If you only remember one thing about Hungarian taxes, remember the number 15. Hungary taxes personal income at one flat rate, with no brackets, which makes the arithmetic of income tax in Hungary easier than in most European countries. What makes it less simple is deciding when you become a resident, what is taxed in which country, and what the social contributions add on top.
When do you become liable to income tax in Hungary?
For a citizen of the EU or EEA, the Income Tax Act treats you as a Hungarian tax resident if you exercise your right of residence in Hungary for at least 183 days in the calendar year, arrival and departure days included. Swiss citizens fall under the same rule, because Hungarian free movement law treats persons with the same status under a treaty as EEA citizens, and the OIF lists Swiss citizens among EEA nationals.
If that test does not settle it, the law then looks at your permanent home, then the centre of your vital interests (the closest personal, family and economic ties), then your habitual abode.
You do not get to choose. And you can be resident in two countries by their own laws: the tax treaty between Hungary and your home country, in its article 4, then breaks the tie. Residence can also change during the year; the tax authority gives the example of eight months as a resident and four as a non-resident.
How much is income tax in Hungary in 2026?
- Personal income tax: a flat 15% on your global income, which includes salaries, business income and taxable pensions.
- Employee social security contribution (TB-járulék): 18.5%.
- Investment income: 15% on interest, dividends and gains on securities, plus a 13% social contribution (szociális hozzájárulási adó) while your income for the year stays below 24 times the minimum wage, that is 7,747,200 HUF in 2026 (a rule described by the tax authority).
- Pensions: state pensions from Hungary, and those defined as pensions by a tax treaty, are among the exempt incomes. For a foreign pension, check the treaty with your country.
Your employer withholds 15% and 18.5% from your pay each month. The self-employed pay tax and contribution advances each quarter, by the 12th of the following month; for salaried work, see working in Hungary.
What allowances exist?
The 2026 family allowance (családi kedvezmény) reduces your tax base by 133,340 HUF per month with one child, 266,660 HUF per child with two, and 440,000 HUF per child from three. The tax authority's example: with two children you pay 79,998 HUF less tax per month. Other allowances cover under-25s, newlyweds and mothers, with conditions.
A foreigner can claim them only if at least 75% of total income for the year is taxable in Hungary and no similar benefit is received in another country. Allowances for under-25s and newlyweds are open to EEA citizens since 2025, and the family allowance and the allowance for mothers under 30 too if you are entitled to family benefits in an EEA country. The mothers' allowances for two, three and four or more children require entitlement to Hungarian family allowance (családi pótlék). Check your own case.
Allowances, residency days and treaty tie-breakers are the three places where a newcomer's tax return goes wrong. Moovy can help you list what applies to your situation and what to ask the tax authority. A tax professional should confirm the final figures before you file.
How does the Hungarian tax return work?
- Get your tax number if you do not have it. See the Hungarian tax number guide.
- Get Ügyfélkapu+ access or the DÁP app. Without online access, you could ask for a paper copy until 16 March in 2026.
- Open your draft (bevallási tervezet) from 15 March. It is prepared from data your Hungarian payers sent.
- Add foreign income. The draft only contains what Hungarian payers reported. If you earned salary, rent or dividends abroad, the authority requires you to correct it.
- File and pay by 20 May. The form for 2025 income was 25SZJA, and it will be 26SZJA for 2026. The same date applies to allocating 1% + 1% of your tax to an association and a church.
The draft becomes final if you accept it or do not file another return.
What about double taxation?
Hungary has treaties with most European countries; the tax authority lists them. Without an applicable treaty, Hungary credits only 90% of the foreign tax paid, within the limit of Hungarian tax on that income. With a treaty, the treaty applies. If you keep rental property or a business at home, ask your accountant which country taxes it before the first year ends.
Is a reform coming?
On 19 October 2026 the government presented its draft 2027 budget. It proposes a rate of 9% for a wage at minimum-wage level, a reduced rate in steps under 680,000 HUF of monthly income, and an exemption for mothers capped at 1,000,000 HUF gross a month. The text must still pass the Fiscal Council and Parliament. In 2026, the flat 15% applies. Property owners should also know about local taxes; see buying property in Hungary.
What changes if you are British?
You are resident if you hold a long-term right of residence, or by the home, vital-interests and habitual-abode tests. The under-25 and newlywed allowances are not open to you, and the UK-Hungary treaty applies. See moving to Hungary from the UK. For what living costs look like after tax, read the cost of living in Hungary.
Rates and allowances move every year, so check the tax authority's pages for the year you are filing.
How do you reduce income tax in Hungary legally?
The tools are the allowances and the right choice of regime. As an employee, give your employer your allowance declarations at the start of the year, so that the relief appears on your payslip every month instead of waiting for the May return. As a self-employed person, compare the flat-rate regime (átalányadó), the KATA fixed tax and the standard regime before you register, because each has its own conditions.
Do not claim an allowance you cannot support. The 75% rule means that at least three quarters of your total income for the year must be taxable in Hungary, and you must not receive a similar benefit elsewhere. A foreign mother who receives the Hungarian family allowance may claim the mothers' allowances under the same 75% rule.
What about rental income and other foreign income?
If you let a flat in your home country while living in Hungary, the rent is part of your worldwide income. The draft return will not show it, because Hungarian payers did not report it. You must add it, and then the treaty decides how double tax is avoided. If you are unsure, ask an accountant before the first return, because a mistake in the first year is the hardest to correct. Rent from a Hungarian property you let is also income; see buying property in Hungary for the local taxes on the property itself.
When do you stop being a tax resident?
Residence can change in the middle of a year. The tax authority gives the example of a person who is resident for eight months and non-resident for four. If you leave Hungary for good, tell the OIF, and keep proof of your new home, since the treaty tie-breaker will look at where your permanent home and vital interests are. A non-resident with Hungarian income is taxed only on income of Hungarian source. Before you decide on residence, allowances or a self-employed regime, have a tax adviser or an accountant in Hungary confirm your situation.