Accounting in Slovakia: The most important facts you need to know

Accounting in Slovakia comes with its own set of unique challenges and opportunities. From strict compliance regulations and VAT requirements to tailored financial reporting standards, navigating this framework requires clarity and precision. Whether you’re a local entrepreneur or an international business, staying on top of these requirements is essential for maintaining compliance and driving success.

Dive into the details to ensure your financial operations are not just compliant but optimized for success in Slovakia’s rapidly modernizing environment.

In this article, you’ll learn about:

• Unique challenges for foreign businesses
• The growing trend of digitization in accounting
• Upcoming changes shaping the Slovak accounting landscape
• How outsourcing accounting can simplify your business processes
• The legislative framework governing accounting in Slovakia
• Slovak accounting standards standards and the adoption of IFRS
• The structure and flexibility of the Chart of Accounts
• Financial statements, reporting, and auditing requirements
• Key aspects of VAT regulations and corporate income tax

Unique challenges of accounting in Slovakia for foreign entities

In our practice, we observe that foreign clients are often surprised by the stringent regulations imposed in Slovakia, even for small entities. Our accountants are required to meticulously document all transactions, including food purchases. Additionally, VAT compliance is quite rigorous, as there is no option to defer VAT output. Consequently, many supplementary VAT returns are often necessary.

Digitization of accounting in Slovakia

Since 2022, digitalization has been a major focus in the Slovak Republic. Companies are encouraged to archive accounting documents electronically, with internal regulations guiding the process. They may choose any tool for this purpose.

Upcoming changes to accounting in Slovakia

A new financial transaction tax will be implemented on April 1, 2025. This tax applies to outgoing payments at a rate of 0.4%.

Legislative framework for accounting in Slovakia

The primary legislative act governing accounting in Slovakia is 431/2002 Coll. Act on Accounting.

Slovak accounting standards and IFRS

Slovak Accounting Standards (SAS) are rule-based, while IFRS is principle-based. IFRS uses real values, whereas SAS relies on accounting values without reflecting increases, except for a limited list of short-term financial assets.

IFRS is mandatory for certain entities such as banks, insurance companies, and large companies after they exceed a specific size threshold. It is also required for payment institutions, securities issuers, and in some special cases, such as legal successors.

Structure and flexibility of the Slovak Chart of Accounts

The chart of accounts is defined at the level of synthetic accounts. Companies develop their own charts of accounts with analytical accounts based on the prescribed chart of accounts. It is not permissible to use alternative accounts for statutory purposes; alternative accounts may only be utilized for reporting purposes within internal accounting, as provided by the accounting group.

Financial statements and reporting in Slovakia

Financial statements are specified according to regulations. Entities are classified into three categories—micro, small, and big—based on their size limits. There are different requirements for the financial statements of each type of entity.

Auditing requirements for accounting in Slovakia

Companies must audit their accounts if they exceed 2 of these criteria:

• Total Gross Assets: 4 million EUR
• Net Turnover: 8 million EUR
• Average Headcount: 50 employees

Record archiving for accounting in Slovakia

The legal framework for archiving accounting documents is relatively strict. The periods vary from 5 to 10 years, based on the type of the accounting documents. The legal framework provides guidance not only on archiving but also on the ways of disposing of the documents.

A popular alternative to old-fashioned archives of documents in hard copies is digitalization. Electronic archiving is possible if the company can prove the genuine origin of the documents, inviolability, and legibility. This modern approach is transforming accounting.

VAT regulations in Slovakia

VAT registration is mandatory for companies with a turnover more than 50 000 EUR, but there is also a possibility for voluntary registration. When a company is a monthly VAT payer, the deadline for the submission of VAT return, OSS return, control list and EU sales list is the 25^th of the following months and it is also due date for VAT payment. All communication, requests and submissions are made electronically in Slovak language, but through power of attorney it could be delegated to other person. To find out more about the local VAT system, check out our dedicated guide on value-added tax in Slovakia.

Corporate income tax in Slovakia

Starting in 2025, Slovakia’s corporate income tax rates are:

• 15% for turnover up to 100,000 EUR
• 21% for turnover between 100,000 EUR and 5,000,000 EUR
• 24% for turnover above 5,000,000 EUR

The deadline for CIT is March 31 of following year, but it can be postponed by 3 months for all taxpayers and 6 months if the taxpayer has also income from foreign countries.

Just like for VAT, everything is filled only electronically on the prescribed return form.

To find out more about the local tax system, check out our dedicated tax guideline for Slovakia.

Radka Pirošová

Accounting Manager | Accace Slovakia

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