Serbia taxes salaries at a flat 10%, and it has one of Europe's most generous reliefs for people who move there for a job. If you've lived mostly outside Serbia for the last 24 months and take a well-paid permanent job with a Serbian employer, you pay income tax and social security on only 30% of your salary for five years.
This guide covers Serbian personal tax for the 2026 tax year, which is the calendar year.
The key question is simple. Will you be paid by a Serbian employer, or are you bringing your own work with you? The relief only works for the first.
What's changed: from 1 January 2026, the tax-free part of a monthly salary rose from RSD 28,423 to RSD 34,221. The salary tests for the newly settled relief are now RSD 439,692 a month (RSD 293,128 for under-40s returning from study abroad), and the maximum monthly contribution base is RSD 732,820. An amending law published in Official Gazette 80/2026 changes the income tax law again from 1 January 2027, including a higher tax-free salary amount, so check the 2027 figures before you rely on them.
📋 Serbia 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 |
Salary tax | 10% on monthly pay above RSD 34,221. An annual income tax of 10% to 15% applies on top for higher earners |
All-in on a US$100k salary | About 12% with the newly settled relief, or about 27.8% without it (RSD 10.46 million, single, aged 40 or over, including employee contributions and annual tax) |
Dividends, interest, capital gains | 15% flat. Interest on dinar savings and Serbian government bonds is exempt |
Pensions | Pensions from compulsory pension insurance are exempt |
Crypto gains | 15% capital gains tax |
Residence at a glance | Getting in: easy (183 days in any 12 months, or your home or centre of interests in Serbia). Leaving: a clean break once your home and interests move, with no exit tax found |
Double tax treaties | 64 countries and territories on the Ministry of Finance's list |
US dollar figures use the National Bank of Serbia's official middle rate of 16 October 2026, RSD 104.56 to US$1, so US$100k is about RSD 10.46 million.
👉 National Bank of Serbia: official middle exchange rate of the dinar
The newly settled taxpayer relief
Why does Serbia appeal to people taking a job there? Because article 15v of the Personal Income Tax Law cuts the base for salary tax by 70%, and article 15a of the Law on Contributions does the same for social security contributions.
Image 1 — the newly settled relief takes 70% of pay out of tax and contributions
You count as a newly settled taxpayer if, in the 24 months before you sign your employment contract, you didn't mostly stay in Serbia. A second route covers people under 40 who spent the previous 12 months mostly abroad for study or professional training.
The job: a permanent (open-ended) contract with an employer resident in Serbia that isn't related to your previous employer. The law treats the job as qualifying if your monthly salary is above RSD 439,692 in 2026, or above RSD 293,128 on the under-40 route. These amounts are three and two times the average salary and are updated each year.
Residence: you must move to Serbia when you start the job, or within a reasonable time, and be resident there because your centre of business and personal interests is there, including for treaty purposes.
How long: five years from the date of the contract, as long as you keep meeting the conditions, even if you change employer.
The relief starts from the first salary paid for the month in which you have the evidence that you qualify. It isn't available to the self-employed.
👉 Ministry of Finance: Personal Income Tax Law, consolidated text, articles 15a and 15v (in Serbian)
👉 Tax Administration: Law on Contributions for Mandatory Social Insurance, article 15a (in Serbian)
When you become tax resident in Serbia
You're Serbian tax resident if either test is met:
your home (prebivalište), or the centre of your business and personal interests, is in Serbia
you stay in Serbia for 183 days or more, with or without breaks, in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year. Part of a day counts as a full day, except time in transit
Residents are taxed on worldwide income, with a credit for foreign tax paid, capped at the Serbian tax on the same income. Non-residents are taxed only on income from Serbia.
The law splits the year when you arrive or leave. If you weren't resident in the year before you arrive, you're not resident for the period before your first entry. If you leave for good, you're not resident for the rest of the year, as long as your home and centre of interests have also left. We found no exit tax for individuals.
👉 Tax Administration: Personal Income Tax Law and its amendments, article 7 on residence (in Serbian)
Income tax rates for 2026
Serbia income tax rates for 2026
Income | Rate |
|---|---|
Salaries | 10% on monthly pay above RSD 34,221 |
Self-employed profit | 10% |
Dividends and interest | 15% |
Capital gains, including crypto | 15% |
Rent from property | 20% on 75% of the rent (a 25% deduction for costs) |
Most other income | 20% |
Annual income tax | 10% on the taxable amount up to six average annual salaries; 15% above that |
Source: Personal Income Tax Law, articles 15a, 16, 38, 64, 65g, 77, 86 and 89, as amended to Official Gazette 109/2025.
The annual income tax
If your income for the year is more than three average annual salaries, you also pay annual income tax (godišnji porez na dohodak). It covers salaries, self-employed profit, royalties, rent and other income, but not dividends, interest or capital gains.
Your salary counts net of the tax and employee contributions already paid. Self-employed profit counts net of the tax paid.
