Annual personal income tax in Serbia 2026: threshold, 10% and 15% rates, deductions, 15 May deadline
Serbia's annual personal income tax for 2025: 5,439,096 RSD threshold, 10% and 15% rates, deductions, under-40 relief, PP GPDG return due 15 May 2026.
Who is liable and what the threshold is for 2025
The annual personal income tax is an additional tax on the sum of income a natural person earned in a calendar year, each item of which has already been taxed separately. Taxpayers are residents of Serbia for income from Serbia and abroad and non-residents for income from Serbia, if the income exceeds three times the average annual salary per employee paid in Serbia in the year for which the tax is assessed (Art. 87(1) of the Personal Income Tax Act).
For income earned in 2025, reported by 15 May 2026, the average annual salary according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia is 1,813,032 dinars, so the tax-free amount is 5,439,096 dinars. Anyone below it is not a taxpayer and files nothing. Since income counts net of tax and contributions paid, for an employee that is roughly net salary: an average above about 453,000 dinars net a month through 2025 means liability.
Since the tax for 2022, the tax is self-assessed: the Tax Administration pre-fills the return and the taxpayer checks and submits it, instead of the earlier assessment decision.
What counts as income and what does not
Income includes items paid from 1 January to 31 December 2025, regardless of the period they relate to (Art. 87(2)):
- salary, including an entrepreneur's personal salary;
- taxable self-employment income, for a flat-rate entrepreneur the assessed income from the decision;
- income from copyright, related rights and industrial property rights;
- income from immovable property (letting a flat, business premises, land);
- income from leasing movables;
- income of athletes and sports experts, from hospitality services in household and rural tourism, and seafarers' income;
- other income under Art. 85 (service contracts, supplementary work, board members' fees and the like);
- for residents, the same income earned and taxed in another state, reduced by the tax paid there.
Each item counts reduced by the tax and contributions paid on it at the recipient's expense (Art. 87(3)); property income, movables income and the income of entrepreneurs keeping books are reduced by tax only. Income is increased by any refund of overpaid contributions received that year (Art. 87(6)), relevant to those whose contribution base in 2025 exceeded the maximum annual base of 7,877,100 dinars.
Not included: capital gains, dividends, interest and other income from capital, gambling winnings, life insurance proceeds, and receipts exempt under Arts. 9 and 18 (unemployment benefit, severance up to the statutory minimum, child allowance, the tax-free part of salary).
Relief for persons under 40
A natural person who is under 40 on 31 December of the year for which the tax is assessed reduces the sum of salaries, taxable self-employment income, income from copyright, related rights and industrial property rights, and seafarers' income, already reduced by taxes and contributions paid, by a further three average annual salaries, for 2025 by 5,439,096 dinars. The reduction cannot exceed that sum (Art. 87(4) and (5)), does not extend to property and other income, and is applied before the tax-free amount is subtracted. The effect is that a young employee, entrepreneur or author becomes liable only when net income from those sources passes about 10.9 million dinars a year.
Personal deductions and the tax base
The income for taxation (sum of income minus the tax-free amount) is reduced by the personal deductions in Art. 88:
- for the taxpayer, 40% of the average annual salary: 725,213 dinars for 2025;
- for each dependent family member, 15% of the average annual salary: 271,955 dinars per member.
Total deductions cannot exceed 50% of the income for taxation. If two family members are taxpayers, only one of them may claim the deduction for the same dependent child. The taxpayer's own deduction is entered automatically in the posted return; dependent members are entered by you in part 2 of the return, and that is the most common correction. What remains is the taxable income, the tax base.
The 10% and 15% rates with worked examples
On the base up to six times the average annual salary, for 2025 up to 10,878,192 dinars, the tax is 10%. On the part of the base above that, the tax is 10% on 10,878,192 dinars plus 15% on the remainder (Art. 89).
