In October 2026, Hungary’s government published a draft wealth tax. It would charge 1% a year on the part of a person’s net wealth above HUF 1 billion. The first payment would be due on 31 August 2027, based on wealth held on 31 December 2026. The government’s own impact assessment puts the number of people affected at about 15,000.
This is a draft, not yet law. The public consultation closed on 14 October, the bill has not yet gone to Parliament, and business associations have asked for several changes. Below: who would pay, what counts, how homes and companies would be valued, and what it means if you live in Hungary or own property here from abroad.
In short: The tax would apply to net wealth above HUF 1 billion per person, and each spouse has their own HUF 1 billion allowance. Most business owners would not be affected, but under the draft formula a profitable company can be worth far more than its book value. Only people who actually owe tax would have to file a return.
Who would pay?
The tax would apply to individuals’ net wealth: the value of everything they own, minus documented loans and credit. The HUF 1 billion threshold applies per person:
- spouses are assessed separately, so a married couple would owe nothing on joint wealth of up to HUF 2 billion;
- a minor child’s assets count towards the parent’s, except what the child inherited or earned;
- assets in a trust or private foundation would be taxed separately, but several structures set up by the same person could not each claim a HUF 1 billion allowance.
Expats and foreign owners
If you are tax resident in Hungary, the tax would cover your worldwide wealth, including property, shares and bank accounts abroad. Tax residence follows Hungary’s personal income tax rules, and every Hungarian citizen counts as resident, including dual citizens without a Hungarian address. The draft makes three exceptions:
- non-Hungarian citizens posted or seconded to Hungary by a foreign employer that is not registered here, for 5 years from the day they start working in Hungary;
- Hungarian citizens who, at the end of the year, have been living abroad for at least 10 years;
- non-EU citizens with long-term residence status (huzamos tartózkodási jogosultság) who spend fewer than 183 days in Hungary in the year.
If you are not tax resident in Hungary, the tax would only cover your Hungarian property and your shares in Hungarian companies, including shares in a foreign company that mainly owns Hungarian property. The HUF 1 billion threshold applies here too. Debts would only be deductible if they relate directly to those assets, such as a mortgage on your Hungarian flat.
Property abroad would be valued at its purchase price, increased by 3% a year or by the official property price index of the country where it is located. Comparable local taxes paid abroad on the same assets would reduce the Hungarian tax.
What would count?
As a rule, everything you own. Ordinary personal belongings would be left out, within limits:
- CountsLeft out
- Real estate, including your own homeFurniture, appliances and the usual contents of your home
- Company shares, securities, investment funds, bank deposits, cash, cryptoPersonal belongings
- Art, collections and jewellery worth more than HUF 3 million per itemArt, collections and jewellery worth less than HUF 3 million per item
- Vehicles worth more than HUF 10 million eachVehicles worth less than HUF 10 million each
For sole proprietors, belongings used in the business, or claimed as business expenses, would count whatever their value.
How much would it be?
The rate would be 1% on net wealth above HUF 1 billion and 1.5% on the part above HUF 100 billion. Some examples:
| Net wealth | Annual wealth tax |
|---|---|
| HUF 900 million | HUF 0 |
| HUF 1.5 billion | HUF 5,000,000 |
| HUF 3 billion | HUF 20,000,000 |
| Married couple, HUF 1.8 billion jointly (HUF 900 million each) | HUF 0 |
Local taxes paid that year on assets included in the calculation (such as building tax), vehicle tax and their foreign equivalents could be deducted from the wealth tax. Where the law requires an independent valuation, 50% of its fee, up to HUF 2 million a year, would also reduce the tax.
How would your home be valued?
For property in Hungary, the draft sets a fixed order:
- if you bought it in the 12 months before the end of the year, the purchase price;
- if you bought it within the last 10 years and have not renovated it significantly, the purchase price indexed with NAV’s calculator;
- otherwise, the value from NAV’s mass property valuation model.
Instead of steps 2 and 3, you could also use an independent valuation.
How would your company be valued?
For business owners, this is the key part. Shares in an unlisted company would not be valued at book equity, but at a weighted average of equity and earnings value:
Value = (equity + 2 × earnings value) ÷ 3 × your ownership share
The earnings value is the average after-tax profit of the last three closed financial years divided by 0.15, so a profitable company would be worth much more than its balance sheet shows. An example:
| Sole owner of a Kft. | Amount |
|---|---|
| Company equity | HUF 300,000,000 |
| Average after-tax profit, last 3 years | HUF 150,000,000 |
| Earnings value (150 million ÷ 0.15) | HUF 1,000,000,000 |
| Value of the shares ((300 million + 2 × 1 billion) ÷ 3) | HUF 766,666,667 |
| Home and savings | HUF 300,000,000 |
| Total net wealth | HUF 1,066,666,667 |
| Annual wealth tax (1% of the part above HUF 1 billion) | about HUF 667,000 |
A company with HUF 300 million of equity would count as worth more than HUF 760 million. A typical small business is nowhere near this: a Kft. with HUF 50 million of equity and HUF 20 million of after-tax profit a year would be valued at about HUF 106 million.
The draft softens this in some cases: a stake below 50% can be valued 25% lower (30% lower below 33%), and for a newly founded company the earnings value is zero, under certain conditions, in its first year and the two years after. If average after-tax profit is negative, the earnings value is also zero.
When and how would you pay?
- Wealth would be measured as at 31 December each year, first on 31 December 2026.
- You would calculate, report and pay the tax yourself by 31 August of the following year, first by 31 August 2027. There would be no advance payments.
- Only people who owe tax would need to file. If you are below HUF 1 billion, there is nothing to do.
- Filing would be electronic only. If paying at once would cause liquidity problems, NAV could allow a deferral or instalments for up to 12 months, or 24 months in exceptional cases.
Should you move assets around now?
Only with care. Under the draft, NAV would examine gifts, transfers and restructurings made from the time the wealth tax became public knowledge to check whether their only purpose was avoiding the tax. Changes with a real business or family reason, such as handing over to the next generation or reorganising a company, would be fine. Giving away part of your wealth at the end of the year just to drop below HUF 1 billion could be disregarded by NAV.
Companies may have work to do too
A Hungarian company with equity above HUF 500 million in its latest accounts would have to send audited data on its hidden reserves (the gap between market and book value of its property, shareholdings and securities) to its owners and to NAV within 30 days of approving its accounts. This would apply whether or not the owners themselves reach the HUF 1 billion threshold.
What happens next
The draft is not yet law. The public consultation has closed, and the next step is for the bill to go to Parliament. The draft says the law would take effect on 15 December 2026, but the amounts, thresholds and rules in this post may still change during the parliamentary process. More than ten business associations have jointly asked for changes, including relief for money reinvested in the economy.
A note on this article
This article is based on the draft law published on 6 October 2026. In any specific case, the law as finally adopted and NAV’s guidance prevail. We will update this post once the law is passed.
If your wealth or your company’s value could be close to the threshold, it is worth running the numbers early. We are happy to help.
