Minimum Wage 2024 - How much has it increased?
From December 1, 2023, the new gross minimum wage is HUF 266,800, and the guaranteed minimum wage is HUF 326,000. You can learn about the details of the regulation requiring special attention during payroll process and about the changes in the 2024 minimum wage from our blog.
It is important that for minimum wages, these wages need to be adjusted from January 1, 2024, for January wages and member withdrawals, and attention must also be paid to the rate of part-time employment!
Offer request - Payroll Services
Changes in Personal Income Tax (PIT or SZJA) Allowance
Allowance for young people under 25
Young people under the age of 25 can reduce certain incomes included in their consolidated tax base with the benefit for young people under 25. For example, income from wages, commission, self-employed income, self-employed flat-rate income, or entrepreneur’s deduction.
In 2024, the amount of the allowance is HUF 576,601 per month of entitlement, which means a tax saving of HUF 86,490, and for a full year of entitlement, HUF 6,919,212, totaling a tax saving of HUF 1,037,880. If the employee is eligible for the allowance for young people under 25, the employer or payer automatically takes it into account until they provide a statement to partly or wholly waive it.
It is important that only those who partially or wholly request the waiver of the allowance’s application should fill out the declaration form.
Family Tax Allowance
From January 1, 2024, there has been no change compared to before, i.e., the applicable gross family tax benefit – depending on the number of dependents – per dependent and per month of eligibility:
- HUF 66,670 for one dependent,
- HUF 133,330 per dependent for two dependents,
- HUF 220,000 per dependent for three or more dependents.
From January 1, 2024, the monthly amount of the benefit for a chronically ill or severely disabled dependent child is increased by HUF 66,670.
Tax allowance for mothers with four or more children (a.k.a. NÉTAK)
From January 1, 2024, mothers with four or more children still have the opportunity to reduce their total taxable amount by obtaining a tax relief. Eligible are the birth or adoptive mothers with four children who are entitled to the family allowance, or no longer entitled but were entitled for at least 12 years, or whose entitlement has ceased due to the death of a child and whose number of children eligible for the above-mentioned tax credits reaches four, is entitled to this tax credit.
The tax exemption does not automatically apply to all types of payments, such as rental of immovable property, dividends, EICSD, KATA income, etc.
Personal allowance
The personal allowance must be considered as an item reducing the tax base. This means that the eligible individual can reduce their total taxable amount by an amount equivalent to one-third of the minimum wage, rounded to 100 forints, which is HUF 88,900 from January 1, 2024. The eligibility condition has not changed.
Tax allowance for mothers under 30
From January 1, 2024, a young mother who has reached the age of 25 and is entitled to a family allowance for her biological or adopted child or foetus can claim a taxable amount allowance. The tax credit (tax exemption) is granted to the young mother if her eligibility for the family benefit arises after December 31, 2022, and before the day before she turns 30.
The amount of the benefit for mothers under 30 is up to the gross national average wage per month of eligibility; in 2024, the maximum amount of benefit is up to HUF 576,601 per month of eligibility, which means a tax saving of HUF 86,490, and for a full year of eligibility, HUF 6,919,212, totaling HUF 1,037,880 in tax savings.
The benefit must be requested by the employer or payer on the tax return for the benefit for mothers under 30.
Need help in Payroll Processing?
Health service contribution amount
From January 1, 2024, the healthcare service contribution is HUF 11,300 per month, HUF 380 per day.
Fringe benefits in 2024
- Regarding fringe benefits, the preferential public charges for SZÉP cards remain unchanged from January 1, 2024. For fringe benefits, 28% (social contribution and personal income tax or PIT) is payable up to the preferential framework amount (HUF 450,000 per year). The part exceeding the preferential framework amount is classified as a specific benefit, for which employers must pay a 33.04% obligation.
- The SZÉP card benefits: the accommodation sub-account continues to operate as the sole account of the SZÉP Card. The tax liability is adjusted to the recreational framework amount, which remains unchanged at HUF 450,000 per year. The support exceeding the annual recreational framework amount is classified as a specific benefit.
