Russia to cap the self-employed at 60 hours a month per client
From 1 October 2026 a self-employed person in Russia will be able to work no more than 60 hours a month for any single corporate client. The cap is part of the country’s platform-economy law, which takes effect the same day. It is aimed not at the worker but at the client: if the arrangement is really full-time work, the company is expected to pay for it like an employer — with income tax and social contributions.
The rule was tightened as it went and is still being finalised, and the reporting on it differs in the details. Here is what is settled, where the coverage diverges, and what it means for anyone paying contractors in Russia. (The sources are Russian-language; links go to the originals.)
From 160 to 60 hours
The frame is Federal Law 289-FZ, “On regulating the platform economy,” signed on 31 July 2025 and in force from 1 October 2026 (ConsultantPlus). It creates the concept of “platform employment,” a register of platform operators, and data-sharing with the tax service.
The hours cap hardened along the way. In March the Economy Ministry floated a softer version — blocking an engagement only if it ran longer than six months and over 160 hours a month. By June the threshold dropped to 60 hours a month with one corporate client: exceed it and the platform stops showing that client’s orders to the worker for two months. In July the ministry acknowledged the rule was not final, with exemptions for single-industry towns under discussion.
How the cap works
The limit is counted per corporate client, and the number of different clients is not capped. The point is not to ban self-employment but to cut out a disguised full-time job at one company: 60 hours is roughly a third of a full load. If a worker is effectively full-time for one client, the state wants that client to hire and pay them as an employee.
What each outlet adds
We pulled together what each publication contributes that the others don’t.
| Outlet | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Forbes | The first version — 160 hours and six months — plus the stated aim not to hurt people for whom a platform is a side income |
| Kommersant | The final 60 hours and the mechanics: the platform blocks that one client’s orders for two months, leaving the rest open |
| Meduza | Who ends up paying: the burden lands on the client (income tax and contributions); an analyst’s estimate of ~182k “at-risk” self-employed (not FNS data) |
| Vedomosti | The rule is still being refined — exemptions for single-industry towns; officials call long work for one legal entity an “abuse” |
| Klerk | The courts: of 32 tax disputes in Jan–May, 22 were reclassification cases and companies won none; assessments reached ₽411m |
| RIA Novosti | The scale — 16m+ self-employed, up about 24% year on year |
The tax backdrop: NPD and the FNS
The hours cap sits on top of already-tight enforcement. Under the self-employed (NPD) regime the rates are 4% on income from individuals and 6% from companies and sole traders, with a ₽2.4m annual income limit, and you cannot engage your own former employee as self-employed for two years after they leave. The tax service has long scored for disguised employment — flagged markers include a high income share from one client, many self-employed at one company, and multi-month engagements (check the current Labour Ministry orders for exact thresholds).
Courts side with the tax office
The reclassification record is one-sided: companies lose systematically, and the tax the worker already paid is not credited against the company’s bill — the Supreme Court’s position. What the court weighs is not the contract wording but the facts: permanence, integration into the business, performing its core function.
What it means for business
For anyone paying contractors in Russia the takeaway is blunt: one self-employed person working full-time, long-term for a single client is exactly the pattern the tax service — and now the platforms — read as disguised employment. We covered the markers courts use in our explainer on contractor misclassification. Where the work is really a job, self-employment won’t cover it — you can test the model with our contractor / COR / EOR tool.
Paying into Russia is a separate story
Tax reclassification and the question of how a foreign company even gets money to a worker in Russia are two different things, and worth keeping apart. Sanctions and banking limits on transfers into Russia are covered in a separate piece.
What’s not settled yet
The rule is still being refined — exemptions for some territories are possible — and as of late July the exact decree number and several sub-thresholds are corroborated mainly through press reporting rather than primary sources. Check the current text before acting.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice.
Sources: Federal Law 289-FZ on regulating the platform economy (consultant.ru, 2025-07-31), Economy Ministry drafts criteria to block self-employed working with platform clients (Forbes.ru, 2026-03-20), Self-employed capped at 60 hours a month per platform client (Kommersant, 2026-06-24), The new 60-hours-per-client limit for the self-employed and sole traders (Meduza, 2026-06-26), Economy Ministry to consider exemptions for systematic services by the self-employed (Vedomosti, 2026-07-24), Review of tax disputes on reclassifying the self-employed (Jan–May 2026) (Klerk.ru, 2026-06-01), Number of self-employed in Russia passes 16 million (RIA Novosti, 2026-07-22)