support" small businesses and prevent a wave of closures and going into the shadows than to face a drop in revenue in the future, — said Andrey Shubin.
The tax changes in 2026 were related to the need to balance the budget against the background of declining oil and gas revenues, said Olga Belenkaya from Finam. The funds raised are used to fulfill social obligations, achieve national development goals, and finance state security. According to the draft budget, the tax changes were supposed to increase budget revenues by 1.7 trillion rubles in 2026 alone.
However, this turned out to be sensitive for some sectors, which is why the authorities are introducing exemptions. The measures are targeted and temporary, so the budget deficit will not grow significantly because of them, Vladimir Chernov added.
From the point of view of the state, such innovations may be economically justified: according to Maxim Barashev, the potential losses from benefits are lower than the costs associated with bankruptcies, litigation and loss of the tax base.
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