Information for clients 11/2024

1. Value added tax valid from 1.1.2025

New VAT rates: 5%,19%,23%

With effect from 1 January 2025, the basic VAT rate is increased from 20% to 23% of the tax base, and reduced VAT rates of 19% and 5% of the tax base are introduced for selected goods and services.

At the same time, the currently valid reduced VAT rate of 10% of the tax base is abolished.

Goods with a reduced VAT rate are listed in Annex 7, while in point 1 there are goods with a reduced tax rate of 19% and in points 2 and 3 there are goods with a reduced tax rate of 5%.

Services with a reduced VAT rate are listed in Annex No. 7a, while point 1 lists services with a reduced tax rate of 19% and point 2 lists services with a reduced tax rate of 5%.

The rate of 5% of the tax base applies to:

• Goods that are listed in Annex No. 7 of the VAT Act and which are currently subject to a tax rate of 10%: selected foodstuffs, medicines, a selected range of medical devices.
• Printed books, brochures, leaflets and similar printing products, newspapers, magazines and periodicals, except where advertising and advertising account for more than 50% of the total content, and unless the erotic content individually or collectively accounts for more than 10% of the total content.
• Accommodation services.
• Services related to serving meals in restaurants and catering establishments (reduction from the currently valid 10%).
• Online books, except for online books, where advertising and advertising, individually or together, account for more than 50% of their total content, and audio recordings with the recitation of the content of books online, except for audio recordings where the online recitation of the content of books accounts for less than 50% of their total content.
• Operation of sports facilities – services related to entry to sports events, fitness center services – entrance fee.
• State-supported rental housing according to the currently valid VAT Act (the 5% rate remains valid).
• Goods and services supplied as part of social economy activities by a registered social enterprise that uses 100% of its after-tax profit to achieve its main objective (reduction from the current 10%).

The rate of 19% of the tax base applies to:

• electricity supply (reduction from the current 20%);
• all foodstuffs, with the exception of foodstuffs listed in Annex 7 (reduction from 20% currently in force);
• services related to the serving of beverages in restaurants and catering establishments, with the exception of serving alcoholic beverages with an alcoholic strength of more than 0.5% by volume (an increase from the currently valid 10%).

The rate of 23% of the tax base applies to other goods and services.

222/2004 Coll. Value Added Tax Act | Current version

Please note that due to the transfer of goods and services to other tax rates, it is necessary to verify the classification of all sold goods and services in the new rates and adjust the settings in the accounting and invoicing program accordingly.

Other changes with effect from 1 January 2025

• An additional period of 5 days is added if the taxpayer has not been assigned a VAT number at the time of the expiry of the deadline for fulfilling the obligation to issue an invoice or file a tax return, or a control statement.

• The possibility of deducting the tax self-paid on the acquisition of goods from another EU Member State on the basis of a document other than an invoice (especially if the invoice is not available) is introduced.

• It is specified that the tax exemption for the supply of goods from the Slovak Republic to another EU Member State cannot be applied if the goods are not supplied by a VAT payer.

• The place of supply of cultural, educational, artistic, sports, scientific, educational, entertainment and similar services that are broadcast online or otherwise virtually made available to a non-taxable person is regulated.

• The amount at which a document issued by the e-kasa client cash register is considered a simplified invoice is reduced to EUR 400.

• It is specified that the obligation to refund tax on unpaid liabilities occurs only in the tax period in which the 101st day after the due date occurs.

• The obligation to refund the deducted tax in the event of any misappropriation of goods (not only theft) is extended.

• One of the conditions for the refund of the excess deduction in a shortened period is modified. A new requirement has been established that the person applying for such a refund of the excess deduction has been assigned a VAT number at least 12 calendar months before the end of the calendar month in which the excess deduction arose.

2. Corporate Income Tax

The National Council of the Slovak Republic approved Act No. 248/2024 Coll. on certain obligations and authorisations in the field of crypto-assets.

Crypto-asset – means a digital representation of value or right that can be transferred and stored electronically using distributed ledger technology or similar technology.

• Sale of a crypto-asset – means the exchange of a crypto-asset for an asset, the exchange of a crypto-asset for another crypto-asset, the exchange of a crypto-asset for the provision of a service or the transfer of a crypto-asset for consideration [Section 2(ai)]. The amendment replaces the term virtual currency with the term crypto-asset.
• Income from the sale of crypto-assets – is other income from personal income tax (Section 8(1)(t)). The amendment replaces the term virtual currency with the term crypto-asset.
• Income from the sale of a crypto-asset – acquired by the increment obtained by verifying transactions in the network of the crypto-asset (so-called mining) will be included in the tax base in the tax period of the sale of this crypto-asset.

Fuel consumption for electric cars – a limit on tax costs for electricity consumption when charging electric cars included in depreciation group 0 is introduced, in simple terms, it will be the consumption according to the technical certificate per kilometer times kilometers times the average price of electricity according to the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic [Section 19 (2) (l) (4)]. In the case of external charging, the price of electricity will result from the document at the gas station.
Support for electromobility – is also implemented through the inclusion of selected items with electric drive (electric bicycles, electric scooters, trolleybuses, electric buses) in a more advantageous tax depreciation group. The change applies to both newly acquired and already included items, but tax depreciation already applied in the past does not change (Section 52zzzb (3)).

