North Macedonia has one of the lowest income tax rates in Europe: a flat 10% on almost every kind of income. But if you earn a salary or run a business there, the 10% is the small part of the bill. Social contributions of 28% are charged first, so the all-in cost on a good salary is about 35%.
This guide covers personal tax in North Macedonia for the 2026 tax year, which is the calendar year.
The key question is simple. Will you live on a salary or business profit, or on pensions and investments? The first pays contributions; the second only pays the 10% tax, and sometimes not even that.
What's changed: the flat 10% rate is unchanged in 2026. It has applied to all income except gambling winnings (15%) since 2020, when the 18% top rate introduced in 2019 was dropped. The tax-free amount for salaries and pensions is MKD 131,184 for 2026 (MKD 10,932 a month). From the July 2026 salary, an amending law (Official Gazette 148/2026) resets the contribution split: 19.9% for pensions and 0.1% for unemployment, with health at 7.5% and the 0.5% additional health contribution unchanged, so the employee total is still 28%. A double tax treaty with Vietnam applies from 1 January 2026.
📋 North Macedonia tax at a glance for 2026
Topic | Details |
|---|---|
Tax year | The calendar year |
Tax system | Worldwide income for residents, with a credit for foreign tax capped at the 10% Macedonian tax |
Income tax rate | 10% flat on all income except gambling winnings (15%). MKD 131,184 a year tax free on salaries and pensions |
All-in on a US$100k salary | About 35% (MKD 5.48 million, single, including 28% employee contributions) |
Social contributions | 28% for employees, on pay up to 16 average salaries a month. No contributions on dividends, gains or foreign pensions for foreigners |
Dividends, interest, capital gains | 10%. Gains on shares held more than two years are exempt |
Crypto gains | 10%, as a capital gain |
Residence at a glance | Getting in: easy (a permanent home, or 183 days in any 12-month period). Leaving: a clean break once you give up your home and stay under 183 days in any 12 months, with no exit tax found |
Inheritance and wealth tax | No wealth tax. Inheritance and gift tax of 2% to 5% outside the first line of heirs |
Double tax treaties | 49 on the Public Revenue Office's list. No treaty with the United States |
US dollar figures use the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia's middle rate of 19 October 2026, MKD 54.80 to US$1, so US$100k is about MKD 5.48 million.
👉 National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia: exchange rate list (in Macedonian)
The 10% flat tax and the 28% contributions
Why does North Macedonia feel cheap for some people and expensive for others? Because the tax and the contributions fall on different kinds of income.
Image 1 — a 10% flat tax, but 28% contributions on work income
The Personal Income Tax Law sets one rate of 10% for salaries, self-employed profit, rent, royalties, dividends, interest, capital gains and other income. Only gambling winnings pay more, at 15%. There are no higher bands.
Social contributions work differently. They're charged on salaries and self-employed income, not on investment income, and they're much larger than the tax:
Pension and disability insurance: 19.9%
Health insurance: 7.5%
Additional health contribution for injury at work and occupational disease: 0.5%
Unemployment insurance: 0.1%
These are the rates the Law on Contributions sets from the July 2026 salary, 28% in total, all deducted from gross pay before tax. Before that the split was 18.8% for pensions and 1.2% for unemployment, with the same total. On a US$100k salary the contributions cost about four times as much as the income tax.
👉 Public Revenue Office: personal income tax, 10% for all income from 2023 (in Macedonian)
When you become tax resident in North Macedonia
Article 5 of the Personal Income Tax Law makes you resident if you have either of these in North Macedonia:
a permanent home (постојано живеалиште)
a place of stay (престојувалиште), which you have if you're there for 183 days or more, in one stretch or with breaks, in any 12-month period
The 12-month period is rolling, not the calendar year. That means 183 days split across the end of one year and the start of the next can make you resident, even though you spent fewer than 183 days in each calendar year.
Residents are taxed on income from North Macedonia and abroad. Tax paid abroad is credited, but only up to the 10% Macedonian tax on the same income. Non-residents are taxed only on income from North Macedonia. If you're resident in two countries, the tie-breaker in a double tax treaty decides where you're resident for treaty purposes and the Public Revenue Office can issue a certificate of residence.
Leaving is simple. Once you no longer have a home in North Macedonia and you're not there for 183 days in any 12-month period, you're no longer resident. We found no exit tax for individuals.
Income tax rates for 2026
North Macedonia income tax rates for 2026
Income | Rate |
|---|---|
Salaries and pensions | 10% after contributions and the MKD 131,184 tax-free amount |
Self-employed profit | 10% |
Dividends and interest | 10% |
Capital gains, including crypto | 10%. Shares held more than two years are exempt |
Rent and royalties | 10%, after the costs the law allows |
Gambling winnings | 15% (winnings up to MKD 5,000 are exempt) |
Source: Personal Income Tax Law, articles 9 to 11, as amended to Official Gazette 274/2022; Public Revenue Office, personal tax deduction for 2026.
