Slovenia tax: 80% exemption for self-employed

Slovenia taxes salaries hard. The top income tax rate is 50% and employees pay 23.1% contributions on top, so a US$100k salary loses about 44% to tax and contributions. Yet a self-employed person on the same income can pay about half that, thanks to the flat-rate sole trader scheme known as "normiranci".

This guide covers Slovenian personal tax for people moving to Slovenia in the 2026 tax year, from the flat-rate scheme and the residence rules to the untaxed status of private crypto gains and the new digital nomad permit.

The key question is simple. Will you be an employee, or will you invoice clients as a sole trader? In Slovenia that choice can change your tax bill by more than €15,000 on the same income.

What's changed: for 2026 every tax band and allowance rose by 5.55%, and the general allowance is now €5,551.93. A November 2025 law (ZPZR) reformed the flat-rate scheme for sole traders: from 2026 the final tax is 20% on deemed profit up to €72,000 and 35% above, with new entry and exit limits. A further easing law (ZIURS) awaits a referendum, so it's Proposed, not law. A 1% long-term care contribution has applied since July 2025, and the flat health contribution is €39.36 a month from March 2026. Investment accounts (INR) started in March 2026 and a digital nomad permit in November 2025. A 25% tax on crypto gains is Proposed, not law.

📋 Slovenia tax at a glance for 2026

US dollar figures use €1 to US$1.15, so US$100k is about €87,000.

The flat-rate sole trader scheme

Why do so many Slovenian freelancers work as a sole trader (s.p.) on the flat-rate scheme? Because the law assumes most of your income is costs, and the tax on what's left is final.

Image 1 — a flat-rate sole trader pays about half an employee's bill

Under the scheme, you don't deduct your real expenses. Instead, the law gives you "normed" costs:

• Full-time self-employed: if you're compulsorily insured as self-employed full time for at least nine months of the year, your normed costs are 80% of revenue up to €60,000. Revenue above that gets no normed costs. That caps them at €48,000.

• Everyone else (for example a side business): 80% on revenue up to €12,500, 40% on revenue from €12,500 to €30,000, and nothing above that.

Your profit is revenue minus normed costs. From 2026, full-time sole traders pay a final 20% on profit up to €72,000 and 35% above it. For other sole traders the 35% rate starts at €33,000. The tax is final, so this profit isn't added to your other income on the progressive scale.

You can join the scheme if your revenue in the previous year was no more than €50,000, or no more than €120,000 if you were insured full time as self-employed for at least nine months. In your first year, last year's revenue counts as zero. You have to leave if your average revenue over the two previous years goes above €120,000 (insured full time in both years), €50,000 (not insured full time in either year), or €85,000 in mixed cases. Once you leave, you can't come back for five years. Revenue from related companies and recent business transfers can be added in.

For 2026, FURS has found sole traders who registered without meeting the new conditions. If ZIURS takes effect after its referendum, they keep the scheme. If not, they must keep full books for 2026.

👉 Official Gazette: ZPZR, the 2025 law reforming the flat-rate scheme (in Slovenian)

👉 FURS: the flat-rate scheme in 2026 and the ZIURS law (in Slovenian)

When you become tax resident in Slovenia

Slovenia has four tests, and meeting any one of them makes you resident. You're resident if you:

• have an officially registered permanent residence in Slovenia

• have your habitual residence in Slovenia

• have the centre of your personal and economic interests in Slovenia

• are present in Slovenia for more than 183 days in the tax year

The first three can make you resident from the day you arrive. If you only meet the 183-day test, you're treated as non-resident for your first 183 days, and FURS then makes you resident back to the day you arrived. If you arrive in the second half of the year and have no other tie, you're non-resident for that year.

When you move, you ask FURS to decide your residence status, usually with its "arrival in Slovenia" questionnaire. If a treaty makes you resident only in the other country, Slovenia treats you as non-resident.

Leaving takes more than getting on a plane. You become non-resident once you cut all your significant ties: you deregister your permanent residence, move your personal and economic life abroad and aren't in Slovenia for more than 183 days in the calendar year. You then ask FURS for a decision that you're non-resident.

👉 FURS: international taxation, residence status and coming to or leaving Slovenia

Income tax rates for 2026

Salaries, pensions and business profit outside the flat-rate scheme go on one progressive scale. Capital income and rent are taxed separately, as a final tax.

