Sole trader obligations month by month: tax, contribution and filing calendar for 2026

Three regimes, three different calendars

A sole trader's deadlines depend on how you are taxed, so first settle which regime you are in.

A flat-rate trader (paušalac) keeps no books other than the register of turnover (Art. 43(4) of the Personal Income Tax Act). The Tax Administration sets tax and contributions by decision, and the trader pays the decided amount monthly. No tax balance sheet, no financial statements, no VAT until turnover passes RSD 8,000,000 or the trader opts in.

A bookkeeping trader without personal salary keeps double-entry books (Art. 43(2)), pays 10% tax on taxable profit (Art. 38) and contributions on that same profit (Art. 22(1) of the Contributions Act). Monthly advances are self-calculated in PPDG-1S and the final liability is settled once a year.

A bookkeeping trader with personal salary is the same, except that the trader pays themselves a salary: 10% salary tax and 35.05% contributions on it monthly, PPP-PD before each payment, and the salary is an expense that reduces profit (Art. 33a of the Personal Income Tax Act; Art. 52a of the Contributions Act).

The calendar below lists every row; strike out the ones that do not apply to your regime.

Monthly deadlines

The advance falls due "within 15 days after the end of each month" (Art. 114(2)), which in practice means by the 15th. When the 15th is a non-working day, the deadline runs to the next working day; the advance for January 2026 was therefore due on 18 February.

Until the decision for the current year arrives, a flat-rate trader pays the amount from last year's decision (Art. 109(2)). The Tax Administration served the 2026 decisions electronically from mid-January, with a new reference number (BOP); a payment under the old reference number is booked to the wrong year and creates a phantom debt.

Annual deadlines

Property tax is paid quarterly, within 45 days of the start of each quarter (14 February, 15 May, 14 August and 14 November); for the home you live in you receive a decision from the local tax administration, while for real estate carried in the books you self-assess in the PPI-1 return.

Month-by-month calendar for 2026

Every month, before payment: PPP-PD for personal salary and employee wages; by the 12th: VAT record in SEF.

How much the monthly bill is: a worked example

Bookkeeping trader with a gross personal salary of RSD 80,000 (2026):

• salary tax: (80,000 − 34,221 tax-free amount) × 10% = RSD 4,578 (Arts. 15a and 16 of the Personal Income Tax Act);
• contributions: 80,000 × 35.05% (pension 24%, health 10.3%, unemployment 0.75%) = RSD 28,040 (Art. 44(1) of the Contributions Act);
• total due with the payment: RSD 32,618; RSD 47,382 lands in the trader's account;
• on top, a monthly 10% profit-tax advance per PPDG-1S, because the salary is an expense and the remaining profit is taxed separately.

If you skip the salary in a given month, by the last day of the following month you pay contributions on the minimum monthly base, RSD 51,297 for 2026: 51,297 × 35.05% = RSD 17,980 (Arts. 37 and 52a of the Contributions Act). The maximum monthly base for 2026 is RSD 732,820.

A flat-rate trader pays one combined amount of tax and contributions from the decision; it depends on the activity, the municipality and years in business, so check it in the decision on ePorezi.

Late payment: interest, misdemeanour, limitation

Interest runs from the day after the due date at the National Bank of Serbia annual reference rate plus ten percentage points (Art. 75 ZPPPA). A payment is allocated first to the principal, then to interest (Art. 70 ZPPPA).

Misdemeanour fines for a sole trader under Art. 177 ZPPPA: return filed, tax not paid: 10% to 50% of the tax owed, at least RSD 50,000; return not filed, tax neither calculated nor paid: 30% to 100%, at least RSD 100,000; return not filed but tax paid on time: RSD 50,000 to 500,000. A late return with tax paid on time carries fixed fines that rise with the amount of tax. Whoever self-reports and pays the tax with interest before the Tax Administration takes any step is not prosecuted for certain of these offences (Art. 182b ZPPPA).

The right to assess and collect tax becomes time-barred five years from the first day of the year after the one in which the tax should have been assessed or collected, and in any event after ten years (Arts. 114 and 114ž ZPPPA). Interruptions of the period are common, so do not plan around limitation.

How not to miss a deadline

One calendar, one person responsible. If an accountant files your returns, agree who pays: the accountant prepares the payment orders, but as a rule you execute the transfer. Set a standing order or a reminder for the 12th of the month, three days ahead. Check the ePorezi tax inbox weekly; a decision counts as served when it lands there, not when you open it. Before any change of regime (VAT registration, switching from flat rate to books, introducing a personal salary) walk through this calendar again, because the rows change from the day of the switch.

This text is an informational overview of the regulations and does not replace an accountant or a tax adviser; check the amounts in your decision and the current payment accounts on the Tax Administration website.