How does Hungary payroll tax work in 2026?
One rate covers every forint of salary. Hungary taxes personal income at a flat 15%, with no brackets and no higher band. The 2026 wage floor moved instead: the minimum wage rose 11 percent to Ft 322,800/month from January, so the social contributions stacked on top of that base went up with it.
· Hungary guide
Illustration · Budapest, Hungary
Hungary runs one flat personal income tax. Every employee pays 15% of the tax base. There are no brackets and no higher rate (Szja tv. 8. §).
Two payroll charges sit on top. The employer pays a social contribution tax (SZOCHO). The employee pays a combined social contribution that funds pension and health.
Both charges apply to gross pay, so the wage floor matters. The 2026 minimum wage is Ft 322,800/month. The guaranteed minimum for skilled roles is Ft 373,200/month.
Wages are settled monthly. The tax office is NAV. Payroll filings and payments fall due by the tenth day of the next month.
What does an employer pay in Hungary payroll taxes?
The employer pays a social contribution tax on top of gross salary. In Hungary this charge is called SZOCHO.
The rate is set by decree and can change each year. Confirm the current 2026 SZOCHO rate against the official Hungarian decree before you budget (Tbj.).
SZOCHO is the employer-side social contribution tax (szociális hozzájárulási adó). It is charged on the employee’s gross pay and paid by the employer, on top of the salary itself. It funds the state pension and health systems alongside the employee’s own contribution.
The SZOCHO rate is set annually by Hungarian legislation, so the headline percentage can move from one year to the next. The exact 2026 rate should be confirmed against the official decree before you model employer cost. Teamed prices each payroll run on the confirmed current rate, so you never budget on a stale figure.
The base the charge sits on
Because SZOCHO is a percentage of gross pay, the wage floor drives the minimum employer cost. For 2026 the statutory minimum wage is Ft 322,800/month, up 11 percent on the year. The guaranteed minimum for jobs needing a secondary qualification is Ft 373,200/month. A higher floor lifts both the salary and the contribution charged on it (426/2025. (XII. 23.) Korm. rendelet).
What does an employee pay from their Hungary salary?
Two deductions come off the employee. A combined social contribution funds pension and health. Then the flat income tax applies.
The social contribution rate is set by law and can change yearly. Confirm the current 2026 employee rate against the official source (Tbj.).
The employee pays a single combined social contribution (társadalombiztosítási járulék, or TB járulék). It rolls pension, health, and the labour-market contribution into one deduction taken from gross pay. This is separate from the employer’s SZOCHO.
The combined employee rate is fixed in law and reviewed periodically, so the exact figure should be confirmed against the current statute before payroll runs. After the social contribution comes off, the flat personal income tax is charged on the tax base.
Income tax is the simple part
Hungary does not run income-tax bands for employees. A single flat rate of 15% applies to the whole tax base, whatever the salary. Certain reliefs reduce the base before the rate is applied, including the family tax allowance and the under-25s exemption, but the headline rate itself does not change with income (Szja tv. 8. §).
Hungary personal income tax for 2026
Hungary taxes personal income at a flat 15%. There are no brackets and no higher band.
The rate is unchanged for 2026. It applies to the tax base after allowable reliefs (Szja tv. 8. §).
| Personal income | Rate |
|---|---|
| All employment income, any amount | 15% |
The personal income tax (SZJA) is a single flat rate. The same 15% applies to a junior salary and a director salary alike, because there is no progressive scale. The law confirms it for 2026 (Szja tv. 8. §).
Reliefs change the base, not the rate
Several reliefs lower the amount the 15% is charged on. The family tax allowance reduces the base for parents. Employees under 25 are exempt on earnings up to a set ceiling. Mothers raising children also qualify for targeted exemptions. These reliefs shrink the tax base, so the rate stays flat while the tax due falls. Apply a relief in the wrong order and the tax figure is wrong even when the rate is right. Teamed’s payroll applies the reliefs in the correct order on every run.
How does Hungary payroll filing through NAV work?
Employers withhold income tax and social contributions each month. They file and pay them to NAV, the national tax authority.
Wages are settled monthly. The filing and payment fall due by the tenth day of the month after the reference month (Mt. 157. §).
Employers must withhold personal income tax and social contributions from each payroll, then declare and pay them to the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) on a monthly return. Wages themselves must reach the employee by the tenth day of the month after the reference month, and the written wage statement is due by the same date under the Labour Code.
Source: Act CXXII of 2019 on the Single Social Contribution (Tbj.)
Hungary payroll runs on a monthly cycle. Wages are settled in arrears, at least once a month, with the written wage statement and the payment both due by the tenth day of the next month (Mt. 155. §, 157. §). The payroll deductions follow close behind:
- Personal income tax withheld and remitted to NAV with the monthly return
- Employee social contribution withheld from gross pay and remitted to NAV
- Employer SZOCHO calculated on gross pay and paid by the employer
There is no statutory 13th or 14th month salary in Hungary. Any such payment is contractual, not required by law (Mt. 134-165. §). The monthly NAV return carries the whole stack, so a single missed deadline exposes income tax and both social contributions at once.
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Collect pay data
Gather salary, hours, bonuses, and any taxable benefits for the pay period before the run closes.
