The Slovak Parliament has taken a step to help small businesses by supporting a bill to lower contributions for self-employed individuals (SZČO) with low incomes. The main goal is to cancel the mandatory so-called "micro-contribution" (mikroodvod) to Social Insurance for those working at the edge of profitability. This bill passed its first reading.
Under the new rule, the obligation to pay health and pension insurance contributions will depend on a specific annual income limit. It is planned that mandatory insurance will only apply to entrepreneurs whose income in a calendar year is more than 10.5 times the subsistence minimum for an adult.
This decision aims to fix a situation where, due to current laws, even people with zero or very low income must pay a fixed fee. This makes their business activity economically pointless. Currently, this micro-contribution is €131.34 per year.
If the bill is finally approved, the new rules will start on July 1, 2026. It is important that this reform does not cancel the existing benefits for new entrepreneurs. So, the obligation to pay insurance contributions will still start only from the first day of the sixth month after officially starting a business.
Additionally, the updated law includes special conditions for those who decide to return to entrepreneurship after a long break. People who restart their business more than 60 months after stopping it will get the status of new entrepreneurs. This automatically gives them the right to a five-month period of work without paying social contributions.
The creators of the document emphasize that changing how mandatory insurance starts will help mainly those who do not even file a tax return because they have no significant income. The bill will now go through a second reading and a final vote in the National Council.
