Serbian Paušal Tax Base: How It Is Calculated, and When Municipality Matters

Last updated: August 2026. Reflects the Uredba o paušalnom oporezivanju ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 94/2019, with amendments through 115/2025), the ZPDG and the ZDOSO.

Almost every explanation of the paušal system says the base is "a percentage of the average salary in your municipality". That is not what the Uredba says, and the difference is not academic. It is why a widely-sold piece of advice — register the seat in a cheaper municipality, or at a coworking address, and the tax will fall — does not work for a paušalac registered under one of the IT activity codes.

What the rešenje assesses

Your paušal obligation is not a share of what you invoice. It is a percentage of an assessed income figure — the paušalno utvrđen prihod — that the Poreska uprava calculates and states in your annual rešenje (ZPDG čl. 33 st. 1 i st. 3).

Revenue enters the system in exactly one place: eligibility. Cross 6,000,000 RSD of turnover in the previous year and the right to paušal taxation ends (ZPDG čl. 40 st. 2 t. 4). Below that line, invoicing 200,000 RSD in a month and invoicing nothing produce the identical obligation. See the guide to the 6M and 8M limits for how that threshold is counted.

What drives everything else is your pretežna delatnost — the activity registered with APR, or, where that is not the one earning the money, the activity that generated more income (ZPDG čl. 41 st. 1–2). Every code carries its own coefficient in Prilog 1 of the Uredba, a table of 407 rows.

The formula behind the polazna osnovica

Uredba čl. 4 st. 2 prescribes the starting base directly:

Polazna osnovica = (average monthly salary in the municipality over the last 12 months × number of employees in that municipality × koeficijent delatnosti) ÷ population of that municipality

Four inputs, three of which have nothing to do with you personally. The average monthly salary, the number of registered employees and the population all come from Republički zavod za statistiku and describe the municipality of your seat, not you. Only the koeficijent delatnosti tracks the individual taxpayer, and only through the registered activity code.

Note what the formula does: dividing an employment-weighted salary figure by population produces a per-capita measure, not a salary. That is why the shorthand misleads — a municipality with a high average wage but a large population and few registered employees does not behave the way it predicts.

One geographic special case. For a seat in one of the ten core Belgrade municipalities, the sums across all of them are used, divided by their combined population (Uredba čl. 4 st. 3). Central Belgrade is one unit, not ten.

The 15 codes that use Republic-level figures instead

Uredba čl. 4 st. 4 replaces the local salary, employment and population figures with Republic-level ones for a fixed list of activity codes. For a taxpayer on that list, the municipality of the seat is not an input to the formula at all.

Every other activity code uses the figures of the municipality where the seat sits.

Koeficijent delatnosti by šifra

The coefficient is the one input your registration choice sets. These are the values in the "2023. god. i dalje" column of Uredba Prilog 1:

Programming and IT consulting carry the highest coefficients of the codes listed above. That is the single largest reason an IT paušalac's assessment differs from a photographer's. The full table runs to 407 rows, so check your own šifra against Prilog 1 rather than inferring it from this sample.

The correction coefficients

Once the polazna osnovica exists, Uredba čl. 5 applies multipliers to it. The Poreska uprava applies them from registry data; they are not something you claim.

Two limits sit on top of this. The cumulative product of the correction coefficients cannot fall below 0.5 (Uredba čl. 5 st. 2), so stacking several does not compound indefinitely. And none of them apply to code 4932 (Uredba čl. 5 st. 3).

The registration ladder carries its own exception in čl. 5 t. 2: the reduced coefficient does not apply where the person was registered as a preduzetnik less than 18 months earlier. Closing and re-registering does not reset the ladder.

The zone coefficient applies only to the codes listed in čl. 5 t. 1: 1071, 1512, 1814, 3314, 5610, 7420, 8211, 8219, the 862 and 869 groups, 9329, the 95 group, 9601, 9602 and 9604. Bakeries, restaurants, photographers, hairdressers, medical and dental practices, repair shops. Not software.

Why a cheaper opština does not lower an IT paušalac's base

For activity codes 6201 and 6202, registering the seat in a cheaper municipality — or at a coworking address marketed for that purpose — does not change the paušal base. Two articles would have to be open for the address to matter; for these codes both are closed.

• Uredba čl. 4 st. 4 puts 6201 and 6202 on the Republic-level list, so the local salary, employment and population inputs are never read and the municipality is not in the formula.
• Uredba čl. 5 t. 1 limits the zone coefficient to the codes listed above. 6201 and 6202 are not on that list, so location within a municipality does not reach the base either.

The two lists do not overlap. Every code using Republic-level data also sits outside the zone list, so geography resolves the same way for all fifteen.

