Last updated on 6 April 2023.

KATA orphans and other new freelancers: this is your reminder that you are supposed to make a monthly declaration of your taxable income until the 12^th of each month in Hungary. The relevant form, 2258, is now available online as well as in the software for submitting tax related data. Make sure to submit it on time!

UPDATE: In 2023, the form to use is form 2358. Learn all about it here.

ÁNYK and ONYA

Data are normally submitted to the Hungarian Tax Authority digitally. The most widespread tool for this is a piece of software called ÁNYK, short for “Általános NyomtatványKitöltő”, a “general tool for filling in forms”. However, there is also an online tool called ONYA, short for “Online Nyomtatványkitöltő Applikáció”, or a “general application for filling in forms”, which lets you submit your data simply from a browser, without downloading anything.

ÁNYK and ONYA are supposed to have the same forms available to their users. Unfortunately, this is not always the case; while forms are always available in ÁNYK, ONYA is still being developed, and forms are becoming available slowly.

This time, considering that there is a huge number of KATA orphans who must start submitting declarations monthly, the developers have released the relevant form 2258 in ONYA just in time. This way freelancers do not have to download and learn to use ÁNYK, but can submit their data more easily.

Find form 2258 in ONYA

ONYA is available at https://onya.nav.gov.hu/, unfortunately only in Hungarian. You can log in using your Ügyfélkapu access to electronic administration in Hungary. Once logged in, you will have to choose on whose behalf you are managing data: there will be a separate option for you as a natural person (“magánszemély”) or you as a freelancer (“egyéni vállalkozó”). You will need the option for freelancer, so choose the big blue Select button in that box (it says “kiválaszt”).

Once logged in, you will have to find form 2258. You do not have to look too hard: there is a big yellow banner on top addressing new flat-rate taxpayers. Just click it, and you will be redirected to form 2258. Alternatively, you can also find it if you choose “Új nyomtatvány” (“new form”) from the menu on the left. Select “Bevallások” for declarations, and write “2258” in the search bar on top.

You will be presented with an empty form. Click the blue button that says “Kiválaszt” (“Select”), and you can start filling in the form.

Fill in form 2258 in ONYA

There is a video available about filling in form 2258 here. It is only in Hungarian, and it demonstrates the process in ÁNYK, but ONYA is more or less the same. If you need detailed instructions in English, read on.

ONYA is linked to the database of the Hungarian Tax Authority. Before you start working on the form, it will prefill some of the fields with your known personal data. They should be accurate, but please make sure to double-check them, especially if this is your first time filling in this form.

Prefilled data will start with your freelancer tax number (often referred to as a VAT number, whether or not you are a VAT subject), your personal tax number, and your social security number, also known as TAJ number. They will be followed by your name, date and place of birth, and your mother’s maiden name.

• The first empty field you must fill in is your sex (“adózó neme”): this is because some tax benefits are available only to women. Choose “1” for male and “2” for female.

Next is your registered address. Make sure it displays the address you have set as your address as a freelancer (in case it is not the same as your permanent address).

• Next, under “Ügyintéző adatai” you are supposed to provide contact data for a person NAV can call if they need clarification. It can be your own name in the first field, and your Hungarian phone number in the second.

This is followed by data pertaining to the current declaration.

• “Bevallási időszak kezdete és vége”: There are two date fields for you to indicate the start and end of the period you are preparing this declaration. It should be the first and last day of the month, unless you have started your activity only during the month.
  E.g. if you became a freelancer on 3 September, the starting date will be 3 September.
• “Bevallás gyakorisága”: The frequency of declaration. Select “H” from the drop-down menu for the monthly declaration.
• There are a few other fields in this section, but you can leave those empty.

The next section will ask about the type of the declaration. There are 4 fields available, but you only have to fill one.

• “Egyéni vállalkozó nyilatkozata”: put a check mark in the box right under this line, indicating you are filling in form 2258 as a freelancer.
• You can leave all other fields empty.

