Hungary residency & tax 2026: how it works and what it costs

How Hungarian tax residency is decided

As of September 2026, Hungary decides personal-income-tax residence under Section 3 of the Personal Income Tax Act (Act CXVII of 1995, Szja tv.), not by whether you hold a residence permit. The statute works in tiers. Hungarian citizens are resident by nationality (dual nationals with no Hungarian registered address or residence are the exception). Third-country nationals with permanent-residence entitlement, and stateless persons, are resident automatically. Persons exercising EU free-movement or residence rights are resident if they spend at least 183 days in Hungary in the calendar year, with entry and exit days counted as full days.

Everyone else is tested in sequence: first whether their only permanent home is in Hungary; then, if they have no Hungarian home or not only a Hungarian one, whether their centre of vital interests is in Hungary; and finally, if that cannot be determined, whether their habitual abode is there. The statute defines the centre of vital interests as the state to which you have the closest personal, family and economic ties, and says a longer temporary stay abroad does not change a permanent home.

Residency routes: EU/EEA citizens

EEA nationals must notify their residence at the latest on the 93rd day from entry. The registration certificate costs HUF 1,000, is issued on verification and, according to the Office of Immigration and Asylum (OIF), is valid indefinitely alongside a travel or ID document. After five years of legal, continuous residence an EEA national can apply for a permanent residence card (HUF 1,500; decision within 70 days; valid indefinitely). Third-country family members of an EEA national apply for a residence card by the 93rd day after entry; the fee is HUF 15,000, the decision is due within 70 days and validity is up to five years.

Residency routes: third-country nationals

Non-EEA citizens generally use a residence permit tied to a purpose. The general residence-permit fee is HUF 39,000 if applied for in person in Hungary and HUF 26,000 via the Enter Hungary platform. Longer-term status comes through two cards. The National Residence Card requires at least three years of uninterrupted legal residence (or specific spouse or ancestry routes), housing, subsistence and health insurance, and can be valid up to 10 years. The EU Residence Card requires five years of legal residence and proof of subsistence, and is valid up to 10 years, extended by 10.

Since 1 January 2025 applicants for either card must also pass the Hungarian cultural knowledge exam: written, in Hungarian, in Budapest, HUF 20,000 per date. After three failed attempts a new exam application is refused; exemptions include under-14s and people under guardianship. The exam is a real hurdle for anyone not yet fluent, and the exam fee is separate from the card fees.

Two shorter-term routes have their own guides. The White Card for remote workers requires legal income of at least EUR 3,000 net a month for at least six months before entry; see our Hungary digital nomad visa guide. The Guest Investor permit is covered in our Hungary golden visa guide. Neither, on its own, makes you a Hungarian tax resident: that follows the tests above.

Guest-worker permits are closed: from 6 June 2026 no new applications are possible because no third country qualifies, though pending applications and existing permits continue. Other residence purposes are unaffected.

Personal income tax and contributions

According to the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), the personal income tax (PIT) rate is 15%. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, non-residents on Hungarian-source income, and the tax year is the calendar year. Returns are due by 20 May of the following year; individuals file separately (PwC notes spouses cannot file jointly). A non-resident whose Hungarian income is exempt under a treaty can declare that on form NYK by 30 April of the following year.

Employment income carries more than PIT. Per PwC, the employee social security contribution is 18.5% of gross pay and the employer's social contribution tax is 13% in 2026. The minimum wage from 1 January 2026 is HUF 322,800 a month and the guaranteed minimum wage is HUF 373,200. Add VAT at a 27% standard rate (with reduced rates of 18% and 5%) and the overall burden is heavier than the headline 15% suggests.

Dividends, gains and crypto

NAV states that dividends, interest and securities gains are taxed at 15%. Foreign dividend tax can be deducted from the 15% with proof of payment, but where no treaty applies at least 5% must still be paid in Hungary. Interest, dividends or gains paid by an entity in an "offshore state" are taxed as consolidated income; the consolidated base is still taxed at the 15% rate.

A 13% social contribution tax can also apply to dividends, exchange gains and business withdrawals. PwC says it applies only up to a cap tied to 24 times the minimum wage, and NAV's English wording on the conditions is ambiguous, so confirm your own position. PwC also reports a ladder for long-term investment accounts (15% if closed in the first three years, 10% in years four and five, 0% after five years) and a 13% social tax ladder for long-term investment income (13% for the first three years, 8% for the next two, 0% after five). PwC states that crypto profits are taxed at 15% with no additional tax or social charge, computed on a yearly cash-flow basis, and that earlier-year losses can offset later profit.