A moved seat is not consequence-free, either. It changes which lokalna poreska administracija handles your eko taksa, and — as the next section explains — it removes the protection of the 10% cap.

The 10% cap, and why the paušal went up

Uredba čl. 6 st. 1 caps year-on-year increases of the paušal base at 10%, applied until the correct level is reached, through 2027. Where the formula would produce a larger jump, the assessment climbs in 10% steps instead.

Uredba čl. 6 st. 2 removes the cap where the increase results from a change of activity code, municipality or business location — that taxpayer is recalculated at the full new figure in one step, with no smoothing.

An increase in this year's rešenje usually comes from one of four places:

1. The 10% step, where the assessment is still climbing toward the level the formula gives (čl. 6 st. 1).
2. A change of activity code, municipality or location, which lifts the cap entirely (čl. 6 st. 2).
3. The registration ladder advancing — 0.5 to 0.8 after the first calendar year, then 0.85, 0.9 and 1.0 (čl. 5 t. 2).
4. Updated statistical inputs, since salary, employment and population figures are refreshed annually.

If none of these explains the figure, the assessment can be challenged — the appeal deadline is 15 days from receipt of the tax act (ZPPPA čl. 142), and electronic delivery counts as receipt on the day the act is posted to the portal, whether or not you opened it (ZPPPA čl. 36). Reading and contesting the rešenje is covered separately.

What is applied to the base

The base is assessed once; two obligations run off it.

The contribution base for a paušalac is the same paušalno utvrđen prihod, not a separate figure (ZDOSO čl. 22 st. 3). And there is no neoporezivi iznos — the full assessed amount is due in a month with no income at all.

Both obligations fall due within 15 days of the end of each month (ZPDG čl. 110 t. 1; ZDOSO čl. 60 st. 1 defers to that deadline). The guide to paying your paušal taxes covers account numbers and reference formats — verify those against your own rešenje, and against your bank's own payment form, before paying.

Where to find your own figure

Two sources are authoritative: your rešenje, and the official calculator.

• Your annual rešenje states the paušalno utvrđen prihod and the resulting monthly amounts, and arrives electronically in the ePorezi tax mailbox.
• The official calculator at eporezi.purs.gov.rs computes the amounts from the current inputs.

Per-code monthly dinar figures published on commercial sites — "62.01 costs X per month" — should be treated with care. They cannot account for the individual correction coefficients in čl. 5, and at least one such source publishes them alongside the claim that the base is uniform nationwide. That claim holds only for the fifteen codes in čl. 4 st. 4.

If the regime itself is still an open question, the paušalac-versus-knjigaš comparison sets it against full bookkeeping, and the registration guide covers how the election is made. For a contested assessment or a borderline classification, talk to an accountant. Preduzmi tracks what you owe and when; it does not give tax advice.

Key takeaways

1. The polazna osnovica is the municipal average salary over 12 months, times employees there, times your koeficijent delatnosti, divided by population — Uredba čl. 4 st. 2, not a percentage of the average salary.
2. For 15 activity codes, including 6201 and 6202, Republic-level figures replace the local ones (Uredba čl. 4 st. 4), so the municipality of the seat is not an input at all.
3. The zone coefficient (Uredba čl. 5 t. 1) reaches only a closed list of codes, and 6201 is not on it.
4. The koeficijent delatnosti for 6201 and 6202 is 4.025 (Uredba Prilog 1, "2023. god. i dalje").
5. Correction coefficients for time since registration, age, disability and parental absence multiply the base down, but their cumulative product cannot fall below 0.5 (Uredba čl. 5 st. 2).
6. Increases are capped at 10% per year through 2027, except where they follow a change of activity code, municipality or location (Uredba čl. 6 st. 1–2).
7. The assessed base carries 10% income tax (ZPDG čl. 38) and 35.05% contributions (ZDOSO čl. 44 st. 1), for 45.05% in total.

Frequently asked questions

How is the paušal tax base calculated in Serbia?

The starting base (polazna osnovica) is the average monthly salary paid in the municipality of the business seat over the previous 12 months, multiplied by the number of employees in that municipality, multiplied by the activity coefficient for the registered šifra delatnosti, and divided by that municipality's population (Uredba čl. 4 st. 2). The result is then adjusted by correction coefficients for zone, time since registration, age and working capacity (Uredba čl. 5). It is not a simple percentage of the average salary, which is how it is usually described.

Does a Serbian paušalac pay less tax by registering in a cheaper opština?

