Budapest

Salary from a foreign employer or fees from foreign clients

Taxed15% flat, plus 18.5% social security and 13% SZOCHO where Hungarian social insurance applies

A resident's salary from a foreign employer and profit from foreign clients are taxed at a flat 15%, with no tax-free allowance and no local income tax. Pay for work physically done in Hungary is Hungarian-source income even when the employer is abroad, and foreign tax charged on it cannot be credited where there is no treaty (the US, for example). With no Hungarian payer you self-assess: advance payments are due by the 12th of the month after each quarter, and the annual return by 20 May. Social insurance: an employee of a foreign company working in Hungary is generally insured in Hungary unless EU coordination rules or a bilateral social security agreement keep them insured elsewhere (proved with an A1 or certificate of coverage). Then 18.5% social security contribution and 13% SZOCHO are due on the salary. A foreign employer not registered in Hungary should register with NAV or appoint a representative; if it does neither, the employee reports and pays both monthly. Third-country nationals posted to Hungary by a foreign employer for up to two years are exempt. Freelancers serving foreign clients usually register as sole traders (egyéni vállalkozó), most of them under the flat-rate regime (see regimes), and also owe municipal business tax of up to 2%. Under a treaty, a resident freelancer's profit is taxed only in Hungary unless they have a fixed base abroad.

On the nomad visa

The White Card (Fehér Kártya) carries no tax regime of its own: the tax laws do not mention it, and we found no NAV guidance written for holders, so ordinary rules apply. Because holders cannot obtain long-term residence status, the 183-day test does not apply to them. A holder whose only permanent home is the flat they rent in Hungary is a tax resident from arrival and pays 15% on worldwide income, including salary from the foreign employer or profit from their own foreign company, subject to a treaty tie-breaker if they keep a home abroad. Pay for work done in Hungary is Hungarian-source income in any case. Social insurance on that salary (18.5% plus 13% SZOCHO) generally applies unless a social security agreement or EU rule keeps the holder insured elsewhere; the two-year exemption in the law covers employees posted by a foreign employer, and it is unclear whether NAV treats a White Card remote worker as posted. One advantage: as people who count as foreign for social insurance, holders pay no 13% SZOCHO on dividends, gains or interest. The permit bars working for a Hungarian employer or owning a Hungarian company.

Dividends, interest, gains, rent and pensions from abroad

Taxed15% on dividends, interest, capital gains and rent; 13% SZOCHO on top for many residents; foreign pensions exempt

Foreign dividends, interest and share gains are taxed separately from salary at 15%. Tax withheld abroad under a treaty is credited. With no treaty (for example the US since 2024), the credit cannot push Hungarian tax on separately taxed income such as dividends below 5%. On top comes SZOCHO of 13%: on dividends and capital gains only until your income for the year (salary plus these) reaches 24 times the monthly minimum wage, HUF 7,747,200 in 2026, and on interest with no cap. Dividends on shares listed on an EEA regulated market are exempt from SZOCHO, and so is the investment income of people who count as foreign for social insurance (broadly, non-EU nationals without long-term status, such as White Card holders). Interest paid from a non-treaty, non-OECD country and income from low-tax companies count as ordinary income instead. Crypto gains pay 15% with no SZOCHO. Rent from a flat abroad is not taxed in Hungary under a treaty. Rent from Hungarian property pays 15% after a 10% flat cost allowance or actual costs, with no SZOCHO. Gains on Hungarian property are fully taxed in the purchase year and the next, then 90%, 60% and 30% of the gain in the following years, and are tax-free from the fifth year after purchase. Pensions are tax-exempt, including foreign pensions that a treaty defines as pensions (or equivalent foreign pensions where there is no treaty), though a treaty may still let the paying country tax some of them, such as government pensions.

Net wealth and inheritance

No wealth taxInheritance tax applies

Hungary has no net wealth tax. Inheritance duty is 18% of the net value each heir receives (9% on a home), but spouses or registered partners, lineal relatives (children, grandchildren, parents) and siblings are fully exempt; stepchildren and step-parents get HUF 20 million tax-free. It always covers estate located in Hungary; foreign movable assets inherited by someone living in Hungary are caught only if no comparable tax was due where they are, and foreign real estate is outside its scope. Buying property costs 4% transfer duty up to HUF 1 billion per property and 2% above, capped at HUF 200 million per property, with relief for first-time buyers under 35. Municipalities may charge an annual building tax on homes, per square metre or up to 3.6% of adjusted market value; rates and exemptions are set locally, and some councils charge none.

Tax resident after

183 days a year

Top income tax rate

15%

When you become tax resident

Hungary has two routes. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens become resident once they use their free-movement right in Hungary for at least 183 days in a calendar year (arrival and departure days count as full days). Non-EU nationals without long-term residence status, including White Card and other permit holders, face no day count: you are resident if your only permanent home (a dwelling you have settled into and actually live in) is in Hungary; if you have a permanent home in no country or in several, if your centre of vital interests (closest personal, family and economic ties) is there; and failing both, if your habitual abode is there. Holders of long-term status (national or EU residence card) are resident by that status. So a non-EU nomad who rents a flat in Budapest and gives up their home abroad is normally resident from arrival. Residence can start or end mid-year. If another country also treats you as resident, the treaty tie-breaker (permanent home, vital interests, habitual abode, nationality) decides. Hungary has treaties with more than 80 countries, but none with the United States since 1 January 2024.

Top income tax rate

Budapest: a flat 15% personal income tax at every income level. Hungary has no regional or municipal income tax, so the rate is the same across the country. Employees also pay an 18.5% social security contribution on salary, and employers (including a foreign employer) pay 13% SZOCHO; these are contributions, not part of the income tax rate.