Registering as a Paušalac in Serbia: The First 30 Days

Last updated: August 2026. This guide reflects the Zakon o porezu na dohodak građana ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 24/2001, consolidated through 6/2026), the Uredba o bližim uslovima, kriterijumima i elementima za paušalno oporezivanje ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 94/2019, with amendments through 115/2025), and the APR Odluka o naknadama ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 95/2025).

The eligibility gate

Paušal taxation is available to entrepreneurs whose registered activity is not on the statutory exclusion list, whose prior-year turnover — or, for a business just starting, whose planirani promet — does not exceed 6,000,000 RSD, and who are not registered VAT payers (ZPDG čl. 40 st. 2).

ZPDG čl. 40 st. 2–3 excludes an entrepreneur who:

• performs activities in the field of reklamiranje i istraživanje tržišta (advertising and market research);
• performs activities in trgovina na veliko i trgovina na malo (wholesale and retail trade), hoteli i restorani (hotels and restaurants), finansijsko posredovanje (financial intermediation), or poslovi u vezi sa nekretninama (real-estate business);
• carries on an activity into which other persons have invested capital;
• had total turnover above 6,000,000 RSD in the year preceding the year of assessment, or — when the activity is only beginning — whose planned turnover exceeds 6,000,000 RSD (čl. 40 st. 2 t. 4);
• is registered as a VAT payer (čl. 40 st. 2 t. 5).

There is one carve-out. ZPDG čl. 40 st. 3 allows an entrepreneur carrying on trade or hospitality (trgovinska ili ugostiteljska delatnost) from a kiosk, trailer or similar prefabricated or movable facility to be granted paušal status on request, despite the exclusion in st. 2 t. 2.

A first-year registrant is not outside the turnover test. Where there is no preceding year, ZPDG čl. 40 st. 2 t. 4 applies the same 6,000,000 RSD line to the planirani promet — the turnover planned when the activity begins.

The exclusion that decides most cases is still the activity list, and it turns on the pretežna delatnost (šifra delatnosti) you choose in the APR application. Choose it before you file, not after.

How the election is actually made

A new entrepreneur elects paušal taxation through the APR registration application, at the moment of registration — not through a later filing with the Poreska uprava.

ZPDG čl. 42 st. 2 is explicit: the request for paušal taxation is submitted "isključivo u momentu registracije nadležnoj organizaciji koja vodi registar privrednih subjekata, koja će taj zahtev proslediti Poreskoj upravi". And ZPDG čl. 94 st. 2 provides that an obligor who starts a self-employed activity during the year elects paušal taxation "u prijavi za registraciju", in which case he is deemed to have filed the tax return — "u kom slučaju se smatra da je podneo poresku prijavu za paušalno oporezivanje". You tick the box in the APR form; the tax-return obligation is discharged by that act.

APR describes the same thing from its own side. Registration runs through the jednošalterski sistem, and APR states that with the founding decision the entrepreneur simultaneously receives the matični broj (Republički zavod za statistiku), the PIB (Poreska uprava – Centrala), the prijava na paušalno oporezivanje (or, instead, the election of lična zarada or VAT), the CROSO registration confirmation (Obrazac M-A) and a health-insurance number from RFZO.

The widely repeated advice — "register, then file within 15 days to request paušal" — comes from ZPDG čl. 94 st. 1, which prescribes a start-of-business return for obligors "osim preduzetnika paušalca". The rule exists. It is simply not a paušalac rule. It is the knjigaš rule.

The 31 October deadline is annual and hard. The most recent instance: the request for paušal status for 2026 had to be filed electronically via ePorezi by Friday, 31 October 2025. Miss it and the earliest available start is the year after next.

What APR registration costs in 2026

Registering a preduzetnik with APR costs 2,500 RSD from 1 January 2026, under the Odluka o naknadama ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 95/2025), čl. 8 i 9.

The 850, 750 and 1,600 RSD figures still circulating in guides and forum threads are the pre-2026 schedule and are wrong. They were superseded on 1 January 2026.