3. Changes in wage and levy policy from 2025

Recreation allowance – approved

From 1 January 2025, Section 152a of the Labour Code, which regulates the provision of a recreation allowance, will be amended. The transferability of a recreational voucher to the employee's parent, or the provision of a recreation allowance for the employee's parent, is introduced. An employer employing more than 49 employees is obliged to provide a contribution also for such recreation in which he participated and paid for by the employee's parent, while the employee himself does not have to participate in the recreation. The circle of persons to whom expenses in connection with recreation can be claimed is also expanded to include the spouse of the employee's parent. Documents proving eligible expenses must also include the employee's designation in the case of parents' recreation. The employer pays the contribution to the employee, as he does not have an employment relationship with the employee's parents. Nothing prevents employed parents from applying for a recreation allowance from their employer – but they must be two different recreations

Contribution to the child's sports activity – approved

For an employer with more than 49 employees, the obligation to provide a contribution to the sports activities of the employee's child is introduced. The contribution to the child's sports activities is also regulated by the current wording of the Labour Code. Until now, however, employers have only provided this contribution voluntarily. An employer provides a contribution at the employee's request if his/her employment relationship with the employer lasts continuously for at least 24 months. It is provided in the amount of 55% of eligible expenses, up to a maximum of EUR 275 per calendar year in total for all the employee's children. For an employee with a shorter employment relationship, the maximum amount of the allowance is reduced proportionally. Eligible expenses are proven expenses of an employee for a child's sports activity, which is carried out by a sports organization registered in the Register of Legal Entities in Sport. Employers employing fewer than 50 employees may continue to provide a contribution to sports activities voluntarily under the same conditions.

Seasonal work – approved

Another approved change in the Labour Code from 1 January 2025 is the regulation in Annex No. 1b, which lists the work activities for which it is possible to conclude an agreement on work activity for the performance of seasonal work. In the case of tourism activities in the operation of restaurants, pubs and accommodation establishments, the condition that these activities must be directly dependent on activities in the transport of persons by water, in the operation of camps and the listed tourist attractions is abolished.

Determination of meal allowance amounts – approved

The amounts of meal allowances change if the increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages in restaurants exceeds the limit set by law. According to the currently valid regulation, employees are entitled to a new meal allowance from the effective date of the Measure of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic) on meal allowance amounts. The measure must go through a set legislative process, and therefore, even if it is obvious that there will be an increase in the amounts of meal allowances, employers will only know definitively the date from which these amounts are paid by publishing the measure in the Collection of Laws. From the new year, the increased meal allowance amounts are always valid from the first day of the third calendar month following the calendar month in which the condition for increasing the meal allowance amounts was met. If this condition is met, for example, for the month of January 2025, the new meal allowance amounts will apply from 1 April 2025. The date from which the increased meal allowance amounts will apply will thus be more predictable and employers can prepare for the change well in advance.

Minimum wage – approved

The minimum wage for the relevant year is determined by agreement between employers' representatives and employees' representatives. If no agreement is reached, it will be determined according to the formula laid down by law. From 1 January 2025, the formula will be adjusted from 57% to 60% of the average monthly wage from two years ago. The increased share will be applied for the first time when setting the minimum wage for 2026 (unless the social partners agree).

Reporting obligations towards the Social Insurance Agency – approved

From 1 January 2026, the employer's obligation to keep and submit pension insurance registration sheets (hereinafter ELDP) will be abolished. Employers will have to submit an ELDP once for all employees whose employment continues after 31 December 2025. The deadline depends on the number of employees.

The submission of the ELDP will ensure that the Social Insurance Agency has all the necessary data to decide on the future pension entitlement and determine its amount. In addition, from 1 January 2025, the obligation to notify the employee in writing, by e-mail or SMS that the employer has been published in the so-called list of debtors will also be abolished. The list of debtors includes employers against whom the Social Insurance Agency registers due receivables and employers who have not submitted monthly statements on time.

Increase in social security contributions

The contribution ceiling for social insurance is increased

From January 2025, the limit of the maximum monthly assessment base for social insurance will be increased to EUR 15,730 (hereinafter referred to as the contribution ceiling).

In 2025, the limit of the maximum monthly assessment base for payments of social insurance contributions will be increased | Social Insurance Agency

Changes in the tax bonus: DB for a child over 18 years of age is abolished

DB is no longer provided for a child over 18 years of age from 2025. The last time the DB will be granted will be in the month in which the child turns 18. Employees whose children study, for example, at universities, will no longer receive DB.

Age limits and DB amount change

A parent will only be entitled to an increased amount of DB for a child under 15 years of age (originally it was up to 18 years of age). At the same time, the amount of the "increased" tax bonus will drop from €140 to €100. DB for a child from 15 to 18 years of age will be provided in the amount of 50 euros.

Employees with income from abroad

From 2025, some households with income from abroad will also completely lose their entitlement to DB per child. In order to be granted a DB, a group of employees – residents of the Slovak Republic must also meet the condition that the sum of its taxable income from sources from the territory of the Slovak Republic constitutes at least 90% of its worldwide income. Until now, this condition was monitored only for tax non-residents of the Slovak Republic.

The final DB entitlement is calculated in RZD

The condition that the DB that was lawfully declared to the employee during the year remains granted to him even when the RZD is made or the tax return (hereinafter DP) is filed. At the end of the tax period, the entitlement to DB is recalculated taking into account the employee's annual income. The claim thus determined is final. If the employee was awarded a higher DB during the year than is based on the calculation in RZD/DP, the employee will be obliged to return the difference. This calculation will be applied for the first time in the implementation of the RZD/AP for 2025.

4. Accounting Act – approved

From 1 June 2024, the amendment to the Accounting Act has, among other things, expanded the boundaries of the size criteria for classifying accounting entities into one of the groups: micro accounting entity, small accounting entity and large accounting entity. Changes have occurred in the limits of the total amount of assets and net turnover. The entity will use the new increased criteria when assessing the size group for the accounting period ending 31.12.2023 (as one of the two consecutive accounting periods). Therefore, when assessing the classification into the size group as of 1 January 2025, it will compare the values of individual criteria achieved for 2022 and 2023 with the already increased limits.