Accounting & Tax Compliance in Hungary
Statutory accounts, VAT returns, and corporate tax filings aligned with Hungarian accounting standards, including local business tax (HIPA) and real-time invoice reporting compliance.
HungaryCurrency
HUF (Hungarian forint)
Corporate tax rate
9% flat (lowest in the EU) + local business tax up to 2% of net revenue + 0.3% innovation contribution
VAT standard rate
27%
Legal forms
Kft · Zrt
Bookkeeping standard
Hungarian Accounting Act standards, or IFRS for listed/consolidated entities
Annual filing
Annual accounts filed electronically with the Company Registry within 5 months of year-end
How accounting and tax compliance work in Hungary
Hungary applies a flat 9% corporate income tax rate, the lowest in the EU, uniformly across company sizes with no progressive bands. The Kft, Hungary's standard limited liability company, requires HUF equivalent of roughly €7,500 in minimum share capital, available for immediate operating use after formation rather than held in escrow.
Operating in Hungary combines the EU's lowest headline corporate rate with a revenue-based local tax that applies regardless of profitability, and a social contribution structure where the employer rate (13%) is comparatively modest but the combined employer-employee burden (~46.5%) remains substantial.
Discuss your Hungary accounting setupRate structure and what it applies to
9% flat (lowest in the EU) + local business tax up to 2% of net revenue + 0.3% innovation contribution
- Local business tax (HIPA) — levied on net revenue, not profit — payable even in loss-making years, up to 2% depending on municipality
- KIVA small business tax regime — — entry threshold raised to 100 employees and HUF 6 billion revenue from December 2025, an alternative to standard CIT for qualifying companies
- Director minimum contribution floor — — social contributions due on at least 30% of minimum wage (HUF 322,800/month for 2026) even for minimally-paid director-shareholders
- Real-time invoice reporting — — mandatory automated upload of nearly all outgoing invoices to the Hungarian Tax Authority's online system
Rates that apply in Hungary
| Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 27% | Standard rate — most goods and services |
| 18% and 5% | Reduced rate(s) — defined categories of goods and services |
Hungarian Accounting Act standards, or IFRS for listed/consolidated entities, and when an audit is required
Statutory bookkeeping in Hungary follows Hungarian Accounting Act standards, or IFRS for listed/consolidated entities. Statutory audit mandatory above 2 of 3 thresholds: €5.5M balance sheet, €11M turnover, 50 employees — aligned with EU harmonized thresholds (a lower national exemption also applies for very small entities).
Confirm your audit obligationAnnual accounts and registration
Annual accounts filed electronically with the Company Registry within 5 months of year-end.
Entity registration runs through the Company Registry Court, via electronic filing, typically taking As little as a few business days for a standard Kft.
Plan your filing calendarFrequently asked questions
Talk to a Hungary accounting expert
Companies modelling Hungary purely on its 9% headline corporate rate consistently miss the local business tax's revenue basis — a company with strong revenue but thin or negative margins still owes HIPA, a structural difference from profit-based tax systems elsewhere in Europe that changes cash flow planning materially.