# Serbia: social contributions (2026) Source-cited draft: not reviewed by an accountant, not for filing. Built by the OpenAccountants team. This skill covers mandatory social insurance contributions in Serbia for 2026: who pays, the rates, the bases and their limits, the incentives, the deadlines and the penalties. It links to the other Serbia skills and does not repeat them: - [serbia-payroll](serbia-payroll.md): the employer's monthly gross-to-net, salary tax and the PPP-PD return. - [serbia-income-tax](serbia-income-tax.md): income tax for employees, entrepreneurs, flat-rate entrepreneurs and the annual tax. - [rs-cross-border](rs-cross-border.md): residence, non-residents, withholding and treaty relief. Law used: **ZDOSO**, the Law on Contributions for Mandatory Social Insurance (Zakon o doprinosima za obavezno socijalno osiguranje). For 2026 it applies as amended up to 109/2025, which applies from 1 January 2026. Law 80/2026 applies from 1 January 2027 (parts from 1 January 2028), so its changes to the new-hire refunds in Articles 45 and 45v do not apply in 2026. Penalties, interest and procedure come from **ZPPPA**, the Tax Procedure and Tax Administration Act (ZDOSO Article 65). ## Who this applies to - **Employees** and their **employers**. The employee pays contributions out of the gross salary and the employer pays on top, on the same base (ZDOSO Articles 7(2), 8(2) and 51(1)). - **Entrepreneurs** (preduzetnici), on actual profit or flat-rate, pay pension, health and unemployment contributions for themselves (Articles 7(1)(6), 8(1)(6) and 9(1)(6)). - **Founders or members of a company** pay through the company, even when they are not employed by it (Articles 7(1)(7), 23 and 53). - **People paid under contracts** (contract for work, copyright contract, other contract fees) pay pension contributions on the fee (Articles 7(1)(9) and 28). People on temporary and occasional work contracts pay on the agreed fee, like employees (Article 16); students under 26 in education pay no pension contribution on them (Article 7(1)(3)). - **Others**: independent artists, clergy, farmers, Serbian citizens working abroad and foreign pensioners have their own bases (Articles 25 to 31). This skill does not go into them. The Tax Administration (Poreska uprava) collects and audits contributions (Article 69). The money goes to the PIO Fund, the Health Insurance Fund (RFZO) and the National Employment Service. ## Rates, bands and thresholds | Item | Rate or amount | Year | Source | |---|---|---|---| | Pension and disability (PIO), total | 24% | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 44(1)](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje) | | Health, total | 10.3% | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 44(1)](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje) | | Unemployment | 0.75%, paid by the insured person only | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 44(1) and (3)](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje) | | Employee share when an employer pays | PIO 14% + health 5.15% + unemployment 0.75% = 19.9% | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 44(2) and (3)](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje) | | Employer share | PIO 10% + health 5.15% = 15.15% | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 44(2)](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje) | | Entrepreneur paying for themselves | 24% + 10.3% + 0.75% = 35.05% | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 44(1)](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje) | | Minimum monthly contribution base | RSD 51,297 (35% of the average monthly salary) | from 1 Jan 2026 | [Minister of Finance, Sl. glasnik 112/2025; ZDOSO Art. 37](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/nATlw2_69429ec84247a.docx) | | Maximum monthly contribution base | RSD 732,820 (5 times the average monthly salary) | from 1 Jan 2026 | [Minister of Finance, Sl. glasnik 112/2025; ZDOSO Art. 42](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/mYTnAm_6942704946245.docx) | | Maximum annual contribution base | RSD 8,793,840 | 2026 | [Minister of Finance, Sl. glasnik 112/2025; ZDOSO Art. 43](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/ZKR4zZ_6942708d56248.docx) | | Minimum monthly base for artists, clergy and farmers | RSD 51,297 | 2026 | [Minister of Finance, Sl. glasnik 112/2025; ZDOSO Art. 38](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/G6sA8B_694270d8ec83a.docx) | | Employer-paid voluntary health and pension premiums | Part above RSD 8,677 a month is added to the base | from 1 Feb 2026 | [Government, Sl. glasnik 6/2026; ZDOSO Art. 13(3)](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/Sde7dx_6981bbd2012a1.docx) | | Health base for people insured from the state budget | RSD 22,663 a month | 2026 | [Minister of Finance, Sl. glasnik 24/2026; ZDOSO Art. 35b](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/0kTel4_69b7dbe81542b.docx) | | New