Slovenia income tax rates for 2026

Source: FURS notice on the 2026 income tax scale and allowances, under the Income Tax Act (ZDoh-2).

Residents get a general allowance of €5,551.93, which is higher for people whose total income is under €17,766.18. There are extra allowances for dependent children, people over 70 and residents under 29 who are in employment.

Since 2025 there is also a relief for new residents. If you were not resident in Slovenia in the two tax years before you start work, had no Slovenian employment or business income in that time, are under 40 when you start, and your contract with a Slovenian employer pays at least twice the average salary, your income tax is cut by 7% of your salary. It lasts for up to five tax years.

👉 Official Gazette: ZDoh-2AB, the 2024 income tax amendments, including the new-resident relief (in Slovenian)

Worked example

• You're single and earn €87,000 (about US$100k) from a Slovenian employer in 2026.

• You pay employee contributions of 23.1%, which is €20,097, plus the flat health contribution of €467.94 for the year. Both are deducted before tax.

• After the €5,551.93 general allowance, your taxable income is €60,883.13 and your income tax is €17,340.

Your all-in bill is about €37,905, or 44% of your salary. Your employer pays another 17.1% on top. If you qualify for the new-resident relief, your income tax falls by €6,090 and the bill drops to about 37%.

👉 FURS: annual income tax assessment, with the 2026 scale and allowances (in Slovenian)

Freelancing in Slovenia

Most freelancers register as a sole trader and use the flat-rate scheme. On US$100k (€87,000) of revenue, working full time:

• Your normed costs are €48,000 (80% of the first €60,000), so your profit is €39,000.

• Your final tax is 20% of that, or €7,800.

• Your social security is based on 75% of last year's profit. That gives a base of €29,250 a year, and contributions of about 40.2% come to €11,759, plus €467.94 of flat health contribution.

That's about €20,026, or 23% all-in. As a sole trader you pay both the employee and employer shares of contributions yourself. Your monthly base can't be lower than 60% of the average salary (€1,521.62) or higher than 3.5 times it (€8,876.11), and you pay by the 20th of the following month.

That minimum hits lower earners. On €40,000 of revenue your tax is only €1,600, but contributions add about €7,800, or about 23.5% in total.

If your costs are high, or your revenue is above the limits, you keep full books instead. Your profit then goes on the 16% to 50% scale, which usually costs much more at this level.

👉 FURS: income from business activity (in Slovenian)

Crypto, investments and pensions

Is crypto taxed in Slovenia? Not if you're a private investor. FURS guidance says no income tax is due on gains an individual makes selling virtual currencies, as long as they aren't securities or derivatives and you aren't trading as a business. If you trade as a business, or mine, the income is taxed as business income and you pay contributions.

That could change. In July 2025 the government sent a bill for a 25% tax on crypto gains from 2026, leaving out gains made before 2026. It's Proposed, not law: no such law has been published in the Official Gazette, and FURS guidance still says private gains are untaxed.

👉 FURS: trading in virtual currencies (in Slovenian)

👉 eUprava: the proposed crypto gains tax bill (in Slovenian)

Investment income has its own final tax, so it doesn't push up your salary rate:

• Dividends and interest: 25%. The first €1,000 a year of interest on bank deposits in Slovenia and other EU countries is exempt for 2024 to 2026.

• Capital gains on shares, funds and property: 25% if you've held the asset for under five years, 20% after five years, 15% after ten and nothing after 15.

• Individual investment accounts (INR): since 5 March 2026 you can invest through an INR. Nothing is taxed inside the account. The investment return you withdraw is taxed at 15%, and the first withdrawal is tax free if it comes at least 15 years after you opened the account.

On our US$1m portfolio example, with 4% income and 4% gains on assets held under five years, you pay 25%.

👉 FURS: capital income, including dividends, interest, gains and INR (in Slovenian)

Foreign pensions are taxed on the progressive scale. You report them yourself on a prepayment return, and they're included in your annual assessment. Most treaties give the right to tax private pensions to Slovenia. On a €34,800 (about US$40k) pension, the income tax is about €6,678.

