In September 2025, The Slovak Parliament approved the 3rd consolidation package with the aim of further increasing state budget revenues to cover public debt. These consolidation measures underwent an accelerated approval process. The measures will take effect on January 1, 2026.
We bring you an overview of significant measures that will primarily affect employees and employers, as well as individuals – entrepreneurs in Slovakia.
Income Tax Act
The largest part of the consolidation measures again concerns income tax and several tax changes, which we summarize according to the individual topics that are related to:
Income tax rate
There will be a change in the current income tax rate scheme, which will be adjusted and supplemented with new rates depending on the income (revenues) earned. These rates apply solely to individuals.
Based on this 4 income tax rates will apply from next year:
| Income range | Tax rate |
| Up to EUR 44 000 | 19% |
| Over EUR 44 000 | 25% |
| Over EUR 60 000 | 30% |
| Over EUR 75 000 | 35% |
Still the individual tax rates will be applied to each part of the tax base separately, depending on which exceeds the specified income threshold, rather than to the entire tax base collectively.
Minimum tax
Effective from the new year 2026, a new minimum tax bracket will be introduced for selected levels of income (revenue) achieved during the tax period.
| Turnover | Minimum tax |
| Up to EUR 50 000 | EUR 340 |
| EUR 50 000 – 250 000 | EUR 960 |
| EUR 250 000 – 500 000 | EUR 1 920 |
| EUR 500 000 – 5 000 000 | EUR 3 840 |
| Over EUR 5 000 000 | EUR 11 520 |
Tax allowance (non-taxable portion of the tax base)
The amendment to the law also changes the threshold for calculating the specific amount of the non-taxable portion of the tax base per taxpayer and the non-taxable portion of the tax base per taxpayer's spouse. The new thresholds are summarized below:
| Type of tax allowance | Current limit | New limit |
| For taxpayer | Tax base equal to or lower than 92.8-multiple | Tax base equal to or lower than 91.8-multiple |
| Tax base higher than 92.8-multiple, the portion corresponding to the difference between 44.2-multiple the minimum subsistence level and 1/4 of the tax base shall apply | Tax base higher than 92.8-multiple, the portion corresponding to the difference between 51.6-multiple the minimum subsistence level and 1/4 of the tax base shall apply | |
| For spouse | Tax base with an assessed amount up to or above 176.8-multiple | Tax base with an assessed amount up to or above 154.8-multiple |
In addition, the difference between the multiple of the minimum subsistence level and the tax base is adjusted from 63,4-multiple to 70,8-multiple when assessing the income of the taxpayer's spouse.
Taxation of income from players' payment transactions
The consolidation also introduces a new special tax on income from fees charged by banks to players for payment transactions made via payment cards to player accounts.
Fees collected in this way will be part of the special tax base defined in § 17 of the Slovak Income Tax Act from January 1, 2026.
The special tax base will be taxed at an income tax rate of 54%.
Value added tax
VAT deduction for company cars
The planned change to VAT deduction entitlement for company cars, which we informed you about in July, has ultimately been postponed to 2026 as part of the consolidation package. According to the final decision, a flat-rate deduction of 50% will apply to company car classified as fixed assets – investment property in the period from January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2028.
This deduction therefore applies to purchased, leased, or acquired motor vehicles in categories M1, L1e, and L3e.
The new rule of a flat-rate VAT deduction of 50% does not apply if the taxpayer acquires a motor vehicle as inventory (in the case of car dealers). The new wording also retains the original condition that the flat-rate deduction also applies to goods and services that the taxpayer purchases for the purposes of the motor vehicle, but also uses the vehicle for private purposes.
VAT rate on sugar and salt
Also the classification of containing increased amounts of sugar and salt is being adjusted from the original reduced VAT rate of 19% to the basic VAT rate of 23%. These goods include:
- salty baked goods, pretzels, salty cakes
- muffins, sweets, jam
- sweetened soft drinks
- potato chips / crisps
Goods and products that contain negligible amounts of salt and sugar remain at the original VAT rate of 19%. These include, for example::
- diet foods, whole grain baked goods
- unsalted and unflavoured products
- baby food and nutrition
It remains that the reduced rate applies only to final goods and products intended for direct human consumption, which are listed in a special annex to the VAT Act.
