Tax limitation period of 1,095 days: what the tax authority can audit in 2027

From 1 August 2026, the martial-law pause no longer extends the base 1,095-day limitation period. The ordinary 1,095 days that had been suspended resumed running on 1 August 2023. If your company is on the 2027 audit schedule, recalculate the audit period from the filing deadline of each individual return. The old "from 2020 to date" approach used by the tax authority in 2024–2025 no longer works for ordinary taxes.

The essentials in 30 seconds

• 1,095 days from the filing deadline of a return is the base limitation period (para. 102.1 of Article 102 of the Tax Code of Ukraine).
• For transfer pricing, controlled foreign companies and certain non-resident rules the period is 2,555 days (Articles 39, 39-2, para. 141.4 of Article 141 of the Tax Code).
• The suspension ran from 18 March 2020 to 31 July 2023 inclusive — 1,231 days in total. For most ordinary audits these days have now been fully absorbed.
• The annual periods 2020, 2021 and 2022 "closed" almost simultaneously in the summer of 2026.
• The 2023 annual corporate income tax return (deadline 29 February 2024) is still within reach: its 1,095 days expire on 28 February 2027.
• An amended return does not reset the whole period — it only starts a new 1,095 days for the amounts you corrected.
• Once the period has expired, the tax authority may not only fail to assess additional liabilities — it may not even audit that period.

How many days does the tax authority have to audit you

Paragraph 102.1 of Article 102 of the Tax Code gives the controlling authority the right to conduct an audit and determine liabilities no later than the 1,095th day following the last day of the return filing deadline (or the payment of the self-assessed liability). If a return was filed late, the count starts from the actual filing date. If the authority has not determined the liability within that period, the taxpayer is deemed free of it, including penalties.

Count by return deadline, not by calendar year of activity. Example: the deadline for the 2023 annual corporate income tax return is 29 February 2024; the limitation period expires exactly 1,095 days later — on 28 February 2027.

In its ruling of 19 December 2024 in case No. 440/4414/18, the Supreme Court resolved whether a period could still be audited after expiry without assessing liabilities. It cannot: after the established period ends, the controlling authority is barred both from assessing additional tax liabilities and from auditing the correctness of those liabilities at all. This is a binding legal position of the highest judicial instance, not a tax authority clarification.

For what the tax authority can already see in its systems before any audit begins, see our analysis: What the tax authority sees in 2026: a full review of DPS data sources.

When 2,555 days apply instead of 1,095

The extended period, set by the same para. 102.1, is 2,555 days where the audit concerns Articles 39 and 39-2 of the Tax Code or the requirements of para. 141.4 of Article 141. This is not every audit involving non-residents, and not only large taxpayers — it is limited to these specific grounds.

The para. 141.4 requirement entered the 2,555-day list only on 1 July 2024 (Law No. 3721-IX). Point 73 of Subdivision 10 of Section XX of the Tax Code applies that period only to documents whose retention period had not expired by that date. The Supreme Court confirmed in its ruling of 17 June 2026 in case No. 160/19604/25: where the ordinary 1,095 days had already expired before 1 July 2024, the new 2,555-day period does not reopen it. Otherwise that would be a retroactive effect the law does not establish.

Parameter	1,095 days	2,555 days
Legal basis	para. 102.1, Art. 102 of the Tax Code	para. 102.1, Art. 102 + Arts. 39, 39-2, para. 141.4 of Art. 141
Typical taxes	corporate income tax, VAT, single tax, PIT under the general procedure	transfer pricing, CFCs, specific non-resident transactions
1,231-day pause	fully absorbed from 1 August 2026	added the same way and still running in mid-2026
Amended return	new 1,095 days within the scope of the correction	same logic, with the longer base period

Business purpose in non-resident transactions is a separate topic: how a cross-border business can defend against additional assessments.