APR decides on a registration application within 5 radnih dana under the Zakon o postupku registracije u Agenciji za privredne registre. Read that number correctly: it is APR's deadline for deciding, not a deadline imposed on you.

Why the month you register in matters

The coefficient applied in the calendar year of registration is 0.5 — the lowest step on the ladder (Uredba čl. 5 t. 2). It then rises with the age of the business.

This coefficient is one multiplier in the formula that produces your assessed paušal income; the full computation is set out in how the paušal base is computed.

The mechanical consequence is about duration, not amount. The 0.5 step attaches to the calendar year of registration, so registering in January gives you twelve months on that step, and registering in October gives you three. The ladder then advances on the same schedule either way.

One exception in the same provision: an entrepreneur who was already registered as a preduzetnik less than 18 months earlier is placed on the coefficient 1, not on the entry step. Closing and reopening does not reset the ladder.

Uredba čl. 5 st. 2–3 also sets a floor: the cumulative product of all applicable coefficients cannot fall below 0.5.

The first 30 days, in order

The obligations start on the day the registration takes effect, not on the day the Poreska uprava sends you a rešenje. Work through these in sequence.

1. Collect the APR rešenje and your PIB. APR issues a registration decision within 5 radnih dana. It carries your matični broj and your PIB, and every step below depends on it. APR also notes that the data exchange with CROSO and the Poreska uprava at founding is a one-off transfer: any later correction has to be taken directly to CROSO or to PU Centrala, not to APR.

2. Open a business bank account. In practice every Serbian bank operates a tekući račun preduzetnika separate from a personal account, and will ask for the APR rešenje and identification to open one. If any of your clients pay in foreign currency, ask the bank to open the devizni podračun at the same time — see foreign-currency inflows.

3. Obtain a qualified electronic certificate and register on ePorezi. A kvalifikovani elektronski sertifikat is what gets you into the ePorezi portal — you need it to read your tax mailbox and to file anything electronically. Certificates are issued by the bodies on the register of certification bodies; check the current list before you buy one, because the issuers and the media they use change.

4. Start the KPO knjiga with your first invoice. ZPDG čl. 43 st. 4 requires paušalci to keep "samo poslovnu knjigu o ostvarenom prometu" — one book, recording turnover only. It starts at entry number 1 with your first invoice, not at the end of the quarter. The KPO guide covers what goes in and what does not.

5. File Obrazac 1 with your LPA within 15 days. The eko taksa filing goes to the lokalna poreska administracija, not to the Poreska uprava, and is due within 15 days of registering the start of activity (Zakon o naknadama čl. 138 st. 3).

6. Note your first payment date. The monthly paušal obligation is due within 15 days of the end of each month (ZPDG čl. 110 t. 1). The same deadline governs the contributions (ZDOSO čl. 60 st. 1).

The rešenje, and the clock that starts when it arrives

Your monthly obligation is not a number you calculate. The Poreska uprava assesses it by rešenje, and delivers it electronically into your ePorezi tax mailbox.

A tax act is deemed served on the day it is posted to the Poreska uprava portal — ZPPPA čl. 36: "smatra dostavljenim danom postavljanja na portal Poreske uprave". And under čl. 36 an act may be delivered electronically to anyone who files tax returns electronically "u kom slučaju nije neophodna dodatna saglasnost" — no separate consent, and no guarantee that a notification reaches you by another channel.

The appeal deadline is 15 days from receipt of the poreski upravni akt (ZPPPA čl. 142), and for an act posted to the portal receipt is that posting date — whether or not you have logged in. Filing an appeal does not buy you time to pay: ZPPPA čl. 147 st. 1 states that "žalba ne odlaže izvršenje poreskog upravnog akta", with a narrow exception in st. 2 where the second-instance body defers execution on documented substantial economic damage.

Check the mailbox. That is the reason step 3 above is not optional.

Once you have the rešenje, the monthly amount is 10% income tax (ZPDG čl. 38) plus 35.05% in contributions (ZDOSO čl. 44 st. 1) on the assessed base. The account numbers, payment codes and the poziv na broj all come from the rešenje itself — verify them against your own document before the first transfer. A payment posted to the wrong reference is treated as unpaid. Monthly tax payments covers the mechanics.

