VAT in Slovakia: when you must register and what changed in 2026
VAT is the question where a mistake costs the most, because it surfaces in hindsight. Miss the threshold, file late, and the tax has to come out of your own pocket on goods you have already sold.
Below: where the thresholds sit, what the deadlines are, and when registering voluntarily is the better move.
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Two thresholds, not one
This is the thing people confuse most. There are two, and their consequences differ.
| Threshold | When you become a VAT payer |
|---|---|
| 50,000 € in a calendar year | from 1 January of the following year |
| 62,500 € in a calendar year | immediately, with the supply that crossed it |
The difference is fundamental. At 50,000 you have time to prepare: until the end of the year you carry on as before. At 62,500 you become a payer that same day — and must charge VAT on that very sale.
One more detail: if you filed after crossing 50,000 and then cross 62,500 before the year ends, you must notify the tax office immediately and become a payer earlier.
How turnover is counted
By calendar year, January to December. The old rolling twelve-month calculation no longer applies, which made life simpler: you only need to look at the current year.
Track it yourself, monthly. The tax office will not send a reminder, and responsibility for missing the threshold is yours.
Deadlines
- 5 working days from crossing the threshold to file the application
- up to 10 days for the tax office to issue the decision and assign the IČ DPH
Five working days is short. That is exactly why turnover needs watching regularly, rather than at year end when the accountant collects the paperwork.
VAT rates in 2026
| Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|
| 23 % | standard rate, most goods and services |
| 19 % | selected goods listed in annex 7 of the act |
| 5 % | selected foods, medical devices, printed matter |
The 2026 change: foods high in sugar and salt now carry the standard 23 % rate instead of the reduced one. If you run a grocery shop or a food e-shop, the range is worth reviewing.
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When voluntary registration pays off
You can register without waiting for the threshold. It makes sense in two situations.
Your clients are VAT payers themselves. For them your VAT is not a cost — they deduct it. And you gain the right to deduct VAT on your own purchases. A clear win.
You have significant input VAT. Goods, equipment, subcontractors, advertising. Without registration you pay that VAT and lose it; with registration you deduct it.
When voluntary registration hurts: if you sell to private individuals. Your price goes up by 23 % for them, and a competitor without VAT ends up cheaper at the same margin. Here registration is a direct hit to competitiveness.
Separately: VAT payers registered for the whole calendar year cannot use the lump-sum expense scheme. For a sole trader that alone can outweigh every other consideration — details in živnosť or s.r.o..
What changes on your website once registered
This is the part remembered last, and the part a client notices first.
Prices need reviewing and displaying correctly. For B2C the convention is to show the price including VAT, for B2B often excluding. If your audience is mixed, showing both is sensible — otherwise half your clients think you are more expensive than you are.
IČ DPH joins the mandatory details. It has to appear in the site footer, on invoices and in the terms of business.
An online shop needs recalculating. Rates of 23, 19 and 5 percent across product categories are a configuration in the system, not a manual price edit. If the shop sells both food and non-food, the categories have to be separated.
Invoices change shape. A mandatory set of fields appears that was not required before registration.
None of these changes is difficult. All of them become expensive when done after the first invoices have gone out.
Common mistakes
Watching turnover once a year. Five working days is not enough time to notice and react at the same moment.
Forgetting the second threshold. Many people know about 50,000 and are caught out by 62,500, which takes effect the same day.
Registering voluntarily while selling to consumers. The price rises by 23 % and the deduction does not compensate for it.
Leaving the IČ DPH off the website. It is part of the mandatory details — the full list.
If the website side needs sorting
Prices with and without VAT, categories at the right rates, IČ DPH in the footer and on invoices — I set that up as part of the site rather than as an afterthought. Details on the web development service page.
I have lived in Slovakia for over ten years, work as a Slovak s.r.o. and issue a faktúra with an IČO you can put through your books.
Related: opening an s.r.o., eKasa in 2026 and accepting card payments.
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