The 1,231-day pause: where the number comes from

From 18 March 2020 until the last day of the month in which quarantine ended, a moratorium on audits applied under para. 52-2 of Subdivision 10 of Section XX of the Tax Code, and the limitation periods stopped with it. The martial-law suspension under para. 69.9 of the same subdivision (introduced by Law No. 2118-IX, effective 7 March 2022, covering periods from 24 February 2022) provided that, temporarily until 1 August 2023, the running of periods defined by tax law was suspended for taxpayers and controlling authorities.

Do the math: from 18 March 2020 to 31 July 2023 inclusive makes 1,231 days. In 2024–2025 this pause allowed the tax authority to reach back to around 2015 for transfer pricing and to 2018–2019 for ordinary taxes. For the base 1,095-day track, that era is now over.

The periods resumed on 1 August 2023 for most audits. Anything whose filing deadline fell between 18 March 2020 and 31 July 2023 received a full fresh 1,095-day count starting from 1 August 2023, not from the filing date.

Important. 31 July 2023 is the general rule, not a universal date. In its ruling of 17 June 2026 in case No. 160/19604/25 the Supreme Court held that for a documentary unscheduled audit of non-resident income sourced in Ukraine (a category added to sub-para. 69.2 by Law No. 2719-IX of 25 November 2022), the suspension ran from 18 March 2020 to 24 November 2022 inclusive and ended on 25 November 2022. That ground was then unblocked for non-residents by Law No. 3219-IX from 1 August 2023. Before applying the "standard" date, check which exact ground is stated in the audit order.

Example: an audit scheduled for Q1 2027

A company is on the Q1 2027 audit schedule. The inspector's order formally states the period "from 2020," as was still done in 2024–2025. Verify this yourself before signing access.

• Returns for 2020, 2021 and 2022: each filing deadline fell within the pause, so the full 1,095 days only started running on 1 August 2023 and expired in the summer of 2026. In Q1 2027 all three years are beyond reach.
• The 2023 annual corporate income tax return: deadline 29 February 2024, after resumption. The period expires on 28 February 2027. Monthly VAT and quarterly single tax for 2023 have different dates — some are already closed.
• For 2024 onward, count from each return's own deadline — the remaining runway is much longer.

The oldest period that can realistically threaten this company is the 2023 annual income tax return — and only if the audit starts before 28 February 2027.

Single-tax entrepreneurs in groups 1 and 2: a separate pause

For group 1 and 2 single-tax payers, the limitation period was suspended a second time: from 1 December 2023 to 1 December 2024 (sub-para. 1 of para. 69.35-1, para. 69.36 of Subdivision 10 of Section XX), while the moratorium on their documentary audits was in force. The "as for everyone from 1 August 2023" formula does not work for them. But this is not an automatic extra year forever: if the moratorium did not cover a specific audit (e.g. one initiated at the taxpayer's request or on business closure), count under the general rule.

Keep in mind a separate risk — when the tax authority treats several sole proprietors as one business: one Wi-Fi hotspot, and you are already "splitting" the business.

When 1,095 days will not save you

The limitation period does not apply where no return was filed for the period (sub-para. 102.2.1), or where an officer of the taxpayer or an individual taxpayer was convicted of evading that liability, or the criminal proceedings were closed on non-exonerating grounds (sub-para. 102.2.2).

Separately: if a conviction under Article 369 or 369-2 of the Criminal Code concerning the taxpayer (or a person acting on their behalf) has entered into force and could have resulted in understatement of the liability, the amount is assessed without the 1,095/2,555-day limits (para. 102.2-1). For audits of financial agents and account holders under Article 39-3, the period is different: 1,825 days from the reporting deadline for controlled accounts; if no report was filed, there is no limitation at all.

The running of the period is suspended under para. 102.3 of Article 102 where:

• the taxpayer stays outside Ukraine continuously for 183 days or more;
• a court or the law has prohibited the audit;
• the controlling authority has suspended, extended or postponed the audit itself under Articles 44, 82, 85 of the Tax Code or the Customs Code;
• an administrative or judicial appeal against the assessment decision is pending;
• an act has been drawn up on the impossibility of conducting the audit, the taxpayer was denied access to it, or the appointment decision is being challenged in court (sub-para. 102.3.4).

