New rules of the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation: how the requirements for owners of foreign real estate and receipt of income have changed in 2025

If you own real estate overseas, it is important to be aware of recent changes to Russian law effective from the end of 2024 and throughout 2025. These changes relate to the crediting of income from the rental or sale of foreign real estate to foreign accounts and may affect your financial activities.

Key regulatory changes

As of December 31, 2024, Order of the Federal Tax Service of Russia No. ED-7-17/915@ dated 30.10.2024 came into force, approving a new list of foreign countries with which automatic exchange of tax information is carried out. All countries of the European Union have been excluded from the list, which means that income from rental or sale of real estate in these countries cannot be credited to accounts in the respective jurisdictions.

According to Article 12 of the Federal Law "On Currency Regulation and Currency Control", crediting of funds to bank accounts in countries that do not participate in the automatic exchange of tax information is possible only on strictly defined grounds. Violation of these rules may entail a fine of 20-40% of the transaction amount.

New countries in the white list

According to the updated list for 2025, Armenia, Cameroon, Rwanda, Jamaica, Rwanda and Niue have been added to the list of countries with which information exchange is possible. Of the European states, only Andorra, Albania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, San Marino, Gibraltar and the Faroe Islands remain in the automatic exchange system. This opens up opportunities for Russian residents to use bank accounts in these countries without the risk of currency violations.

It is also confirmed that there are no plans for EU countries to return to the list for 2025, making the current restrictions long-term.

Additional changes in 2025

As of January 1, 2025, the following tax regulation changes apply:

• Anew Form 3-NDFL, mandatory for 2024 reporting, isapproved. It includes a more detailed income structure and automated calculations.
• Expanded the list of situations in which a material benefit is formed, in particular, when receiving an interest-free loan from an interdependent person.
• The marginal rates of land tax for land plots with a cadastral value above 300 million rubles have been increased from 0.3% to 1.5%.
• Introduced new requirements for the disclosure of information on cash flows on foreign accounts if they are opened in countries which are not on the white list.

Practical recommendations for owners of foreign real estate

• Check whether the country where your property is located is included in the updated list of countries participating in automatic exchange.
• Open an account in a whitelisted country to receive rental or sales income if the current jurisdiction is excluded.
• Use the advice of professional tax advisors to minimize currency control and taxation risks.
• When selling foreign real estate, be sure to record the source of funds and the path of their transfer to avoid disputes with the Russian tax authorities.
• Consider the possibility of reinvesting funds through the countries remaining on the white list, if a subsequent purchase of real estate or investment abroad is expected.

Keep an eye on legislative updates to adapt to changes in time to ensure the legality of your financial activities related to foreign real estate. the year 2025 has already demonstrated a trend toward tighter controls on foreign asset transactions, and this trend is projected to continue in the coming years.