Social contribution tax in Hungary provides central budget funding for certain social services serving the right to social security and physical and mental well-being and for the maintenance of the state pension system.
Hungarian social contribution tax is payable by:
- payer
- private entrepreneur unless he or she is a pensioner on own right or receives widow's pension and has reached the relevant age limit for old-age pension
- small-scale agricultural producer unless in the tax year preceding the tax year concerned it qualified as a small producer or had no contribution payment obligation
Base of social contribution tax
The base of the tax payable by the payer is:
- the income from non-independent activities and the part of income from independent activity taken into account for tax advance base calculation provided, paid to a natural person in a legal relationship generating tax payment obligation with a payer increased by the amount of interest body member ship fees subject to PIT,
- the fee actually paid under study contract,
- in the absence of benefits provided under the above points, the base wage defined in the employment contract or the remuneration defined in the contract.
In case of several types of capital incomes (dividend, capital gain etc.) the income - up to the 24 times of the minimal wage level - is sucject to social contribution tax if there are incomes from non-independent activities.
The base of the tax payable by private entrepreneurs applying taxation based on their entrepreneurial income is the entrepreneurial withdrawal or, in the case of flat-rate taxation, the income specified for this purpose. The base of the monthly tax payable with regard to an economic association's or sole trader's legal relationship generating tax payment obligation with its member is at least minimum wage. The base of the monthly tax payable by the private entrepreneur for himself is at least minimum wage. The base of the monthly tax payable by the small-scale agricultural producer for himself is the minimum wage.
Rate of social contribution tax and tax allowances
Calculated tax: 13 percent of the tax base from January 1st, 2022
Tax payable: the calculated tax reduced by the amount of social contribution tax allowances for which the person having social contribution tax payment obligation is eligible according to law.
The taxable person must assess tax monthly and declare and pay it to NAV (HU TA) until the 12th of the month following the month concerned.
Social contribution tax allowance system
| Allowances available from 1 January 2019 under the new Social Contribution Tax Act | |
|---|---|
| public employees' allowance | Unchanged content relative to former regulation; Rate: 50% of the tax rate (6.5%) on 130% of the public employment wage but maximum the guaranteed public employment wage; no other allowances may be applied at the same time |
| allowance of workers employed in jobs not requiring qualification and in agricultural jobs | Group 9, sub-group 61 of group 6 and items 7/7333 and 8/8421 of the professions listed in the classification system FEOR-08; Rate: 50% of the tax rate (6.5%) on the employee's gross wage amount but maximum the minimum wage (HUF 322,800) |
| allowance of new entrants to the labour market | 92 days of insurance relationship in the last 275 days (infant care fee, child care fee, child care support, public employment not included); re-entry to the labour market is eligible also; a certificate is required, HU TA will certify based on announcement or a request submitted in the return form 08; Rate: amount calculated applying the tax rate (13%) on the employee's gross wage amount but maximum the minimum wage (HUF 322,800) in the first two years of employment and 50% (6.55%) in the forthcoming 6 months. |
| allowance of women raising 3 or more children entering the labour market | Rate: amount calculated applying the tax rate (13%) on the employee's gross wage amount but maximum the minimum wage (HUF 322,800) in the first three years of employment and 50% (6.5%) in the fourth and fifth year; Condition: a certificate from HU TA and family support authority; eligibility for the allowance is not affected by the mother's eligibility for family allowance ending during the period of applying this allowance. |
| allowance of employees with altered working capacity | Available for employees, private entrepreneurs and partnership with regard to their members; a rehabilitation authority certificate is required stating a max. 60% health condition (or the employee must receive disability rehabilitation benefit); Rate: amount calculated applying the tax rate (13%) on twice the tax base but maximum the minimum wage (HUF 322,800); the allowance is not applicable from the month following the termination of eligibility |
| allowance on the employment of researchers | Available under unchanged conditions; Rate: amount calculated applying the tax rate (13%) on the gross wage of employees with an PhD degree and on the gross wage of students or doctor candidates but maximum maximum the two-times of the minimal wage (HUF 645,600). |
| R&D allowance | Rate: amount calculated applying 50% of the >tax rate (6.5%) on the direct wage cost of the R&D activity; corporate tax base allowance may not be applied at the same time |
We note that from 2022, vocational training contribution is terminated. newertheless, all tax allowances which were applicable in the vocational training contribution system is applicable as a tax allowance in the social contribution tax system.
To all allowances, the theoretical restrictions will apply, which provide that the payer will only be able to apply one type of tax allowance on one natural person and that in the case of a change in the employee, the replacing employee may continue to apply the tax allowance for the remaining period.