Example 1, taxpayer aged 45, employed, one dependent child. Sum of income net of tax and contributions in 2025: 8,000,000 dinars. Income for taxation: 8,000,000 - 5,439,096 = 2,560,904. Personal deductions: 725,213 + 271,955 = 997,168 (less than 50% of the income for taxation, so allowed in full). Base: 2,560,904 - 997,168 = 1,563,736. Tax: 10%, 156,374 dinars.
Example 2, same income, taxpayer aged 35, all from salary. The sum of 8,000,000 is reduced by 5,439,096 to 2,560,904; after subtracting the tax-free amount of 5,439,096 the income for taxation is negative, so 0. No tax and no filing obligation.
Example 3, taxpayer over 40, no dependents, income for taxation 15,000,000 dinars. Deduction 725,213, base 14,274,787. Tax: 10,878,192 x 10% = 1,087,819 plus (14,274,787 - 10,878,192) x 15% = 509,489, total 1,597,308 dinars.
The tax credit for investing in an alternative investment fund reduces the calculated tax by up to 50% of the investment, capped at 50% of the tax; it is lost if the units are disposed of in the year of investment or the following two years.
The PP GPDG return: what the Tax Administration does, what you do
The return is filed on form PP GPDG, exclusively electronically, through the ePorezi portal (Art. 38 of the Tax Procedure Act; Rulebook on the annual personal income tax return, Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 24/2023 and 30/2026). From its records (employers' individual PPP PD returns, payers' returns, decisions issued to flat-rate entrepreneurs) the Tax Administration enters the data and posts the return as a working version on the portal by 1 April of the year following the year for which the tax is assessed (Art. 92(2)). For 2025, returns were posted to persons whose income net of taxes and contributions paid exceeds 5,439,096 dinars.
The taxpayer logs in to ePorezi with a qualified electronic certificate, an eID account with the ConsentID app and a cloud certificate, or a certificate with the SmartBox app; anyone without a certificate can authorise another person, for example their accountant, with a PEP form. In the return they must enter their phone, e-mail and occupation themselves, check the income, add dependent members and income the Tax Administration does not hold (most often foreign income or income reported under a passport number), and choose "Sign and submit". The return is filed even when the taxpayer agrees with all the data; a posted return is not by itself filed (Art. 92(3)). A taxpayer with no posted return completes and files it themselves within the same deadline. Anyone whose income for taxation is zero has no filing obligation.
If a taxpayer whose return was posted does not file by 15 May, the Tax Administration files it on their behalf (Art. 92(4)) and requests misdemeanour proceedings. A non-resident files through a tax representative.
Payment, interest and fines
Self-assessed tax is paid by the filing deadline at the latest, so by 15 May 2026 for 2025 (Art. 114(1)). Once the return reaches "posted" status, the portal displays a payment order with a QR code. Paying before the deadline is possible.
Tax paid after the deadline accrues interest at a rate equal to the NBS annual reference rate plus ten percentage points, by simple interest, from the day after the due date (Art. 75 of the Tax Procedure Act). Failing to file is a misdemeanour for a natural person with a fine of 5,000 to 150,000 dinars, a late return is fined 10,000 dinars, and non-payment 10,000 to 50,000 dinars depending on the debt (Art. 180).
How the threshold for the next year is derived
Every amount on this page derives from one figure: the average annual salary per employee paid in the Republic of Serbia in the year for which the tax is assessed, published by the Statistical Office in late February of the following year. The tax-free amount and the under-40 relief are three such salaries, the taxpayer's deduction 40%, the dependent's deduction 15%, and the rate boundary six salaries. For 2026 income, reported by 15 May 2027, the amounts will be known only after the Statistical Office publishes the 2026 figure; the Tax Administration then publishes them in its guide and builds them into the posted returns. Until they are published, check the amount on the Tax Administration website.
When to consult a tax adviser or lawyer
An employee with one employer and no other income can as a rule check and file the posted return alone. Professional help makes sense with foreign income and the application of double taxation treaties, with several income sources in the same year (salary, royalties, letting flats, flat-rate income), with contribution refunds and the fund investment tax credit, for non-residents, and when the Tax Administration has already filed the return on your behalf with inaccurate data. Misdemeanour proceedings for failure to file are conducted before the misdemeanour court, where a lawyer is usual.
