Croatia

Value-added tax (VAT)

The Croatian VAT system is in line with the provisions of the EU VAT Directive.

VAT is payable on sales of goods and supply of services, import of goods, and intra-Community acquisition of goods.

Croatia has not introduced any VAT grouping rules.

Croatia introduced Central Electronic System of Payment (CESOP) reporting rules as of 1 January 2024.

VAT rates

The general VAT rate is 25%.

A reduced rate of 13% is applicable for:

• Accommodation services or accommodation with breakfast, half board or full board in hotels or similar facilities, including holiday accommodation, letting of pitches at holiday camps or camping sites, and accommodation on nautical tourism vessels.
• Newspapers and magazines of newspaper publishers bearing a media statute and newspapers and magazines of newspaper publishers for which there is no obligation of adopting the media statute under special regulation, which are published periodically, other than those mostly or largely containing advertisements or serving for advertising, and other than those mostly or largely consisting of video recordings or musical content.
• Children’s car seats and babies’ napkins.
• Menstrual supplies.
• Water supply, except for water in bottles and other packaging on the market, in terms of public water supply and public drainage system according to a special regulation.
• Supply of electric energy to another supplier or end user, including fees related to that supply.
• Supply of natural gas and supply of district heating services, including consideration related to that supply.
• Fuel wood, pellets, briquettes, and chipped wood.
• Public service of collecting mixed municipal waste, biodegradable municipal waste, and separate collection of waste under special regulation.
• Funerary urns and coffins.
• Services and related copyright of writers, composers, and performing artists and bearers of phonographic rights who are members of relevant organisations for collective exercising of rights and supplying those services under special regulations in the field of copyright and related rights with prior authorisation of government authority competent for intellectual property (IP).
• Preparing and serving food and desserts in and outside of hospitality facilities under special regulation.

A reduced rate of 5% is applicable for:

• All types of bread.
• All types of milk (cow, sheep, goat) marketed under the same name in liquid form, fresh, pasteurised, homogenised, condensed (other than soured milk, yogurt, kefir, chocolate milk, and other milk products), and breast milk substitutes.
• Books of a scholarly, scientific, artistic, cultural, and educational character, as well as school textbooks (primary, secondary, and tertiary education), other than those that contain, in whole or for the most part, advertisements or serve for advertising, and other than those that contain, in whole or for the most part, video recording or music content.
• Medicines that have the approval of the competent authority for medicines and medical products.
• Medical equipment, aids, and other devices used for relief in disability treatment and exclusively for personal use by disabled people prescribed in the general act on orthopaedic and other aids of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund.
• Cinema tickets, concert tickets, and tickets for sports and cultural events, other than events performed by institutions in culture, bodies governed by public law, or other legal persons in culture.
• Daily newspapers of a publisher that has a statute of media, other than those mostly or largely containing advertisements or serving for advertising and other than those mostly or largely consisting of video recordings or musical content.
• Scientific journals.
• Baby food and processed cereal-based food for infants and young children.
• Edible oils and fats of plant and animal origin, butter, and margarine.
• Supply of live animals: bovine animals, swine, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, farmyard poultry, farmed rabbit, and hares.
• Supply of fresh or chilled meat and edible offal from bovine animals, swine, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, farmyard poultry, farmed rabbit, and hares.
• Supply of fresh or chilled sausages and similar meat products, meat offal, or blood products.
• Supply of fresh fish.
• Supply of fresh or chilled fish, molluscs, or other aquatic invertebrates.
• Supply of fresh or chilled crustaceans: lobster, crawfish, shrimp, prawn.
• Supply of fresh or chilled vegetables, roots, and tubers, including dried leguminous vegetables.
• Supply of fresh and dried fruits and nuts.
• Supply of fresh poultry eggs in shell.
• Seedlings and seeds.
• Fertilisers, pesticides, and other agrochemical products.
• Products predominantly used as animal feed, other than pet food.

By way of derogation, VAT is calculated and paid at the reduced rate of 5% for:

• Supply of natural gas, including fees related to that supply, made from 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2024.
• Supply of heating from terminal stations, including fees related to that supply, made from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2024.
• Supply of firewood, pellets, briquettes, and wood chips made from 1 October 2022 until 31 March 2024.

A VAT rate of 0% is applicable for:

• Supply and installation of solar panels on private residential buildings, residential premises, and public and other buildings used for activities of public interest, as well as for supply and installation of solar panels near such buildings and premises.

Reporting obligations

Taxpayers have to electronically file monthly VAT returns by the 20th day of the following month. Exceptionally, taxpayers who do not have any transactions with EU taxpayers (inbound or outbound) and whose aggregate value of goods supplied and services provided in the previous year does not exceed EUR 110,000 can submit the VAT return quarterly.

Any annual adjustments are made in the VAT return for December, which is the last monthly VAT return in a financial year.

In addition, both intra-Community acquisitions and supplies, as well as services provided to or received from an EU-registered taxpayer, have to be reported in a European Commission (EC) Sales and Purchase List, submitted by the 20th day of the month following the reporting month. Nil EC Sales and Purchase List do not have to be submitted.

Where the amount of input tax credits exceeds the entity’s VAT liability, a taxpayer is entitled to a refund of the difference or may choose to use the difference as a VAT prepayment.

The book of incoming invoices has to be submitted electronically by the 20th day of the following month in case the taxpayer received incoming invoices bearing Croatian VAT. Nil book of incoming invoices does not have to be submitted.

