Taxation of Employees in Slovakia

This article explains how the income of employees in Slovakia is taxed: who counts as a tax resident, which rates apply, what is deducted from your salary, how to reduce your tax base and by when you have to file. The official source on all these questions is the website of the Slovak financial administration financnasprava.sk.

Tax residency in Slovakia

Resident and non-resident: what is the difference

A resident (an individual with unlimited tax liability) declares and pays tax on income received both in Slovakia and outside it.

A non-resident (an individual with limited tax liability) declares and pays tax only on certain types of income received in Slovakia.

The criteria used to determine residency

place of permanent residence;
close personal or economic ties — the so-called centre of vital interests;
staying in the country for at least 183 days during a calendar year.

Ukrainians with temporary refuge

Because a stay in Slovakia is temporary and caused by an emergency, for the period of temporary refuge (Dočasné útočisko) Ukrainians are in most cases treated as Slovak tax non-residents. The financial administration has published its explanation in a separate section for odídenci.

However, this does not hold in 100 % of cases: residency status is assessed individually in each particular situation. If you have been living in Slovakia for several years, work here and have moved your family over, the picture may look different. For the current rules on the status, read our article current status of temporary refuge in Slovakia.

Convention on the avoidance of double taxation

The governments of Ukraine and the Slovak Republic signed the Convention on the avoidance of double taxation back in 1996. It is this convention that determines in which country a particular type of income is taxed and how tax paid abroad is credited.

Slovak version: slov-lex.sk;
Ukrainian version: zakon.rada.gov.ua.

The Ukrainian side is worth remembering separately: the Tax Code of Ukraine provides that Ukrainian citizens who are tax residents of Ukraine and work abroad must declare the income they receive. If you are not sure of your residency status in both countries, this is exactly the case where it is worth turning to a tax adviser.

Personal income tax rates

From 1 January 2026 Slovakia applies an extended progressive scale: instead of two rates there are now four tax bands. The thresholds are tied to the subsistence minimum, so they change every year.

Rates for income from employment, from renting property and other income in 2026:

19 % — on a tax base of up to 43 983,32 €;
25 % — on the part of the base from 43 983,33 € to 60 349,21 €;
30 % — on the part of the base from 60 349,22 € to 75 010,32 €;
35 % — on the part of the base above 75 010,32 €.

Important: the higher rate applies not to your whole income, but only to the part that exceeds the relevant threshold. In practice, the 19 % rate applies to the vast majority of employees.

Deductions from an employee’s salary

Even before the tax is calculated, compulsory contributions are withheld from your gross salary. In 2026 an employee pays:

health insurance — 5 % (the rate was raised from 4 %; for employees with a disability — 2,5 %);
social insurance — 9,4 %.

Together that is 14,4 % of the gross salary. Social contributions are paid only up to a maximum assessment base; health insurance has no such ceiling. The employer pays its own contributions on top of this amount — they do not reduce your salary, but they make up the total cost of labour. For more on converting gross into net, see our article gross and net salary in Slovakia.

Non-taxable parts of the tax base

Slovak law lets you reduce your tax base on several counts. This is the main legal way to get back part of the tax you have paid.

Non-taxable part for the taxpayer

In Slovak: nezdaniteľná časť základu dane na daňovníka (NČZD). In 2026 the full amount is 5 966,73 € a year, and it applies as long as the tax base does not exceed roughly 26 083 €. Above that, the amount is gradually reduced by a formula and disappears completely once the base exceeds 43 983,32 €.

For pensioners who were receiving a pension as at 1 January of the tax year, the non-taxable part is further reduced by the annual amount of the pension received.

Non-taxable part for a spouse

In Slovak: nezdaniteľná časť základu dane na manželku (manžela). The maximum amount in 2026 is 5 455,30 €, and your partner’s own income is deducted from it. If the taxpayer’s tax base is higher, the amount is reduced as well.

The right to this deduction arises only in certain cases — for example, when the spouse is caring for a child under 3 (in certain cases under 6), is registered with the labour office or has a disability.

It is important to calculate your partner’s income correctly: it also includes payments that are not taxable in themselves — maternity benefits, all types of pension payments and so on. Various forms of state social assistance and scholarships, however, are not included.

Non-residents face an additional condition: the right to this deduction arises only if income from sources in Slovakia makes up at least 90 % of the taxpayer’s total income.

Contributions to supplementary pension savings (third pillar)

In Slovak: príspevky na doplnkové dôchodkové sporenie. The tax base can be reduced by a total of up to 180 € a year, provided you have a supplementary pension savings contract and pay contributions under it. For non-residents the same condition applies again: income in Slovakia must make up at least 90 % of total income.