The first three average annual salaries are tax free. For 2025 that was RSD 5,439,096, on an average annual salary of RSD 1,813,032.
You then deduct 40% of the average annual salary for yourself (RSD 725,213 for 2025) and 15% for each dependent family member, up to half of the amount being taxed.
If you're under 40 on 31 December, you can deduct another three average annual salaries from your salary and self-employed income.
The 2026 figures are set from the 2026 average salary, which is published in 2027. Our examples use the 2025 figures.
👉 Tax Administration: annual personal income tax guide, April 2026 (in Serbian)
Worked example
You're single, aged 40 or over, and earn RSD 10,456,000 (about US$100k) from a Serbian employer in 2026. That's RSD 871,333 a month.
Without the relief, salary tax is RSD 1,004,535 for the year and employee contributions are RSD 1,749,974 (19.9% of the RSD 732,820 monthly maximum base). Annual income tax adds about RSD 153,718.
With the newly settled relief, salary tax is RSD 301,360 and contributions are RSD 624,223. Annual income tax adds about RSD 336,611, assuming the full salary counts for it.
Without the relief your all-in bill is about RSD 2,908,227, or 27.8%. With it, the bill falls to about RSD 1,262,194, or 12.1%.
Freelancing in Serbia
Freelancers register as an entrepreneur (preduzetnik). There are two ways to be taxed, and which one you can use depends mostly on your turnover.
Flat-rate (paušal): the Tax Administration sets a fixed monthly amount of tax and contributions for you, based on your activity, where you're registered and the local average salary, whatever you actually invoice. It's only open if your turnover is no more than RSD 6 million a year (about US$57,000) and you're not VAT registered. Advertising and market research, trade, hotels and restaurants, financial services and real estate are excluded. You apply by 31 October for the next year, or when you register.
Actual profit (samooporezivanje): you keep double-entry books and pay 10% tax on your profit. If you don't pay yourself a salary, contributions of 24% for pensions, 10.3% for health and 0.75% for unemployment are charged on your profit, up to the maximum base. If you elect to pay yourself a salary (lična zarada), contributions are charged only on that salary, and the rest of your profit is taxed at 10%.
US$100k is above the flat-rate limit, so you'd be taxed on actual profit. On RSD 10,456,000 of profit:
Without a salary: contributions of about RSD 2,713,682, tax of RSD 774,232 and annual income tax of about RSD 80,378. That's about 34%.
With a salary at the 2026 average (RSD 146,564 a month): contributions of 35.05% on the salary (RSD 616,448), salary tax of RSD 134,812, tax on the remaining profit of RSD 843,078 and annual income tax of about RSD 269,735. That's about 17.8%.
You must tell the Tax Administration you're choosing a personal salary when you register, or by 15 December for the next year, and you can't switch during the year.
One trap: if you work mainly for one client, the Tax Administration can apply a nine-point independence test. Meet five or more of the criteria, such as the client setting your hours or providing your workplace, and your fees from that client are taxed as "other income" at 20% instead.
👉 Tax Administration: flat-rate entrepreneurs, deadlines and calculator (in Serbian)
Crypto, investments and pensions
How is crypto taxed in Serbia? Digital assets are listed in the income tax law as an asset whose sale creates a capital gain, taxed at 15%. Your cost is the price you can document as actually paid. You file a return within 120 days of the end of the quarter in which you sell. If you invest the proceeds in a Serbian company or investment fund within 90 days, half the tax is exempt.
Investment income is taxed at a flat 15%:
Dividends and interest: 15%. Interest on dinar savings and deposits, and on bonds issued by the Republic, a province, a municipality or the National Bank of Serbia, is exempt.
Capital gains on shares, securities and property: 15%. There's no tax on shares or securities you've held for at least 10 years, or on transfers between spouses or between parents and children.
On our US$1m portfolio example, with 4% income and 4% gains, you pay exactly 15%.
Pensions are the good news. The law exempts pensions paid from compulsory pension and disability insurance. The wording isn't limited to Serbian pensions, so a foreign state pension appears to be exempt too, but we found no Tax Administration guidance confirming it. Private pensions may be taxed differently, and a treaty may let the paying country tax a government pension.
Serbia has no wealth tax. Inheritance and gift tax is charged on property in Serbia and on cash, deposits, digital assets and some other assets. Children, other first-line heirs, a spouse and parents pay nothing. Second-line heirs, such as brothers and sisters, pay 1.5%, and anyone else pays 2.5%.
👉 Ministry of Finance: Law on Property Taxes, inheritance and gift tax (in Serbian)
Social security
Contributions cover pensions and disability, health and unemployment. For employees they're shared:
Employees: 14% pension, 5.15% health and 0.75% unemployment, so 19.9% in total.
Employers: 10% pension and 5.15% health, so 15.15%.
Self-employed: 24% pension, 10.3% health and 0.75% unemployment, so 35.05% in total.
In 2026 contributions are charged on a monthly base of at least RSD 51,297 and at most RSD 732,820, five times the average salary. That cap is why the tax and contribution rate falls as pay rises above about US$84,000.
