--- title: "Bosnia and Herzegovina tax for new residents 2026: rates and regimes" url: https://settleanywhere.com/countries/bosnia-and-herzegovina/tax/ lang: en updated: 2026-10-11 --- # Bosnia and Herzegovina tax Tax residence: At least 183 days in tax period (Federation of BiH). No special regime for new residents in our records. Checked against official sources on 11 Oct 2026 [Change log](https://settleanywhere.com/changes/) ## Tax residence - At least 183 days in tax period (Federation of BiH) · Staying 183 or more days in the Federation, continuously or with breaks, in any tax period makes a person resident. - Residence is decided separately by each entity: 183 or more days of presence, or a permanent home or centre of life interests. ## Standard rules and foreign-source income Standard rules ### Personal income tax: 10% in the Federation, 8% on employment pay in Republika Srpska, with 31% employee contributions in both Worldwide income **Details** - On: Worldwide income of residents - Who: Federation of BiH: income tax is paid at a flat 10% - Limit: BAM 3,600/yr ≈ $2,060 Income tax in Bosnia and Herzegovina is set by the entities: the Federation taxes income at 10% after a KM 3,600 a year basic deduction, and Republika Srpska taxes employment pay at 8% after a KM 1,000 a month deduction; employee contributions are 31% of gross pay in both entities, deductible from taxable pay in the Federation but not in Republika Srpska. Residents are taxed on worldwide income. (sources 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) #### Taxed on Worldwide income of residents; income earned in the entity for non-residents. Federation: employment pay after compulsory contributions and the personal deduction. Republika Srpska: gross employment pay (contributions are not deducted) after the personal deduction. #### Who it applies to - Federation of BiH: income tax is paid at a flat 10%, and a resident is a person with residence or one who stays 183 or more days, continuously or with breaks, in the tax period. - Federation of BiH: taxable income is reduced by a basic personal deduction of KM 3,600 a year (KM 300 a month), plus factors of 0.5 for a spouse, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9 for the first, second and third child, 0.3 for another dependent family member and 0.3 for own or a dependant's disability, applied to that basic amount. - Federation of BiH: compulsory contributions paid from pay (pension, health and unemployment insurance) are deducted from employment income before tax. - Federation of BiH: maximum employee contribution rates are 17% pension and disability, 12.5% health and 1.5% unemployment, 31% in total, charged on gross pay. - Republika Srpska: tax on personal earnings (employment pay) is 8% of the tax base and tax on self-employment income is 10% from 1 January 2022; the base is gross employment pay and the personal deduction is KM 12,000 a year (KM 1,000 a month). - Republika Srpska: employee contributions are 18.5% pension and disability, 10.2% health, 0.6% unemployment and 1.7% child protection, 31% in total, paid by deduction from the gross base; they are not deducted from the income tax base. - Republika Srpska: a resident has a permanent home, or stays 183 or more days in 12 months starting or ending in the tax year, or has a permanent home and centre of life interests there. - Each entity taxes residents on income from other entities and countries, and non-residents only on income earned in the entity. #### Exclusions - Non-residents (fewer than 183 days) are taxed only on income earned in the entity. #### Limits - BAM 3,600 a year (≈ $2,060) · Federation of BiH basic personal deduction (KM 300 a month) - BAM 1,000 a month (≈ $570) · Republika Srpska personal deduction on employment pay (KM 12,000 a year) #### Days in the country - At least 183 days in tax period (Federation of BiH) · Staying 183 or more days in the Federation, continuously or with breaks, in any tax period makes a person resident. - At least 183 days in 12 months starting or ending in the tax year (Republika