hire from unemployment: refund of employee and employer contributions | 65% (1 to 9 new hires), 70% (10 to 99), 75% (100 or more), on salary paid up to 31 Dec 2026 | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 45, text up to 109/2025](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/JTHpSm_693c0cc4015d4.docx) | | Micro or small employer hiring at least two new people | 75% refund, on salary paid up to 31 Dec 2026 | 2026 | [ZDOSO Art. 45v, text up to 109/2025](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/JTHpSm_693c0cc4015d4.docx) | | Late payment interest | NBS reference rate plus 10 percentage points, simple | 2026 | [ZPPPA Art. 75](https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-poreskom-postupku-i-poreskoj-administraciji-0809) | The minimum and maximum monthly bases apply from the first day of the month after they are published (Articles 37(2) and 42(2)). They were signed on 11 December 2025 and published later that month in Sl. glasnik 112/2025, so they apply to payments from 1 January 2026. ## The taxable base **Employees (Articles 13 and 36 to 43).** The base is the gross salary, including salary compensation such as sick pay paid by the employer, under the labour law, the employment contract and the employer's rules. It is **not** reduced by the non-taxable salary amount used for salary tax (Article 13(2)). Employer-paid voluntary health and pension premiums count too, to the extent they exceed RSD 8,677 a month from 1 February 2026 (RSD 8,449 in January 2026) (Article 13(3)). - **Floor.** If the base is below RSD 51,297, contributions are paid on RSD 51,297 (Article 36). For a period shorter than a month, or for someone on reduced hours because of disability, the floor is reduced in proportion to days or hours worked (Article 39). A part-time employee with one employer pays on the full floor (Article 40(1)). A part-time employee with two or more employers pays, at each employer, at least the floor reduced in proportion to working time there (Article 40(2) and (3)). - **Ceiling.** If the base is above RSD 732,820, contributions are paid on RSD 732,820. The full ceiling applies even for part of a month or part-time work (Article 41(1) and (3)). - **Annual cap.** Someone whose pension contributions over the year were paid on more than RSD 8,793,840 in total, for example from two jobs or a job and a business, can ask the Tax Administration to refund the excess (Articles 12 and 66). **Newly settled employees (Article 15a).** Where the employee gets the 70% salary tax base reduction for newly settled taxpayers (ZPDG Article 15v), the contribution base for both employee and employer is the salary reduced by 70%. This applies only if the person is insured under the Serbian social insurance laws, including under a social security agreement. The conditions for the reduction are in [rs-cross-border](rs-cross-border.md). **Company founders and members (Article 23).** A founder who is not employed by the company is insured as a founder. The company pays contributions for them on a base of at least RSD 51,297 a month. A founder employed by the company is treated as an employee on their salary. **Entrepreneurs on actual profit (Article 22(1) and (2)).** If the entrepreneur pays themselves a personal salary (lična zarada), the base is that salary, with the floor and ceiling above. If not, the base is taxable profit. Either way, the entrepreneur pays all three contributions, 35.05% in total. **Flat-rate entrepreneurs (paušalci) (Article 22(3)).** The base is the deemed income set in the Tax Administration's decision under the income tax law. The same decision sets the contributions (Article 58). Rates are 24%, 10.3% and 0.75%. The floor in Article 36 applies, because Article 36(3) does not exclude this base. **Contract income (Article 28).** The base is the taxable income: the gross fee less the standard costs allowed for income tax. There is no floor and no ceiling (Articles 36(3) and 41(2)). Freelancers who self-assess each quarter under the income tax option with RSD 66,733 and 34% standard costs pay pension contributions on at least three times the minimum base for the quarter (Article 28(2)(1)). People who self-assess contract income each quarter pay health contribution on at least three times the RSD 22,663 budget health base for the quarter (Article 28(2)(2)). If taxable income is higher than either minimum, the base is the taxable income (Article 28(3)). Whether health contribution is also due on a contract fee paid by a payer who withholds depends on the Health Insurance Act, which this skill has not read. **Posted workers (Article 14).** For an employee sent abroad who stays in the Serbian system, the base is the salary they would earn in Serbia for similar work, and at least twice the minimum base. **New-hire refunds in force for 2026.** Read the 2026 text (up to 109/2025), not the consolidated text up to 80/2026: - **Article 45.