For fifteen activity codes it makes no difference at all. Uredba čl. 4 st. 4 replaces the local salary, employment and population figures with Republic-level ones for codes 4932, 4939, 5911, 6201, 6202, 6209, 6311, 6312, 6399, 7022, 7111, 7112, 7410, 9001 and 9002, and the zone coefficient in čl. 5 t. 1 does not reach any of them either. For a programmer registered under 6201, the municipality of the seat is not an input to the calculation. For codes that are on the zone list, such as 5610, 7420 or 9602, the location genuinely does affect the base.

What is the activity coefficient for šifra 6201 in Serbia?

The koeficijent delatnosti for 6201, računarsko programiranje, is 4.025 in the "2023. god. i dalje" column of Uredba Prilog 1. The same 4.025 applies to 6202, IT consulting. The coefficient is one factor in the formula rather than the tax itself, so it cannot be converted into a monthly amount on its own.

Why did my paušal tax increase this year in Serbia?

Uredba čl. 6 st. 1 caps annual increases of the paušal base at 10% per year through 2027, until the correct level is reached, so most increases arrive in 10% steps. Uredba čl. 6 st. 2 removes that cap where the increase follows a change of activity code, municipality or business location. A taxpayer past the first calendar year also moves up the registration ladder in čl. 5 t. 2, and the statistical inputs to the formula are refreshed annually.

What coefficient applies to a Serbian paušalac in the year of registration?

Uredba čl. 5 t. 2 sets the coefficient at 0.5 for the calendar year in which the entrepreneur registers. It then steps to 0.8 for up to 12 months of registration, 0.85 for more than 12 up to 24 months, 0.9 for more than 24 up to 36 months, and 1.0 after 36 months. The same tačka excludes the reduction where the person was registered as a preduzetnik less than 18 months earlier, so closing and re-registering does not reset the ladder.

Is the contribution rate for a Serbian paušalac 35.05% or 35.5%?

It is 35.05%. ZDOSO čl. 44 st. 1 sets PIO at 24%, health insurance at 10.3% and unemployment insurance at 0.75%, which sums to 35.05%. Adding the 10% income tax from ZPDG čl. 38 gives a total of 45.05% of the assessed base. The figures 35.5% and 45.5% circulate widely, including in at least one popular online calculator, and they do not match the statute.

Can correction coefficients reduce a Serbian paušalac's base below half?

No. Uredba čl. 5 st. 2 caps the cumulative effect of the correction coefficients so that their product cannot fall below 0.5, however many of them apply at once. Uredba čl. 5 st. 3 separately excludes activity code 4932, taxi transport, from these coefficients entirely.

How does a Serbian paušalac find the exact amount of the paušal base?

There are two authoritative sources. The first is the annual rešenje from the Poreska uprava, which states the paušalno utvrđen prihod and the resulting monthly amounts and is delivered into the ePorezi tax mailbox. The second is the official calculator published by the Poreska uprava at eporezi.purs.gov.rs. Per-code monthly figures published on commercial sites are not a substitute, because they cannot account for the individual correction coefficients in Uredba čl. 5.

Does a Serbian paušalac's revenue affect the paušal tax base?

No. The base is produced by the formula in Uredba čl. 4 and čl. 5, and revenue is not one of its inputs, so the same amount is due in a month with no invoices at all. Revenue matters for eligibility instead: turnover above 6,000,000 RSD in the previous year ends the right to paušal taxation under ZPDG čl. 40 st. 2 t. 4. There is also no tax-free allowance for a paušalac.

Which activity codes does the zone coefficient apply to in Serbia?

Uredba čl. 5 t. 1 applies zone multipliers from 1.1 down to 0.7 to a closed list of codes: 1071, 1512, 1814, 3314, 5610, 7420, 8211, 8219, the 862 and 869 groups, 9329, the 95 group, 9601, 9602 and 9604. Codes outside that list, including 6201 and 6202, are not affected by the zone coefficient at all.

Sources

• Uredba o bližim uslovima, kriterijumima i elementima za paušalno oporezivanje obveznika poreza na prihode od samostalne delatnosti — "Sl. glasnik RS", br. 94/2019, 96/2019 – ispr., 156/2020, 141/2022, 89/2023, 115/2025; the last amendment was published on 19 December 2025. Articles 4, 5 and 6, and Prilog 1.
• Zakon o porezu na dohodak građana (ZPDG) — čl. 33, čl. 38, čl. 40, čl. 41, čl. 110.
• Zakon o doprinosima za obavezno socijalno osiguranje (ZDOSO) — čl. 22 st. 3, čl. 44 st. 1, čl. 60 st. 1.
• Kalkulator paušalnog poreza i doprinosa, Poreska uprava — the official calculator.
• Preduzetnici paušalci, Poreska uprava — the tax authority's landing page for paušalci.