Once you have ticked the box, a hyperlink becomes active at the bottom of this box that takes you to the section for declaring income and taxes: “Tovább az adó és járulékkötelezettséghez”.

Fill in form 2258-01

The section is headed by the code [01-01], which is the online code for form 2258-01. This is where you will actually declare your income, social contribution tax, and the social security contribution.

• “Biztosításban töltött időszak”: In the first two date fields you have to repeat the start and end date of the relevant period. Write the same dates you have indicated above.

In the next section called “Alkalmazás minősége” you will indicate the bases for calculating your taxes. You can select the data from drop-down menus.

• “Nyugdíjas státusz kódja”: Do you receive pension in Hungary? Probably not; then choose “0”.
• “Foglalkoztatás minősége kód”: Choose “21” if you are a freelancer as your only job, or “26” if you have a full-time job, and you are freelancing as a side job.
• “Jogviszony sorszáma”: Every form must have a unique identifier; just write “1” here.

Do any tax benefits apply to you? Select “I” for “yes” and “N” for “no” from the dropdown menu,

• “Családi járulékkedvezmény”: Family tax benefit
• “Négy vagy több gyermeket nevelő anyák kedvezménye”: Tax benefit for the mother of four
• “25 év alatti fiatalok kedvezménye”: Tax benefit for those under the age of 25

The last line of this section must be answered only if you have selected “21” above, or if you want to apply a tax benefit on social contribution tax:

• Does your main activity as a freelancer require at least secondary education? This is relevant because minimum contributions are calculated based on the minimum wage, and minimum wage depends on the requirements of the job.

Section A of 2258-01: Social contribution tax

In field 1, you indicate the tax base for the social contribution tax, so your taxable income.

Please note: when writing numbers, write only numbers. Please do not add any separators, neither spaces nor commas.

• If you are a freelancer as a side job under flat-rate taxation, your income is tax free up to HUF 1.2 million each year (with a 40% expense rate, this equals HUF 2 million in revenues). If your income has not yet reached the yearly limit, you write 0 here.
• Make sure you write your income here, and not your revenue.
  E.g. if you invoiced HUF 1 million, with a 40% expense rate your income is HUF 600,000.

Field 5 will calculate the tax payable, and indicate that it must be paid to the bank account number relevant for tax code 258. If you do not want to apply any other tax benefits here, you can leave the other fields alone.

Section B of 2258-01: Social security contribution

In field 15, you indicate the tax base for the social security contribution. The rules are the same as described above for Section A.

Field 18 will calculate the tax payable, and indicate that it must be paid to the bank account number relevant for tax code 406.

Check and submit

If you are not applying any tax benefits, you are done! Now you will have to submit your declaration. Before you do that, make sure to check if all relevant fields are filled correctly. To help you with that, there is an option for checking in the menu on the right. Select the green check mark from the options that says “Ellenőrzés”. If there is a problem, the relevant field will be marked. If all is fine, you can proceed.

To submit the form, scroll down to the bottom, and select the blue button saying “Véglegesítés” (“Finalize”). You will be redirected to a screen that now shows only the relevant fields of the form (which were either filled by you or autofilled). Here you can review your data once more.

• Before submission, it makes sense to save a PDF copy for yourself, for future reference. Just click “Nyomtatás” (“Print”), and you can save the document.
• Now select “Beküldés” (“Submit”).

Congratulations! You have submitted form 2258 with your monthly tax declaration. If the form calculated any taxes for you, make sure to pay those as soon as possible.

Next month you will already have some practice, so the procedure will be easier. Of course, you are welcome to check back here for a guide.

Helpers Finance at your service

Here at Helpers we do our best to support foreigners with their business endeavors in Hungary. We focus on accounting and bookkeeping services to small and medium-sized companies, but other services are also available, such as tax advisory.

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