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Tax rates in Hungary

Tax Rates

Consumption Taxes

Nature of the Tax
VAT (Value Added tax - AFA: Általános Forgalmi Adó)
Tax Rate
27%
Reduced Tax Rate
A 5% rate applies to human medicines and certain medical products; books; live specimens or slaughtered and chopped (to some extent) meat of certain large animals (pigs, cattle, sheep, goats); poultry meat, eggs and milk (i.e., fresh milk and both UHT and ESL); internet services; catered meals; non-alcoholic beverages made on the spot; hotel services; sale of immovable property for residual purposes, provided that its size does not exceed 150 square meters in the case of flats, and 300 square meters in the case of detached houses. For new residential properties with an available building permit or notification until 31 December 2024, the reduced tax rate of 5% may be applied until 31 December 2028.

A reduced rate of 18% is applicable for some basic foodstuffs (e.g. milk, certain dairy products, products made from cereals, flour, and starch) and entrance to certain open-air public music festivals.

Other Consumption Taxes
Excise tax is levied on items such as mineral oils, alcohol and alcoholic beverages (products with an alcohol content of 1.2% or more by volume), beer, wine, other still and sparkling fermented beverages, intermediate alcoholic products, tobacco products, energy products (electricity, natural gas, and coal). The first domestic distributor of certain products, as well as the acquirer of goods that are brought from abroad and used for the domestic manufacture of products that will be sold in Hungary, are liable to pay a product tax at different rates according to the product.

Certain products are subject to the environmental protection product fee, including tyres, packaging materials, batteries, commercial printing paper, other plastic products, other chemical products, other crude oil products, etc.

A product tax must be paid by the initial domestic distributor of specific goods, as well as by those who acquire items from overseas to use in the production of their own goods sold in Hungary. The products subject to the tax include beverages, energy drinks, pre-packed products with added sugar, salty snacks, flavoured beer and alcoholic beverages, delicacies, fruit jams, etc.

An airline contribution shall be paid by the ground handling service provider entity after the air passenger transport activity based on the number of passengers on the aircraft served (rates vary according to the final destination of the passenger and the carbon dioxide emission value of the aircraft).

Registration tax is charged on passenger cars, motor homes, and motorcycles before they can be registered and put into service in Hungary; it is also payable by car fleet operators.

Telecommunications service providers are subject to a specific tax (HUF 2 per minute for calls made and HUF 2 per message sent for private individuals; HUF 3 per minute for calls made and HUF 3 per message sent for other entities).

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Corporate Taxes

Company Tax
9%
Tax Rate For Foreign Companies
Resident companies are taxed on worldwide income. Non-residents are subject to corporate income tax on their income from their Hungarian branch’s business activities.
A foreign company is deemed resident if its effective primary management site is in Hungary.
Capital Gains Taxation
In general, capital gains are part of the corporate tax base and are taxed at the standard rate of 9%. Capital gains arising from the sale of shares in Hungarian companies by non-resident companies are tax-exempt, with the exception of those of Hungarian property companies. Capital gains deriving from the disposal of investments may also be exempt provided that the taxpayer owns the Hungarian subsidiary (which cannot be a controlled foreign company) for at least a year and that the Hungarian authorities are kept informed of the acquisition of the investment within 75 days. Capital gains arising from the sale of intellectual property benefit from a similar exemption, yet the reporting period of the acquisition is reduced to 60 days.
Main Allowable Deductions and Tax Credits
All expenses incurred in deriving taxable business income may generally be deducted.

Grants made or assets that are transferred without consideration, as well as liabilities assumed or services provided free of charge, will qualify as business expenses if the taxpayer has a declaration from the recipient stating that the recipient’s profit will not be negative without the income received. Grants provided to a foreign person or foreign resident company are not considered business expenses. Employee benefits and the fringe benefits tax payable on them are tax-deductible.
Bad debts can be deductible if supported by legally valid third-party documents stating that the receivable cannot be collected. Furthermore, 20% of eligible bad debts are deductible from the corporate income tax base if the debt was not settled within 365 days from the due date. Taxes are usually deductible (not for the corporate income tax and the recoverable VAT). Employee benefits and the fringe benefits tax payable on them are also tax-deductible.

R&D expenditure can be deducted from taxable income, as well as investments that comply with energy efficiency objectives. 300% of the direct costs for R&D are deductible from the tax base (capped at HUF 50 million) if the research activity is carried out jointly with a higher education institution, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, or a research institute established by them.
Operating losses generated after the tax year 2015 can be carried forward for five years (up to 50% of the tax base calculated without losses carried forward), whereas the carryback of losses is not allowed.

