Starting in 2027, Kazakhstan's minimum wage will rise from 85,000 to 110,000 tenge under a presidential order. The increase will boost incomes for low-paid workers, but it will also raise costs for entrepreneurs and businesses, infohub.kz reports.
The minimum wage (MZW) is the floor below which employers are barred from paying workers for a full working month. Setting a minimum protects the rights of low-paid employees. The MZW is also used in various calculations for businesses and individual entrepreneurs (IEs). The presidential order raising it from the current 85,000 to 110,000 tenge in 2027 could therefore affect workers and employers differently.
Kazakhstanis in low-paid jobs will take home more money. It is important to note, however, that the 110,000 tenge MZW is a gross figure, not the amount paid out (the net figure), meaning it is calculated before mandatory contributions are deducted. The actual minimum wage received will therefore be slightly lower than that sum.
For example, if other indicators stay unchanged, the following could be deducted from that salary: the mandatory pension contribution (OPV) at 10%, or 11,000 tenge; the mandatory health insurance contribution (VOSMS) at 2%, or 2,200 tenge; and the individual income tax (IPN), which is withheld from the remainder after OPV and VOSMS and excludes the basic tax deduction (30 MRP, or 140,790 tenge in 2027). But because that deduction exceeds the remaining salary, no IPN will be withheld.
As a result, Kazakhstanis on the new minimum wage will take home 96,800 tenge (after OPV and VOSMS). By comparison, in 2026 workers receive 74,800 tenge on a minimum wage of 85,000 tenge. The minimum salary will thus rise by 12,000 tenge in net terms.
Individual entrepreneurs are required to pay social contributions to the State Social Insurance Fund (GFSS) and the employer's mandatory pension contribution (OPVR) at their own expense, both for themselves and for each employee. Their costs may therefore rise with the new minimum wage. Social contributions, for instance, entitle workers to various social payments. They amount to 5% of the salary, so with the higher minimum wage they will rise to 5,500 tenge from the current 4,250 tenge.
The OPVR, at 4.5% of an employee's income, will cost 5,050 tenge in 2027 (this year, at a 3.5% rate, it is 2,975 tenge). The minimum wage increase will thus raise the incomes of low-paid workers. At the same time, individual entrepreneurs and companies will face higher labor costs.
Recall that a sharp rise in the minimum wage can also carry inflation risks, analyst Andrey Chebotarev said earlier. Economist Ruslan Sultanov explained what "prevents" wages in Kazakhstan from rising.