The Slovenian tax number has a curious feature: for many newcomers it arrives without anyone asking for it. For others it is a form to file at a counter before the first euro comes in. Which camp you are in depends on one thing, whether you have a Slovenian address. This guide explains the Slovenia tax number, the davčna številka, and what to do in each case.
What is the Slovenian tax number?
The davčna številka is an eight-digit number given by FURS, the Finančna uprava Republike Slovenije (the tax administration). The last digit is a check digit. It identifies you for tax, and in practice banks, employers and many online services ask for it.
It is not the same as the EMŠO, the personal identification number. The EMŠO identifies you in the population register; the tax number identifies you in the tax register. A foreigner normally receives an EMŠO with a first residence document, according to the government's information portal for foreigners, and the tax number follows.
When does FURS register you automatically?
According to FURS, entry in the tax register can happen on application or ex officio, meaning on the administration's own initiative. For people who settle in the country, the route is your address. When you register a permanent or temporary address, your data travels from the central population register to the tax register, and FURS enters you without a form.
If a detail is missing, FURS asks you to supply it within eight days. Then you receive a certificate, the potrdilo o davčni številki, within eight days of the entry.
So, if you are moving here, the order is simple: register your residence, declare your address, wait for the certificate. If nothing arrives after a few weeks, ask your financial office rather than filing a second request. The Infotujci portal, for its part, describes the DR-02 route for foreigners with a residence permit, so if you are not sure you are already registered, ask a financial office before you file.
When do you need form DR-02?
When you do not have an address in Slovenia yet, but you earn taxable income there or own taxable property. Examples are a remote client who pays you through a Slovenian entity, rent from a flat you inherited, or a job that starts before your move. You must apply before the first income or the first acquisition.
How to do it:
- Fill in DR-02, the application to enter a natural person in the tax register. Instructions are on the eDavki website, the FURS online portal.
- File it at any finančni urad (financial office) except the General Financial Office and the Special Financial Office.
- Choose how: in person with your passport or ID card, through an authorised person with a power of attorney and a copy of your ID, or by post with a copy of your ID.
- Online filing exists too, through eDavki as a personal document, but it needs eDavki access with a digital certificate. FURS recommends eDavki to everyone and requires it when the person filing for you is a company or someone acting in a professional capacity.
Attach the documents that support the data you declare. The certificate comes within eight days of a complete application, usually by post. If your file is complete and you go in person, it can sometimes be handed over at once.
How much does it cost, and what must you report later?
The FURS pages we read mention no fee. Ask when you file.
After you have the number, report changes within eight days, for example a new address or a new bank account. You can use DR-02 again for this, or DR-03 if you run a business as an individual.
What if you only have income or property in Slovenia?
This is the case FURS has in mind for DR-02: a foreign individual without a permanent or temporary residence in Slovenia who earns taxable income there or owns taxable movable or immovable property. The Slovenia tax number is then a precondition for being taxed correctly, not a sign that you live in the country.
Typical situations are a holiday flat you rent out, a house inherited from a relative, shares paying dividends or a short work contract. The page for foreign persons asks you to apply to a financial office, in one of the three ways above, and to report changes in eight days. It does not say that the number is ever assigned automatically to someone with no address, so assume you must ask.
Once you later move and register an address, you already have a number; your record is kept up to date through the usual change reports.
What does the Slovenia tax number unlock?
- A bank account. Banks usually ask for ID and a Slovenian tax number. See how to open a bank account in Slovenia.
- A job or a freelance activity. It is the identifier used in tax records, so an employer or a business registration will normally ask for it. See working in Slovenia.
- Your tax return. The annual income tax assessment hangs on it.
- eDavki. To use the tax portal you need a digital certificate, which a foreigner can request once they hold both a personal identification number and a tax number.
If you are not sure which camp you are in, the automatic one or the DR-02 one, Moovy can ask you the three questions that decide it: do you have a Slovenian address, do you have income there, and when does it start. It then gives you the right checklist. It does not file anything for you.
What are the common mistakes?
- Filing DR-02 when you do not need it. If you have declared a Slovenian address, FURS normally registers you itself. The form is mainly for people without one, so ask your financial office if you are already in the register before you file.
- Waiting for the first payslip. Without an address, the form must be filed before the first taxable income.
- Mixing up the number and tax residence. You become a tax resident if you have a permanent home, your family lives in Slovenia, the centre of your interests is there, or you spend more than 183 days in the calendar year. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. That is a separate question, for FURS or a tax adviser.
- Forgetting to report changes. Eight days, for an address or an account.
What changes if you are Swiss or British?
The mechanism is the same once you hold a residence permit and a registered address. Before that, if you have income or property in Slovenia, you file DR-02 with your passport. For Swiss and UK citizens the residence step is not the EU certificate: see moving to Slovenia from the UK for the British case.
What to do this week
If you live in Slovenia: check that your address is registered, then wait for the certificate and ask the office if it does not come. If you are still abroad with Slovenian income coming: download DR-02, file it before the first payment and keep proof of the date. In both cases, keep the certificate safe, because you will be asked for it again and again.