Other Corporate Taxes
Local municipalities may levy a Local Business Tax (LBT) up to 2% on net sales revenues (from 2023 the tax is also payable in EUR or USD). Certain financial institutions such as payment service providers and intermediaries of currency exchange services are subject to a financial transactions tax of 0.3% (capped at HUF 6,000 per transaction, the tax base being the amount of the transaction exceeding HUF 20,000). A special tax on retailers has been established, which applies also to foreign resident companies that do not have a permanent establishment in the country (for example online webshops). Progressive rates of 0.1%, 0.4% and 2.5% apply (with the entities with a tax base of less than HUF 500 million being exempt).

The owner of a building is subject to property tax liability annually on the first day of the calendar year; the same happens with the owner of land. Rates and tax base are calculated according to the type of property.

The transfer of real estate or shares in companies holding Hungarian real estate is subject to transfer tax payable by the purchaser at a rate of 4% of the value of the property up to HUF 1 billion, and 2% on the portion of the value exceeding HUF 1 billion (capped at HUF 200 million per property, exceptions apply).

The most common types of stamp duty are gift duty and duty on transfers of property for consideration. Stamp duty is levied on movable and immovable property and property rights if they were acquired in Hungary, unless an international agreement rules otherwise.

Social security contributions paid by the employer amount to 13% of the employee's gross salary.

Mining companies must pay a mining royalty based on the quantity of the mineral resources extracted under authority permit. An environmental tax applies, calculated on the basis of the quantity of emitted materials (e.g. sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, mercury, phosphorous, cyanides, etc.) multiplied by the respective fee rate.

Telecommunications service providers are subject to a specific tax (HUF 2 per minute for calls made and HUF 2 per message sent for private individuals; HUF 3 per minute for calls made and HUF 3 per message sent for other entities).

Other Domestic Resources
National Tax and Customs Administration (NTCA)

Country Comparison For Corporate Taxation

  Hungary Eastern Europe & Central Asia United States Germany
Number of Payments of Taxes per Year 11.0 13.9 10.6 9.0
Time Taken For Administrative Formalities (Hours) 277.0 226.2 175.0 218.0
Total Share of Taxes (% of Profit) 37.9 36.5 36.6 48.8

Source: Doing Business, Latest available data.

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Individual Taxes

Tax Rate

Personal Income Tax Rate (Employment and Passive Income including interests, dividends, rental income, etc.) 15%
Allowable Deductions and Tax Credits
Tax deductions are allowed for business expenses, school fees, interest paid annually for the purchase of a house, and sums paid to charity sales. A qualifying sale of real estate is also deductible. A further family tax allowance can be deducted.

The amounts of family tax allowance are as follows:
- HUF 66,670 if there is one dependent child
- HUF 133,330 if there are two dependent children, or
- HUF 220,000 if there are three or more dependent children, per month for each child.

The allowance is deductible from the taxpayer's tax base. 15% of the unused amount of the child tax base allowance is to be deducted from the health and pension insurance contribution.

Mothers who are either currently raising a minimum of four children or have raised four or more children throughout their lifetime will receive full exemption from paying personal income tax for specific types of income as defined by the law.

Couples married after 31 December 2014 are able to decrease their tax bases by a total monthly amount of HUF 33,335, under certain circumstances (for instance, at least one member of the couple must be in his/her first marriage). The allowance is available for a maximum period of 24 months. No age limit applies to the eligibility for the tax benefit of first marriage.

Individuals under age 25 can apply for a personal income tax allowance up to a maximum limit determined every year (HUF 500,000 until July 2023). The allowance can be applied for income accounted for and paid after 31 December 2021 or the income related to the year before 1 January 2022 but paid after 10 January 2022.

Special Expatriate Tax Regime
Residents are subject to tax on their worldwide income, and non-resident individuals are taxed only on their Hungarian-source income (including income from employment, business activities or real-property transactions in Hungary). There is no special tax regime for expatriates. Income derived from employment activity performed in Hungary can qualify as domestic-source income, even when it is paid from abroad.
Hungary also has limited social security exemptions for non-EEA expatriates.

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Double Taxation Treaties

Countries With Whom a Double Taxation Treaty Have Been Signed
Hungary Tax Treaty Network
Withholding Taxes
  • Dividends:
    • 0 (if paid to legal entities)
    • 15% (if paid to an individual);
  • Interest:
    • 0 (if paid to legal entities)
    • 15% (if paid to an individual);
  • Royalties:
    • 0 (if paid to a legal entity)
    • 15% (if paid to an individual).
Bilateral Agreement
The United Kingdom and Hungary are bound by a double taxation treaty.

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Sources of Fiscal Information

Tax Authorities
Overview of Hungary's tax measures in response to Covid-19
NTCA
Other Domestic Resources
Governmental portal

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Latest Update: March 2024

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