Tax changes relevant to your Hungarian business in 2026

2026 tax changes in 11 points

Below you can find not only the list of tax changes relevant to Hungarian businesses, but also additional commentary provided by prominent Hungarian news outlets (24.hu, portfolio.hu, index.hu).

1. Limit for VAT exemption increases

Businesses and freelancers may choose to be exempt from VAT if their yearly revenue remains under a certain limit. Until the end of 2025, this limit is HUF 18 million. Over the next few years, this revenue cap will gradually increase: to HUF 20 million in 2026, HUF 22 million in 2027, and HUF 24 million in 2028.

Those who forfeited their exemption due to high revenues can become VAT exempt again in 2026 if their yearly revenue was below HUF 20 million in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

The change is relevant to ca. 11,000 taxpayers in Hungary.

2. Tax base reduced for flat-rate taxpayers

Currently, the standard expense rate for flat-rate taxpayers is 40%, meaning that they have to pay taxes after at least 60% of their revenues. The standard expense rate will be increased to 45% in 2026 and 50% in 2027, meaning that the standard tax base will be reduced to 55% and 50%, respectively.

This is relevant to 110,000 flat-rate taxpayers.

3. Social contribution tax decreased for the self-employed

Self-employed business operators currently pay the social contribution tax based on 112.5% of their net revenues. In order to simplify calculations, the tax base will be reduced to 100% of their revenues. (If someone self-employed is paying minimum contributions, that should still be calculated based on the minimum wage or the guaranteed minimum salary, but here too only 100% of the salary should be considered.)

This will be relevant to 140,000 self-employed business operators.

4. Eligibility for KIVA extended

Eligibility criteria for choosing KIVA, the small business tax, will be extended as follows:

• Balance sheet total and yearly revenue before application increased from HUF 3 billion to HUF 6 billion; a company may keep using KIVA until these figures remain under HUF 12 billion.
• Maximum number of employees before application increased from 50 people to 100 people; a company may keep using KIVA until the number of employees remains below 200 people.

This might be relevant to 3-5,000 companies and ca. 150,000 employees.

5. New green corporate tax benefit

The tax benefit for developments will be available based on additional activities that involve investment into clean or green projects as well as remedying environmental damage. The tax benefit will be available for investments above HUF 100 million, and it can reduce the corporate tax base by 70-100% of the investment depending on the type of work being performed. The total worth of the benefit, however, cannot be more than EUR 30 million.

6. Improving the energy infrastructure

Energy suppliers can apply for a tax benefit if they are developing their infrastructure. However, this is relevant only to distribution system operators, of which there are 6 in Hungary.

7. Tier limits increased for retail tax

While tax rates remain the same, tier limits will be increased for retail businesses as seen in the table below. It is important to know that this reduction is applicable already for 2025, and taxes can be reclaimed accordingly.

8. Excise duties remain the same for now

In line with the tax changes announced last year, the excise duty for fuels was supposed to increase as of January 1, 2026. This is now postponed to July 1, 2026, delaying a HUF 8-9 / liter increase in fuel prices. This will be relevant to every sector that relies on the transportation of goods at any point of its supply chain.

9. Corporate tax advance payments reduced

Currently, if last year’s corporate tax was above HUF 5 million at your Hungarian company, you are supposed to make reports and advance payments monthly (if the corporate tax was below that, you have to make reports and advance payments only quarterly). This limit will be increased to HUF 20 million starting from 2026, reducing the administrative burdens of 10-15,000 companies that are TAO subjects.

10. Limit increased for simplified reports

Microbusinesses are allowed to file simplified reports if their income remains below certain thresholds. In 2026, these thresholds are increased from HUF 150 million to HUF 180 million regarding yearly balance sheet totals, and from HUF 300 million to HUF 360 million regarding yearly net revenues.

11. Reduce administration for the self-employed

Starting from 2026, the Tax Authority will automatically forward information to NEAK (the Hungarian Health Insurance Fund) about eligibility for healthcare services based on reporting and paying the social security contribution. Moreover, regular self-employed entrepreneurs will be required to submit quarterly instead of monthly reports on the social security contribution and the social contribution tax, similar to flat-rate taxpayers.

This is relevant to ca. 80,000 freelancers in Hungary.

+1. Gift tax waived for companies under liquidation

While not part of the 11-point package of tax changes, there is an important tax-related update relevant to companies under liquidation. If the company received a shareholder loan earlier, the loan should be waived upon liquidation. This is considered a gift, and as such, an 18% gift tax applies to it. Starting from 2026, however, the gift tax is waived if the company is successfully closed by liquidation.

Expected impact on Hungarian economy in 2026

According to government communication, the above listed 11 tax changes will be relevant to ca. 230-240,000 businesses in Hungary, although there are certainly overlaps between categories. Most of these changes target the smallest businesses, reducing their administrative and tax burdens significantly. The total tax reduction to be achieved is expected to be around HUF 80-90 billion. At the same time, this reduction of tax income will not put a significant dent in the government budget, the income of which is expected above HUF 35,000 billion (for comparison, it was around HUF 30,000 billion in 2023 and HUF 34,000 billion in 2024).

Helpers Finance at your service

Of course, our team at Helpers Finance follows the developments regarding tax changes closely. We will update our workflows relevant to your Hungarian business in line with the new regulations, and help you take advantage of the new options. We focus on supporting foreign owners of small and medium-sized businesses, making sure your Hungarian operation will always remain compliant with local regulations.