Companies, VAT and small-business regimes

According to PwC, corporate income tax is a flat 9%. Local business tax is set by each municipality and capped at 2%, and an innovation contribution of 0.3% applies to firms other than micro and small ones. Hungary implemented the global minimum tax (Pillar Two) by a law of 1 December 2023, with the income inclusion rule and a domestic top-up tax from 1 January 2024 and the undertaxed payments rule from 1 January 2025. Under domestic rules there is no withholding tax on dividends, interest or royalties paid to non-individuals.

For sole traders, NAV cites a 9% income tax for the self-employed, with flat-rate cost ratios ranging from 45 to 90 percent. KATA is a fixed HUF 50,000 a month per NAV, and NAV's English guideline says a self-employed individual who is not considered a full-time employee may not opt in. The Hungarian finance site Pénzcentrum reports an annual revenue cap of HUF 18 million with a 40% special tax on the excess. KIVA, the small-business tax, is 10% per NAV; Accace reports that entry thresholds doubled from 1 December 2025 to 100 employees or HUF 6 billion revenue, with exit at 200 employees or HUF 12 billion. The small-business VAT exemption threshold is HUF 20 million in 2026, rising to 22 million in 2027 and 24 million in 2028.

Controlled foreign companies

Hungary's CFC rules, in force since 1 January 2019, apply to Hungarian corporate taxpayers holding more than 50% of a foreign entity that paid less than 50% of the Hungarian-equivalent corporate tax, subject to an exemption for genuine arrangements. PwC's summary is of corporate rules; no personal CFC regime was found in our research, though we could not prove there is none.

Property, inheritance and gifts

Local property taxes are municipal. PwC gives base caps of HUF 1,100 per m² for buildings and HUF 200 per m² for land, or 3.6% and 3% of adjusted market value respectively; municipalities may raise the per-m² caps by cumulative inflation, so these are not today's ceilings. Check the municipality. Both are paid in two instalments, on 15 March and 15 September. Gift and inheritance duty is 18%, or 9% for residential property; PwC says property passing without consideration between lineal relatives, including the spouse of the deceased, is exempt. Estate transfer duty is 4% up to HUF 1 billion of value and 2% above, capped at HUF 200 million per property. PwC reports that there is no net wealth tax in current law.

Announced, not law

Existing family measures are in force: monthly tax-base reductions of HUF 133,340 for one child, HUF 266,660 per child for two, and HUF 440,000 per child for three or more, and a PIT exemption on employment income for mothers of three from 1 October 2025. The under-25 and first-marriage allowances are open to foreigners only if they are EEA citizens or citizens of Ukraine or Serbia, and any allowance requires at least 75% of your total income to be Hungarian-taxable.

Tax treaties

PwC says Hungary has treaties with over 70 countries. NAV says income taxable abroad under a treaty is generally exempt in Hungary (typically except dividends). Without a treaty the tax is reduced by 90% of foreign tax paid, up to the Hungarian tax on that income. The double tax treaty with the United States was terminated with effect from 1 January 2024, which matters for US citizens.

Challenges and downsides

• Volatility: rules change often, and the wealth tax, KATA changes and later allowance stages all depend on decisions by the new government.
• Stacked charges: 15% PIT plus 18.5% employee contributions on wages, up to 13% social tax on some investment income, and 27% VAT.
• Status-based residence: Hungarian citizens stay resident by nationality, and a lasting temporary stay abroad does not change a permanent home.
• Restricted allowances: two family and youth allowances are limited to EEA, Ukrainian or Serbian citizens, and all need 75% Hungarian-taxable income.
• Non-treaty dividends: at least 5% is payable in Hungary even after foreign credit.
• US citizens: no income-tax treaty since 1 January 2024.
• Bureaucracy and language: the cultural knowledge exam is in Hungarian, written, in Budapest only, with three attempts, and foreigners without an automatic tax ID can request one only by post or in person (NAV).
• Company owners: CFC rules and Pillar Two obligations add compliance, with penalties up to HUF 10 million for non-compliance (PwC).

Official steps and where to verify

1. Work out which tier of the Szja tv. residency test applies to you, and whether a treaty can override it.
2. Check your permit or registration route with the OIF factsheets, and apply via Enter Hungary where available.
3. Request your tax ID with NAV (form T34, decision in 15 days per NAV) if it was not assigned automatically.
4. File by 20 May of the following year, and confirm any treaty position before declaring foreign income.
5. For daily life, see our healthcare and Budapest cost of living guides.