The bet has played out: budget receipts from the deposit tax have tripled
Receipts to the treasury from income tax on deposits increased sharply in 2025. The authorities collected 320.2 billion rubles against 110.7 billion in 2024, the Finance Ministry told Izvestia. High rates began to affect budget revenues, deposits became one of the notable sources of budget replenishment, and the tax base expanded due to record interest accruals. The ministry expects that in 2026 the "deposit" contribution to the treasury will exceed the mark of half a trillion rubles. What could slow down the pace of enrollment by the end of this year is in the Izvestia article.
How much did the budget receive from the income tax on deposits
Last year, Russians transferred 320.2 billion rubles in taxes on interest on deposits, the press service of the Ministry of Finance told Izvestia. This is almost three times more than it was in 2024 (110.7 billion).
This collection was influenced by many macroeconomic factors — disposable incomes of the population, changes in the key interest rate, as well as the consumer price index, the department noted.
The tax on interest on deposits is calculated as 1 million rubles multiplied by the maximum value of the key on the first day of each month in the reporting year. In 2024, for which Russians paid a fee last year, the maximum rate was 21%. Thus, the taxable base amounted to 210 thousand rubles. If the depositor's income turned out to be higher, then a fee at the personal income tax rate of 13% will have to be paid for the accumulated interest above this amount (and if a person's income is more than 5 million rubles — 15%).
Income from the deposit tax is becoming an important source of income for the state budget, said Ekaterina Golubtsova, Associate Professor of the Department of State and Municipal Finance at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
What is the reason for the revenue growth?
The reason for this increase in fees is that the amount of public funds in banks has increased significantly. If at the beginning of 2023 it was 36 trillion, then by 2024 it was already about 45 trillion, and a year later it increased to 57 trillion, explained Boris Kopeikin, chief economist at the Stolypin Institute for Growth Economics. As a result, Russians earned more interest and paid more taxes.
People transferred money from the securities market to deposits and postponed large purchases due to the low cost of loans, added Vasily Kutyin, Director of Analytics at Ingo Bank.
Citizens were also attracted by the high profitability of deposits. Towards the middle of 2024, the average deposit rate remained around 14-15%, and by the end of that year it reached peak values. Back then, customers opened deposits at 18-21%. There are no official statistics on how many Russians have savings products in total. According to a VTSIOM survey, almost every third resident of the country has deposits (30%).
Also, 2024 was accompanied by a noticeable increase in prices, which reduced consumer demand and (combined with high rates) generated additional public interest in deposits, said Vladimir Saskov, an expert at the Institute of Tax Management and Real Estate Economics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
In addition, the outflow of funds from private investors from the stock market was affected by the decision of many issuers (Gazprom, Norilsk Nickel, NLMK, Magnit and others) not to pay dividends, said Zhanna Golodova, Professor at the Faculty of Economics of RUDN University.
What will be the amount of tax revenue in 2026
In 2026, budget revenues from interest on deposits are projected at 567.6 billion rubles, and in 2027 - 305.4 billion rubles, the press service of the Ministry of Finance reported.
The rate level did not begin to decrease immediately last year. The Central Bank kept the key at a record high level until June. Many depositors have managed to lock in interest income at its peak, said Boris Kopeikin of the Stolypin Institute of Growth Economics. Therefore, according to him, revenue growth should be expected. However, in the future, the figures will be affected by a noticeable decrease in deposit yields that occurred during 2025 and is continuing now, he added.
This year, Russians will have to pay income tax on deposits for 2025. The maximum level of the key then was 21%. That is, the tax base will not change and will amount to 210 thousand rubles. At the same time, the final fees will depend on how profitable the Russians were able to invest and how much money they deposited.
In 2025, bank depositors earned almost 10 trillion rubles in interest income. This is about 1.5 times more than in the same period of 2024, said Vasily Kutyin, Ingo Bank's Director of Analytics.
"But the growth rate is gradually fading, as high inflation and lower deposit rates reduce their attractiveness against the background of more profitable investment alternatives, such as investments in precious metals," the expert noted.
For example, last year it was possible to earn about 65% on investments in gold, its quotes updated records again and again. After this growth, many investors began to invest more actively in the precious metal, and the trend continued at the beginning of this year. Against the background of a decrease in the key rate, Russians are also starting to invest more often in stocks and bonds, expecting an increase in yields.
If we take this into account, as well as the reduction in savings potential, budget revenues from income taxes are likely to increase by 10-15% this year. In the future, the growth rate may vary depending on the Bank of Russia's plans to ease monetary policy, Vasily Kutyin concluded.
— In 2025, the increase in ruble deposits amounted to about 15-16%, that is, it turned out to be twice as low as in 2024. At the same time, the key rate began to decrease, and after it, deposit rates gradually began to fall," explained Alexander Abramov, head of the Laboratory for the Analysis of institutions and financial markets at the Presidential Academy.
Therefore, according to the expert, a significant increase in tax revenues in 2026 should not be expected. Moreover, as the key rate decreases further and the profitability of deposits decreases, as well as the partial flow of funds from deposits into bonds and other financial instruments, they will gradually decrease, Alexander Abramov believes. Nevertheless, budget revenues from this item will remain quite substantial.
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