Self-employed (SZCO, zivnostnik) salary calculator - Slovakia 2026
Free Self-employed (SZCO, zivnostnik) salary calculator for Slovakia (2026). Estimate gross-to-net take-home pay: income tax, social contributions and net salary. Educational, not tax advice.
by Simon Bodych
Methodology & sources
Methodology - Slovakia (2026)
Educational model for calendar year 2026 - not a payroll system, not a tax return, not tax advice. 2026 reflects the third consolidation package (Act No. 261/2025 Coll.). Anchor values: average wage 2024 EUR 1,524/month (Statistical Office; drives the 2026 insurance bases) and the subsistence minimum EUR 284.13/month valid on 1 Jan 2026 (drives the tax brackets and the personal allowance).
Employee (pracovny pomer, employment)
- Income tax 2026: four brackets - 19% up to an annual tax base of EUR 43,983.32 (154.8x the subsistence minimum), 25% to EUR 60,349.21 (212.4x), 30% to EUR 75,010.32 (264x), 35% above. The 25% rate starts much earlier than in 2025 and the 30% / 35% brackets are new (Act No. 261/2025 Coll.). Sec. 15 of the Income Tax Act (Act No. 595/2003 Coll.).
- The Slovak tax base is gross pay MINUS the employee's insurance contributions (sec. 5(8) of the Income Tax Act) - unlike Czechia, where the base equals gross.
- Personal allowance (nezdanitelna cast zakladu dane na danovnika): EUR 5,966.73/year (21x the subsistence minimum), EUR 497.23/month in payroll. Full up to a tax base of EUR 26,083.13 (91.8x), then 51.6x the subsistence minimum minus one third of the base (EUR 14,661.11 - base/3), zero from EUR 43,983.32. The 2026 phase-out is faster than the pre-2026 formula (one third instead of one quarter). Sec. 11 of the Income Tax Act.
- Employee insurance: social 9.4% (sickness 1.4% + pension 4% + disability 3% + unemployment 1%, Act No. 461/2003 Coll.) and health 5% of gross pay. The health rate was raised from 4% to 5% for 2026 (announced as temporary through 2027) by Act No. 261/2025 Coll.; Act No. 580/2004 Coll.
- Maximum monthly social-insurance base: EUR 16,764 (11x the 2024 average wage; maximum employee social insurance EUR 1,575.81/month). Health insurance and the employer's accident insurance have no cap.
- Employer cost on top of gross pay: social insurance 25.2% (pension 14% + disability 3% + sickness 1.4% + unemployment 1% + guarantee fund 0.25% + accident 0.8% + reserve fund 4.75%; all but accident share the EUR 16,764 cap) and health insurance 11% (unchanged in 2026).
- Minimum wage 2026: EUR 915/month, EUR 5.259/hour (60% of the 2024 average wage under the automatic formula) - shown as a note, not a constraint.
- Out of scope: the child tax bonus, the spouse allowance, the employee bonus, 13th/14th salaries, meal contributions, and monthly withholding vs annual settlement timing (the model is annual: flat monthly salary x 12, with the annual allowance phase-out applied).
Sources: Income Tax Act No. 595/2003 Coll. (sec. 5(8), 11, 15), Act No. 261/2025 Coll. (third consolidation package), Social Insurance Act No. 461/2003 Coll., Health Insurance Act No. 580/2004 Coll., Socialna poistovna - new assessment bases from 1 Jan 2026, MPSVR SR - minimum wage 2026 (EUR 915).
Self-employed (SZCO, zivnostnik)
- Expenses are either real or the statutory lump sum (pausalne vydavky, sec. 6(10) of the Income Tax Act): 60% of business income, capped at EUR 20,000/year (non-VAT payers, or VAT payers for only part of the year). Paid social and health contributions are deductible on top of the lump sum.
- Tax rate: 15% when taxable business revenue for the year does not exceed EUR 100,000 (sec. 15 of the Income Tax Act; the limit was raised from EUR 60,000 by the 2025 consolidation package and is unchanged for 2026). Above EUR 100,000 the general four-bracket scale 19% / 25% / 30% / 35% applies. The personal allowance EUR 5,966.73 with the 2026 phase-out applies in both regimes.
- Social insurance 33.15% of the assessment base (sickness 4.4% + pension 18% + disability 6% + reserve fund 4.75%). Monthly assessment base = partial tax base / 1.486 / 12 (sec. 138 of the Social Insurance Act). Minimum monthly base 2026: EUR 914.40 - 60% of the 2024 average wage, RAISED from 50% by Act No. 261/2025 Coll. - giving the minimum advance of EUR 303.11/month. Maximum base EUR 16,764/month.
