A beginner’s guide to self-employment tax in Slovakia
Nina Camara
When you open a company as a freelancer (zivnostnik) in Slovakia, you become responsible for paying your own taxes.
Here is a quick overview of what you must pay while freelancing, including important dates.
Types of self-employment tax
Health insurance (Zdravotne odvody)
Health insurance is obligatory for everyone in Slovakia. When you register with a health insurance provider and start your freelance business (zivnost), the Small Business Office will notify them, and you will be automatically registered as a self-employed taxpayer.
Social insurance (Socialne odvody)
You need to pay this tax under two conditions. First, you are in the second year of running your business. Second, your income reaches above the current threshold of 7 824 EUR.
Income tax (Dan z prijmu)
You are liable to pay income tax from the first year in business if your taxable income exceeds the current threshold. For the 2023/2024 tax year it is 2 461,41 EUR.
You may also be liable to pay pre-payments. If your taxable income reaches over 5000 EUR, you will pay quarterly. If it exceeds 16600 EUR, you will be charged monthly.
Value Added Tax (*Dan z Pridanej Hodnoty)
This tax is obligatory if your income during the past 12 calendar months exceeds 49790 EUR. If that happens, you must register as a payer as soon as you hit this mark or until the 20th of the following month, as the latest.
You may also register to pay voluntarily. For example, if you want to be able to deduct this tax from your business purchases.
*This tax is usually called DPH
Self-employment tax rates
Health insurance
This tax is pre-paid in monthly instalments based on the current minimum wage. It is due on the 8th of each month. There is also a final bill issued annually.
Standard health insurance rate represents 15% of taxable income. Freelancers with disabilities pay half this rate.
In some cases, when your tax is covered by your employer or the state (e.g. if you are a student, on maternity leave or retired) you pay less or nothing at all.
You will also get a final bill calculated by deducting the monthly pre-paid sum from the gross total generated based on your annual tax return. In case you overpay, you will get a refund. If you pay too little, you will need to pay extra.
Social Insurance Tax
Social insurance tax represents 33.15% of your taxable income.
Social insurance is also pre-paid in monthly instalments, due on the 8th. The payments start depending on *when you filed your annual tax return.
If you did so during the standard period, your instalments start from 1 July. If you used the extended period, you will be paying from 1 October.
Freelancers who are students do not pay the monthly instalments.
* see the tax return section
Income tax
Since 1 January 2024, if you are a micropayer (mikrodanovnik) with an income up to 60 000 EUR, your tax rate is 15%. If you earn more and your tax base is below 47 537,98 EUR, 19% rate applies. If your tax base is higher than that, it is 25%.
Value added tax
The standard rate on goods and services is 20%. There are also reduced rates of 10% or 5%, that apply to selected foods, medicine and medical supplies, books, newspapers and magazines.
You need to file monthly tax returns to pay this tax.
Other obligatory tax payments
Vehicle tax
Applies to everyone using their vehicle for business purposes. It is due on 31 January.
Property tax
If you bought, rented or started to use a property for business purposes during the past year, you must file a tax return to declare it by 31 January the current year.
In case you continue to use a property for business, filing is not necessary. You will only get a bill from the local authority.
Self-employment tax rate calculation based on annual turnover
Your taxable income rate is determined based on which tax base you fall into. This is calculated by deducting your business expenses from your gross income.
The rate varies and can go from seven up to 35%.
Self-employment tax return
If you reached the income threshold - 2 461,41 for 2023/2024 - you need to file a Type B tax return. You can do so within the standard period until 31 March or during the extended period until 30 June.
To reduce your tax, you can apply discounts such as non-taxable base, spousal rebate or pension rebate.
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Posted May 15, 2024
A tax checklist for freelancers wanting to run a business in Slovakia.
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