Hungary Publishes Guide on the Taxation of Retail Businesses

On December 19, National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary published the “Retail Tax” Guide for retail sellers. It provides detailed clarifications on the definition of a retail business, which retail businesses are obliged to pay taxes, how the retail tax base is determined, applicable tax rates, when and how retail tax should be paid, and how to pay and reclaim retail tax advance.

Who is obliged to pay retail tax?

A foreign or domestic person or organization that carries out taxable retail activities as a business is obliged to pay retail sales tax.

A foreign or domestic platform operator, whose tax base derived from retail activities after sales through the platform that does not exceed net 1 billion HUF, does not need to file a tax or advance tax return. Comparatively, a taxable person who also sells through a platform or another person or organization that carries out retail activities exclusively through a platform must provide data in its return on the net sales revenue from the sale of domestically supplied goods sold through the platform, indicating the platforms, separately for each platform.

If a foreign person or organization carries out retail activities and transfers the product to its customer domestically, directly, i.e. not through a branch, it is subject to retail tax.

What is a retail sale activity?

A sale is not a retail activity if it is carried out:

• by the manufacturer to the wholesaler, reseller,

• by the wholesaler to the reseller, the retailer

provided that it is not done through a generally accessible sales channel (network).

If the sales channel is also available to private buyers, the entire sales revenue from the sale forms the tax base, regardless of the identity of the actual buyers. In such a case, it is irrelevant whether the buyer is a business organization, a business partnership or a private individual.

How to determine the tax base?

The tax base is the net sales revenue of the taxpayer from its retail activities. For the supplier (manufacturer, distributor of the goods), the following is included in the tax base:

• the revenue from services provided by the taxable person in connection with the sale of purchased goods (such as marketing fees),

• the amount of the discount granted by the supplier to the taxable person,

• the shipping fee payable by the customer, as shown on the sales receipt issued by the retailer.

For platform operators, the tax base is the total amount of net sales revenue from the sale of goods sold through the platform in the tax year by taxable persons selling through the platform.

What are the applicable retail tax rates?

In 2025, the retail tax rates were established as follows:

How to pay the retail tax?

Retail tax must be paid through self-assessment. The taxpayer is obliged to determine, declare and pay a tax advance for the tax year in two equal installments. The retail tax liability for the tax year must be declared by the last day of the fifth month following the last day of the tax year, using the 25KISKER return form.

How to declare the tax advance?

If the taxpayer carried out retail activities in the previous tax year, they shall determine and declare the tax advance simultaneously with the tax return for the previous tax year by the last day of the fifth month of the tax year.

If the taxpayer starts retail activity without a legal predecessor or is established through a transformation, merger, or separation, they must also submit the advance tax return within 15 days of starting retail activity.

The platform operator, resident in Hungary or abroad, shall declare the establishment of its taxable entity within 15 days and the tax advance on the 25KISKER return within 15 days of the start of sales through the platform.

If the taxpayer has already carried out retail activities, the tax advance is paid in two equal installments during the tax year:

• until the 20th day of the seventh month,

• until the 20th day of the tenth month.

If the taxpayer starts retail activity without a legal predecessor or is established through a transformation, merger, or separation, the tax advance is paid in two equal installments:

• simultaneously with the registration,

• by the last day of the tax year.

What is a deadline to pay the retail tax?

The taxpayer shall submit the 25KISKER form by the last day of the fifth month following the last day of the tax year. Any difference between the tax for the tax year and the tax advances already paid must also be paid by this time.

If the amount of the tax advance paid for the tax year is more than the tax amount declared for the tax year, the difference can be reclaimed from the date of submission of the tax return for the tax year.

If the platform operator does not pay the tax and the tax debt cannot be collected from it, the Tax Authority shall oblige the retailer selling through the platform to pay the tax, in proportion to its tax base.

How to reclaim the tax advance?

If the amount of the taxpayer’s advances due and actually paid in 2025 is more than the expected tax base and the tax payable, the taxpayer will have the opportunity to reclaim the difference until the end of the tax year through the VISSZKA form for refund claims. The Tax Administration automatically determines the amount of the difference and transfers it back to the specified payment account number.

“Retail Tax” Guide