Sources
- Personal Income Tax Act, Zakon o porezu na dohodak građana (Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 24/2001 ... 80/2026), Arts. 9, 85, 87-89, 92, 100a and 114
- Tax Procedure and Tax Administration Act, Zakon o poreskom postupku i poreskoj administraciji (Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 80/2002 ... 80/2026), Arts. 38, 75 and 180
- Tax Administration, Annual personal income tax (tax guide, April 2026), amounts for 2025
- Tax Administration, Rulebook on the annual personal income tax return (Sl. glasnik RS Nos. 24/2023 and 30/2026)
- ePorezi portal
- Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, earnings
- Personal Income Tax Act and Tax Procedure Act, consolidated texts (paragraf.rs), used to check the wording of individual articles
What to do
- Add up the income paid to you from 1 January to 31 December 2025, regardless of the period it relates to: salary, taxable self-employment income (including flat-rate assessed income), income from copyright, from letting property and movables, income of athletes, from hospitality services, of seafarers and other income under Art. 85, plus foreign income if you are a resident (Art. 87(2)). Reduce each item by the tax and contributions paid on it in Serbia (Art. 87(3)).
- Leave out what does not count towards the annual tax: capital gains from selling a flat or shares, dividends, interest, gambling winnings, life insurance proceeds, and tax-exempt receipts (severance up to the statutory amount, unemployment benefit, child allowance, scholarships up to the tax-free amount).
- If you were under 40 on 31 December 2025, additionally reduce the sum of salaries, self-employment income, copyright income and seafarers' income by 5,439,096 dinars, but not below zero (Art. 87(4) and (5)). Rental and other income is not reduced.
- Add any refund of overpaid contributions paid to you in 2025 (Art. 87(6)); the maximum annual contribution base for 2025 is 7,877,100 dinars. Reduce income taxed abroad by the tax paid there (Art. 87(7)).
- Subtract the tax-free amount of 5,439,096 dinars. The result is the income for taxation (Art. 87(8)). If it is zero or negative, you are not a taxpayer and do not file.
- Subtract personal deductions: 725,213 dinars for yourself and 271,955 dinars for each dependent family member, provided total deductions do not exceed 50% of the income for taxation; only one taxpayer in a family may claim the deduction for the same member (Art. 88). The result is the tax base.
- Apply the rates: 10% on the base up to 10,878,192 dinars (six times the average annual salary) and 15% on the part of the base above that (Art. 89). Amounts are entered in the return without decimals. If you invested in an alternative investment fund in 2025, a tax credit of up to 50% of the investment applies, capped at 50% of the calculated tax.
- From 1 April 2026 log in to ePorezi (qualified certificate, eID with the ConsentID app or SmartBox, or through a person authorised by a PEP form) and open the posted PP GPDG return in 'in preparation' status. Check the data, enter your phone, e-mail and occupation, add dependent members and income the Tax Administration does not have (most often foreign income), then choose 'Sign and submit' by 15 May 2026 at the latest, even if you agree with the posted data (Art. 92). If no return was posted but you are a taxpayer, complete and file it yourself.
- Pay the tax by 15 May 2026 (Art. 114): once the return reaches 'posted' status, the portal shows a payment order and QR code. After the deadline, the debt accrues interest at the NBS reference rate plus ten percentage points (Art. 75 of the Tax Procedure Act), failing to file is a misdemeanour with a fine of 5,000 to 150,000 dinars, and a late return 10,000 dinars (Art. 180).
What it costs
No fee is charged for filing the PP GPDG return; the cost is the tax itself, 10% or 15% on the base above the threshold, and possibly a qualified electronic certificate if you do not have one (the certificate on the ID card and an eID account are free of charge). The Tax Administration pre-fills the return from its records, so an employee with one employer can as a rule complete the process without professional help. A tax adviser or accountant charges for preparing the return by agreement; engaging one makes sense with foreign income, several income sources and a disputed contribution refund.
