Tax rate

Insurance on which insurance tax is charged is subject to an 8% tax rate.

The tax rate for motor third-party liability insurance (MTPL) is 0%. This is because a levy on premiums written continues to be applied in this branch of insurance. 

Tax returns and tax chargeability

You are required to pay insurance tax into Slovakia’s central government budget on the basis of the insurance tax return you have filed:

• by the end of the calendar month following the completion of a tax period (a calendar quarter) in which the liability to pay
  insurance tax arises. By the same deadline, you must pay the insurance tax due.

You are not obliged to file an insurance tax return and pay insurance tax if, in the tax period, you:

• are not liable to pay the tax or to correct the tax base or tax under conditions laid down by law;
• even if you are required to pay tax on motor third-party liability insurance (MTPL) with a 0%
  insurance tax rate.

Determining local competence

When determining local competence, it is necessary to make a distinction between:

• a payer who is an insurer; and
• a payer who is a service recipient.

An insurer who is:

• a Slovak insurance company;
• an insurance company from another Member State;
• a branch of a foreign insurance company;

falls within the competence of the Office for Selected Economic Entities.

For service recipients (in cases where the tax liability is transferred), local competence is determined according to:

• the recipient’s place of permanent residence (if an individual); or according to
• the recipient’s registered office (if a legal entity).

The above rules take priority but, if it is impossible to determine local competence on that basis, the Bratislava Tax Office is considered to be the locally competent body.

2. Registration

Taxable persons who are required to file a tax return must register within five days of the end of the tax period for which they are obliged to file an insurance tax return.

The tax office:

• issues the taxable person with an insurance tax registration decision;
• assigns the taxable person a tax identification number (DIČ);

and notifies this to the taxable person together with the tax authority’s account number within ten days of submission of the registration application.

Taxable persons who have already been assigned a tax identification number in Slovakia must notify the tax office of a change in the circumstances stated during their initial registration, i.e. they are extending their existing registration to include insurance tax.

Citizens who are taxpayers and are liable to file an insurance tax return must be registered for this tax.

More information on registration can be found on the Financial Administration’s portal.

3. Who to contact

If you have any questions, you can contact the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic. This address describes all the ways in which you can communicate with the Financial Administration (by phone, email, chat, etc.). 

For further information, please contact us via the following form.

4. Non-compliance penalties

Anyone who fails to comply with the obligation to pay insurance tax in accordance with the Insurance Tax Act is at risk of penalisation under the Tax Code. 

5. Questions and answers

1. Is insurance tax chargeable on MTPL?

Although motor third-party liability insurance (MTPL) falls within the scope of insurance tax, it is subject to a zero tax rate.

2. Who pays insurance tax?

For the most part, persons liable to pay insurance tax are insurers operating in the insurance sector. These are:

• Slovak insurance companies;
• insurance companies from other Member States; and
• branches of foreign insurance companies. 

More detailed information can be found in the informative document entitled Questions and Answers Concerning the Application of the Insurance Tax Act. 

3. Am I required to register?

As a person liable to pay insurance tax, you are required to register:

• if you are obliged to file an insurance tax return;
• within five days of the end of the tax period for which you are obliged to file an insurance tax return, if you have not
  been assigned a tax identification number for tax in Slovakia;
• if you have been assigned a tax identification number for tax in Slovakia, you must announce an extension to your
  registration to include insurance tax. 

4. What is taxed by insurance tax?

Insurance tax is charged on non-life insurance (Annex 1 to the Insurance Tax Act) if the insurance risk is located in Slovakia. 

For example, this tax is charged on:

• personal accident insurance;
• sickness insurance;
• vehicle damage insurance;
• insurance covering damage to other property;
• credit insurance;
• legal expenses insurance;
• breakdown services;
• liability insurance, etc.;

if the insurance risk is located in Slovakia. 

Whether an insurance risk is located in Slovakia is determined in accordance with the Insurance Tax Act. Insurance tax is levied on payments of insurance premiums under an insurance contract concluded with:

• a Slovak insurance company;
• an insurance company from another Member State; or
• a branch of a foreign insurance company.

Where insurance is provided by a foreign insurance company to a service recipient, the amount of premiums paid, or the amount of insurance costs passed on to the recipient, is subject to taxation.
Insurance tax is only charged on insurance provided by insurance companies, i.e. it is not charged if the provider is not an insurance company.
Reinsurance is not subject to insurance tax in Slovakia.