** An employer (company, entrepreneur, flat-rate entrepreneur, farmer entrepreneur) that hires a person who was registered as unemployed with the National Employment Service without a break for at least six months (three months for a trainee) gets back part of the employee and employer contributions paid on that person's salary paid up to 31 December 2026. The rate is 65%, 70% or 75% by the number of new hires. The hire must raise headcount above the level on 31 March 2014, or the employer must have started after that date. The six-month condition does not apply to people up to 30 registered in the Youth Guarantee programme. People previously employed by a related employer do not count. Public bodies are excluded. The refund is claimed on the prescribed form and paid within 15 days (Article 45(8) to (11)). - **Article 45v.** A micro or small company, an entrepreneur or a flat-rate entrepreneur that hires at least two new people meeting the same unemployment test gets back 75% of the contributions on their salaries paid up to 31 December 2026. Headcount must rise by at least two compared with 31 October 2015, or the employer must have started after that date. - **Other reliefs.** Hiring a person with a disability on an indefinite contract exempts the employer share for three years (Article 45b). A new company doing innovative activity is exempt for its employed founders' salaries up to RSD 150,000 a month each, for 36 months (Article 45d). A company doing research and development is exempt from pension contributions on the salaries of staff directly engaged in it, in proportion to their time (Article 45z). The founders' exemption in Article 45g is only for businesses founded by 31 December 2020. An employer using another incentive for the same person, other than the matching salary tax relief in the income tax law, cannot also use Articles 45 or 45v. The salary tax side of these reliefs is in [serbia-payroll](serbia-payroll.md). ## Deadlines and filing - **Registration.** The employer registers each employee or other engaged person with the Central Register of Mandatory Social Insurance (CROSO) at the latest before they start work. Start, end and changes in a business, end of employment and changes in insurance are registered within three working days (CROSO Law Article 12(2)). - **Employees.** The employer calculates and pays contributions at the same time as it pays the salary, under the rules in force on the payment date (Article 51(2)). It files the individual withholding return (PPP-PD) electronically before each payment (ZPPPA Article 41(3) and (5)). - **Salary not paid.** If the salary for a month is not paid by the last day of the next month, the employer must, by that day, pay contributions on the minimum base of RSD 51,297 (Article 51(3)). If it does not, the Tax Administration calculates them and files the return in the employer's name (Article 51(4); ZPPPA Article 41(9)). The difference is paid when the salary is paid (Article 51(5)). If salary is paid in parts and the first part is below the minimum base, contributions on the minimum base are paid with the first part (Article 52). - **Founders not employed by the company.** The company pays by the 15th of the month for the previous month (Articles 53 and 60(3)). - **Entrepreneur paying a personal salary.** Self-assessed on the salary paid, as for salary tax. If the salary is not paid by the last day of the next month, contributions on the minimum base are due by that day (Article 52a(1) and (2)). - **Entrepreneur on taxable profit, no personal salary.** Paid in the same way and at the same times as the income tax on self-employment income (Article 52a(3)): monthly advances within 15 days after each month (ZPDG Article 114(2)), settled with the annual tax return. - **Flat-rate entrepreneurs.** The Tax Administration sets contributions in its decision (Article 58). They are paid with the flat-rate tax, within 15 days after each month (Article 60(1); ZPDG Article 110(1)(1)). - **Contract income.** The payer withholds and pays when it pays the fee (Article 57(1)). If the payer does not have to withhold, for example a foreign payer, the person self-assesses within the income tax deadline (Articles 57(2) and 60(1)). - **Refund above the annual cap.** On request, on the prescribed form; the Tax Administration decides (Article 66(2)). ## Penalties and interest ZDOSO has no penalty articles of its own. ZPPPA applies (ZDOSO Article 65). - **Interest.** Late contributions carry interest at the NBS reference rate plus 10 percentage points, simple, from the day after the due date (ZPPPA Article 75). - **Legal entity or entrepreneur (ZPPPA Article 177).