FAQ
Who pays the annual personal income tax in Serbia in 2026?
In 2026 the return is filed and the tax paid by natural persons, residents for income from Serbia and abroad and non-residents for income from Serbia, whose income earned in 2025, reduced by the tax and contributions paid on it, exceeds 5,439,096 dinars (Art. 87 of the Personal Income Tax Act). In practice, an employee with an average net salary above roughly 453,000 dinars a month throughout the year is liable, as are entrepreneurs, freelancers, authors and landlords once the sum of their net income passes that amount. For persons under 40 the threshold for salary, self-employment and copyright income is effectively doubled, 10,878,192 dinars.
What is the tax-free amount for the annual income tax for 2025?
The tax-free amount for income earned in 2025 is 5,439,096 dinars, three times the average annual salary per employee paid in Serbia in 2025, which according to the Statistical Office is 1,813,032 dinars. The same salary figure determines the personal deductions (40% and 15%, so 725,213 and 271,955 dinars) and the boundary between the 10% and 15% rates (six salaries, 10,878,192 dinars). The amounts for 2026 income will be known only when the Statistical Office publishes the 2026 average annual salary in late February 2027; until then check them on the Tax Administration website.
Do flat-rate entrepreneurs and freelancers pay the annual income tax?
Yes, if their income exceeds the threshold. For a flat-rate entrepreneur (paušalac) the income counted is the flat-rate assessed income from the Tax Administration's decision, reduced by the tax and contributions paid under that decision, not the actual turnover on the account; for an entrepreneur keeping books it is the taxable profit from the tax balance sheet reduced by tax, plus the personal salary reduced by tax and contributions. Freelancers who report income by self-assessment (PP OPO) count the taxable income reduced by the tax and contributions paid. All of them under 40 benefit from the additional 5,439,096 dinar reduction.
How is the under-40 relief calculated?
Anyone under 40 on 31 December 2025 reduces the sum of salaries, taxable self-employment income, income from copyright, related rights and industrial property rights, and seafarers' income, already reduced by the taxes and contributions paid, by 5,439,096 dinars, but not below zero (Art. 87(4) and (5)). Only after that are the other income items added (property, other income, contribution refund) and the tax-free amount subtracted. The reduction is already entered in the posted return based on your date of birth; rental income is not reduced by it.
Do I have to file the return if the Tax Administration has already posted a pre-filled one?
Yes. The posted return is a working version in 'in preparation' status and does not count as filed. You must check the data by 15 May, correct it if you disagree (most often the number of dependent family members and foreign income), and submit it with 'Sign and submit', even when you change nothing (Art. 92(3)). If you do not, the Tax Administration files the return on your behalf with its own data (Art. 92(4)), without deductions for members it did not know about, and requests misdemeanour proceedings. The return is filed exclusively electronically (Art. 38 of the Tax Procedure Act).
What if I miss the 15 May 2026 deadline?
The return should still be filed, as soon as possible. A late return is a misdemeanour with a fine of 10,000 dinars, and failing to file is a misdemeanour with a fine of 5,000 to 150,000 dinars for a natural person (Art. 180 of the Tax Procedure Act). Tax not paid by 15 May accrues interest at a rate equal to the NBS annual reference rate plus ten percentage points, from 16 May until payment (Art. 75). If the Tax Administration has already filed the return on your behalf and the data is wrong, you can file an amended return.
Do the sale of a flat, dividends and interest count towards the annual income tax?
No. Capital gains from selling property, shares and securities, income from capital (dividends, interest, investment unit returns), gambling winnings and life insurance proceeds are not on the list in Art. 87(2) and are taxed only by their own final tax. Rental income from property and movables does count, reduced by the tax paid, so an owner letting several flats often becomes a taxpayer even without a salary above the threshold.