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Apply income tax reliefs
Reduce the tax base by any family allowance, under-25 exemption, or other relief the employee qualifies for. The order matters.
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Withhold the deductions
Take the employee social contribution and the flat personal income tax from gross pay to reach net pay.
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Calculate employer SZOCHO
Work out the employer social contribution tax on the gross salary, on top of the deductions already taken.
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File and pay NAV
Submit the monthly return and pay the income tax and both social contributions to NAV by the deadline. Wages reach the employee by the tenth of the following month.
Pension and social funds in the Hungary payroll stack
Pension is funded through the social contributions, not a separate workplace scheme. The employee contribution and the employer SZOCHO both feed it.
Sick leave sits in the same stack. Employer-paid sick leave runs 15 days a year at 70% of absence pay (Mt. 126. §, 146. §).
Hungary funds pension and health through the social contributions rather than a separate auto-enrolment scheme. The employee’s combined social contribution covers the pension and health portions. The employer’s SZOCHO funds the state systems on the employer side. Both are remitted to NAV with the monthly return.
Sick leave the employer carries first
For illness, the employer pays the first 15 days of sick leave each calendar year. The rate is 70% of the employee’s absence pay (távolléti díj). After that period, the state health insurance takes over the funding of incapacity benefit. The employer-paid window is a real payroll cost that sits outside the headline contribution rates (Mt. 126. §, 146. §).
The wage floor anchors the contributions
Because the social contributions are a share of gross pay, the minimum wage sets the lowest base they can apply to. The 2026 hourly minimum is Ft 1,856/hour, and the guaranteed hourly minimum for skilled roles is Ft 2,145/hour. The weekly minimum is Ft 74,210/week. A higher floor raises the contributions charged on every hour worked (426/2025. (XII. 23.) Korm. rendelet).
How does Teamed handle Hungary payroll for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Hungary for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
The flat 15% income tax, both social contributions, and the full Hungary employment law stack run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts handle your Hungary hires, from the first offer letter through every monthly NAV return and contribution payment. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice, so you see the SZOCHO and the employee social contribution as separate lines, never a blended figure.
EOR payroll, contractor onboarding, and entity setup all live on one platform. A Hungary contractor who converts to payroll keeps their record. That same employee can graduate to your own Hungary entity without switching systems. Run the Employer Cost Calculator to see the full picture, including the 2026 minimum-wage rise to Ft 322,800/month. EOR is the right model for a first Hungary hire, until it isn't. Start from the Hungary hiring overview.
Key sources: the Personal Income Tax Act (Szja tv.), the Single Social Contribution Act (Tbj.), and the Labour Code (Act I of 2012).
Frequently asked questions
What is the income tax rate in Hungary in 2026?
Hungary applies a single flat personal income tax of 15% to all employment income. There are no brackets and no higher band, so the same rate applies whatever the salary. Reliefs such as the family tax allowance and the under-25 exemption reduce the tax base before the rate is applied, but the headline rate is unchanged for 2026 (Szja tv. 8. §).
What does an employer pay on top of salary in Hungary?
The employer pays a social contribution tax (SZOCHO) on the employee's gross pay, on top of the salary. The rate is set by annual Hungarian legislation and can change from year to year, so the confirmed 2026 rate should be checked against the official decree before budgeting. It funds the state pension and health systems alongside the employee's own contribution.
What is deducted from a Hungary employee's salary?
Two charges come off gross pay. First, a combined social contribution (TB járulék) that funds pension, health, and the labour market. Then the flat personal income tax of 15% on the tax base. The social contribution rate is fixed in law and should be confirmed against the current statute, because it is reviewed periodically.
What is the minimum wage in Hungary for 2026?
The 2026 statutory minimum wage is Ft 322,800/month, an 11 percent rise on the previous year. For jobs that require at least a secondary qualification, the guaranteed minimum is Ft 373,200/month. The hourly minimum is Ft 1,856/hour and the weekly minimum is Ft 74,210/week (426/2025. (XII. 23.) Korm. rendelet).
When must Hungary payroll taxes be filed and paid?
Employers withhold income tax and social contributions each month and remit them to NAV with the monthly payroll return. Wages are settled monthly and must reach the employee by the tenth day of the month after the reference month under the Labour Code (Mt. 155. §, 157. §). There is no statutory 13th or 14th month salary in Hungary; any such payment is contractual.
How is sick leave paid in Hungary?
The employer pays the first 15 days of sick leave each calendar year at 70% of the employee's absence pay (távolléti díj). After that period, state health insurance funds incapacity benefit. The employer-paid window is a real payroll cost that sits outside the headline contribution rates (Mt. 126. §, 146. §).
The flat income tax fools people into thinking Hungary payroll is simple. The rate is simple. The reliefs are not. The family allowance, the under-25 exemption, and the social contributions all hit the base in a set order, and the social contribution rates are reset by decree most years. Get the order or the year wrong and the net pay is wrong, even when the headline 15 percent is right.
Hungary taxes personal income at a flat 15 percent, no brackets, no higher band.
The social contributions on top are where the cost lives, and the rates are reset by decree most years.
The 2026 minimum wage rose 11 percent to Ft 322,800/month, so the base they sit on went up too.
Budget on the confirmed current rate, not last year's.
