Do I need a trade licence to rent out a chalet through portals?

Usually yes, if besides the space itself you provide services to guests, such as cleaning, changing bed linen or laundry. That is accommodation services, i.e. a business, and the income is taxed under Section 6(1) of the Income Tax Act. The Slovak Ministry of the Interior’s list of free trades includes “Ubytovacie služby bez poskytovania pohostinských činností” (accommodation services without catering) for this activity.

Does the €500 exemption apply to short-term rentals?

The exemption under Section 9(1)(g) of the Income Tax Act covers rental income under Section 6(3) and occasional income under Section 8(1)(a). If you provide accommodation as a trade, the income falls under Section 6(1) and the exemption does not apply.

Can I claim flat-rate expenses on accommodation income?

On business income, yes: 60% of income, at most €20,000 a year, if you are not a VAT payer and don’t claim actual expenses. On rental income under Section 6(3), flat-rate expenses are not available, only proven actual expenses.

Why must I register for VAT if I am not a VAT payer?

The commission of a portal based in another EU member state is a service on which the recipient pays the tax under Section 69(3) of the VAT Act. The law therefore requires you to apply for registration under Section 7a before receiving such a service. You then declare and pay the tax by the 25th day of the month following the month in which you received the service.

When do I become a VAT payer?

Under Section 4 of the VAT Act, from 1 January of the year after the year in which your turnover exceeded €50,000. If your turnover exceeds €62,500 during the year, you become a payer with the supply that crosses that limit.

Should I handle all this myself?

We recommend speaking to an accountant or tax adviser. Whether it is a trade or a rental depends on what you provide to guests, and that determines how you are taxed, your expenses and your contributions.

Renting out a chalet in Slovakia: licence, tax and VAT

If you let your chalet or apartment to guests for a few nights through portals such as Booking.com, Airbnb or megaubytovanie.sk, and you also clean and change the bed linen, it is usually accommodation services, i.e. a business. You need a trade licence, the income is taxed under Section 6(1) of the Slovak Income Tax Act and you can claim 60% flat-rate expenses. If you are not a VAT payer, you must register for VAT under Section 7a before the first commission from a foreign portal. On top of that come the tourist tax for the municipality, the guest register and, from 2027, the short-term rental register.

This article is an overview, not tax advice. Your situation depends on what you provide to guests, so check the exact procedure with an accountant.

Trade or rental: where the line is

The Income Tax Act distinguishes two kinds of income that can arise from a chalet:

Business income from a trade under Section 6(1)(b),
rental income under Section 6(3), which the law defines as income from renting real estate “unless it is income under subsection 1”.

What matters is what you provide to guests. If you let the space with basic services only, for example long term for months, it is a rental. If you provide short stays with further services such as cleaning, laundry and changing bed linen, it is accommodation services. Podnikajte.sk, in its article on taxation in 2026, states that income from short-term accommodation through platforms is usually taxed under Section 6(1).

	Accommodation services (trade)	Rental
Typical case	short stays through portals, cleaning, linen	long-term lease, basic services only
Provision	Section 6(1) Income Tax Act	Section 6(3) Income Tax Act
Trade licence	yes	no
€500 exemption	no	yes, Section 9(1)(g)
Flat-rate expenses	60%, at most €20,000 a year	no, actual expenses only
Contributions on the income	yes, under the rules for sole traders	no

Which trade

Accommodation without catering is a free trade that needs no proof of professional qualification. The Slovak Ministry of the Interior’s recommended list of free trades includes Ubytovacie služby bez poskytovania pohostinských činností (accommodation services without catering). If you prepared and sold food and drinks to guests, the list has a separate entry for accommodation facilities with up to 10 beds. Catering on a larger scale is a regulated trade.

Since 2023, a business registered in the trade register receives its tax identification number automatically, so you don’t need to register separately with the tax office for income tax.

How the income is taxed

As a trade

Accommodation income is business income. You can claim expenses in two ways:

Actual expenses: energy, cleaning, linen, repairs, portal fees and commissions, depreciation and other provable costs.
Flat-rate expenses: under Section 6(10), 60% of income, at most €20,000 a year. You can claim them if you are not a VAT payer, or were one for only part of the year. The flat rate covers all expenses except insurance contributions paid.

The tax return is due by 31 March of the following year; the deadline can be extended to 30 June.

As a rental

If it really is a rental under Section 6(3), €500 of the income is exempt each year under Section 9(1)(g). According to the Financial Administration, the exemption applies once to all rental income together, not to each property separately. Only the part above €500 is taxed, and expenses are allocated to it in the same proportion. Flat-rate expenses are not available for rentals, only actual expenses.

Contributions

As a sole trader you pay health insurance from the start of the business. The obligation to pay social insurance depends on your business income in the previous year. The exact amounts and thresholds change every year, so check them for 2026 with the Social Insurance Agency, your health insurer or your accountant. No contributions are paid on rental income.

VAT: registration because of the portal commission

This obligation surprises most owners. Booking.com and Airbnb serve European hosts from entities in other EU member states, and their commission is a service on which the recipient pays the tax under Section 69(3) of the VAT Act. Section 7a therefore requires a taxable person who is not a VAT payer to file an application for VAT registration before receiving the service.

Registration under Section 7a does not make you a full VAT payer. It means you declare and pay 23% VAT on the foreign portal’s commission yourself, with no right to deduct it. You file the return and pay the tax by the 25th day of the month following the month in which you received the service. How this raises the real cost of a portal is covered in our article What Booking.com really costs.

When you become a VAT payer

Under Section 4 of the VAT Act as in force from 1 January 2026:

from 1 January of the year after the year in which your turnover exceeded €50,000,
or immediately with the supply that takes your turnover above €62,500 during the current year.

Turnover is counted per calendar year. As a VAT payer you can no longer claim flat-rate expenses under Section 6(10).

Other duties of an accommodation provider

Tourist tax: you collect it from guests and pay it to the municipality under its local ordinance. Rates and deadlines are on our tourist tax page.
Guest register and reporting foreign guests: what it must contain is in our article Guest register requirements.
Short-term rental register: from 2027 everyone offering accommodation through online platforms needs it. Details are in Short-term rental register 2027.

Steps for a new host

Agree with your accountant whether it is accommodation services or a rental.
For accommodation services, register the free trade Ubytovacie služby bez poskytovania pohostinských činností.
Before the first commission from a foreign portal, apply for VAT registration under Section 7a.
Look up your municipality’s ordinance on tourist tax and start a guest register.
From 2027, register the unit in the short-term rental register.
Keep records of income and expenses and watch your turnover against the VAT threshold.

How SFERIN helps

SFERIN does not do accounting, but it makes running your property easier. A website with a booking system from €249 takes direct bookings with no portal commission, so there is no VAT on commission to pay on them either. The Guest registration add-on keeps the guest register and prepares the tourist tax figures for the municipality. We will show you what your property’s website could look like in a free preview.