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Taxes - Hungary

Updated 11/2010

Legal requirements

The rights and duties of taxpayers and tax authorities as well as related procedures are contained in the Taxation Rules Act.

  • Act on Taxation Rules magyar

Assessing and levying taxes

Taxes can be assessed, levied and paid in various ways:

  • Taxpayer: Businesses and other organisations ascertain their tax and budgetary supports by self-assessment ; in other words they ascertain, declare and pay their tax themselves, or claim budgetary supports. A private individual may only use this method if he is an entrepreneur or pays value-added tax, and if his personal income tax has not been ascertained by his employer or by the tax authority.
  • Agents or employers: Assess taxes and pre-payments of tax for individuals by means of deductions if required to do so by law.
  • Person with an obligation to collect taxes: In the cases defined in law, a person with an obligation to collect taxes communicates the amount of local tax to a private individual and receives the tax (tourist tax).
  • Tax authority: determines taxes by levying or imposing taxes, assessing tax as the tax authority on the basis of a simplified tax return, or by conducting ex post tax assessments.

    • Taxation system

    Direct taxes         

  • Brief summary of taxation of private individuals
  • Information on the reimbursement of income tax overpaid by foreign individuals magyar
  • Summary of company tax obligations
  • Social security contributions
  • Local taxes (local government taxes) magyar

Indirect taxes         

Information concerning direct taxes may be found on the following websites:

 

Administrative procedures

Tax obligations

In general, all taxpayers must first register, whereupon the tax authority registers the taxpayer and issues a tax identification number.

 Tax obligations include:        

  • Reporting, and making declarations;
  • Opening a turnover account;
  • Tax returns;
  • Record-keeping;
  • Bookkeeping;
  • Issuing and storing evidence (e.g. invoices and other accounting evidence);
  • Tax assessment;
  • Deduction and collection of tax;
  • The possible payment of tax advances and supply of data;
  • Actual payment of tax.

Assessed taxes are declared using the appropriate forms.

Electronic tax returns

Businesses must file tax and national insurance returns and provide tax-related data electronically.

In addition to this, every taxpayer has the opportunity to handle tax affairs electronically. Taxpayers may therefore fulfil their reporting obligations and record any changes electronically, as well as their filing and data provision obligations. In addition to this, every taxpayer has the opportunity to view his own tax account, and to download the recorded data.

All this is done via the Client Gateway on the Government Portal.

  • Government portal magyar
  • Tax and contribution return magyar     Online government service

Electronic customs declaration

The Electronic Customs Portal (eVP) provides an opportunity for documents submitted to the Hungarian Customs and Finance Guard via the Client Gateway in connection with tax returns, rebates and other provision of information to be viewed or approved, if this is necessary owing to joint representation of the taxpayer (company), and for the administration of joint approval rights and access to other services.

  • Electronic Customs Portal magyar     Online government service

Client Gateway registration

The Client Gateway is an access point through which taxpayers can safely connect to public administration bodies and public institutions using personal identification. It is necessary to register in order to create a personal client gateway.

Registration may be done by the taxpayer himself, that is to say a legal person, or, in the case of a company without legal personality, by its representative.

Registration may also be done at any notary's office in the country, or at the Customer Service Centre (Andrássy út 55, District VI, Budapest). If the taxpayer has an appropriate electronic signature, he may also register online and need not go to a notary's office.

1% of personal income tax

Since the 1996 tax year, the 1% law (Act CXXVI of 1996) has let private individuals offer 1% of their personal income tax to a civil organisation, and another 1% to a church or highlighted state appropriation.

Specific procedures

A "Tax Residence Certificate" may be obtained from Customer Services at the Tax and Financial Control Administration:

Resources

Some useful information in English about the Hungarian tax system can be found on the following websites:

  • English guide to the Hungarian tax system magyar

Check also the legislation on this topic in:

  • References

    Legal texts

    • Act XCIV of 2010 on Special Taxes on Certain Sectors - Hungarian Official Journal 2010/162 (20 October 2010) pdf [232 KB] magyar
    • Act XC of 2010 Creating and Amending Certain Acts Relating to Economic and Financial Affairs - Hungarian Official Journal 2010/132 (13 August 2010) magyar
    • Act CXXVII of 2007 on Value-Added Tax - Hungarian Official Journal 2007/155 (16 November 2007) magyar
    • Act LIX of 2006 on the Special Tax Aimed at Improving the Central Budget Balance - Hungarian Official Journal 2006/86 (17 July 2006) magyar
    • Act CXX of 2005 on the Simplified Contribution to Public Charges - Hungarian Official Journal 2005/150 (15 November 2005) magyar
    • Act CXXVII of 2003 on Excise Taxes and the Special Regulation of Excise Goods - Hungarian Official Journal 2003/157 (28 December 2003) magyar
    • Act XCII of 2003 on the Taxation Rules - Hungarian Official Journal 2003/131 (14 November 2003) magyar
    • Act XLIII of 2002 on Simplified Enterprise Tax - Hungarian Official Journal 2002/141 (15 November 2002) magyar
    • Act LXXXI of 1996 on Corporate Tax and Dividend Tax - Hungarian Official Journal 1996/98 (15 November 1996) magyar
    • Act CXXVI of 1996 on the Use of a Specified Portion of Personal Income Tax at the Discretion of the Taxpayer - Hungarian Official Journal 1996/120 (26 December 1996) magyar
    • Act CXVII of 1995 on Personal Income Tax - Hungarian Official Journal 1995/113 (22 December 1995) magyar
    • Act C of 1990 on Local Taxes - Hungarian Official Journal 1990/138 (30 December 1990) magyar
    • Act XCIII of 1990 on Stamp Duties - Hungarian Official Journal 1990/132 (24 December 1990) magyar
    • Government Decree 206/2006 (16 October 2006) on the Development Tax Allowance - Hungarian Official Journal 2006/126 (16 October 2006) magyar
    • Ministry of Finance Decree 34/2007 (29 December 2007) on the Rules for Electronic Handling of Tax Affairs - Hungarian Official Journal 2007/186 (29 December 2007) magyar

    Key documents

    • English guide to the Hungarian tax system magyar

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Further help

The Tax and Financial Control Administration (APEH) has a special division, the Large Taxpayers Directorate, which deals with the tax affairs of foreign businesses and is where information on all kinds of topics relating to taxation can be found.

The Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry does not handle enquiries relating to taxation. Companies from EU Member States that have a representative Chamber of Commerce in Hungary may ask them for support if they have any problems relating to taxation.

Chambers of Commerce that handle tax affairs:        

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