Our guide to Payroll in Slovakia

Doing Business in Slovakia

Investing in Slovakia

Located between the East and West, Slovakia shares borders with five countries, making it a favourable geographic location with great export potential. Given its political and economic stability and still being a relatively young country, Slovakia is an ideal investment environment. Part of the common EU market, Slovakia has a simple and competitive taxation system, a highly skilled and educated workforce and is one of the fastest growing Eurozone members with the lowest external debt.

Basic Facts about Slovakia

How to Say

• Hello: Ahoj
• Good Morning: Dobré ráno
• Good Evening: Dobrý večer
• Do you speak English?: Hovoríš po anglicky?
• Goodbye: Dovidenia
• Thank you: Ďakujem
• See you later: Uvidíme sa neskôr

Registrations and Establishing an Entity

A company is typically required to have a legal entity established in order to carry out business in Slovakia. All businesses must be registered with the Slovak Commercial Register, the legal forms available are:

• Enterprise or Branch Office of a Foreign Company
• Joint Stock Company
• Limited Liability Company
• Limited Partnership
• General Partnership
• Cooperative

The above business entities must be registered to the Slovak Commercial

Register and must have the following documents in order to register:

• Trade license issued by the local trade authority, including the name of the person who meets the qualification criteria for engaging in that trade (if applicable)
• Foundation deed and the company’s Article of Association (if applicable)
• Compliance with any minimum capital requirements (if applicable)

Foreigners are required to hold a temporary residence permit before they can be entered as a statutory representative in the Commercial Register.

Banking

It is not mandatory to make payments to both employees and the authorities from an in-country bank account. Banks are generally open to the public from Monday to Friday, 8am – 5pm. Most banks are closed on a Saturday.

Working Week

The working week in Slovakia is Monday to Friday, working 8 hours per day. Employees are entitled to a 30-minute break after working 4 hours, this break is not paid for.

Tax Rates

The tax year runs from 1st January to 31st December.

Income Tax Based on available information on tax changes (the consolidation package) effective from 1 January 2025, the personal income tax rates in Slovakia are adjusted as follow:

• Annual taxable income from EUR 0.00 to EUR 48.441,43 (176.8 times the subsistence minimum is taxed at 19%

• Annual taxable income above EUR 48.441,43 is taxed at 25%

Validity note:

These rules for 2025 are expected to remain in force until 30 June 2026.

Social Security

Social security is mandatory for all employees working in Slovakia, unless they have an exemption under the EU rules or under a social security treaty between Slovakia and the country in which they pay contributions. Employers in Slovakia are responsible for deducting income tax and social security contributions from the employee’s wage.

General Social and Health Security 2026

Health insurance in cases the disability could be 2% for employee and 5,5%  for employer. Contributions are calculated from the employee’s actual wage and no fixed minimum contribution applies.

Minimum health insurance contributions apply only to self-employed persons and are derived from the statutory minimum assessment base

Payroll Process

It is legally acceptable in Slovakia to provide employees with online payslips.

Reports

Payroll reports must be kept for 5 – 50 years.

https://www.whitecase.com/insight-our-thinking/gdpr-guide-national- implementation-slovakia

Final salary must be paid by the last day of the following month.

Employers file annual tax clearance reports for each employee (Form “Hlásenie”).

Payroll records must be retained for 10 years.

New Employees

You may work in Slovakia with no restrictions provided you are a citizen of the countries within the European Economic Area and Switzerland (EEA citizens). If the worker stays in Slovakia for longer than three months, they must register with the Slovak Foreigner police office. Anyone else wishing to work in Slovakia must apply for a work permit and temporary residence before arriving in Slovakia.

Employers are responsible for registering a new employee. The employer must inform the healthcare authorities within eight working days of the commencement of employment. The employee must be registered with the social authority before their first day of official employment.

Leavers

An employee’s position can be terminated due to a number of reasons, these include immediate termination (if the employee is proven guilty of any deliberate criminal offences or found to be in serious breach of work discipline), by mutual agreement or during probation.

If an employee chooses to leave a company, a minimum of one months’ notice must be given if the employee has worked for the company for less than one year, a period of two months must be given for employees employed for longer than one year.
The social and health authorities must be notified of any leavers.

Holiday Entitlement

An employee who works at least 60 days in a calendar year is entitled to four weeks (20 working days) of paid annual leave. Employees aged 33 or older are entitled to five weeks (25 working days).

Maternity leave:

Maternity leave lasts 34 weeks. A single mother is entitled to 37 weeks and a mother who gives birth to two or more children to 43 weeks. During maternity leave, the employee receives maternity benefit equal to 75% of the daily as-sessment base paid by the Social Insurance Agency.

The start date of maternity leave is set by the attending physician, usually six6 weeks before the expected date of the childbirth. The father is entitled to a two-week paternity benefit after the birth of the child. He may also take ma-ternity leave and receive maternity benefit under the same conditions as the mother if he assumes personal care of the child.

Sickness

The first 10 days of sick leave are paid by the employer, thereafter any addi-tional sick days are paid by social insurance.
(During the first 10 days of sickness absence, compensation is paid by the em-ployer (25% for days 1 - 3 and 55% for days 4 - 10 of the daily assessment base). From day 11 onwards, sickness benefit is paid by the Social Insurance Agency at 55% of the daily assessment base.)