** - No return and nothing paid: 30% to 100% of the amount due, at least RSD 500,000 for a legal entity and RSD 100,000 for an entrepreneur. - Return filed but not paid: 10% to 50%, at least RSD 250,000 for a legal entity and RSD 50,000 for an entrepreneur. - Return not filed but paid on time: RSD 100,000 to 2,000,000 for a legal entity, RSD 50,000 to 500,000 for an entrepreneur. - Late return and late payment: a fixed fine by amount due, from RSD 25,000 (up to RSD 100,000) to RSD 300,000 (over RSD 10,000,000) for a legal entity, and RSD 15,000 to 150,000 for an entrepreneur. - Late return, paid on time: RSD 100,000 for a legal entity and RSD 40,000 for an entrepreneur. - Return on time, paid late: a fixed fine by amount due, RSD 20,000 to 250,000 for a legal entity and RSD 10,000 to 140,000 for an entrepreneur. - The responsible person in a legal entity is fined separately. - **Under-declaration (ZPPPA Article 178).** 30% to 40% of the shortfall, at least RSD 200,000 for a legal entity and RSD 100,000 for an entrepreneur. Where the shortfall is up to 5%, a fixed RSD 100,000 for a legal entity and RSD 50,000 for an entrepreneur. - **Wrong data in a PPP-PD return (ZPPPA Article 179(1)(3)).** RSD 100,000 to 2,000,000 for a legal entity; RSD 50,000 to 500,000 for an entrepreneur. - **Late or missing CROSO registration (CROSO Law Article 40).** RSD 300,000 to 1,500,000 for an employer that is a legal entity; RSD 10,000 to 500,000 for an entrepreneur; RSD 5,000 to 150,000 for an employer who is a private individual. - **No waiver.** A contributor cannot be released from calculating and paying contributions (ZDOSO Article 64). ## Cross-border points The full non-resident rules are in [rs-cross-border](rs-cross-border.md). The points that touch contributions: - **Foreign employer.** An employee working in Serbia for a foreign company, embassy or international organisation that does not withhold must calculate and pay the contributions themselves (Article 51(6)). Their base is the salary (Article 15). - **Posted workers.** A Serbian employee sent abroad stays insured in Serbia if not insured under the host state's rules, unless an international agreement says otherwise. The base is the Serbian salary for similar work and at least RSD 102,594, twice the minimum base (Article 14). - **Foreign experts under exchange or technical cooperation agreements.** The employer pays on the average Serbian salary for the fourth quarter of the previous year (Article 33). - **Social security agreements.** Where Serbia has a bilateral social security agreement, it decides which country's contributions apply. Contributions follow that agreement, not the tax treaty. This skill does not list the agreements. - **Contract fees from abroad.** A freelancer paid by a foreign client self-assesses pension contributions with the quarterly income tax return (Articles 28(2) and 57(2)). ## Worked examples ### Example 1: flat-rate entrepreneur, monthly tax and contributions Ana is a flat-rate (paušal) software developer in Novi Sad. Her 2026 Tax Administration decision sets a deemed monthly income of RSD 80,000. That is above the minimum base of RSD 51,297, so it is the contribution base (ZDOSO Article 22(3)). - Pension: 80,000 × 24% = RSD 19,200. - Health: 80,000 × 10.3% = RSD 8,240. - Unemployment: 80,000 × 0.75% = RSD 600. - Contributions: RSD 28,040 a month. - Income tax at 10% on the deemed income (ZPDG Article 38): RSD 8,000. - Total due within 15 days after each month: RSD 36,040, or RSD 432,480 for the year. If the decision had set a deemed income below RSD 51,297, contributions would be on RSD 51,297 (Article 36). The income tax would still be on the deemed income. ```oa-check name: Example 1, flat-rate entrepreneur, deemed income RSD 80,000 a month (2026) inputs: deemed_income: 80000 min_base: 51297 months: 12 steps: - base: max(deemed_income, min_base) - pio: base * 0.24 - health: base * 0.103 - unemployment: base * 0.0075 - contributions: pio + health + unemployment - income_tax: deemed_income * 0.10 - monthly_total: contributions + income_tax - annual_total: monthly_total * months expected: base: 80000 pio: 19200 health: 8240 unemployment: 600 contributions: 28040 income_tax: 8000 monthly_total: 36040 annual_total: 432480 ``` ### Example 2: new hire from unemployment, with the Article 45 refund A Belgrade d.o.o. hires three people in March 2026. One, Milan, had been registered as unemployed for eight months. The hires raise headcount above the 31 March 2014 level. Milan's gross salary is RSD 120,000 a month, between the floor and the ceiling. - Employee contributions: 120,000 × 19.9% = RSD 23,880. - Employer contributions: 120,000 × 15.15% = RSD 18,180. - Total contributions paid with each salary: RSD 42,060. - The employer has between one and nine new hires, so it can reclaim 65% (Article 45(8)): 42,060 × 65% = RSD 27,339 a month. - Contributions the employer bears after the refund: RSD 14,721 a month. The edge case: the refund covers both the employee and the employer share, but the employer still pays the full RSD 42,060 with the salary and then claims the refund on the prescribed form. The refund applies to salary paid up to 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027 