The tax base is your gross income less compulsory contributions, the tax-free amount (salaries and pensions only) and any standard or actual costs the law allows. The tax-free amount is updated each year.
👉 Public Revenue Office: personal tax deduction for 2026, MKD 131,184 (in Macedonian)
Worked example
You're single and earn MKD 5,479,720 (about US$100k) from a North Macedonian employer in 2026. That's about MKD 456,643 a month.
Employee contributions at 28% come to MKD 1,534,322. That's well below the cap, which is 16 average salaries a month.
Your taxable income is MKD 3,814,214 after contributions and the MKD 131,184 tax-free amount. Income tax at 10% is MKD 381,421.
Your all-in bill is about MKD 1,915,743, or 35% of your salary. Only about 7 percentage points of that is income tax.
Freelancing in North Macedonia
Freelancers usually register as a self-employed person (самостојна дејност) or a sole trader (трговец поединец). You're taxed at 10% on your net income, which is your income less your business costs, and pay monthly advances of one twelfth of the previous year's tax.
You also pay your own social contributions, at broadly the same rates as employees. The base is your monthly net income, with two limits:
Minimum: 50% of the average salary, or the full average salary if you provide professional or other intellectual services.
Maximum: 12 average salaries a month.
On US$100k of profit (MKD 5,479,720), contributions come to about MKD 1.53 million and tax on the rest to about MKD 0.39 million: about 35% all-in.
A lump-sum regime (паушал), where the Public Revenue Office sets your tax, is only open if you have no employees and your net income is no more than two average annual salaries. A US$100k freelancer is well above that limit.
👉 Public Revenue Office: taxation on lump-sum assessed net income
Crypto, investments and pensions
How is crypto taxed in North Macedonia? The Public Revenue Office treats the gain on selling crypto as a capital gain under article 58 of the Personal Income Tax Law, taxed at 10%. Swapping one crypto for another is taxable if it produces a gain. Mined crypto is taxed as other income when you receive it.
Investment income is taxed at 10%:
Dividends: 10%.
Interest: 10%, but interest on current and transaction accounts, and on bonds issued by the Republic and by municipalities, is exempt. Tax on interest from term deposits is postponed until North Macedonia joins the EU (article 116 of the Personal Income Tax Law).
Gains on shares and securities: 10%, after a standard cost allowance of 10%. Gains are exempt if you held the securities for more than two years. The Public Revenue Office applies these rules to securities bought from 1 January 2023.
On our US$1m portfolio example, with 4% income and 4% gains on shares held for more than two years, you pay 5%.
Pensions are taxed at 10%, with the same MKD 131,184 tax-free amount as salaries. A resident reports a foreign pension to the Public Revenue Office, and foreign tax is credited up to 10%. A treaty may let the paying country tax some pensions, such as government pensions. Foreigners pay no Macedonian health contributions on a foreign pension.
North Macedonia has no wealth tax. Inheritance and gift tax is set by each municipality. Heirs in the first line, such as children, pay nothing. Second-line heirs pay 2% to 3%, and more distant relatives or unrelated people 4% to 5%. Property tax is 0.10% to 0.20% a year.
👉 Ministry of Finance: property, inheritance and gift, and property transfer taxes (in Macedonian)
Social security
All contributions come out of the employee's gross salary, and the employer deducts and pays them over with each salary payment. The total is 28%.
Minimum base: 50% of the average salary published in January each year.
Maximum base: 16 average salaries a month for employees and company directors, and 12 for the self-employed. Nothing above the cap is charged.
Foreigners who work in North Macedonia pay pension, health and unemployment contributions unless a ratified international agreement says otherwise. Foreigners living there without work can choose to join the health insurance scheme.
👉 Public Revenue Office: contribution rates by type and earlier years
Double tax treaties
Does North Macedonia have double tax treaties? Yes. The Public Revenue Office lists 49 agreements, including with the UK, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, the UAE, China, Croatia, Slovenia and Bulgaria. The treaty with Vietnam applies from 1 January 2026. There's no treaty with the United States on the list.
👉 Public Revenue Office: double tax agreements (in Macedonian)
Staying long term: no nomad visa
North Macedonia doesn't have a digital nomad visa. Under the Law on Foreigners, a visitor who doesn't need a visa can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period, counted back from each day of the stay.
