Income tax in Croatia surprises people in two ways. First, the rate is not national: your town sets it, so the same salary is taxed a little differently in Zagreb and in a small island municipality. Second, the system is more automatic than in most countries, because the tax administration (Porezna uprava) calculates the annual bill itself for most employees and pensioners. This guide is for new residents. Tax rules are complicated, and this is not personal advice.
When do you start paying income tax in Croatia?
According to the Porezna uprava, you are resident if you have your home in Croatia, meaning a dwelling you own or have at your disposal for at least 183 days over one or two calendar years, or your habitual residence, meaning at least 183 days of stay in one or two calendar years. Residents are taxed on income from anywhere in the world, so income tax in Croatia is a question of where you live, not of where your money comes from. Non-residents are taxed only on Croatian income, with an allowance reserved for them.
A trap: owning a flat can be enough to count as having a home, even if you do not really live in it. If you are also resident elsewhere, the double-taxation convention decides: permanent home first, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode, then nationality. Being tax resident is different from holding an OIB; see the Croatia OIB number guide.
What are the income tax rates in Croatia by town?
There are two rates, fixed by each local authority within a legal range. The lower rate applies to taxable income up to 60,000 euros a year and the higher rate to the part above it. The ranges in the Porezna uprava table are:
| Type of local authority | Lower rate | Higher rate |
|---|---|---|
| Municipality (općina) | 15 to 20% | 25 to 30% |
| Town (grad) | 15 to 21% | 25 to 31% |
| Large town or county seat | 15 to 22% | 25 to 32% |
| City of Zagreb | 15 to 23% | 25 to 33% |
If the local authority adopts no decision, the default is 20% and 30%. The 2026 rates for each place are in a table the tax administration publishes; as a guide, the table gives Zagreb 23% and 33%, Split 21.5% and 32%, Rijeka 20% and 25%, and Dubrovnik 20% and 30%. Look up your own town before you decide where to live. Compare it with the best places to live in Croatia.
What is the personal allowance?
Before the rate applies, you deduct a personal allowance (osobni odbitak): 600 euros a month for you, according to the Porezna uprava. The page adds amounts for a dependent family member and for children: a coefficient of 0.5 for a family member, and 0.5, 0.7 then 1.0 for the first three children, rising after that, with more for disability. Your employer applies the allowance only if you give them your tax card (porezna kartica) on the first day, which is why that card matters. See the guide to moving to Croatia.
How does the annual calculation work?
If you earn a salary or a Croatian pension, the employer or the pension fund withholds tax each month and you do not file anything during the year. The tax administration then makes the annual calculation itself and sends a provisional decision (privremeno porezno rješenje) by 30 June. You have until 31 July to object, or 30 days if it arrives after 30 June. If you do not object, it becomes final and any balance is due within 15 days. Form ZPP-DOH is used to claim particular entitlements, such as health insurance paid abroad or changes in the allowance for children, by the end of February.
An annual return is compulsory only in some cases, notably for income from self-employment, before the end of February.
The rules above are the general ones. Your case may include a foreign pension, a rental flat in another country or a move in mid-year, and that is where "which country taxes what" becomes a real question. Moovy can lay out the official rules and the forms that apply to you, and tell you when a tax adviser is a good idea. It does not file your return or give personal tax advice.
What about income from abroad?
Residents declare income received from abroad, and the foreign tax paid, on form INO-DOH, by 31 January of the following year. Retirees whose foreign pension is exempt in Croatia under a convention do not need this form, but the tax administration only waives the declaration itself for pensions from ten countries it hears about through information exchange (among them Germany, Luxembourg, Poland and Canada); for any other pension, ask your tax office how to declare it. Those who pay advance tax themselves on a foreign pension can file it to get credit for tax paid abroad. The tax paid abroad is only credited with a certificate from the foreign tax administration, due by 30 November of the following year.
Croatia applies conventions with, among others, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg and Ireland. Depending on the convention, a pension may be taxed only in Croatia or remain taxed in your home country, especially government pensions. Read the text with an adviser; our retiring in Croatia guide covers the main cases.
Are there taxes on property?
Since 1 January 2025 there is an annual property tax (porez na nekretnine) of 0.60 to 8.00 euros per square metre of usable floor area, depending on the municipality (0.60 euros where the municipality has taken no decision and had no former holiday-home tax). It targets homes that are not your permanent residence, including short-term tourist lets. Your permanent residence is exempt, and so is a home let for at least ten months of the year as a tenant's permanent residence, with a lease declared to the tax administration. You report missing data before 31 March. The communal fee (komunalna naknada) is separate. For the purchase tax, see buying property in Croatia as a foreigner.
How does income tax in Croatia work for the self-employed and for rents?
Employees and pensioners are the simple case. If you work for yourself, an annual return is compulsory for income from self-employment, before the end of February. A sole trader (obrt) can choose a flat-rate regime while revenue stays under 60,000 euros a year, with a fixed annual tax of 203.40 to 1,080 euros depending on revenue in 2026, on top of monthly contributions of 290.98 euros, and VAT registration becomes compulsory above 60,000 euros. Professionals such as lawyers or health professionals cannot use the flat rate and keep accounts. A Croatian accountant (knjigovođa) is often worth the fee, even though the pages we read do not make one compulsory.
Income from letting a flat is a separate topic that the pages we read do not detail. What they do say is that a landlord who declares a lease for a tenant's permanent residence benefits from the exemption from the property tax, and that short-term tourist lets are the case the new tax targets. Ask the tax office or an accountant how to report rental income.
Whatever your case, two habits help. Keep every document in a folder, with certified translations of foreign papers. And note the dates that matter: 31 January for INO-DOH, the end of February for the annual return and for ZPP-DOH, 30 June for the provisional decision, 31 July for the objection and 31 March for property data. Income tax in Croatia is mostly a matter of dates and of making sure the tax office has the right information about you.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Thinking the rate is national.
- Letting 31 July pass without objecting to a mistake.
- Forgetting the tax card on day one.
- Not translating foreign documents. The tax office wants certified translations into Croatian.
- Assuming a convention makes your pension tax-free. Check the text.
Self-employed readers should remember that the 60,000-euro VAT threshold and the flat-rate regime change the picture completely. Rates and thresholds are revised regularly, so confirm them on the Porezna uprava site, and before you decide, have a tax adviser or an accountant in Croatia confirm your situation.