Overtime Claims

Salary benefits from 1. 1. 2026 Section 122a, paragraphs 1, 2 of the Labor Code

For working on Saturday: 2,6295 eur/hour (50% of the minimum wage per hour)

For working on Sunday: 54,25 eur/hour (100% of the minimum wage per hour)

Night work surcharge for non-hazardous work: 21,103 eur/hour (40% of the min-imum wage per hour)

Night work surcharge for risky work: 2,6295 eur/hour (50% of the minimum wage per hour)

Night work surcharge for non-risky work – reduced: 1,84065 eur/hour (35% of the minimum wage per hour)

Compensation for inactive part of on-call time outside the workplace (employ-ee): 0,938 eur/hour
(20% of the minimum wage per hour)

Wage compensation for difficult work performance: 1,0518 eur/hour (20% of the minimum wage per hour)

Holiday Bonus (Negotiable): at least 100% of their average hourly earnings.

Some additional payments and benefits under the Labor Code are not tied to the minimum hourly wage. Their overview is presented in the following

• Overtime pay for non-risky work: Rate (minimum): 25% of average earnings

• Overtime pay for risky work: Rate (minimum): 35% of average earnings

• Holiday Bonus=Bank holiday (Employee): 100% of average earnings

Wage for each hour of inactive part of the on-call time at the workplace:

Wage in the amount of a proportional part of the basic wage component, at least in the amount of the minimum wage per hour.

Rounding of bonuses: However, the employer should always round the amounts in favor of the employee, i.e. always upwards. Round to 2 decimal places.

Example : 0,938 -> 0,94

Bonuses for work on Saturday, Sunday, for night work and on a holiday are cumulative, i.e. if an employee works on a holiday on Saturday, he is entitled to a bonus for work on Saturday and at the same time to a bonus for work on a holiday.

Travel Claims / Travel Allowance

Amount of per diem according to the length of the business trip in Slovakia from December 1, 2025:

Business trip Slovak republic - duration:

• From 5 to 12 hours … 8,80 eur

• 12 to 18 hours …13,10 eur

• Over 18 hours … 19,540 eur

National Service

Slovakia abolished compulsory national service in January 2006.

Pension System

https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/9d858e5d- 9263-4055-a008-162bf459da4e_en?filename=2024-ageing-report-country- fiche-Slovakia.pdf 

A visa is an official authorization stamped in a passport or issued as a printed or digital document, granting permission to enter, transit through, or temporarily stay in a specific country. It is typically issued for purposes such as tourism, business, education, or work but does not provide permanent residency or unrestricted work rights.

Types of visas

Type A Schengen visa: airport transit visa

You can normally stay in the international transit area at the airport without a visa while waiting for a connecting flight. The Airport Transit Visa only authorizes the holder to transit through the airport's international transit area.

Type C Schengen visa

The visa entitles its holder to enter and stay in the Schengen area for not more than a total of 90 days within any180 days period. This visa may be issued for one or several entries (single entry and multiple entry visa).

National visa type D  National (long-stay) visa (D)

National (long-stay) visa may be issued for stays of duration of more than 90 days. A third country national may be granted a national visa, if

a)    it is necessary in relation with the granting of a residence permit in the Slovak Republic; (this does not apply in case of an application for a temporary residence for the purpose of business) or granted residence permit in Slovakia
b)    the applicant is older than 15 years and is accepted for language education at a language school
c)    it is necessary in order to fulfil the obligations of the Slovak Republic following from international treaties.
d)    it is in the interest of the Slovak Republic.
e)    the applicant is a family member of a foreigner who was granted asylum or subsidiary protection.

The national visa entitles its holder to reside in the Slovak Republic for the duration of its validity but also in other Member States for a period not exceeding 90 days in any 180-day period. The national visa may be issued with maximum validity of 1 year.

The length of stay of a foreigner in the Slovak Republic exceeds 90 days the foreigner shall apply for a residence permit or a national visa (if the criteria for the granting of the national visa are met).

A residence permit is a legal document allowing non-citizens to live in a foreign country for an extended period based on family, work, study, or business. Unlike a visa, a residence permit grants a longer stay with privileges similar to those of citizens. Requirements may include financial stability, health insurance, and a clean criminal record.

A work permit is a legal document that allows foreign nationals to work in a host country. It is specific to the job and employer, outlines the employment's duration and conditions, and ensures the legal employment of foreign workers. A job offer and proof of local employee availability are usually necessary to obtain a work permit. It is also often a requirement for obtaining a residence permit based on employment.

Despite the fact that the so-called residence permit is the most common way how a foreigner from outside the EU/EEA or Switzerland can be employed in Slovakia, there are still several cases where it is necessary/possible to obtain a work permit to be employed.

In Slovakia, you can be employed only with a work permit, if:

• You hold temporary residence for the purpose of a family reunion

• You hold temporary residence of a third country national with acknowledged long-term residence in another EU Member State,

• You will be employed for the purpose of seasonal employment

• You will be employed as a seafarer on a ship registered in Slovakia

• If it is stipulated by an international treaty binding for the Slovak Republic

A work permit is non-transferable. It is issued for specific employment with a specific employer and it is also binding as to the type of work and place of work

EU citizens do not need a special visa or residence permit to stay in the Slovak Republic for up to 90 days, as they have the right to free movement within the EU. For stays exceeding 90 days, they must register their residence at the local Foreigners’ Police Office and provide proof of the purpose of their stay, such as employment.

Further Information

For more information, or assistance with Slovakia tax enquiries please contact: gi@activpayroll.com 

About This Payroll and Tax Overview

Please note that this document gives general guidance only and should not be regarded as an authoritative or complete statement of the law, regulations or tax position in any country.  You should always seek specific advice for each specific situation.  This document should not be relied upon as professional advice and activpayroll accepts no liability for reliance on its contents.