- From 1 January 2024 onwards, the payer of fringe benefits and certain defined benefits will no longer have to assess the tax liability for the month of the benefit, but for the quarter covering the month of the benefit.
- From January 1, 2024, a nominal value gift can be given to individuals (not only to employees but to any individual) three times a year, with the value of the benefit per occasion not exceeding 10% of the minimum wage (i.e., from December 1, 2023, HUF 26,680). The gross value of the benefit is subject to 15% personal income tax and 13% social contribution tax.
Social Contribution Tax, KIVA
- The rate of social contribution tax is 13%
- The KIVA rate is 10%
Employment entry benefit for citizens of non-EEA countries bordering Hungary (Ukraine, Serbia)
From 1 January 2024, the labour market entrants' allowance will also be available to non-EEA na-tionals (Ukraine, Serbia) working in non-EEA countries bordering Hungary, thus supplementing the existing criterion for workers with Hungarian citizenship only.
The amount of the benefit is the amount of the wage, but not more than the minimum wage, in the first two years of employment, and half of the wage, but not more than half of the minimum wage, in the third year of employment, so that no SC is payable on this amount.
seamless payroll processing by RSM
Simplified Employment
From January 1, 2024, the minimum hourly wage for simplified employees is HUF 1,304. For employment requiring at least upper secondary education or vocational training, the minimum hourly wage is HUF 1,630.
It's important that in the case of simplified employment, the employee also has obligations according to the Labor Code (e.g., night pay).
The exempted limit (i.e., the amount up to which the employee's income from simplified employment is exempt from personal income tax) remains the daily minimum wage or guaranteed minimum wage 130%, thus in 2024, HUF 15,951 for the minimum wage and HUF 19,487 for the guaranteed minimum wage per day.
The maximum daily wage that can be paid is twice the daily amount of the minimum wage, thus in 2024, HUF 24,540. If the employer pays more than this amount,
it cannot be considered as an expense for the enterprise, i.e., it does not qualify as a cost or expenditure incurred in the interest of the enterprise.
From January 2024, the public charges payable by the employer for simplified employment will be linked to the minimum wage, HUF 2 700/person/day for casual work and HUF 1 300/person/day for seasonal agricultural/tourist work. Please note that you should pay close attention to the number of simplified staff authorised for the number of staff.
It is important that companies closely monitor the number of simplified employment staff allowed in relation to their total workforce.
EKHO, GYED, GYES Sick Pay
- Payer's EKHO: the payer is exempt from the obligation to pay EKHO.
- The maximum amount of GYED is gross HUF 373,520
- The maximum daily amount of sick pay is gross HUF 17,787. (linked to the minimum wage)
- The amount of GYES, GYET is gross HUF 28,500, and
- the amount of the old-age pension is also HUF 28,500.
Paternity leave, parental leave
Paternity leave
From January 1, 2024, a father is entitled to ten days of leave in the event of the birth of his child, which must be granted at the time requested by the employee, in a maximum of two parts, no later than the end of the second month following the birth of his child or, in the case of adoption, the finalization of the adoption decision. The worker shall be entitled to 100 % of the absence fee for five working days of paternity leave and to 40 % of the absence fee from the sixth working day.
Parental leave
From January 1, 2024, an employee is entitled to forty-four working days of parental leave until their child reaches the age of three. The condition for taking parental leave is that the employment relationship has been in existence for one year.
The employee is entitled to 10% absence pay for the duration of the parental leave.
From January 1, 2024, parents can determine the timing of taking additional leave for their children. The employer must grant additional leave and parental leave at the time requested by the employee, but a change is that the employee must notify their request for leave at least fifteen days before the start of the leave.
Income Garnishment
From 1 January 2024, the net income will continue to be taken into account, i.e. HUF 60,000 is the non-enforceable part of the monthly income, and HUF 200,000 is the limit above which wages are fully enforceable.