👉 FURS: I reside in Slovenia and receive my pension from abroad

Slovenia has inheritance and gift tax, but your spouse or partner, children and other descendants pay nothing. Parents and siblings pay 5% to 14%, the next group 8% to 17%, and unrelated people 12% to 39%. There's no net wealth tax.

👉 FURS: inheritance and gift tax (in Slovenian)

Social security

Employees pay 23.1% of salary: 15.5% for pensions, 6.36% for health, 1% for long-term care, 0.14% for unemployment and 0.1% for parental care. Employers add 17.1%. On top, every person in the public health insurance pays a flat health contribution (OZP) of €39.36 a month from March 2026 (€37.17 before that). It replaced voluntary top-up health insurance in 2024.

Self-employed people pay both shares themselves, about 40.2% of their insurance base, plus the flat contribution. If you work in more than one EU country, EU rules decide which system covers you.

👉 FURS: social security contributions (in Slovenian)

👉 FURS: 2026 contribution bases and amounts for the self-employed (in Slovenian)

Double tax treaties

Does Slovenia have double tax treaties? Yes. FURS lists 59 in force on 1 January 2026, including with the UK, the United States, Germany, Austria, Italy, Croatia, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UAE, Canada, India, China and Japan. Treaties with Australia, New Zealand and Egypt have been ratified but aren't yet in effect.

👉 FURS: double taxation agreements in force

The digital nomad permit

Since 21 November 2025, non-EU and non-EEA citizens who work remotely for employers or clients outside Slovenia, or run their own business abroad, can apply for a temporary residence permit for digital nomads. You apply at a Slovenian embassy or consulate, or at an administrative unit if you're already living in Slovenia legally.

• You need monthly means of at least twice Slovenia's average net monthly salary.

• The permit lasts up to one year and can't be extended. You can apply again six months after it ends, or switch to another permit while it's valid.

• Your family can join you straight away.

There's no tax break. FURS says the usual residence rules apply, so you become resident once you have a tie such as a registered permanent residence or spend more than 183 days in Slovenia in the year. Your remote salary is then taxed in Slovenia on the normal scale.

👉 Government of Slovenia: temporary residence permit for digital nomads

Who is Slovenia good for?

How does Slovenia 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 Slovenia good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026

Filing and deadlines

Most residents don't file an annual return. FURS sends an informative calculation of income tax (IID) based on the data it holds, and if you don't object, it becomes your assessment. If you don't receive one, you have to file a return yourself.

Income from a foreign payer is different. If your salary or pension is paid from abroad, you file prepayment returns during the year. Capital gains and interest go on separate returns, due by 28 February of the following year. Sole traders file a business tax return.

👉 FURS: annual income tax assessment and the informative calculation (in Slovenian)

Frequently asked questions

How does the flat-rate scheme for sole traders work in Slovenia?

You don't deduct real costs. If you're insured full time as self-employed, the law treats 80% of your revenue up to €60,000 as costs, and you pay a final 20% tax on the rest up to €72,000 of profit, and 35% above. You can join if last year's revenue was up to €120,000 (full-time) or €50,000.

What are the income tax rates in Slovenia for 2026?

Rates are 16% up to €9,721.43 of net taxable income, then 26%, 33% and 39%, and 50% above €82,346.23. Residents get a general allowance of €5,551.93. Employees also pay 23.1% contributions and a flat health contribution of €39.36 a month.

Is crypto taxed in Slovenia?

Not for private investors. FURS guidance says gains an individual makes selling virtual currencies aren't subject to income tax unless they come from a business activity. A bill for a 25% tax on crypto gains is Proposed, not law.

How are capital gains taxed in Slovenia?

Gains on shares, funds and property are taxed at 25% if you've held them for under five years, 20% after five years, 15% after ten and 0% after 15. Dividends and interest are taxed at a final 25%.

Does Slovenia have a digital nomad visa?

Yes. Since 21 November 2025, non-EU remote workers can get a temporary residence permit for up to one year if they have at least twice Slovenia's average net monthly salary. It can't be extended and doesn't come with a tax exemption.

When do you become tax resident in Slovenia?

You're resident if you have a registered permanent residence, your habitual residence or your centre of personal and economic interests in Slovenia, or if you spend more than 183 days there in a tax year. Meeting any one test is enough.

Where to go next

👉 Best countries for crypto tax

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👉 Special tax regimes for new residents

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