To stay longer you need temporary residence (привремен престој) on one of the grounds in the law, such as employment, study, family reunification or marriage. We found no ground for remote work for a foreign employer. After five years of continuous temporary residence you can apply for permanent residence. Once you're resident for tax, you're taxed on your worldwide income at 10%.
👉 Ministry of Interior: procedures and documents for foreigners' residence (in Macedonian)
👉 Ministry of Interior: Law on Foreigners, consolidated text to 2021, 90 days in 180 (in Macedonian)
Who is North Macedonia good for?
How does North Macedonia compare for different kinds of mover? Ratings are relative to the 150+ countries TaxPilot covers, based on the 2026 tax year and the all-in cost including social contributions.
☑️ Who is North Macedonia good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026
Expat profile | North Macedonia rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
Employees | Poor | About 35% all-in on a US$100k salary (MKD 5.48 million). The 10% tax costs only about 7% of pay, but employee contributions of 28% come first, and the cap of 16 average salaries a month is far above this salary. There's no special regime for people moving in. |
Freelancers (self-employed) | Poor | About 35% all-in on US$100k of profit as a registered sole trader. Contributions of about 28% are charged on your net income, and 10% tax on what's left. The lump-sum regime is only for small earners with net income up to two average annual salaries. |
Retirees | Good | About 9.6% on a US$40k foreign pension plus US$20k of dividends: 10% on the pension after the MKD 131,184 tax-free amount, and 10% on the dividends. Children, spouses and parents pay no inheritance tax; other heirs pay 2% to 5%, set by the municipality. |
Crypto gains | Good | The Public Revenue Office treats a gain on selling or swapping crypto as a capital gain, taxed at 10%. There's no holding-period exemption for crypto in its guidance. |
Investment income | Good | Dividends and interest are taxed at 10%, and gains on shares held for more than two years are exempt. On our US$1m example with 4% income and 4% long-term gains, that's 5%. There's no wealth tax. |
Digital nomad visa | Moderate | North Macedonia has no digital nomad visa. Many nationalities can stay 90 days in any 180 days visa free. Longer stays need temporary residence on a ground such as employment, study or family, and you're taxed normally once resident. |
Filing and deadlines
You don't usually write your own annual return. The Public Revenue Office prepares a pre-filled annual return (ДЛД-ГДП) from what payers have reported and sends it by 30 April. You check it on the e-Tax portal and confirm or correct it between 1 May and 31 May. If you do nothing, it's treated as confirmed. For 2026 income, that means 30 April and 31 May 2027, with any balance paid by 30 June 2027.
Income from abroad works differently. With no Macedonian payer, you file an electronic calculation (е-ППД) by the 10th of the following month and pay by the 15th. For a foreign salary or pension already taxed abroad, it's due by 31 March of the next year, with proof of the foreign tax.
Self-employed people file their annual tax balance by 15 March.
👉 Public Revenue Office: confirming the annual tax return for 2025 income, March 2026 (in Macedonian)
Frequently asked questions
What is the income tax rate in North Macedonia in 2026?
A flat 10% on salaries, self-employed profit, pensions, rent, dividends, interest and capital gains. Gambling winnings are taxed at 15%. Salaries and pensions get a tax-free amount of MKD 131,184 for 2026.
How much are social contributions in North Macedonia?
Employees pay 28% of gross pay: from the July 2026 salary, 19.9% for pensions, 7.5% for health, 0.5% additional health and 0.1% for unemployment. Contributions stop at 16 average salaries a month. The self-employed pay the same rates on their net income, capped at 12 average salaries.
When do I become tax resident in North Macedonia?
You're resident if you have a permanent home in North Macedonia, or if you stay there for 183 days or more, with or without breaks, in any 12-month period. Residents are taxed on worldwide income, with a credit for foreign tax capped at 10%.
How is crypto taxed in North Macedonia?
The Public Revenue Office treats a gain on selling or swapping crypto as a capital gain, taxed at 10%. Mined crypto is taxed as other income when you receive it.
Are foreign pensions taxed in North Macedonia?
Yes, for residents. Pensions are taxed at 10% after the MKD 131,184 tax-free amount, with a credit for foreign tax paid. A treaty may give the paying country the right to tax some pensions, such as government pensions.
How many double tax treaties does North Macedonia have?
The Public Revenue Office lists 49 agreements, including with the UK, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey and the UAE. There's no treaty with the United States.
Where to go next
👉 Low tax, high social security countries
Important information
This article is general information and does not constitute tax, legal, immigration or financial advice, and does not create a client relationship. Tax outcomes depend on travel history, income sources, treaty status and the law applying to the relevant year. Rates, thresholds and regimes change, and some measures described may be proposed rather than enacted; this article reflects our understanding as at the date of publication. Obtain advice from a suitably qualified professional before acting or refraining from action.
