Payroll in Hungary

Hungarian wages are accounted for at least monthly and paid by the tenth day of the following month. Monthly payroll is the norm, and the tenth is also the latest payday the law allows for ordinary wages.

Payday and payslips

Pay in forints unless a statutory or foreign-work exception applies. Payment normally goes to the account the employee nominates. Cash needs a written agreement. By the payday you must also give the employee a written calculation that lets them check their earnings and deductions. Show the base wage, any premiums and the withheld social security contribution and income tax as separate lines.

The payday is one date. Your tax and contribution remittance is another. Keep them apart in your payroll calendar.

Extra payments and the minimum wage

The Labour Code does not impose a thirteenth- or fourteenth-month payment for ordinary private employment. Pay a bonus only where the contract, the applicable collective agreement or a binding employer commitment requires it. If you promise one, state the performance conditions and the timing in writing.

From 1 January 2026 the ordinary full-time minimum gross base wage is HUF 322,800 per month. A job that requires at least secondary education or a secondary vocational qualification has a guaranteed minimum of HUF 373,200 per month. The job's qualification requirement decides which applies, not the degree the employee happens to hold. Part-time amounts are proportionate to working time.

Gross to net

The employee pays an 18.5% social security contribution, withheld from gross contribution income. Personal income tax is 15% of the taxable base, after eligible allowances. The employer also pays a 13% social contribution tax (szocho) on top of the salary. Illustration for an ordinarily insured employee on HUF 600,000 gross monthly with no allowances or special reliefs:

This is an illustration only. Family, young-worker and mother allowances, a monthly contribution floor on low-paid part-time work and cross-border insurance rules can all change the result. Do not promise the same net pay to every employee on the same gross salary.

Remitting tax and contributions

Ordinary monthly payroll tax and contribution returns and payment are generally due by the twelfth of the following month. Register the employer and employee as required before work begins. A foreign employer without a Hungarian company registration may have direct registration or representative obligations with the tax authority (NAV), so confirm your position before the first pay run. The employee's annual income-tax filing and payment deadline is 20 May of the following year.

Working time that affects pay

Ordinary full-time work is eight hours a day, normally five days a week. Scheduled time is generally capped at twelve hours a day and forty-eight a week including overtime, with lawful averaging and special categories. Give the written schedule at least 168 hours in advance for a week's coverage.

Ordered overtime is limited to 250 hours a year, and a separate written voluntary agreement can add 150. Ordinary overtime generally carries a 50% premium or qualifying paid time off. Overtime on a weekly rest day carries 100%, or 50% if another rest day is given. Public-holiday work carries a 100% premium. A qualifying rotating shift carries 30% for work from 18:00 to 06:00. Qualifying night work of more than one hour carries 15% where the shift premium is not due. Sunday work carries a 50% premium only in the statutory circumstances, so check before applying it.

Breaks and rest also feed into schedules and pay. Give twenty minutes when the day exceeds six hours and a further twenty-five when it exceeds nine, plus eleven consecutive hours of daily rest.

Hungary taxes employment income at a single flat rate. The ordinary personal income tax (PIT) rate is 15% of the taxable base, and the 2026 schedule has one band only. There are no progressive brackets to apply, but allowances can reduce or remove the tax for some employees.

Income tax rate

Eligible allowances are applied in the statutory order before the 15% is calculated. A historical OECD average effective income-tax figure is not the withholding rate for a new employee, so do not use it in payroll.

How withholding works

You withhold income tax and the employee's social security contribution from gross pay each month. Wages are accounted for at least monthly and paid by the tenth day of the following month, with a written calculation that lets the employee check earnings and deductions. Monthly payroll tax and contribution returns and payment are generally due by the twelfth of the following month.

The employee's own annual income-tax filing and payment deadline is 20 May of the following year. Register the employer and employee as required before work begins.

Employee deductions

An ordinarily insured employee pays 18.5% social security contribution, withheld from gross contribution income. It is not an extra 18.5% employer tax. The employer separately pays social contribution tax (szocho) of 13% of its statutory base.

Contributions have a monthly floor of 30% of the statutory minimum wage, HUF 96,840 in 2026. Where the floor applies, the employer bears the employee contribution on the difference. There is no general salary cap that stops employee contributions at a fixed earnings ceiling.

Check insured status, cross-border coverage, personal exemptions and family contribution relief separately for each employee.

In that example the employee nets HUF 399,000 and salary plus szocho is HUF 678,000. It assumes no allowances or special reliefs and is an illustration only. It does not include EOR fees, benefits, expenses or other liabilities.