An amended return does not escape attention either: it opens a new 1,095 days, but only for the amounts you corrected yourself.

Document retention is counted differently

The Article 102 limitation period and the Article 44 retention period are different things. Under sub-para. 44.3.2, primary documents of persons listed in para. 133.1, sub-para. 133.2.2 and para. 133.4 of Article 133, and of legal entities on the simplified system, are kept for 1,825 days. Single-tax sole proprietors are not in that list: for them the general 1,095 days under sub-para. 44.3.3 apply unless 2,555-day grounds exist (transfer pricing, CFCs, para. 141.4). Transfer pricing documentation is kept for 2,555 days. Do not discard the 2022 archive merely because that year can no longer be audited.

Mistake No. 1: counting from 1 January of the reporting year

It is simpler but wrong: the count starts from the deadline of each specific return, not from the start of the reporting year. The difference between July VAT and annual income tax easily shifts the "open" period by several months.

Mistake No. 2: still adding the martial-law pause after August 2026

That was the correct calculation in 2024 and 2025 — and it genuinely worked then. For the base 1,095-day track it no longer rescues the pre-war years.

What can be audited now (September–December 2026)

Category	What can be audited now	Caveat
Group 3 sole proprietors, ordinary taxes	Returns whose deadline fell after 01.08.2023 and whose 1,095 days have not yet expired. Quarterly single tax for Q2 2023 is already closed; the 2023 annual single-tax return (deadline 09.02.2024) may still be within the period.	Provided the return was not later amended. The 1,095 days run from the last day for filing, not from 1 January of the reporting year.
LLCs and other companies, ordinary taxes	Returns whose deadline fell after 01.08.2023 and whose 1,095 days have not expired. The 2023 annual income tax — until 28.02.2027. VAT for the first half of 2023 is already closed.	Provided the return was not later amended. It is the specific deadline that matters, not the "year of activity."
Group 1–2 sole proprietors	More years may be audited than for group 3: often still 2020–2022, sometimes older.	Only if the moratorium for group 1–2 audits (01.12.2023–01.12.2024) covered that audit.
Transfer pricing, CFCs and certain payments to non-residents	The period is longer: 2,555 days plus the 18.03.2020–31.07.2023 pause.	This concerns Articles 39, 39-2 and para. 141.4 of the Tax Code — not just any dealings with non-residents.
Unified social contribution and unfiled reports	No limitation period — any year can be audited.	For the USC this is part 16 of Article 25 of Law No. 2464-VI. Unfiled returns fall under sub-para. 102.2.1.
Amended return	A new 1,095-day period runs from the date of the amendment, but only for the corrected amounts.	Other figures in the same return are not extended.

How to use the table

1. First identify the type of tax and return — a specific deadline, not the "year of activity."
2. Check whether the moratorium covered the exact type of audit named in the order (critical for group 1–2 sole proprietors).
3. If the order names an already "closed" year, record a written objection to access, citing the filing deadlines of the specific returns.
4. Keep your archive longer than the audit limitation period under Article 44 of the Tax Code. A year closed to audit does not mean its primary documents can be destroyed.

If an audit has already led to blocked VAT invoices, see our separate analysis: Unblocking VAT invoices in 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Can 2021 still be audited in 2027 for an ordinary tax?

No — provided the return was filed on time and never amended: the limitation period for that period expired in the summer of 2026.

Does the unified social contribution fall under these 1,095 days?

No. Under part 16 of Article 25 of Law No. 2464-VI, no limitation period applies at all to the assessment and collection of USC arrears, fines and penalties; Article 102 of the Tax Code is irrelevant here.

What should I do if the audit order names a closed year?

Record a written objection before the inspectors begin work, citing the filing deadlines of the specific returns — not a generic "three years of activity."

Does an amended return reset the limitation period?

No. It starts a new 1,095 days only for the amounts you corrected. All other figures in the same return remain under the original count.