In Hungary, the minimum wage is increased every year so it can remain a living wage against inflation. In line with this, the minimum wage is increased again as of 1 January 2025. Read on to see how this will affect your Hungarian business.
Minimum wage and guaranteed minimum salary
In Hungary, there are two types of minimum wage: one we actually call minimum wage, relevant for positions that do not require any qualifications, and the so called guaranteed minimum salary for positions that require at least a high school diploma.
The minimum wage and the guaranteed minimum salary are always the monthly gross salary for a full-time job (40 hours a week), based on which both the employee and the employer pay their taxes. However, employees usually receive only their net salary after the employer has deducted their taxes and forwarded them to the tax authority.
As of 1 January 2025, the Hungarian minimum wage will be as follows:
| Minimum wage | Guaranteed minimum salary | |
| Monthly | HUF 290,800 | HUF 348,800 |
| Weekly | HUF 66,860 | HUF 80,190 |
| Daily | HUF 13,380 | HUF 16,040 |
| Hourly | HUF 16,72 | HUF 2,005 |
This means a ca. 9% increase to the minimum wage and a ca. 7% increase to the guaranteed minimum salary compared to 2024.
3-year plan for the minimum wage
While the latest decree only specifies the minimum wage for 2025, the plans for 2026 and 2027 have also been published. If all goes according to plan, the minimum wage be increased by 13-14% in the coming years. At the same time, the increase of the guaranteed minimum salary will be increased at a smaller pace, probably at around 8% each year.
Minimum wage increases:
- In 2025 to HUF 290,800 (by 9%)
- In 2026 to HUF 328,600 (by 13%)
- In 2027 to HUF 374,600 (by 14%)
Effects on HR and payroll
The minimum wage increase affects the operational costs of your Hungarian company as well as the take-home pay of your employees. While the taxes to be paid by both the employer and the employee remain the same, the taxes you pay will increase proportionately to the raise you give your employees.
| Minimum wage | Guaranteed minimum salary | |
| Gross salary | 290 800,00 | 348 800,00 |
| Cost borne by employee | ||
| Income tax (15%) | 43 620,00 | 52 320,00 |
| Social security contribution (18.5%) | 53 798,00 | 64 528,00 |
| Net salary | 193 382,00 | 231 952,00 |
| Cost borne by employer | ||
| Social contribution tax or “szocho” (13%) | 37 804,00 | 45 344,00 |
| Company’s total payroll cost | 328 604,00 | 394 144,00 |
If you have any employees whose salary will be below the minimum wage starting from January, you have to give them a raise to remain compliant with regulations. At the same time, you will have to modify the labor contracts of these employees to include the raise. If you need help with this, ask for our HR support service.
Effects on taxes and benefits
The upper limit of social contribution tax (relevant for company owners who take a dividend), the amount of social contribution tax deduction, and the base of income tax relief are tied to the minimum wage effective on 1 January, and they are calculated for the year. With the most recent update, these will also experience an increase in 2025.
While other payroll taxes are calculated for the month and are tied to the minimum wage effective on the first day of the given month, they will obviously also increase starting from January 2023. These are: the lower limit of social security contribution (both for employees and agents), and the social contribution tax.
The minimum wage also affects the contribution benefit for the employment of people with disabilities. Social contribution tax paid after such people may be waived up to the double of the minimum wage per month, meaning HUF 581,600 from January 2025.
Other benefits affected are childcare allowances (paid to parents, parents with higher education, or grandparents), and the unemployment benefit, but these are paid by the Treasury, so they do not affect payroll costs.
Minimum wage and self-employment
Unless you are self-employed under the KATA tax regime, the change to the minimum wage will affect the minimum contributions you must pay.
- If you are self-employed as your full-time job, your monthly minimum contributions increase starting from January 2025. For minimum wage activities, it will be HUF 96,328, and for activities requiring at least a high-school diploma it will be HUF 115,540.
- If you pay taxes under flat-rate taxation, your yearly limit for tax exempt income also increases, since it is defined as half the yearly minimum wage. The new limit is HUF 1,744,800 for income, which means HUF 2.908 million in revenues for the majority (who apply the 40% expense rate).
Plan your budget for 2025
When planning your budget for the next year, make sure you take the new minimum wage into consideration as well as the other tax changes relevant for HR [LINK to HR article] and other activities [LINK to tax changes article].
With a team like Helpers, you can rest assured your accounting, payroll, and HR are in good hands. We focus on working with foreign owners of small and medium-sized companies, and always do our best to provide precise and up-to-date reports that support your financial decisions.
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