Slovakia: September 30 Deadline for Deferred Income Tax Returns and EU VAT Refund Claims

Slovakia has reminded taxpayers that September 30, 2026 is the final deadline for deferred 2025 income tax returns involving foreign-source income and for 2025 EU VAT refund applications. The notice confirms existing obligations rather than introducing new tax rules.

The Slovak Financial Administration has reminded taxpayers that September 30, 2026 is the final deadline for two separate compliance matters: filing 2025 income tax returns where the filing period was extended because of taxable foreign-source income, and submitting applications for refunds of VAT paid in another EU Member State during 2025.

This is a reminder of existing statutory deadlines, not a new tax requirement. For businesses, the two obligations should therefore be treated separately.

Under the Slovak Income Tax Act, the normal deadline for an annual income tax return may be extended by up to six full calendar months where the taxpayer has taxable income from sources abroad.

For taxpayers whose 2025 filing deadline was extended until the end of September, the Financial Administration confirms that no further extension is available. The tax return must be filed by September 30, 2026, and any resulting tax liability must also be paid within that deadline.

The Financial Administration reported that almost 17,000 taxpayers with taxable foreign-source income were still subject to this extended deadline. Where the return results in a tax overpayment, the authority states that the amount will be refunded by November 9, 2026.

The September announcement therefore does not create a new filing obligation. It serves as a final reminder for taxpayers already using the permitted extension.

A separate September 30 deadline applies to applications for refunds of VAT paid in another EU Member State.

Slovak VAT payers registered under Section 4 or Section 4b of the VAT Act may, subject to the applicable conditions, request reimbursement of VAT charged in another Member State on goods, services or imports used for their business activities.

For VAT relating to the 2025 refund period, the application must be submitted electronically through the Slovak Financial Administration portal no later than September 30, 2026.

The Slovak Financial Directorate checks the application and, where the procedural conditions are met, forwards it electronically to the Member State from which the VAT refund is requested. Further substantive communication then takes place between the applicant and that Member State.

The September 30 deadline is also established at EU level. Article 15 of Council Directive 2008/9/EC requires the refund application to be submitted to the Member State of establishment by September 30 of the calendar year following the relevant refund period.

The Slovak Financial Administration also explains that a refund claim may generally cover at least three consecutive calendar months and up to one calendar year. If the refund period covers the full calendar year or the remainder of a year, the requested VAT must generally amount to at least EUR 50. For shorter periods of at least three months, the minimum is generally EUR 400.

Businesses must still verify whether the expenditure itself qualifies for deduction and refund under the rules of the Member State concerned.

For retailers, retail chains, HoReCa operators and other companies with cross-border expenditure, the practical impact is mainly administrative and financial.

Businesses should identify 2025 invoices and import documents containing VAT charged by other EU Member States and determine whether those amounts are eligible for reimbursement. This may be relevant for expenses such as business travel, accommodation, procurement, events or other cross-border business costs, depending on the rules applicable in the Member State of refund.

The announcement does not introduce a new eKasa requirement, Fiscal Receipt rule or POS configuration obligation. The VAT refund process is an electronic tax procedure separate from the recording of retail transactions through Slovakia’s fiscalization system.

From a retail compliance perspective, this distinction is important. A general VAT deadline should not be interpreted as requiring software changes unless the underlying legislation or technical rules expressly create such a requirement.

What should affected businesses do?

Taxpayers using the extended income tax deadline must ensure that the 2025 return is filed and any resulting tax is paid by September 30, 2026.

Slovak VAT payers wishing to recover VAT paid in another EU Member State for 2025 should review their foreign VAT documentation, verify eligibility under the rules of the Member State concerned and submit the electronic refund application before the statutory deadline.

Businesses should also avoid leaving the filing until the final hours, particularly where supporting documentation or portal access needs to be checked.

From our perspective, the main practical risk is not a change in the underlying tax rules but missing a final procedural deadline. For cross-border retailers and other businesses operating in several Member States, VAT recovery should therefore be included in regular year-end compliance controls rather than treated as an isolated tax exercise.

The principal official sources are Slovak Financial Administration’s notice concerning the end-of-September deadlines Tlačová správa - Koniec septembra uzatvára lehotu na podanie odložených daňových priznaní a žiadostí o vrátenie DPH zo zahraničia, Slovak Financial Administration Act No. 222/2004 Coll. on Value Added Tax https://www.slov-lex.sk/ezbierky/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/2004/222/?, Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on Income T Act No. 595/2003 Z. Source

Mirko Bijeljanin, Junior Legal Consultant at Fiscal Solutions

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