Property tax

The property tax was introduced on January 1, 2025, by the Local Taxes Act (Official Gazette no. 115/16, 101/17, 114/22, 114/23, 152/24) with the aim of taxing residential real estate properties that are not the taxpayer’s primary residence.

Who is liable to pay property tax?

The owner of the property, whether a legal or natural person, Croatian or foreign national is liable to pay property tax. Exceptionally, if the property owner cannot be determined, the tax is paid by the user of the property as defined by special regulations.

What does the taxpayer need to do?

If the taxpayer is already paying the municipal utility fee for the property (utility bills, etc.), the Tax Administration already has all the necessary information to determine the property tax amount. In this case, the taxpayer is not required to take any action and will simply receive a decision from the Tax Administration specifying the annual amount of property tax.

The taxpayer must submit a completed form with information about the residential property to the Tax Administration in the following cases:

1) If there has been a change in the usable area of the property or the purpose of the property for which the municipal utility fee is paid, so that the Tax Administration can correctly calculate the tax on that property.

2) If the taxpayer owns a residential property that is not recorded in the Tax Administration’s database or where the taxpayer is not registered as the owner (e.g., a newly inherited apartment).

3) If the taxpayer is eligible for an exemption from property tax. A property tax exemption applies to owners of properties that:

  1. are used as a permanent residence;
  2. are rented under a lease agreement for permanent residence (for more than 10 months);
  3. are for public use or designated for institutional accommodation of persons;
  4. are recorded in business books as properties intended for sale, if less than six months have passed from the date of entry in the business books to March 31st of the year for which the tax is determined;
  5. have been taken in exchange for unpaid receivables, if less than six months have passed from the date of acquisition to March 31st of the year for which the tax is determined;
  6. are uninhabitable in the relevant tax period due to declared natural disasters;
  7. have their residential use restricted (ruined houses etc);
  8. are owned by local government units and are located exclusively within that local government unit;
  9. serve as the permanent residence of a host as determined by regulations governing hospitality services.

How to submit the form?

The form must be submitted to the Tax Administration office that has jurisdiction according to the location of the property, using the appropriate form for individuals or form for businesses, by March 31st of the tax year.

What is the amount of property tax?

The tax rate is determined by the city or municipality where the property is located and ranges from €0.60 to €8.00 per square meter of usable property area (per year).

In municipalities and cities that have not previously imposed a tax on holiday homes and do not adopt a decision on property tax, the property tax will be €0.60 per square meter.

In cities and municipalities that had a holiday home tax in 2024 but do not adopt a property tax decision, the property tax will remain the same as the previous holiday home tax.