Social security and health insurance
A significant consolidation measure consists of the adjustment of social security and health insurance contributions starting from 2026 for all persons – sole traders, employees, and self-payers.
The most significant change is an increase in the assessment base for social security and health insurance contributions for natural persons who are entrepreneurs, which also proportionally increases the minimum contributions to social security and health insurance.
Social security contribution (levy)
| Type of social security contributor | Current levy rate in 2025 | New levy rate in 2026 |
| Self-employer | 50% | 60% of the average salary for the last 2 years |
In addition, social and health levy holidays for sole traders are also changing, and the original one-year deferral of social security contributions is being reduced from 12 months to 6 months. This means that contributions must be paid from the first day of the sixth calendar month after obtaining a business / trade license.
Health insurance contribution (levy)
In the case of health insurance contributions, this is a blanket increase in contributions of 1%.
| Type of health contributor | Current levy rate in 2025 | New levy rate in 2026 |
| Employee | 4% | 5% |
| Employee with reduced working capacity | 2% | 2,5% |
| Self-employer | 15% | 16% |
| Self-employer´s employee with reduced working capacity | 7% | 7,5% |
Income compensation during incapacity for work
The amendment to the law introduces the same rules for cases where an employee receives remuneration that is currently not subject to contributions during incapacity for work, maternity leave, or leave taken for nursing care.
From 2026, such remuneration will also be included in the employee's assessment base for social and health contribution.
In addition, the employer's obligation to pay the employee's income during temporary incapacity for work (so-called sick leave) is extended from 10 days to up to 14 days.
Travel Allowance (Meal allowance)
Another consolidation measure allows the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic to operatively change and set special (higher) meal allowance rates for specific groups of employees and selected countries. This will eliminate the difference in countries where food prices differ significantly from the meal allowance set by law.
A blanket change in the meal allowance is not possible due to the need for significant consolidation. This change takes effect on 1 November 2025.
Change in public holidays
An amendment to the Labor Code effective from the new year 2026 regulates the conditions under which an employer may require an employee to work in retail establishments on public holidays, which are also days off work.
These public holidays are as follows:
- 6th January
- Easter Mondary
- 1st May
- 8th May
- 5th July
- 29th August
- 15th September
- 1st November
- 17th November
A temporary amendment to the law on public holidays stipulates that in 2026, 8th May and 15th September will not be public holidays or days off work.
The public holiday of 17 November will be permanently removed from the list of non-working days, which means that for employees, this day will be a normal working day, and employees will no longer be entitled to extra pay for working on a public holiday.
Insurance Tax Act
Another measure is an increase in the insurance tax rate from the current 8% to 10% of the premium received for non-life insurance. This does not apply to motor vehicle liability insurance.
Protection on mineral resources
An amendment to the Act on the Protection and Use of Mineral Resources (known as the Mining Act) introduces an obligation for organizations that have a permit for mining activities and the extraction of primary raw materials to pay fees for the extracted primary raw materials.
The fee applies to the following primary raw materials:
- gravel and sand
- gravel sand
- building stone
The fee is calculated as the product of the quantity of primary raw materials and a rate of EUR 1.35/t. The calculated fee is revenue for the state budget.
Every organization is required to pay the fee:
- that has a designated mining area
- that has obtained mined minerals through deposit exploration
- that has a mining permit or carries out mining activities
- a legal entity or natural person that carries out unauthorized mining of mineral resources
Special levy on collective investment
The Slovak Ministry of Finance has also focused on investment companies, management companies, and supplementary management and pension companies, increasing the special levy on profits from the original 4.36% to 15%.
General waiver of penalties
Slovakia will allow taxpayers to pay tax debts or additional tax liability by filing a tax return without incurring penalties or sanction interest.
This is a general pardon for all taxpayers from the tax office and customs office. This penalty waiver instrument is only valid for the period from January 1, 2026 to June 30, 2026.
| The general pardon shall apply to | The general pardon shall not apply to |
| VAT Income tax Excise tax Motor vehicle tax Insurance tax | Tax prepayments Tax instalments Special levy on business activities in regulated sectors Solidary levy Local tax and municipal waste |
The above list contains only a selection of consolidation measures. We would like to point out that we have focused only on measures that are relevant to our readers who are mainly entrepreneurs and companies.