Allowances and credits

The family allowance reduces the tax base for each qualifying child. The monthly amounts per qualifying child are:

• HUF 133,340 with one dependent
• HUF 266,660 with two dependents
• HUF 440,000 with three or more

At 15%, these correspond to HUF 20,001, HUF 39,999 and HUF 66,000 per qualifying child, subject to eligibility, sharing and available tax or contribution liability. Eligible insured people can use 15% of unused family tax-base allowance against specified employee contributions.

Other allowances exist for young workers and mothers:

• The 2026 young-worker allowance covers qualifying income up to HUF 715,765 per eligible month, including the month of the twenty-fifth birthday. Employers normally apply it automatically unless the employee asks to restrict it. Multiple income sources can require a restriction.
• Eligible mothers under thirty can deduct qualifying earned income without an amount cap from 2026.
• The two-child-mother allowance begins in 2026 for the cohort born in 1986 or later, subject to family conditions. Separate allowances cover mothers of three or four or more children.

These are income-tax rules, not an automatic exemption from every payroll contribution.

For an ordinarily insured hire in Hungary, the employer pays a 13% social contribution tax (szocho) on its statutory tax base. The employee pays an 18.5% social security contribution, withheld from gross contribution income. The employee share is not an extra employer cost.

Employer and employee rates

These are the ordinary rates. Reliefs, exemptions, personal exemptions and cross-border insurance rules can change the result, so check insured status and coverage for each employee. Personal income tax is separate from these contributions. The ordinary rate is 15% on the taxable base.

Floor and ceiling

Ordinary employment contributions have a monthly floor of 30% of the statutory minimum wage. In 2026 that is HUF 96,840. The floor can matter for low-paid part-time work. Where it applies, the employer bears the employee contribution on the difference. Statutory exceptions and proportionate calculations apply.

There is no general salary cap that stops ordinary employee contributions at a fixed earnings ceiling. Do not budget on the assumption that contributions stop at a threshold.

What the 13% does not cover

Szocho is not the whole employment budget. Other costs can include:

• Leave and applicable sick-pay contributions.
• Expense reimbursement, including required commuting reimbursement.
• Benefits such as private medical cover, meal or SZÉP-card benefits, which have their own tax treatment.
• The rehabilitation contribution, where it applies to your headcount.
• Any employer-of-record fee.

The Labour Code does not impose a universal thirteenth- or fourteenth-month payment for ordinary private employment. Pay any bonus that the contract, a collective agreement or a binding employer commitment requires.

Worked cost example

Take an ordinarily insured employee on HUF 600,000 gross monthly salary, with no allowances or special reliefs.

This is an illustration, not a complete quote. Add the actual employer-of-record fee, benefits, expenses and any other applicable liabilities. Foreign individuals claiming Hungarian allowances face additional conditions, so do not promise the same net pay to every employee on the same gross salary.

Annual leave

Basic annual leave in Hungary is 20 working days. Age additions start at one day in the year the employee turns twenty-five and rise to ten days in the year they turn forty-five. Child, young-worker and disability entitlements can add more, so calculate each employee's total rather than applying one figure to everyone.

Annual child-related extra leave is two working days for one child, four for two, and seven for three or more, with a further two per qualifying disabled child. Maternity leave and the first six months of unpaid childcare leave count towards annual-leave accrual. Partial years give a proportionate entitlement.

After the first three months, the employee can choose seven days in no more than two blocks with fifteen days' notice. The employer schedules the rest after consultation. Unless agreed otherwise, provide a period of at least fourteen consecutive calendar days free from work, including rest days. Leave is normally used in its year, and carryover needs a statutory ground or a permitted agreement. Pay out unused ordinary annual leave on termination.

Public holidays

Hungary has 11 statutory public-holiday dates:

• 1 January, 15 March, 1 May, 20 August, 23 October and 1 November
• Good Friday, Easter Monday and Whit Monday
• 25 and 26 December

For the ordinary 2026 work schedule, 2 January, 21 August and 24 December are additional rest days exchanged for working Saturdays on 10 January, 8 August and 12 December. These exchanges do not make fourteen statutory holidays. Work on a public holiday attracts a 100% premium, and public-holiday overtime has an additional rule.

Sick pay

An employee ordinarily receives fifteen working days of sick leave a calendar year, proportionate in a starting year. The employer pays it at 70% of statutory absence pay, and medical certification is required. Occupational injury, occupational disease and high-risk pregnancy follow different benefit rules.

After ordinary sick leave, eligible insured employees can receive táppénz. It is generally 60% of the benefit base with at least 730 days of continuous insurance, otherwise 50%, and inpatient care is generally 50%. The daily cap for 2026 is HUF 21,520, and duration is generally no more than one year. The employer contributes one-third of the benefit for the employee's own illness or inpatient care.

