Tax on financial transactions (transaction tax)

All debit transactions from the taxpayer's account should be taxed, including cash withdrawals. Card payments should not be taxed at the rate of tax according to the amount of the payment, the use of cards should be taxed at EUR 2 per year for each debit or credit card used.

The obligation to pay the new tax should be natural persons - entrepreneurs (self-employed or self-employed) and legal persons, such as limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, civil associations.

According to the amendment of the law, the following are not taxpayers: 

• Social Insurance Agency, Matica slovenská, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 
• budgetary organization and contributory organization, municipality and higher territorial unit, 
• civic association, foundation, non-investment fund, non-profit organization providing generally beneficial services, 
• purpose-built facility of a church and religious society, 
• interest association of legal entities, 
• research and development entity, 
• organization with an international element, 
• Slovak Red Cross, 
• regional tourism organization, local tourism organization, tourist information centers. 

The rate depends on the type of transaction:

Non-cash transactions (for example, transfers from an account) have a rate of 0.4 % of the amount of the debit non-cash transaction, but a maximum of EUR 40 from each transaction.

For cash withdrawals, the taxpayer pays 0.8 % of the withdrawal amount, while the maximum limit of the tax paid is not determined. The rate also applies to withdrawals at a branch or by card from an ATM.

In the case of payment cards, a tax of EUR 2 per year is paid for each card issued individually and used at least once a year. The tax is applied equally to debit and credit cards.

Examples of tax calculation:

• For a transfer of 1 000 EUR, the tax is 4 EUR, for transfers over 10 000 EUR, the tax is 40 EUR, so for a transfer of 50 000 EUR, the tax is also 40 EUR, since the maximum amount of tax is 40 EUR.
• When withdrawing EUR 1 000 in cash at a branch or from an ATM, the tax is EUR 8, while in the case of withdrawals there is no upper limit on the maximum amount of tax per transaction.
• If the client has 10 cards issued and used, he pays a tax of EUR 20 per year.

The minimum tax on a financial transaction is 1 euro cent. It is rounded to the nearest euro cent, downwards if below 0.005 euros and upwards if 0.005 euros or more.

According to the law, the first tax period is April 2025.

No, a rate of 2 EUR per year applies for using the card, regardless of the number of transactions made with the card, except for withdrawals.

The law provides many exceptions, some of which are listed below. The exceptions already take into account the latest approved amendment to the law.

Exceptions for debit transactions from paying tax: 

• on the account of apartment owners;
• payments made in connection with the payment of taxes, levies, fees, and contributions that are income for the state budget, customs debt, and other payments assessed and imposed according to customs regulations, payments of contributions to the Social Insurance Agency and health insurance contributions, payments related to providing a guarantee for customs debt or other payments assessed or imposed according to customs regulations, payments for value-added tax or excise duty on imports, in connection with a security serving as a guarantee for fulfilling an obligation or meeting a condition arising from legally binding acts of the European Union in the field of agriculture, which are credited to an account held in the State Treasury, whose number or prefix is listed in the publication organ of the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic;
• payment operations related to the management of securities or other financial instruments, or payment operations related to the purchase of securities or other financial instruments in connection with the management of old-age pension savings and supplementary pension savings;
• payment operations conducted between the taxpayer's accounts held with the same provider, e.g., a payment from a sole trader's account to a personal account of an individual at Tatra Banka a.s. or Raiffeisen Bank (a branch of Tatra Banka a.s.) or a payment between accounts of the same company within the bank;
• payment operations for the delivery or return of money from notarial custody;
• payment operations conducted on the account of apartment and non-residential premises owners in a building;
• payment operations conducted by payment card, except for payment operations involving the withdrawal of cash;
• payment operations conducted on a special account held by a court executor;
• transfers by a securities dealer;
• some payment operations related to public procurement, public commercial competition, and financial security.

In the case of a transfer of funds, the tax will be charged to the account of the person sending the payment (so the sender, who is called the payer). In case of cash withdrawal, again from the account from which the cash is withdrawn.

The bank will pay the tax on behalf of the taxpayer to the tax office on a monthly basis.

The law specifies the interval in which the first tax settlement should occur. This period is from 01. 05. 2025 to 01. 07. 2025. Tatra Banka will announce the specific date of the first settlement in advance.

In the case of a taxpayer with an account in a Slovak bank, the bank where the client has an account will ensure the settlement of the tax.

If the taxpayer has an account in a foreign bank, the taxpayer (company, civil association, self-employed person) will be responsible for the calculation and payment of the tax.

The client will find out information about the amount of tax paid in the statement to the business (transaction) account.

A tax of EUR 2 per year is applied to the payment card itself. If the client uses both its physical and digital form, it is still the same payment card, so he only pays once.

The law imposes an obligation to open an account by 31. 03. 2025.

Yes, the entrepreneur will be required to conduct business-related transactions through a transaction account, which in practice means a business account. If the client does not already have such an account open, they must open one.

Yes, however, if the taxpayer has an account with a foreign bank, they will be responsible for calculating and remitting the tax themselves.

The taxpayer can request an explanation from the bank within 12 calendar months from the date the tax was deducted. The bank will provide the requested explanation in writing within 30 days from the date of receiving the request and will correct any errors within the same period. If the bank fails to fulfill this obligation, the taxpayer can file a complaint with the tax authority within 60 days from the date the bank was supposed to deliver the written explanation and correct any errors.

Entities that are not taxpayers can notify the bank of this.

The method and form of notification will be specified by the bank at a later date.

The taxpayer can submit a notification about which account is subject to the exception and which is not subject to the transaction tax. 

The bank will specify the method and form later.

No, in such a case, they cannot request the bank to exempt their transactions from the tax.

If the taxpayer closes a transaction account between April 1, 2025, and May 31, 2025, they are required to remit the tax to the tax authority for the taxable periods during which the account was active. They must do this by the end of the calendar month following the month in which the transaction account was closed. In the same period, the taxpayer is also required to submit a notification to the tax authority.

Yes.

Yes, the transaction tax applies to such fees as well.

The current wording of the law does not include an exemption for salary payments, which means that every debit from the taxpayer's account representing a salary payment is subject to the transaction tax.

For this purpose, it is necessary to consult your tax advisor. But we currently do not provide such an option.

No, operations between client accounts maintained in the same bank, including transactions where conversion from one currency to another currency takes place, are not subject to transaction tax.

No, the establishment of a term deposit is not subject to transaction tax.

Repayments of principal, interest, and fees arising from loan agreements are debit transactions that are not listed in the exceptions and therefore should be subject to the transaction tax.

Automated balance compensations of accounts of taxpayers who are members of a consolidated group, for which consolidated financial statements are prepared, are exempt from the transaction tax, provided they are conducted within the same bank.

The transfer of funds from the natural person (NP) trade account to the NP current account should not be subject to transaction tax, as long as both accounts are kept in Tatra banka and/or Raiffeisen banka.