Frequently asked questions

If you have already paid tax on income earned abroad in the country of the source of income (the country from which the income was paid, i.e. in which that income was earned), you are entitled to a tax credit, i.e. a reduction in the amount of tax liability for the amount of tax paid abroad, up to the amount of tax you would have paid in Serbia.

A paid tax credit is recognized to a resident of the Republic of Serbia, regardless of whether Serbia has concluded an agreement on avoiding double taxation with the country where the tax was paid. The following link contains a list of countries Serbia has signed an agreement on avoiding double taxation with: https://mfin.gov.rs/propisi/ugovori-o-izbegavanju-dvostrukog-oporezivanja.

A tax credit is recognized only for the payment of taxes, while contributions for pension and disability and health insurance are paid for the full amount. The tax credit is calculated on realized income from abroad, on which tax has been paid abroad. There are two categories of income for which the tax credit is calculated separately - income of residents earned on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, from a domestic or foreign payer, and income of residents earned on the territory of another country. The right to a tax credit is recognized based on the tax paid on income generated in the territory of countries Serbia has concluded an agreement on avoiding double taxation with, as well as on the income generated on the territory of the countries we do not have an agreement on avoiding double taxation with.

If you earned 200,000 dinars from abroad (on which tax was paid) and 500,000 dinars in the Republic of Serbia, the amount of the tax credit is determined separately for income that was earned in the Republic of Serbia from foreign payers, and income that was earned abroad. A resident documents the amount of income on which tax was paid abroad, as well as the amount of tax paid on this income, with a corresponding certificate from the competent authority of another country.

(Option 1): Starting from the amount of 200,000 dinars (all income from abroad, regardless of the number of payments, the amount of tax rates), we deduct the amount of 96,000 dinars. The basis for tax payment is 104,000 dinars, to which a tax rate of 20% is applied. This brings us to the maximum amount of tax credit of 20,800 dinars. This is the amount of tax you would have paid if you had earned your income in the Republic of Serbia. If you paid a higher amount of tax abroad, a maximum of 20,800 dinars will be recognized as a tax credit.

Further on, the total income from abroad and from Serbia (700,000 dinars) is added together, and standardized expenses in the amount of 96,000 dinars are deducted. Thus, reach at a tax base of 604,000 dinars, to which a rate of 20% is applied, which means that the tax liability is 120,800 dinars. From the tax calculated in this way, you deduct the amount of the tax credit (20,800 dinars), thus reaching the amount of tax you need to pay based on all the income generated in the given quarter, which is 100,000 dinars.

In line with the above, if you earned 50,000 dinars from abroad, since the standardized expenses are higher (96,000 dinars) than the realized income, you are not entitled to a tax credit, even though you paid taxes abroad.

You need a certificate of tax paid abroad, certified by the competent tax authority of the country where you paid the tax. The certificate should be translated and certified by a court interpreter for the Serbian language, after which you should enclose it with the tax application you submit through the portal www.frilenseri.purs.gov.rs.

The obligations you will have based on mandatory social insurance depend on three factors:

• whether you are a resident or a non-resident;
• whether your place of work is in Serbia or abroad;
• whether you are insured on another basis.

In this regard, below is a tabular overview of the rights and obligations that you exercise, depending on the answers to the previous three questions.

[1] The obligation to pay health insurance depends on whether Serbia has concluded an agreement on social insurance with that country. If there is no agreement with that country, you are obliged to pay health insurance contributions. If there is an agreement that also includes health insurance (since there are agreements that only include pension and disability insurance), you should submit proof that you have health insurance in that country, so as not to pay a contribution for health insurance in Serbia.

[2] The contribution for pension and disability insurance is not paid if the place of work is outside the territory of the Republic of Serbia and you do not exercise the right based on pension seniority.

The basis for taxation is income, so if you did not generate income in the quarter, you have no basis for paying contributions.

There are two ways to report income:

1. Electronically

• Through the portal www.frilenseri.purs.gov.rs or
• By submitting a tax return PP OPO - K, through the ePorezi (eTaxes) portal.

If you report income through the portal www.frilenseri.purs.gov.rs in electronic form, you need to have an account with the highest level of assurance on the eID system or a qualified digital certificate.

2. In paper form

• Directly (in person), to the competent branch of the Tax Administration or

By mail to the competent branch of the Tax Administration.

You can submit the PP OPO-K tax return in paper form to the competent branch of the Tax Administration according to the place of residence/stay of the natural person and according to the place of earned income. When submitting, you will receive information about the tax application number and BOP - payment authorization number, which you need to enter in the payment order. In addition, you can submit the tax application in paper form and by mail, and you will receive the return number and the BOP payment authorization number that is entered in the payment order from the Tax Administration.

You submit the tax application to the Tax Administration on form PP OPO-K (tax application for tax calculated through self-taxation and related contributions on income generated quarterly, by a natural person as a taxpayer).

You report the total sum of income earned during one quarter (e.g. January-March, April-June, July-September or October-December) within 30 days from the end date of the quarter (exceptionally, e.g. for the period April-June 2023, the application can be submitted from 1 to 31 July 2023, bearing in mind that 30 July 2023 is not a work day). During the year, tax applications are submitted within the four designated periods.

The deadline for submitting a tax application is 30 days from the end of a quarter. This means that a tax application for the first quarter is submitted until 30 April, for the second quarter until 30 July, for the third quarter until 30 October and for the fourth quarter until 30 January. In case the last day of the deadline falls on a non-working day or a holiday that is observed as a non-working day, the submission deadline is extended to the first following working day.