VAT and invoicing in Croatia (2026): PDV and Fiscalization 2.0

Croatia changed more about invoicing in 2026 than in any year since it adopted the euro. Fiscalization 2.0 turned B2B invoices into structured e-invoices (eRačuni) that are reported to the Tax Administration, B2C fiscalization now covers bank transfers too, and the VAT return deadline moved. This guide explains the rules a small business needs: rates, registration, returns, invoice content, eRačun and fiscalization, with a worked example in euros. Rules are as of October 2026.

PDV at a glance: rates and the tax authority

The tax is porez na dodanu vrijednost (PDV), governed by the VAT Act (Zakon o porezu na dodanu vrijednost) and administered by the Tax Administration (Porezna uprava), part of the Ministry of Finance.

Exempt supplies (no VAT and no input VAT deduction) include insurance, credit and banking services, residential rent and most land sales.

Who must register for VAT

• Threshold: you must enter the VAT system when your supplies in the previous or the current calendar year exceed EUR 60,000. The exemption ends the moment you cross the limit, and you register from the next day. The threshold was EUR 40,000 until 31 December 2024.
• Below the threshold you are a small taxpayer: you may not show VAT on your invoices, and you cannot deduct input VAT.
• Voluntary registration: you can ask to apply the normal VAT rules below the threshold; the choice binds you for the current and the following calendar year.
• EU SME scheme: since 2025 a Croatian small business can also use the VAT exemption in other EU countries if its EU-wide turnover stays within EUR 100,000; it is identified by its OIB with the suffix EX.

Your tax number is the OIB (osobni identifikacijski broj), 11 digits. Your EU VAT number is the OIB with the prefix HR, for example HR12345678901.

VAT returns and payment

Until the end of 2025 the return was due by the 20th. Amendments in force since 1 January 2026 moved the deadline to the last day of the following month (the January 2026 return was due by the end of February 2026). The PPO form and the U-RA book of incoming invoices were abolished from the January 2026 period. Year-end adjustments go in the December return.

What a Croatian invoice must show

Article 79 of the VAT Act lists the mandatory details:

1. 1Invoice number and date of issue
2. 2Your name, address and OIB (or VAT number)
3. 3The customer's name, address and OIB (or VAT number)
4. 4Quantity and trade name of goods, or type and scope of services
5. 5Date of supply or advance, if different from the issue date
6. 6Unit price excluding VAT
7. 7Discounts not already in the price
8. 8The VAT rate
9. 9The VAT amount, per rate
10. 10The total amount

Add a note where it applies: the legal basis of an exemption, samoizdavanje računa for self-billing, or prijenos porezne obveze (reverse charge) when the customer pays the VAT.

• Numbering: under the Fiscalization Act an invoice number has three parts: the sequential number, the label of the business premises and the number of the issuing device, for example 25/SPLIT1/2. The sequential part must run without gaps; it may restart each calendar year, per premises or per device, as set out in your internal rules.
• Simplified invoices with fewer details are allowed up to EUR 100, for correction documents, and for small taxpayers.
• Corrections: an issued invoice is cancelled with a storno document, and a credit note (odobrenje) counts as an invoice. Under Fiscalization 2.0 that means a correction to an eRačun is itself an eRačun, and it is fiscalized.
• Currency: amounts are shown in euros. You may add another currency, but the VAT amount must always be in euros.
• Record keeping: eRačuni must be stored for at least six years from the end of the year of issue, and accounting law requires longer periods for bookkeeping records, so most businesses keep invoices longer.

Fiscalization 2.0: eRačun and real-time reporting

The Fiscalization Act (Zakon o fiskalizaciji, NN 89/2025) applies to invoices from 1 January 2026:

What this means in practice:

• An eRačun is not a PDF and cannot be sent by email. It is a structured XML invoice following the European standard EN 16931 with the Tax Administration's Croatian extension, and every line carries a product classification (KPD) code.
• eRačuni are exchanged through an access point: your own or an information intermediary (informacijski posrednik). You register your receiving address in the national address directory (AMS).
• The issuer fiscalizes the invoice when it is issued, and the recipient fiscalizes receipt within five working days.
• eIzvještavanje (e-reporting): by the 20th of the following month, the issuer reports the payments received for its eRačuni, and the recipient reports any eRačuni it rejected.
• Cross-border sales to EU or non-EU customers are outside the eRačun obligation.
• B2C: fiscalization of receipts now covers every payment method, including bank transfers. A B2B sale paid in cash or by card with a fiscalized receipt does not need an eRačun.
• Free tools: the Tax Administration's MIKROeRAČUN app lets businesses outside the VAT system receive eRačuni in 2026 and will let them issue from 1 January 2027; FiskAplikacija shows your fiscalized data and an informative pre-filled VAT return.

The Tax Administration has said there will be no misdemeanour proceedings for unintentional errors in the initial phase, but failing to issue a required eRačun is treated as the most serious offence. Issuing, receiving and fiscalizing eRačuni requires an information intermediary or another certified solution; Clientlly does not connect to the fiscalization system, so you need one of those for that part.

Worked example in euros

A small guesthouse in Split files monthly. In July it invoices:

It buys furniture for EUR 4,000 plus EUR 1,000 PDV (25%) and pays EUR 1,000 plus EUR 130 PDV (13%) for electricity. Input VAT is EUR 1,130.

PDV payable = EUR 3,100 − EUR 1,130 = EUR 1,970, due with the July return by 31 August. To find the VAT inside a gross price at 25%, multiply by 25 and divide by 125: EUR 125 × 25 ÷ 125 = EUR 25.

Late payment: terms and default interest

• Between businesses: payment terms are limited to 60 days. A longer term, never more than 360 days, is possible only in writing in specific trade-credit contracts. If no term is agreed, it is 30 days.
• Public sector as debtor: 30 days, or up to 60 days where objectively justified.
• Default interest on commercial contracts is the ECB main refinancing rate plus 8 percentage points, using the rate on 1 January for the first half of the year and on 1 July for the second. With the ECB rate at 2.40% on 1 July 2026, that is 10.40% a year for July to December 2026 (10.15% for January to June).
• Fixed compensation: the creditor can also claim EUR 40 for recovery costs.

Common mistakes

1. 1Sending a PDF to a VAT-registered customer instead of an eRačun, now that domestic B2B invoices must be structured and fiscalized.
2. 2Gaps in invoice numbering, or numbers that ignore the premises and device structure.
3. 3Mixing up the two monthly deadlines. The VAT return and payment moved to the last day of the following month, but e-reporting of payments and rejections stays on the 20th.
4. 4Applying 5% to restaurant meals because the ingredients are at 5%. Preparing and serving food is at 13%; check every product.
5. 5Not tracking the EUR 60,000 threshold during the year: the exemption ends the moment you cross it.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly takes care of the invoicing and bookkeeping work around your VAT return. Invoices are numbered sequentially per series and carry Croatia's VAT rates; credit notes are linked to the original invoice; and the PDF is produced in your client's language with a card payment link. You see when an invoice was opened, reminders go out automatically 3, 14 and 30 days after the due date, and recurring invoices and multiple currencies are supported. Scanned receipts have their VAT read automatically, sales and purchase VAT books are kept per rate, including exports, reverse charge and intra-EU purchases, and tax reports with Excel and PDF exports are ready for you and your accountant. Import clients, suppliers, products and opening balances from Excel or CSV, and work from the mobile app. Clientlly is not an information intermediary and is not certified for Fiscalization 2.0, so use an approved solution for eRačun and fiscalization. See invoicing, accounting and how to get paid faster.