After the first month

Paušal status runs indefinitely, with no annual re-application. ZPDG čl. 42 st. 4: the taxpayer uses this method of taxation "dok se ne utvrdi da su prestali razlozi za paušalno oporezivanje" — until it is established that the grounds for paušal taxation have ceased. There is no renewal form and no annual confirmation.

Two filings can arise later.

If the scope of your business or your turnover changed significantly in the preceding year, or other conditions relevant to the assessment changed, a tax return is due by 31 January of the year for which the tax is assessed (ZPDG čl. 93 st. 2).

If you change your pretežna delatnost, a return is due by 31 January of the year following the change (Uredba čl. 3 st. 3–5). Filed on time, the new coefficient applies from the next tax period. Filed late, the Poreska uprava may apply it retroactively from the first day of the period in which the change occurred.

Everything else — the monthly payment, the KPO entries, the annual eko taksa from year two — is recurring. The paušalac compliance calendar lays out the year.

Preduzmi tracks these obligations and their dates for you. It does not give tax advice, and it is not a substitute for an accountant where your situation is genuinely complex.

Key takeaways

1. A new entrepreneur elects paušal taxation inside the APR registration application, and that election counts as the tax return (ZPDG čl. 42 st. 2; čl. 94 st. 2).
2. The 15-day filing rule is ZPDG čl. 94 st. 1 and applies to obligors "osim preduzetnika paušalca" — it is a knjigaš obligation, routinely mis-attributed to paušalci.
3. An existing entrepreneur switches by filing electronically via ePorezi by 31 October for the following year, or within 15 days of removal from the VAT register and no later than 31 December (ZPDG čl. 42 st. 1).
4. APR registration costs 2,500 RSD from 1 January 2026, and APR decides within 5 radnih dana (Odluka o naknadama, Sl. glasnik RS 95/2025, čl. 8 i 9).
5. The coefficient in the year of registration is 0.5, rising through 0.8, 0.85 and 0.9 to 1.0 from the fourth year (Uredba čl. 5 t. 2); a re-registration within 18 months goes straight to 1.
6. No eko taksa is owed for the registration year (Zakon o naknadama čl. 137 st. 2), but Obrazac 1 must still be filed with the LPA within 15 days (čl. 138 st. 3).
7. The KPO starts with your first invoice (ZPDG čl. 43 st. 4), and the first monthly payment is due within 15 days of the end of that month (ZPDG čl. 110 t. 1).

Frequently asked questions

How does a new entrepreneur in Serbia elect paušal taxation?

Through the APR registration application itself. ZPDG čl. 42 st. 2 states that the request for paušal taxation is filed exclusively at the moment of registration with the agency that maintains the register of business entities, which then forwards it to the Poreska uprava. Under ZPDG čl. 94 st. 2, opting for paušal in that application counts as having filed the tax return, so no separate submission to the Poreska uprava is required.

Is there a 15-day deadline to apply for paušal status in Serbia?

No, not for a new paušalac. The 15-day rule is ZPDG čl. 94 st. 1, and by its own wording it applies to obligors other than lump-sum entrepreneurs, meaning entrepreneurs who keep business books. A new paušalac who selected paušal taxation in the APR registration application has nothing further to file to obtain the status. This deadline is one of the most frequently mis-attributed rules in Serbian small-business guidance.

When must an existing Serbian entrepreneur apply to switch to paušal taxation?

By 31 October of the current year, for the following year, filed electronically through the ePorezi portal under ZPDG čl. 42 st. 1. There is one alternative route: an entrepreneur removed from the VAT register may file within 15 days of the tax authority act confirming the removal, and in any case no later than 31 December. The deadline for the 2026 paušal request was 31 October 2025.

How much does it cost to register as a paušalac in Serbia in 2026?

