How to open an online store as a FOP in 2026: step by step

In short: what you need to start

• A registered FOP on the simplified tax system.
• A FOP bank account — acquiring and cash-on-delivery money arrives there.
• A store website with a catalogue, cart and checkout.
• An internet acquiring contract if you take card payments on the site.
• A software cash register (PRRO) unless you are in single tax group 1.
• A delivery contract and an API key for the site.
• A public offer, a privacy policy, and «Delivery and payment» and «Returns» pages.

1. Register as a FOP in Diia

The fastest route is the online «FOP registration» service on the Diia portal. It is free, the application is signed with a qualified electronic signature (KEP), and the record goes into the Unified State Register without visiting a registrar. In the same application you can choose the simplified tax system: the single tax application is sent to the tax office automatically.

List your activities (KVED codes). For selling through a website, 47.91 «Retail sale via mail order houses or via the Internet» is the usual choice; add other codes if you also sell wholesale or provide services. The list can be changed later.

2. Choose a single tax group

Online stores usually consider group 2 or group 3. Group 1 covers only market stalls and services to the public, so it normally does not fit a website shipping across Ukraine.

Group 2 pays a fixed tax of up to 20% of the minimum wage per month (up to UAH 1,729.40 in 2026; the local council sets the exact rate), with an annual income limit of 834 minimum wages — UAH 7,211,598 in 2026 — and up to 10 employees. Group 2 has restrictions on activities and buyers, so check your sales model before choosing it.

Group 3 pays 5% of income (3% for VAT payers) with a limit of 1,167 minimum wages — UAH 10,091,049 in 2026 — and no restriction on who the buyers are.

On top of the single tax, a FOP pays the unified social contribution (ESV) for themselves — at least UAH 1,902.34 per month in 2026 — and the military levy. The 2026 minimum wage is UAH 8,647; the limits and some payments are based on it.

3. Open a FOP account

Sales money should arrive on a FOP account, not a personal card. Most banks open one online in minutes. If you plan to use a bank’s acquiring, open the account at the same bank — for example monobank for monobank payments or PrivatBank for LiqPay.

4. Create the store website

There are two routes: a cloud platform where hosting, updates and security are the service’s job, or your own server with self-installed software (such as OpenCart), where they are yours or your developer’s.

On Tobto.shop a store is created in minutes: an e-mail, a name and an address on tobto.shop. The first 7 days are free with no card, then plans start at UAH 499 per month with no commission on sales. A new store starts with template pages — public offer, privacy policy, delivery and payment, returns and exchanges, contacts — for you to review and complete.

5. Accept payments

For card payments on the site, sign an internet acquiring contract: monobank, LiqPay, WayForPay, Portmone and others. The payment service will check your site for contacts, delivery and return terms, an offer and real products with prices.

Payment on delivery (cash on delivery) often brings more orders at the start. On Tobto.shop, online card payment for buyers is enabled after the first plan payment; during the trial the store takes orders with payment on delivery.

See also: monobank payments, LiqPay, Nova Poshta cash on delivery

6. Connect a PRRO if you need one

FOPs in group 1 are exempt from cash registers. The exemption for groups 2–4 ended on 1 January 2022: when a buyer pays by card on the site through a payment service, the seller must issue a fiscal receipt — the bank’s receipt does not replace it. A buyer paying your IBAN on their own is not a settlement operation.

The simplest option is a software cash register: the free «PRRO DPS» or commercial Checkbox or Vchasno.Kasa, which integrate with the site and issue receipts automatically.

See also: PRRO for an online store, Checkbox integration

7. Set up delivery

Sign a contract with Nova Poshta (or Ukrposhta, Meest), get an API key and install the delivery module: the buyer picks a branch or parcel locker at checkout, and you create the waybill from the order. Fill in product weights — the delivery price depends on them.

See also: Nova Poshta for your store, All delivery services

8. Publish the required pages

The buyer must see who the seller is and how to buy, pay, receive and return goods. At minimum: a public offer with your FOP details, a privacy policy, «Delivery and payment», «Returns and exchanges» and «Contacts».

See also: Public offer for an online store

9. Launch and keep records

1. Walk the buyer’s path: cart, checkout, payment, receipt, waybill, e-mails.
2. Add feeds for Prom, Rozetka and Google Merchant if you sell there.
3. Keep your FOP income records and file the single tax return on the deadlines set by the Tax Code.
4. Watch your group’s income limit — income above it is taxed at 15% and requires a change of group or system.

Checklist before the first sale

• FOP registered, single tax group chosen
• FOP account opened
• Acquiring or payment on delivery works
• PRRO connected if you are not in group 1 and accept cards
• Delivery set up, sender filled in
• Offer, privacy policy, delivery and returns published
• A test order completed

A cloud store from UAH 499 a month, no commission on sales. Pricing

This article is for information only and is not legal or tax advice. Rates, limits and rules change — check them on the tax service and Verkhovna Rada websites or with an accountant.

Sources

• Diia: FOP registration
• Tax Code of Ukraine (Art. 291–299, simplified system)
• State Tax Service: minimum wage, single tax and military levy in 2026
• State Tax Service: ESV in 2026
• State Tax Service: single tax rates (ZIR)
• State Tax Service (ZIR): who is exempt from cash registers