Srpska) · Staying 183 or more days in Republika Srpska in a 12-month period starting or ending in the tax year makes a person resident. #### Tax residence Residence is decided separately by each entity: 183 or more days of presence, or a permanent home or centre of life interests. #### Visas Immigration status does not set tax residence; the day count applies to any permit holder. #### Other taxes Contributions are 31% of gross pay for the employee in both entities; value added tax and corporate profit tax are levied separately by the entity and state authorities. In the Federation, employer contribution rates were lowered from 1 July 2025 (pension from 6.00% to 2.50% and health from 4.00% to 2.00% in the employer-charge category of Art. 10(2)); the 31% employee rates are unchanged. Checked against official sources on 11 Oct 2026 [Change log](https://settleanywhere.com/changes/) ## VAT, social security and other taxes - Contributions are 31% of gross pay for the employee in both entities; value added tax and corporate profit tax are levied separately by the entity and state authorities. In the Federation, employer contribution rates were lowered from 1 July 2025 (pension from 6.00% to 2.50% and health from 4.00% to 2.00% in the employer-charge category of Art. 10(2)); the 31% employee rates are unchanged. ## Questions people ask ### When do you become a tax resident in Bosnia and Herzegovina? At least 183 days in tax period (Federation of BiH) (Staying 183 or more days in the Federation, continuously or with breaks, in any tax period makes a person resident). Residence is decided separately by each entity: 183 or more days of presence, or a permanent home or centre of life interests. ≈ USD figures are approximate: daily reference rates from ExchangeRate-API, dated 12 Oct 2026, refreshed when the site is updated. **Sources (8)** ## Official sources 1. [Law on Income Tax of the Federation of BiH, consolidated text](https://www.pufbih.ba/v1/public/upload/zakoni/d9bf6-zakon-o-porezu-na-dohodak-ispravan-tekst.pdf) · Tax Administration of the Federation of BiH · checked 2026-10-11 2. [Law on Income Tax of Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of RS 60/15)](https://www.poreskaupravars.org/dokumenti/zakoni/zakonoporezunadohodak6015.pdf) · Tax Administration of Republika Srpska · checked 2026-10-11 · published 2015-07-30 3. [Law amending the Law on Income Tax of Republika Srpska, rates from 1 January 2022 (Official Gazette of RS 119/21)](https://www.poreskaupravars.org/dokumenti/zakoni/Zakon%20o%20porezu%20na%20dohodak.pdf) · Tax Administration of Republika Srpska · checked 2026-10-11 · published 2021-12-29 4. [Law on Contributions of the Federation of BiH (consolidated text, OG FBiH 35/98 to 104/16), Article 10: contribution rates](https://www.pufbih.ba/v1/public/upload/zakoni/1022c-zakon_o_doprinosima-preciscen.pdf) · Federation of BiH Tax Administration (PUFBiH) · checked 2026-10-10 5. [Law on Contributions of Republika Srpska, OG RS 114/17, Article 22: contribution rates](https://www.poreskaupravars.org/dokumenti/zakoni/Zakon-o-doprinosima-SLGL-114_17.pdf) · Tax Administration of Republika Srpska · checked 2026-10-10 · published 2017-12-29 6. [Law amending the Law on Contributions of Republika Srpska, OG RS 112/19: unemployment rate 0.6%](https://www.poreskaupravars.org/dokumenti/zakoni/Zakon-o-izmjenama-Zakona-o-doprinosima-SLGL-112_19.pdf) · Tax Administration of Republika Srpska · checked 2026-10-10 · published 2019-12-27 7. [Law amending the Law on Contributions of Republika Srpska, OG RS 119/21, Article 3: health rate 10.2% from 1 January 2022](https://www.poreskaupravars.org/dokumenti/zakoni/Zakon%20o%20doprinosima.pdf) · Tax Administration of Republika Srpska · checked 2026-10-10 · published 2021-12-29 8. [Law amending the Law on Contributions of the Federation of BiH (OG FBiH 33/25): employer rates from 1 July 2025](https://parlamentfbih.gov.ba/v2/userfiles/file/Usvojeni%20materijali_2025/B%20-%20Pr%20zakona%20o%20izmjenama%20i%20dopunama%20ZOD-2025%20godina.pdf) · Parliament of the Federation of BiH · checked 2026-10-11