The tax licence — a minimum tax a company pays even when it ends the year at a loss — returned to Slovakia back in 2024. From 2026 it gains a new top bracket for the largest firms. Let's recap what the minimum tax is, who it applies to, and what you can do about it.
What the minimum tax is and who it applies to
The minimum tax (better known as the tax licence) is the floor on corporate income tax. If your actually computed tax comes out lower — or zero, because you're at a loss — you top it up to the minimum tax. It is paid regardless of whether the company shows a profit or a loss.
It applies only to legal entities — limited companies (s.r.o.), joint-stock companies, limited partnerships and the like. Sole traders and other self-employed people are not subject to the minimum tax; they deal with flat-rate or actual expenses.
How much you pay: five brackets by income
The amount isn't the same for everyone — it is tiered by taxable income (revenue) for the tax period:
income up to €50,000 → €340
€50,000 – €250,000 → €960
€250,000 – €500,000 → €1,920
€500,000 – €5m → €3,840
over €5m → €11,520 (a new top bracket from 2026)
So a small s.r.o. starts at €340 a year, a larger firm at a few thousand. The amount is paid every year, including a loss-making one.
Who doesn't pay and when it's reduced
Not every company pays. The minimum tax is not paid by a taxpayer in its first year of business — i.e. for the tax period in which the company was established. Also exempt are non-business entities, such as civic associations, and operators of a sheltered workshop.
And one relief worth knowing: if you employ at least 20% of people with disabilities, your minimum tax is halved.
How to soften its impact
The minimum tax isn't entirely a "sunk" amount. The positive difference between the minimum tax and your actually computed tax can be credited against tax in the next three tax periods — when the company starts doing well, part of it effectively comes back. That's why it hurts most where a company hovers around zero for years: it pays the minimum but has no profit to credit the difference against.
What to do in practice? Look at the structure — whether the s.r.o. form makes sense at persistently low profits, how to time costs and revenues, and what your realistic income estimate is. The brackets are "steps": a few euros of income more can push you into a higher amount.
Conclusion
The minimum tax changes one thing: a loss no longer shields you from income tax. For most firms it's hundreds of euros a year, for the largest ones thousands — and it's an amount to build into your cashflow plan, not to be surprised by at year-end.
Don't wait for the tax return. Have someone check which bracket your company falls into and whether its impact can be legally softened — we'll calculate it on your actual numbers.
