If you or your Hungarian business owns a motor vehicle registered in Hungary, you must pay vehicle tax twice a year, by 15 March and 15 September. This tax is different from the company car tax, so make sure you pay it on time. The next deadline is coming up soon.

Vehicle tax and company car tax in Hungary

Vehicle tax (“gépjárműadó”) is paid after every motor vehicle registered in Hungary. It is normally paid in two instalments in any given year, by 15 March and 15 September.

• In fact, the March deadline is 16 March, since 15 March is a national holiday.
• You can also pay in one instalment instead of two, by the March deadline.

The vehicle tax is different from the company car tax (“cégautóadó”), and must be paid separately, with different deadlines, on a different basis. However, the vehicle tax can be deducted from the company car tax if it is paid on time, and the owner and the operator of the vehicle is the same person. (Read more about the company car tax here.)

	Vehicle tax	Company car tax
Deadline	quarterly, by 20 January, April, October, December	twice a year, by 15 March and September
Basis	environmental classification and performance	weight and/or performance

Please note: If you are self-employed and have a motor vehicle (e.g. a car), you must pay the company car tax only if you list your car-related expenses among your business costs. If you do not do that, e.g. because you are a flat rate tax-payer, you only need to pay the vehicle tax.

How to pay the vehicle tax in Hungary

You do not have to calculate the vehicle tax on your own. If you have an Ügyfélkapu access, you get a letter about the expected payment into your electronic inbox. Otherwise, you get a regular letter to your mailing address.

In both cases, the letter will contain all the information relevant for payment. You have various payment options, and you can choose whichever is most convenient for you.

1. Bank transfer

You can make a wire transfer from your Hungarian bank directly to the relevant bank account of NAV. The bank account number is 10032000-01079160, as listed on the Tax Authority’s website under tax code 410 for domestic vehicles. In the comment of the transfer, make sure to list the tax number of the owner.

Please note: if you are self-employed, you have two tax numbers, one for you as a natural person and one for you as a business operator. Make sure you add the tax number relevant for your vehicle.

2. Card payment through EFER

EFER is the online payment tool for administrative costs. You can access it through various government portals, but for the purposes of vehicle tax payment, it is easiest to go through EBEV, which also has an English-language interface. You can log in with your Ügyfélkapu access, and select EFER from the top menu, then click “Order packets” in its submenu. There you can create a package for paying the vehicle tax. Find a detailed guide here. You will need to select code 410 for the vehicle tax. Your tax number is already added to the transaction, so for Ügyleírás (“Description”) it is probably best if you add your vehicle registration number.

EBEV is also your way to go if you are not sure about the amount to pay. In this case, go to Services >> Account and fine data >> Current account statement. You can make a new query by clicking “New Query”. Then select your tax-payer ID; make sure it is the owner of the car. Then select “NAV belföldi gépjárműadó bevételi számla – 410” from the field below, and add it to the query field. Now you can click “Create query”. The system will need a minute or so to process the query, so you might need to refresh the page in a minute. Under the query field, you will see a line with the status indicated as “processed”, where you can download a PDF with your vehicle tax.

3. NAV-Mobil app

You can now also pay many of your taxes through the mobile app of NAV, called NAV-Mobil, which is available both on Google Play and in the App Store. Find the menu item for paying the vehicle tax, and you can pay it with a few taps.

4. Direct payment link in the notice

The letter you received to your secure electronic inbox is supposed to include a direct payment link, which you can simply click to be redirected to a page where you can make the payment directly with a bank card. You just need to submit your bank card details in the relevant fields. However, it is a good practice to make payments from within any system whenever possible instead of following an external link. As a result, it might be better to choose one of the above options.

Pay the Hungarian vehicle tax on time

The next deadline for paying the vehicle tax in Hungary is 16 March in 2023 (the first working day after 15 March). You are supposed to receive a notice from the Tax Authority, but you can also check you taxes due online through EBEV. You have various payment options, so you can choose the one most comfortable for you or your business. If your business owns and operated a vehicle, the vehicle tax can be deducted from the company car tax.

Here at Helpers we do our best to support foreigners living, working and doing business in Hungary. The team of Helpers Finance focuses on providing accountancy to foreign-owned small or medium-sized businesses, which naturally includes providing assistance for paying every tax relevant for your Hungarian company, including the vehicle tax as well as the company car tax.

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