VAT registration

VAT payers are defined as entrepreneurs that supply goods or perform services in Croatia. An ‘entrepreneur’ is any person that continuously and independently performs any economic activity. In addition to those that may be regarded as ‘normal’ taxpayers, domestic enterprises receiving services from foreign enterprises and legal entities and individuals that issue invoices or receipts including VAT without authorisation are also liable to pay VAT.

Companies have to obtain a Croatian VAT ID number in case of EU acquisition of goods in Croatia and EU supplies of goods from Croatia. Export also triggers VAT registration obligation.

Domestic companies performing or receiving services to/from the European Union also have to obtain a VAT ID number.

Foreign companies (not registered for VAT in Croatia) that supply goods within Croatia or perform land-related services in Croatia do not have to register if the recipient is a Croatian company or holds a Croatian VAT ID number, since Croatia has implemented Art. 194 of the VAT Directive.

A domestic taxpayer is required to enter into the VAT system when the value of supplies in the previous or current calendar year exceeded EUR 40,000. Voluntary registration is also possible.

Reclaiming of input VAT is granted to EU-registered VAT payers. No tax representative is required.

Entrepreneurs registered in third countries can apply for a VAT refund, provided reciprocity agreements are in place and a tax representative is used.

In case a foreign company, in general, is registered for VAT purposes in Croatia, it can request a VAT refund via the VAT return.

Determination of VAT base

The VAT base for the supply of goods and services is the consideration that includes everything that the supplier has received or is supposed to receive from the buyer or a third person in connection to the supply, including the subventions directly related to price of goods and services supplied.

Where no consideration is provided, for instance where goods are exchanged, the VAT base is considered to be the market value of the goods or services. The VAT base of imports is the customs value as prescribed by customs regulations, increased by customs duties, import duties, special taxes, and other fees paid during customs clearing.

VAT-exempt supplies

VAT-exempt supplies include insurance services; rental of residential property; granting of credits and credit guarantees; transactions related to bank accounts; interest; investment fund management; winnings from special games of chance in casinos, slot machine clubs, and other forms of gambling; supplies of domestic and foreign legal tender, securities, and shares; and supply of land (other than construction land).

Other exemptions, for example, include the following:

• Services and deliveries of goods by public institutions in the field of culture, such as museums, galleries, archives, libraries, theatres, religious communities and institutions, primary and secondary schools, universities, and student catering and boarding institutions.
• Postal services.
• Public radio and television activities.
• Medical services, including services conducted by doctors, dentists, nurses, physiotherapists, and biochemistry laboratories engaged in private practices; services of medical care performed in healthcare institutions; and services performed by social care institutions and child and adolescent care institutions.
• Services closely linked to sports.
• Supplies (transfers) of real estate (land, buildings, parts of buildings, housing premises, and other structures), with the exception of 'newly built buildings'. 'Newly built buildings' subject to VAT are buildings that have not been used for more than two years. Buildings not subject to VAT are subject to real estate transfer tax (RETT).

Customs duties

Croatian customs legislation and policies have been fully harmonised with the EU legislation. Goods imported from non-EU countries are subject to import customs clearance, and goods exported from the EU customs territory must be declared for export customs clearance. For performance of customs clearance procedures, each person has to be identified by an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number, which is issued by the Customs office upon request.

Excise duties

There are a number of excise duties and special taxes levied on specific products. They are levied at a fixed amount and are payable by the producer or importer. VAT is applied first, after which the fixed amounts are added.

Excise taxes

Special taxes

Property taxes

There are no property taxes in Croatia.

Real estate transfer tax (RETT)

The acquisition of real estate is subject to taxation. ‘Real estate’ generally includes agricultural, construction, and other land, as well as residential, commercial, and other buildings. Transactions include the sale, exchange, and any other means of acquiring real estate for consideration. The acquisition of real estate on which the VAT is paid is not subject to the RETT.

The RETT is charged at 3% of the market value of the real estate on the contract date and is paid by the acquirer.

Stamp tax

There are no stamp taxation provisions in Croatia.

Payroll taxes

Employers are required to withhold a percentage of their employees’ salaries and benefits as a payment on account of their PIT. The rate of withholding is a progressive rate between 15% and 35.4%, depending on the employee’s personal circumstances and income.

Social security contributions

The Croatian social security system covers pension and health. In case of dependently employed individuals, social security charges are borne by the employee and employer.

Employers make social contributions at the rate of 16.5% for health insurance.

The base for payment of employer’s social security contributions is gross salary, which is not capped.

Employers have certain obligations with respect to disabled individuals.

Apart from some exceptions, employers employing 20 or more employees are obligated to employ a prescribed number of disabled individuals. The number depends on the total number of employees and it cannot be lower than 3% of the total number of employees.

Employers who do not comply with prescribed requirements are obligated to pay a monthly fee amounting to 20% of minimal salary (minimal gross salary for 2024 amounts to EUR 840) for each disabled individual that employer was obligated to employ.

Chamber of Commerce contribution

Companies are divided into three categories for membership fees to the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, which are based on the company’s value of asset, total income, and company size.

As of January 2022, companies classified under category I are no longer required to provide this contribution, although they can opt for voluntary payment, which brings them certain benefits. For companies under categories II and III, contribution remains mandatory, and the amount of the monthly membership fee for them has remained unchanged. The amount of the membership fees varies between EUR 20 and EUR 527.31.