The court canceled the additional tax assessment of over 1 million hryvnias for a Ukrainian woman’s income from OnlyFans due to lack of evidence

The court canceled the additional tax assessment of over 1 million hryvnias for a Ukrainian woman’s income from OnlyFans due to lack of evidence

The Chernihiv District Administrative Court considered a case based on the claim of a Ukrainian citizen who appealed the tax authorities’ decisions to assess over one million hryvnias in additional taxes and fines on income from the OnlyFans platform. The court sided with the plaintiff because the tax authority failed to provide primary financial documents confirming her receipt of the funds.

This was reported by the Telegram channel “Sudom po skhemam” with reference to case No. 620/6919/26.

Why did the tax dispute arise?

In April 2026, the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Chernihiv Region conducted a documentary unscheduled off-site audit of the citizen. The audit was triggered by an information letter from the State Tax Service of Ukraine stating that data had been received from the competent authorities of the United Kingdom regarding income earned in 2023 by Ukrainian residents from Fenix International Ltd (the operator of the OnlyFans platform).

Based on the audit results, the tax officials issued four tax notices-decisions (TNDs) recording:

• underpayment of personal income tax (PIT) in the amount of UAH 1,025,982.87;
• underpayment of military duty in the amount of UAH 85,498.57;
• violations for failure to file a tax return for 2022 and failure to respond to the tax authority’s request.

Attorney requests and the tax authority’s position

While defending the plaintiff’s interests, attorney Ihor Petrovych Andrieiev sent requests to the State Tax Service of Ukraine and its regional office demanding:

1.     Copies of primary documents (payment instructions, bank statements) confirming the actual receipt of income by the plaintiff.

2.     Information on specific bank details and dates of fund crediting.

In its response, the State Tax Service of Ukraine stated that information from foreign states is confidential (restricted-access information) under the Tax Code of Ukraine. Data from the UK authorities had been processed, identified, and forwarded by the regional office in the form of analytical data. The tax authority described any more detailed accompanying materials as “elements of internal organization of activities” and refused to disclose them.

Why did the court rule in favor of the plaintiff?

Judge S. L. Klopot examined the case materials and concluded that the claims were well-founded for the following reasons:

•   Absence of primary documents: As the audit report shows, the tax authority determined the plaintiff’s income solely on the basis of the information letter from the State Tax Service of Ukraine. No primary accounting or banking documents (bank statements, payment orders, service agreements, etc.) were included in the audit materials.
•   Status of the information letter: The court emphasized that the letter from the State Tax Service of Ukraine is not a primary document within the meaning of tax legislation. It is merely a means of internal correspondence between tax authorities, is purely informational in nature, and serves only as a guide for further collection of evidence, not as indisputable proof of a violation.
• Failure to prove the fact of income: Since the defendant provided no proper documentary evidence recording the receipt of funds into the plaintiff’s accounts from OnlyFans, the court found the additional assessments unfounded.

Outcome of the court proceedings

On 20 July 2026, the court fully granted the claims filed by Herych Daria Olehivna:

1.     All four contested tax notices-decisions of the Main Directorate of the State Tax Service in Chernihiv Region were cancelled.

2.     Court costs in the amount of UAH 16,818.39 were recovered from the tax authority’s budgetary appropriations in favor of the plaintiff.