Payroll in Serbia 2026: contributions, salary tax and payslips

In Serbia salaries are agreed gross. The employer withholds 19.9% employee contributions and 10% salary tax (on pay above a monthly non-taxable amount of RSD 34,221) and pays both when the salary is paid. On top of gross pay the employer adds 15.15% in pension and health contributions.

Payroll in Serbia at a glance

Social security contributions

Contributions are set by the Law on Mandatory Social Insurance Contributions and charged on gross salary.

The employer's unemployment contribution was abolished, so only the employee pays it. Some older summaries still show an employer pension rate of 12%; the law in force in 2026 sets 10%.

Minimum and maximum base. The minimum monthly base is 35% of the average salary and the maximum is five times the average salary. For 1 January to 31 December 2026 the PIO Fund publishes a minimum base of RSD 51,297 and a maximum of RSD 732,820, based on an average salary of RSD 146,564 for October 2024 to September 2025. For a full-time employee, contributions are due on at least the minimum base even if the salary is lower, and no contributions are due on salary above the maximum.

Income tax on salaries

Serbia taxes salaries at a flat 10%. The tax base is gross salary minus a monthly non-taxable amount:

• RSD 34,221 a month in 2026 for a full-time employee, pro rata for part-time work
• RSD 37,369 a month from 1 January 2027, under an amendment published in the Official Gazette 80/2026; indexation by consumer prices resumes from 2028

Contributions do not reduce the salary tax base. There are no local or regional income taxes on salaries.

Annual income tax. Higher earners also file an annual personal income tax return. For 2025 it applied to annual income above RSD 5,439,096 (three average annual salaries of RSD 1,813,032), after a personal deduction of 40% of the average salary (RSD 725,213) and 15% for each dependant (RSD 271,955). The tax was 10% on the first RSD 10,878,192 of the annual tax base and 15% above, and the return for 2025 was due by 15 May 2026. Taxpayers under 40 get an extra deduction of three average annual salaries.

Hiring incentives. Employers hiring people registered as unemployed for at least six months can claim back 65% to 75% of the salary tax and contributions on their pay, depending on how many people they hire. The relief covers salaries paid up to 31 December 2026 and has been extended to the end of 2028, with new conditions from 2028.

Minimum wage, working time and mandatory pay

The minimum wage is set per working hour, net of tax and contributions, by 15 September for the following year:

• 2026: RSD 371 net per hour (Government decision, Official Gazette 78/2025). The Ministry of Finance gives RSD 64,554 as the monthly figure for its example month; the exact amount depends on the hours in each month.
• 2027: RSD 405 net per hour (Official Gazette 75/2026), about RSD 70,470 a month in the Ministry's example.

Because the minimum wage is net, the gross salary and the contributions are calculated upwards from it.

Full-time work is 40 hours a week. Overtime may not exceed eight hours a week, and a working day including overtime may not exceed 12 hours. The Labour Law sets these minimum supplements on the base salary, which add up when several apply:

• work on a public holiday: at least 110%
• night work (22:00 to 06:00): at least 26%
• overtime: at least 26%
• past service (minuli rad): at least 0.4% for each full year with the employer

Employees are entitled to meal allowance during work and a holiday allowance (regres) in the amounts set by the employer's general act or employment contract; the meal allowance must be paid in money. Annual leave is at least 20 working days. The Labour Law contains no 13th salary.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

1. 1Register the employee in the Central Registry of Compulsory Social Insurance (CROSO) electronically, at the latest before they start work, and give them a copy of the M-A registration form within three days. Terminations and changes are reported within three working days.
2. 2Before each salary payment, file the individual tax return for withheld tax and contributions electronically on the Tax Administration's ePorezi portal.
3. 3Pay the salary, the withheld tax and the contributions at the same time. Salaries are paid at least monthly and at the latest by the end of the month for the previous month. If the salary is not paid by then, contributions on at least the minimum base are still due by the last day of the month.
4. 4Give each employee a payslip with every payment. If the salary is not paid, the payslip and a notice of the reasons are due by the end of the month.
5. 5By 31 January, give each employee a certificate of the tax withheld in the previous year.

What a payslip must show. The rulebook on payslip content requires the employer's and employee's details, the period and payment date, hours worked by type (regular, public holiday, night, overtime, shift work) and hours paid as compensation, each pay element including meal and holiday allowance, the base, rate and amount of every employee and employer contribution, the tax base, rate, relief and amount, deductions and the net amount paid. The payslip is an enforceable document, and it may be issued electronically when the salary was paid in full.

Records. The employer keeps a monthly salary record for each employee, and under the Accounting Law payroll lists are kept permanently.

Worked example: RSD 120,000 a month

A full-time employee earns RSD 120,000 gross a month, is single and has no dependants.

The salary lies between the 2026 minimum and maximum bases, so contributions are charged on the full gross amount.

Common mistakes

1. 1Using an old employer pension rate of 12%. It has been 10% since the employer's rate was cut, and the employer pays no unemployment contribution.
2. 2Treating the minimum wage as gross. It is a net hourly amount; gross pay must be calculated upwards from it.
3. 3Filing the tax return after paying. The individual tax return is due before each payment.
4. 4Forgetting the minimum base for low or part-time salaries.
5. 5Letting the employee start before CROSO registration.
6. 6Missing the 2027 changes: the higher non-taxable amount of RSD 37,369 and the RSD 405 hourly minimum wage from 1 January 2027.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly does not ship a built-in payroll profile for Serbia. An administrator enters Serbia's payroll rates once in the payroll tax settings: the income-tax bands, the personal allowance, the employee and employer contribution rates and the minimum wage. Clientlly then calculates gross to net and the employer contributions and produces payslips. The minimum and maximum contribution bases and hiring incentives should be checked for each employee.

Alongside payroll, the human resources module handles leave requests and approvals with a leave calendar and keeps HR documents, and attendance and time tracking records working hours, overtime and night work.