Law 80/2026 extends it to salary paid up to 31 December 2028. Its other changes apply from 1 January 2028: a limit of 12 months per person, a net increase over the previous 12 months instead of the 2014 headcount test, no trainee rule, and a Youth Guarantee age of 24 (Law 80/2026 Article 5). ```oa-check name: Example 2, Article 45 refund on a new hire, gross RSD 120,000 (2026) inputs: gross: 120000 min_base: 51297 max_base: 732820 refund_rate: 65 steps: - base: min(max(gross, min_base), max_base) - employee_contrib: base * 0.199 - employer_contrib: base * 0.1515 - total_contrib: employee_contrib + employer_contrib - refund: total_contrib * refund_rate / 100 - net_cost: total_contrib - refund expected: base: 120000 employee_contrib: 23880 employer_contrib: 18180 total_contrib: 42060 refund: 27339 net_cost: 14721 ``` ## Ask the client first 1. What is the person's status: employee, company founder (employed by the company or not), entrepreneur on actual profit, flat-rate entrepreneur, or paid under a contract? 2. For an employee: gross salary, full-time or part-time, how many employers, and any employer-paid voluntary health or pension premiums? 3. For an entrepreneur: is a personal salary paid? For a flat-rate entrepreneur, what deemed income does the 2026 decision set? 4. For a new hire: how long was the person registered as unemployed, are they up to 30 and in the Youth Guarantee programme, were they employed by a related company, and how many people did the employer hire? 5. Is anyone working across borders: a foreign employer, a posting abroad, or a social security agreement certificate? ## Sources | Source | URL | Read on | |---|---|---| | Ministry of Finance: Zakon o doprinosima za obavezno socijalno osiguranje, page and consolidated text up to 80/2026, with the 80/2026 timing clause | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-doprinosima-za-obavezno-socijalno-osiguranje ; https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/c59gCf_6aa14bd2e2c04.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Ministry of Finance: Zakon o doprinosima za obavezno socijalno osiguranje, consolidated text up to 109/2025 (the version for 2026) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/JTHpSm_693c0cc4015d4.docx | 2026-10-23 | | National Assembly: law amending the ZDOSO (published as 80/2026), showing the changes to Articles 45 and 45v | https://www.parlament.gov.rs/upload/archive/files/cir/doc/zakoni/14_saziv/2550-26.doc | 2026-10-23 | | Minister of Finance: minimum monthly contribution base for 2026 (Sl. glasnik 112/2025) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/nATlw2_69429ec84247a.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Minister of Finance: minimum monthly base for artists, clergy and farmers for 2026 (Sl. glasnik 112/2025) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/G6sA8B_694270d8ec83a.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Minister of Finance: maximum monthly contribution base for 2026 (Sl. glasnik 112/2025) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/mYTnAm_6942704946245.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Minister of Finance: maximum annual contribution base for 2026 (Sl. glasnik 112/2025) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/ZKR4zZ_6942708d56248.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Government: adjusted amount under ZDOSO Art. 13(3), from 1 February 2026 (Sl. glasnik 6/2026) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/Sde7dx_6981bbd2012a1.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Central Register of Mandatory Social Insurance: Zakon o Centralnom registru obaveznog socijalnog osiguranja (Sl. glasnik 95/2018), Arts. 12 and 40 | https://www.croso.gov.rs/storage/files/propisi/Zakon_o_centralnom_registru.pdf | 2026-10-23 | | Minister of Finance: health contribution base for people insured from the budget, 2026 (Sl. glasnik 24/2026) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/0kTel4_69b7dbe81542b.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Ministry of Finance: Zakon o porezu na dohodak građana, consolidated text (Arts. 38, 110, 114) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/MOq4eO_6aa14ac8c7a47.docx | 2026-10-23 | | Ministry of Finance: Zakon o poreskom postupku i poreskoj administraciji, consolidated text (Arts. 41, 75, 177, 178, 179) | https://www.mfin.gov.rs/propisi/zakon-o-poreskom-postupku-i-poreskoj-administraciji-0809 ; https://www.mfin.gov.rs/upload/media/2UkJa3_6a9fe325297c3.docx | 2026-10-23 | Not yet confirmed: whether health contribution is due on contract fees where the payer withholds (set by the Health Insurance Act, not read); whether the CROSO Law has been amended since 2019; how the monthly floor and ceiling apply to an entrepreneur whose base is annual taxable profit; the list of Serbia's social security agreements; the current NBS reference rate for late payment interest. > Contributed by Ryan Duguid.