Get free access to
Our legislation updates make it easy for you to keep on top of the latest changes affecting your business. Receive our articles, opinions, tips, industry news, country profiles, regional overviews and studies, latest events and even more, directly into your mailbox.
Check out our Newsroom to see what is included!
We will send you only relevant information we consider may be of your interest and treat your personal data in compliance with our Privacy policy and GDPR statement.
Unable to subscribe? Try this page.
The draft of the new transfer pricing decree in Hungary for 2025 has been released: the Ministry for National Economy (NGE) has published and opened for public consultation the new regulation governing documentation obligations related to the determination of arm’s length prices. The draft decree would replace the currently effective Decree No. 32/2017 (X.18.) of the Ministry for National Economy and aims to fully align documentation and data reporting requirements with the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines, while also supporting more effective tax authority risk assessment practices.
Below we summarize the most important provisions of the draft transfer pricing decree based on the published text.
One of the most significant elements of the new transfer pricing rules applicable from 2025 is the modification of the value thresholds.
The draft decree amends the thresholds for transactions exempt from documentation obligations, both with respect to the Master File and the Local File.
Under the draft, a taxpayer is required to prepare a Master File only if the total arm’s length value of its related-party transactions exceeds HUF 500 million in the given tax year. This threshold applies regardless of the group’s consolidated revenue.
From 2025, transfer pricing documentation will be prepared under stricter and more clearly defined thresholds, which is expected to significantly reduce uncertainty for taxpayers.
The draft decree clarifies and expands the mandatory content elements of the Local File in several areas, with particular emphasis on supporting economic analyses.
The draft stipulates that revenues and costs affecting operating profit must be presented by activity (segment) when calculating profitability indicators. The segmentation must be comprehensive, meaning that no unallocated items may remain at the operating profit level. The methodology applied for segmentation must be documented.
For service transactions (whether financial or non-financial) the presentation of a benefit test becomes a mandatory element of the documentation. From the recipient’s perspective, it must be demonstrated that the service provides business value and that independent parties would also have been willing to use such services.
For transactions involving intangibles (e.g. licences, know-how, trademarks), the functional analysis must cover DEMPE functions. This includes a detailed description of activities and risks related to the Development, Enhancement, Maintenance, Protection and Exploitation of intangible assets.
The draft revises the definition of low value-adding services. Instead of a former exhaustive list, a more general definition aligned with the OECD Guidelines will be introduced.
The application of simplified documentation requires a minimum markup of 5% for the service provider and a maximum markup of 5% for the service recipient. This change is expected to affect many companies, as low value-adding services represent one of the most frequently applied transfer pricing approaches.
The draft transfer pricing decree introduces detailed requirements regarding database screening methodologies, significantly limiting flexibility in screening parameters:
As a general rule, financial data from the three years preceding the tested year must be considered, with data available for all three years.
A strict hierarchy is introduced. If the domestic (Hungarian) sample size is insufficient, expansion may only follow a fixed order: first the V4 countries (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia), followed by the wider region (Baltic States, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia), and only as a last resort the remaining EU Member States.
A standardized exclusion rule applies: companies that incurred operating losses in two consecutive years or in more than half of the examined years must be excluded from the sample.
Filtering by activity codes (TEÁOR) becomes the primary method, while keyword searches are relegated to a secondary role. A new explicit requirement is the review of selected companies’ websites to support comparability.
Deviations from strict rules (e.g. fewer available years or the necessity of keyword searches) are permitted to ensure an adequate sample size, but must be specifically and individually justified in the Local File.
Full database searches must be refreshed at least every three years, while financial data must be updated annually.
These new requirements significantly standardize benchmark analyses from 2025 onwards and reduce methodological uncertainty.
The value threshold for the transfer pricing data reporting obligation (ATP), which forms part of the corporate income tax return, is aligned with that of the Local File. Accordingly, no data reporting is required for transactions below HUF 150 million, unless documentation is required due to aggregation rules.
The 2025 ATP reporting obligation represents one of the greatest administrative burdens for taxpayers, as the reporting code system remains highly detailed.
Reporting is performed through a structured coding system and includes the reporting of corporate tax base adjustments related to transactions, with correct indication of signs.
According to the closing provisions of the draft decree, application of the new rules will be mandatory from the 2026 tax year.
However, transitional provisions are available: at the taxpayer’s discretion, the new rules may already be applied to obligations related to tax years starting in 2025. If the taxpayer does not opt for early application, the provisions of Decree No. 32/2017 (X.18.) will continue to apply for the 2025 tax year.
Companies are therefore advised to begin preparing for the application of the new transfer pricing decree already in 2025, as documentation requirements will expand significantly.
The draft makes it clear that transfer pricing will increasingly focus on in-depth substantive support and data-driven audits. As the changes may be applied voluntarily from 2025 and will become mandatory from 2026, immediate preparation is recommended.
Companies that start preparing now can:
Applying the new transfer pricing decree in 2025 is a complex task that goes beyond updating documentation and requires rethinking internal processes. If you wish to ensure full and efficient compliance with the new requirements, our team is ready to assist with revising documentation, reviewing benchmarks, preparing DEMPE analyses and establishing compliant systems.
Contact us to prepare for the changes in a timely and confident manner.
About Accace
Accace is a proactive consultancy and outsourcing partner who bridges the gap between needs and solutions. Combining smart and streamlined technology with a holistic approach, we provide an all-round care to clients and consider their matters as our own. With over 800 experts and approximately 2,000 customers, we have vast experience with facilitating the smooth operation and growth of small to large-scale, global businesses.
About Accace Circle
Accace operates internationally as Accace Circle, a co-created business community of like-minded BPO providers and advisors who deliver outstanding services with elevated customer experience and erase the borders of service delivery. Covering over 60 jurisdictions with more than 7,000 professionals, we support over 80,000 customers, mostly mid-size and international Fortune 500 companies from various sectors, and process at least 800,000 pay slips globally.
