Natalia Kuznetsova comments to Forbes on the tax consequences of increasing the interest on the balance in Tinkoff Bank

On October 19, Tinkoff Bank launched the following promotion — 10% on the account balance for all holders of Tinkoff Black and Tinkoff Black Metal debit cards.

The promotion is valid until December 31, 2020. Representatives of the bank report that the action is connected with the policy of building up the customer base. As Forbes points out, such a rate is atypically high for the market because  on average, banks pay 4-5% on the balance, and the current offer exceeds the Central Bank's key rate by 5.75 percentage points.

Natalia Kuznetsova, O2 Consulting's Partner, recalls that the current legislation imposes a tax on ruble deposits on the income of individuals in the event that the interest on them exceeds the key rate by 5 percentage points or more. Since 2020, the tax rule has also begun to apply to bank account balances. This means that income received at a rate of more than 9.25% is subject to personal income tax withholding.

At the same time, representatives of Tinkoff Bank reported that during the campaign, the Bank independently pays tax for customers, reimbursing the amount of tax paid.

Read more on the Forbes website