- Health insurance 16% of the assessment base in 2026 (raised from 15% by Act No. 261/2025 Coll.; persons with disability 8%). Minimum monthly base stays 50% of the average wage = EUR 762, giving the minimum advance of EUR 121.92/month. No maximum base.
- Educational simplification: contributions are computed from the CURRENT-year partial tax base. Statutorily, advances derive from the tax return of the PREVIOUS year, mandatory social insurance starts on 1 July (or later) only after revenue exceeds the entry threshold, and the consolidation package shortened the social-insurance grace period for new SZCO. The model always charges at least the 2026 minimum advances.
- In the lump-sum mode the displayed net is revenue minus contributions and tax, before real business costs (the lump sum is a tax fiction). In the real-expense mode net is profit minus contributions and tax.
- Out of scope: secondary activity, the first-year social-insurance exemption, voluntary unemployment insurance, VAT, the health-insurance annual settlement vs advances timing, and spouse/child reliefs.
Sources: Income Tax Act No. 595/2003 Coll. (sec. 6(10), 11, 15), Financna sprava - lump-sum expenses (60%, max EUR 20,000), Socialna poistovna - SZCO changes from 1 Jan 2026 (minimum base EUR 914.40, advance EUR 303.11), Socialna poistovna - new assessment bases from 1 Jan 2026 (maximum EUR 16,764), Health Insurance Act No. 580/2004 Coll. (sec. 13), Act No. 261/2025 Coll. (third consolidation package).
DoPC (dohoda o pracovnej cinnosti, work-activity agreement)
- Regular worker with regular monthly income: the same insurance as employment - employee social 9.4% + health 5% (2026), employer social 25.2% + health 11%, with the EUR 16,764 monthly social cap. There is NO income threshold below which insurance disappears (unlike the Czech agreements).
- Student / pensioner exemption (odvodova odpocitatelna polozka, OOP): students on the student work agreement and pension recipients on one designated dohoda reduce the monthly pension-insurance base by up to EUR 200; below EUR 200/month they pay no contributions at all. The income is exempt from sickness and unemployment insurance and is NOT subject to health insurance (sec. 10b(1)(a) of the Health Insurance Act). The model charges old-age pension 4% + disability 3% above the exemption (the student variant); old-age and retirement pensioners additionally do not pay the 3% disability part (noted, not modelled). The OOP stays EUR 200 in 2026 - the raise to EUR 500 is a 2027 legislative proposal.
- Employer with the exemption: pension 14% + disability 3% + reserve fund 4.75% on the reduced base, guarantee fund 0.25% and accident 0.8% on the full pay, no health insurance.
- Tax: dohoda pay is employment income. The employer withholds a monthly tax advance of 19% (then 25% / 30% / 35% per the monthly scale: EUR 3,665.28 / 5,029.10 / 6,250.86) from gross pay minus the employee's contributions. With a signed tax declaration (vyhlasenie) the monthly allowance EUR 497.23 is deducted first; without it the 19%+ advance applies to the whole reduced pay. There is no final withholding tax for resident dohoda workers; the annual tax return can recover overpaid advances (not modelled).
- DoPC hours are capped at 10 per week, or 520 per year for seasonal work (sec. 228a of the Labour Code) - shown as a note, not modelled.
- Out of scope: irregular-income dohody (no sickness/unemployment insurance, contributions settled at termination) and aggregation of several agreements.
Sources: Social Insurance Act No. 461/2003 Coll. (sec. 4(5), 138(8) - OOP), Health Insurance Act No. 580/2004 Coll. (sec. 10b(1)(a)), Socialna poistovna - contribution tables from 1 Jan 2026, Labour Code No. 311/2001 Coll. (sec. 223-228a).
DoVP (dohoda o vykonani prace, work-performance agreement)
- Insurance and tax mechanics are identical to DoPC above: full employment-style insurance for regular workers (employee 9.4% + 5%, employer 25.2% + 11%), the EUR 200 OOP pension-base exemption for students and pension recipients (with no health insurance and no sickness/unemployment insurance), and the 19% / 25% / 30% / 35% monthly tax advance with the EUR 497.23 monthly allowance when the tax declaration is signed.
- The legal difference is the scope of work: DoVP is for a defined task limited to 350 hours per calendar year per employer (sec. 226 of the Labour Code), while DoPC covers recurring activity up to 10 hours per week. The hour caps are notes, not modelled.
- Out of scope: irregular-income settlement at termination (common for one-off DoVP tasks - the model assumes regular monthly income), aggregation of several agreements, and the old-age pensioner variant without the 3% disability contribution.
Sources: Social Insurance Act No. 461/2003 Coll. (sec. 4(5), 138(8) - OOP), Health Insurance Act No. 580/2004 Coll. (sec. 10b(1)(a)), Socialna poistovna - contribution tables from 1 Jan 2026, Labour Code No. 311/2001 Coll. (sec. 226).