Self-employed No Longer to Pay Transaction Tax as of 2026

Bratislava, 30 September (TASR) - From next year, self-employed individuals and other sole traders will no longer be required to pay the financial transaction tax, as Parliament definitively approved the amendment to the Financial Transaction Tax Act on Tuesday. The proposal was submitted by a group of MPs from the coalition's Slovak National Party (SNS). All 128 lawmakers present voted in favour of the amendment. The submitters initially suggested exempting sole traders and small companies with turnover up to €100,000 from the transaction tax, with changes set to apply from October this year. The Finance Ministry opposed the proposal, but after several rounds of negotiations, a compromise was reached on the revised amendment, tabled by MP Adam Lucansky (SNS), which lawmakers approved in the final vote. Under the new rules, only companies and other legal entities will pay the transaction tax. Individual entrepreneurs currently liable for the tax will be exempt. The change is set to take effect as of 1 January 2026. The amendment also introduces technical adjustments, clarifying definitions such as “re-invoiced cost” and “permanent operation,” which have caused uncertainties in practice. It refines the taxpayer definition and introduces a division between taxpayers with limited and unlimited tax liability. The list of entities linked to the public budget excluded from taxpayers is specified, as is the use of payment cards under the law. Parliament rejected several opposition amendments, including Marian Viskupic’s (Freedom and Solidarity) motion to abolish the transaction tax entirely and refund those who have already paid it. Ingrid Kosova (Progressive Slovakia) proposed exempting all schools and school facilities funded from public sources regardless of the legal form of their administrators, including commercial companies. mf/mcs