Registering a preduzetnik with APR costs 2,500 RSD from 1 January 2026, under the Odluka o naknadama published in Sl. glasnik RS 95/2025. A change of registered data costs 1,400 RSD, with 700 RSD for each additional change in the same application, and deregistration costs 1,400 RSD. The older figures of 850, 750 and 1,600 RSD still circulating online are from the pre-2026 schedule and no longer apply.

Which activities cannot be taxed as a paušalac in Serbia?

ZPDG čl. 40 st. 2 excludes advertising and market research, wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, financial intermediation, and real-estate business. It also excludes any activity into which other persons have invested capital, any entrepreneur whose turnover in the preceding year exceeded 6,000,000 dinars or whose planned turnover at the start of the activity exceeds that figure, and any registered VAT payer. ZPDG čl. 40 st. 3 provides a narrow exception, on request, for trade or hospitality carried out from a kiosk, trailer or similar movable facility.

Does a Serbian paušalac have to reapply for paušal status every year?

No. Under ZPDG čl. 42 st. 4, paušal status runs indefinitely and lasts until it is established that the grounds for paušal taxation have ceased. There is no annual renewal form and no yearly confirmation to file. Separate returns arise only if turnover or the scope of the business changed significantly in the preceding year, or if the registered primary activity changed.

Does the month of registration affect a Serbian paušalac's tax base?

It affects how long the entry-level coefficient applies, not the coefficient itself. Uredba čl. 5 t. 2 sets a coefficient of 0.5 for the calendar year in which the business is registered, then 0.8, 0.85, 0.9 and finally 1.0 from the fourth year. Because the 0.5 step is tied to the calendar year of registration, registering in January gives twelve months on that step and registering in October gives three.

Does a new Serbian paušalac pay eko taksa in the first year?

No fee is owed for the calendar year in which the business was registered, under Zakon o naknadama za korišćenje javnih dobara čl. 137 st. 2. The filing obligation is separate and remains in force: Obrazac 1 must be submitted to the local tax administration within 15 days of registering the start of activity, under čl. 138 st. 3. The local administration then issues a decision confirming that nothing is due for that year.

When is a new Serbian paušalac's first monthly tax payment due?

Within 15 days of the end of the month, under ZPDG čl. 110 t. 1, which sets the deadline as 15 days after the expiry of each month for lump-sum assessed income from self-employment. The same deadline governs the mandatory social contributions through ZDOSO čl. 60 st. 1. The amounts, account numbers and the poziv na broj all come from the rešenje issued by the Poreska uprava, and you should verify them against your own document before making a transfer.

Does a Serbian paušalac need to keep a KPO knjiga from the first day?

Yes. ZPDG čl. 43 st. 4 requires lump-sum entrepreneurs to keep only one business book, the book of realised turnover, and that obligation applies from the start of the activity. The first invoice you issue is entry number one. There is no grace period and no threshold below which the book can be skipped.

Sources

• Zakon o porezu na dohodak građana ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 24/2001, consolidated through 6/2026) — čl. 38, 40, 42, 43, 93, 94, 110.
• Uredba o bližim uslovima, kriterijumima i elementima za paušalno oporezivanje obveznika poreza na prihode od samostalne delatnosti ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 94/2019, with amendments through 115/2025) — čl. 3, čl. 5.
• Zakon o naknadama za korišćenje javnih dobara ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 95/2018, with amendments) — čl. 137, čl. 138.
• Agencija za privredne registre — naknade za registraciju preduzetnika, reflecting the Odluka o naknadama ("Sl. glasnik RS", br. 95/2025), čl. 8 i 9.
• Agencija za privredne registre — osnivanje preduzetnika — the jednošalterski sistem: matični broj, PIB, the paušal election, Obrazac M-A and the RFZO number issued together with the founding decision.
• Zakon o poreskom postupku i poreskoj administraciji — čl. 36 (electronic service via the PU portal, no separate consent), čl. 142 (15-day appeal from receipt), čl. 147 (an appeal does not suspend execution).
• Zakon o doprinosima za obavezno socijalno osiguranje — čl. 44, čl. 60.
• Poreska uprava Republike Srbije — preduzetnici paušalci.