Maternity, paternity and parental leave

Maternity leave is 24 weeks, with at least two weeks taken. The maternity benefit (CSED) normally requires 365 insured days in the preceding two years plus the current or recent coverage conditions. The ordinary daily benefit is 100% of its statutory base. Working within the first ninety days after birth prevents CSED, and working after that reduces it to 70%. Treat the right to time off and the benefit calculation separately.

Paternity leave is ten working days, taken in up to two blocks at the father's request by the end of the fourth month after birth or the final adoption decision. The first five days carry full statutory absence pay and the remaining five carry 40%.

After one year of employment, an employee has forty-four working days of parental leave up to the child's third birthday. Statutory pay is 10% of absence pay, reduced by any GYED or GYES received for the same period.

Unpaid childcare leave is normally available until the child turns three. GYED generally follows the CSED-equivalent period until age two, at 70% of its benefit base, capped at HUF 451,920 gross monthly in 2026. It normally needs 365 insured days in the preceding two years. GYES is a separate benefit, ordinarily HUF 28,500 gross monthly in 2026.

Employer notice is barred during specified pregnancy, maternity, paternity, parental and unpaid childcare periods. Check protected status before any dismissal step.

Other leave to check

The Labour Code also gives two working days off for a relative's death and five days annually for specified serious care needs, with different pay rules. Confirm any collective agreement or contract terms that improve on these statutory rules before running payroll.

Hungarian compliance risk sits mainly in six places: registration before work starts, the written contract and information, monthly payroll deadlines, working-time records, probation and notice, and the final settlement. Check each one for every hire and note which rules apply.

Registration and filing deadlines

Register the employer and the employee as required before work begins. Monthly payroll tax and contribution returns, and the related payment, are generally due by the twelfth of the following month. The employee's ordinary annual income-tax filing and payment deadline is 20 May of the following year. A foreign employer without a required Hungarian company registration can face direct tax authority registration or representative obligations. An entity is not universally required just to perform payroll duties, so confirm the position for your structure.

Ordinary wages are accounted for at least monthly and paid by the tenth day of the following month. Give a written calculation by that date so the employee can check earnings and deductions. Pay in forints unless a statutory or foreign-work exception applies. Payment normally goes to the employee's nominated account, and cash needs a written agreement.

Contracts and written terms

Use a written employment contract that agrees the job and base wage. Without contrary agreement, employment is indefinite and full-time. An employee can challenge a missing written contract within thirty days of starting, but that is not permission to omit one. Arrange an appropriate Hungarian version or translation for local use.

Provide the required written employment information within seven days of commencement. It covers employer authority, duties, work location, hours and scheduling, pay dates, leave, exit rules, training and the applicable collective agreement. Items already in the contract need not be repeated. Notify relevant changes by their effective date. Remote work must be agreed in the contract, with location, equipment, expenses, security and supervision documented.

Collective agreement coverage is 20.4% (2022), so check whether one applies before you write an offer. Also assess the real arrangement. A contractor invoice does not remove employee rights or payroll obligations where the role is an ongoing, managed one.

Working time and records

Ordinary full-time work is eight hours a day, normally five days a week. Scheduled working time is generally limited to twelve hours a day and forty-eight a week including overtime. Supply the written schedule at least 168 hours in advance for a week's coverage. Qualifying unforeseen changes ordinarily need ninety-six hours. Ordered overtime is limited to 250 hours a year, with a separate written voluntary agreement adding 150. The dossier does not set out a required retention period for time records, so confirm it against the Labour Code and keep records that let you evidence hours, rest and overtime.

Probation, notice and termination

Probation must be agreed and ordinarily cannot exceed three months. A collective agreement can permit up to six months. Ordinary employer notice generally needs a clear, true and substantiated reason connected to conduct, ability or employer operations. Employer notice is barred during specified pregnancy, maternity, paternity, parental and unpaid childcare periods and other protected absences.

Outside the temporary agency rules, the base notice period is thirty days. Employer notice then lengthens with completed service, starting after three years and rising in steps at five, eight, ten, fifteen, eighteen and twenty years. A permitted agreement can set a longer period of up to six months. Read the exact step for each employee from the Labour Code rather than from a summary. Temporary agency employment uses a fifteen-day notice rule instead. Employer notice normally includes paid release for at least half the period.

Immediate termination for a serious breach generally requires action within fifteen days of learning of the ground and within one year of its occurrence. Severance can arise after three years of service and rises with length of service, up to six months of absence pay at twenty-five years. Exclusions and near-retirement additions apply.

Final settlement

On ordinary notice termination, final wages and documents are due within five working days from the last worked day. In other cases the five working days run from termination. Include unused annual leave and any notice or severance amounts due.