Child tax bonus

The tax bonus reduces the tax already calculated, so it works out better than an ordinary deduction. In 2026 the amounts are roughly 100 € a month for a child under 15 and 50 € a month for a child aged 15 to 18. For children over 18 the bonus is no longer granted.

The bonus is also reduced at higher incomes: if the annual tax base exceeds the set threshold, the amount of the bonus is cut proportionally. Because of this it sometimes happens that after the annual settlement part of the bonus received during the year has to be paid back.

To confirm your entitlement to the bonus you need:

copies of birth certificates with a translation into Slovak (a certified translation is not required);
for children studying outside Slovakia — confirmation of school or university attendance, with a translation.

Because the bonus rules have changed several times in recent years, check the current amounts and thresholds on the financial administration website before you file.

Declaring income: annual settlement or tax return

Who has to file a tax return

A tax return must be filed by individuals whose taxable income for the year exceeded the set threshold (it equals half of the non-taxable part for the taxpayer and changes every year — for 2025 it was 2 876,90 €), or who reported a tax loss, in cases where the employer does not file the annual tax settlement for them.

Even when there is no obligation to file a return, it is often worth doing: filing gives you the chance to reclaim overpaid tax that has already been withheld.

What filing options there are

Annual tax settlement through your employer (ročné zúčtovanie) — the simplest option for people whose income comes only from employment. The employer can carry it out only if you submitted the relevant application with all attachments on time.
Type A tax return — for people whose income comes only from dependent activity but who file on their own.
Type B tax return — for people who also have other types of income: business, rent, sale of property and so on.

If you are no longer working at the time of the application, you can also ask for the annual settlement from any former employer who paid you a salary during the relevant year. The tax office does not fill in returns for taxpayers — you have to do it yourself following the instructions, or use an accountant. A general overview of the procedure is in our article declaring income in Slovakia.

Key dates of the tax year

The calendar repeats every year; only the exact dates change (if a deadline falls on a weekend, it moves):

by 15 February — the employee submits an application to the employer to carry out the annual tax settlement;
beginning of February — the deadline for asking your employer to issue a certificate of taxable income if you file the return yourself;
by 10 March — the employer issues that certificate to the employees who requested it;
by 31 March — the employer submits the annual settlement to the tax office; an employee for whom no settlement is filed submits their own return and pays the tax;
April — the employer issues the confirmation of tax paid, needed to assign 2 % (3 %) to a non-profit organisation;
end of April — the deadline for submitting the declaration on assigning 2 % (3 %);
May — the tax office refunds the overpayment on a filed return, and the employer pays out the overpayment from the annual settlement.

The filing deadline can be extended: to do so you have to submit a notification to the tax authority by the end of March. Without giving any reasons the deadline is extended by three months, and if you have income from abroad — by up to six months.

2 % (3 %) of tax for non-profit organisations

Every taxpayer can assign 2 % of their tax to a non-profit organisation of their choice. The share rises to 3 % if during the year you also did at least 40 hours of volunteering and have written confirmation of it. You can assign it to one organisation only, and the minimum amount is 3 €.

The list of recipient organisations is published by the Notarial Chamber and the tax office.

If you file the return yourself, the details of the 2 % recipient go into the relevant section of the return. If your employer does the annual settlement, the procedure is as follows:

in the application for the annual settlement, state that you need a confirmation of tax paid;
receive that confirmation from the employer (Potvrdenie o zaplatení dane z príjmov zo závislej činnosti);
fill in and submit to the tax office the declaration on assigning a share of the tax paid (Vyhlásenie o poukázaní podielu zaplatenej dane) together with a copy of the employer’s confirmation.

If you are a third-country national and are only planning to work in Slovakia, start with our article work permit in Slovakia.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay tax in Slovakia if I work here with temporary refuge status?

Yes. The employer withholds tax from your salary regardless of your residency status. The difference lies in which income you declare: a non-resident reports only income from sources in Slovakia.

Can I get part of my tax back?

Yes, most often through the non-taxable part for the taxpayer and the child tax bonus. If you did not work for the whole year, the annual non-taxable part still applies in full, so an overpayment arises almost every time.

What should I do if my employer did not file the annual settlement for me?

File the return yourself by the end of March. For that you need a certificate of taxable income from every employer you worked for during the year.

Do I need a certified translation of a birth certificate for the tax bonus?

No, for the purposes of the tax bonus an ordinary translation into Slovak is enough. A certified translation is not required.

What happens if I do not file the return on time?

The financial administration can impose a fine, the size of which depends on the circumstances and starts from a few tens of euros. If you are running out of time, it is better to submit a notification extending the deadline before the end of March.

Important. The information in this article has been gathered from public sources on the internet and is up to date at the time of publication. Conditions and rules change. Before making any decisions, check the latest information and consult a relevant specialist.