👉 Pension and Disability Insurance Fund: contribution bases for 2026 (in Serbian)
Double tax treaties
Does Serbia have double tax treaties? Yes. The Ministry of Finance lists treaties with 64 countries and territories, including the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, the UAE, China, Montenegro and Croatia. There's no treaty with the United States on the list.
👉 Ministry of Finance: double tax treaties (in Serbian)
Staying long term: no nomad visa
Serbia doesn't have a digital nomad visa. If your nationality can travel visa free, you can stay up to 90 days in any six-month period. Non-residents who spend no more than 90 days in Serbia in a 12-month period pay no Serbian tax on income from a foreign client that doesn't do business in Serbia.
For longer stays you need temporary residence on one of the grounds in the Law on Foreigners. For work, that's usually a unified permit, which combines residence and work, is issued for up to three years and is decided within 15 days of a complete application. Once you're resident, you're taxed under the normal rules.
👉 Ministry of Foreign Affairs: visa requirements for Serbia
👉 Welcome to Serbia (government portal): the unified residence and work permit (in Serbian)
Who is Serbia good for?
How does Serbia 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 security.
☑️ Who is Serbia good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026
Expat profile | Serbia rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
Employees | Good | About 12% all-in on a US$100k salary (RSD 10.46 million) for a newly settled employee, who pays tax and contributions on only 30% of pay for five years. Without the relief, the same salary costs about 27.8%, which would be Moderate. |
Freelancers (self-employed) | Good | About 18% all-in on US$100k if you register as an entrepreneur and pay yourself a salary, so contributions are due on the salary and the rest of the profit is taxed at 10%. Without that election, contributions of 35.05% fall on your profit and the bill is about 34%. |
Retirees | Excellent | Pensions from compulsory pension insurance are exempt from income tax, so our US$40k state pension is untaxed. The US$20k of investment income pays 15%, exactly 5% of the total. Spouses, children and parents pay no inheritance tax; other heirs pay 1.5% or 2.5%. |
Crypto gains | Good | Crypto (digital assets) is taxed as a capital gain at 15%, however long you held it. |
Investment income | Good | Dividends, interest and capital gains are all taxed at a flat 15%, so our US$1m example costs exactly 15%. Interest on dinar savings and Serbian government bonds is exempt, and shares held for 10 years are free of capital gains tax. There's no wealth tax. |
Digital nomad visa | Moderate | Serbia has no digital nomad visa. Many nationalities can stay 90 days in six months visa free, and non-residents present for up to 90 days pay no Serbian tax on income from a foreign client. Longer stays need a temporary residence permit on a legal ground such as employment. |
Filing and deadlines
Employees have salary tax and contributions deducted by their employer each month. The annual income tax return for 2026 is due by 15 May 2027, with the tax paid by the same date. The Tax Administration posts a pre-filled return on its portal by 1 April, which you check, correct and submit.
Entrepreneurs taxed on actual profit file their return and tax balance by 15 April 2027 and pay monthly advances during the year. Flat-rate entrepreneurs pay the amount set by the Tax Administration by the 15th of the following month. Capital gains on shares and securities are reported within 30 days of the end of each half-year, and crypto gains within 120 days of the end of the quarter.
👉 Tax Administration: Personal Income Tax Law, articles 92 to 95 on returns (in Serbian)
Frequently asked questions
What is the newly settled taxpayer relief in Serbia?
It cuts the base for salary tax and social security contributions by 70% for five years. You qualify if you didn't mostly stay in Serbia in the 24 months before signing a permanent contract with a Serbian employer and earn more than RSD 439,692 a month in 2026, and you become resident in Serbia.
What are the income tax rates in Serbia in 2026?
Salaries are taxed at 10% above RSD 34,221 a month, and self-employed profit at 10%. Dividends, interest and capital gains pay 15%, and most other income 20%. Higher earners also pay annual income tax of 10% to 15% on income above three average annual salaries.
When do I become tax resident in Serbia?
You're resident if your home or centre of business and personal interests is in Serbia, or if you stay there for 183 days or more in any 12-month period that starts or ends in the tax year. Residents are taxed on worldwide income.
Can a freelancer earning US$100k use paušal in Serbia?
No. Flat-rate (paušal) taxation is only open to entrepreneurs with turnover of up to RSD 6 million a year who aren't VAT registered. Above that, you're taxed at 10% on actual profit, with contributions on your profit or on a personal salary if you elect to pay one.
Are foreign pensions taxed in Serbia?
The law exempts pensions paid from compulsory pension and disability insurance, and the wording isn't limited to Serbian pensions, so a foreign state pension appears to be exempt. We found no official guidance confirming it, and a treaty may let the paying country tax a government pension.
How many double tax treaties does Serbia have?
The Ministry of Finance lists treaties with 64 countries and territories, including the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Switzerland, the UAE and China. There's no treaty with the United States on the list.
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.
