Contributions for compulsory insurance in the Republic of Croatia are stipulated by the Contributions Act (Official Gazette, nos. 84/08, 152/08, 94/09, 18/11, 22/12, 144/12, 148/13, 41/14, 143/14, 115/16 and 106/18,33/23 and 114/23 — hereinafter referred to as: the Act) and by the Ordinance on contributions (Official Gazette, nos. 2/09, 9/09 – amendment, 97/09, 25/11, 61/12, 86/13, 157/14, 128/17, 1/19, 43/23, 143/23 and 14/24 — hereinafter referred to as: the Ordinance) as the implementing regulation of the Act.
The Act stipulates that the provisions on the obligation of contributions also apply to foreigners who are, in accordance with the provisions on the compulsory insurance and depending on their work or social status in the Republic of Croatia, considered as insured persons or who carry out activities in the Republic of Croatia or receive payments according to which the obligation of contributions is prescribed, unless otherwise stipulated by interstate agreements.
The obligation of compulsory insurance, in accordance with the Contributions Act, shall be established for:
- A worker citizen of the European Union, if Croatian legislation applies to such insured person, according to Regulation (EC) no. 883/2004 (Official Journal of the European Union L 166, 30.4.2004, 1–123);
- A worker citizen of a third country with which the Republic of Croatia has concluded an agreement on social insurance, if Croatian legislation applies to such insured person, according to the agreement;
- A worker citizen of a third country with which the Republic of Croatia has not concluded an agreement on social insurance.
Contributions to pension insurance and health insurance are calculated for workers from the European Economic Area (EEA) in the same way as for Croatian citizens. Contributions to pension insurance are paid at the expense of employees (from salaries of employees), and contributions for health insurance are paid at the expense of the employer (on salaries of employees).
The basis for calculating the contributions based on the employment relationship is the amount of the salary according to which the amount of the contributions is determined, namely:
- Contributions from the basis at the expense of the worker:
- Contribution for pension insurance at the rate of 20%, or 15% for insurees of pension insurance based on individual capitalized savings
- Contribution for pension insurance based on individual capitalized savings (for the insuree of that insurance) at the rate of 5%
The taxpayer regarding the contributions from salary based on employment relationship is the insuree insured on the basis of employment relationship, while the taxpayer of calculations and payments of contributions from salary is the employer or other person who pays the salary to the insuree instead of the employer.
Contributions are calculated individually for each insured person and according to the salary for each month or part of the month in which the worker was employed, i.e. according to each individual payment received.
- Contributions to the basis at the expense of the employer:
- Health insurance contribution at a rate of 16.5%
The payer of contributions and the payer of calculations and contributions to salary is the employer of the insuree on the basis of employment relationship, or other person who pays the salary to the insuree instead of the employer.
An employer who employs a foreign worker subject to the Croatian legislation is entitled to exemption from the payment of contributions on the base within one year if the foreigner has no recorded years of service in the compulsory pension insurance until the start of insurance with the employer, or has recorded years of services up to eight days (including the eighth day) on the basis of another income.
The evidence is a written document of the compulsory pension insurance holder of the foreign state issued in accordance with the interstate agreement on social insurance.
Also, an employer who employs a foreign worker to whom Croatian legislation applies shall be entitled to exemption from payment of contributions to the basis within five years if the foreigner is less than 30 years of age until the beginning of the insurance based on the application of that employer. The evidence is the employment contract concluded for an indefinite period of time.
As of 1 December 2023, for persons insured on the basis of an employment contract whose total gross monthly salary is up to EUR 1,300.00, the monthly basis for calculating contributions for pension insurance based on generational solidarity is decreased according to the following criteria:
- For salaries of up to EUR 700.00, by the fixed amount of EUR 300.00;
- For salaries of EUR 700.01 to 1,300.00 according to a linear model, applying the following formula: 0.5 * (1,300.00 – the total amount of a gross monthly salary for a given month).
Taxpayers of contributions from salary are also referred workers or insurees who stay insured under the legislation of the Republic of Croatia based on their employment relationship with employers registered in another EU Member State or in a state with which Croatia has concluded an interstate agreement on social insurance regulating the issue of the use of health care abroad, or to which legal regulations on coordination of social security systems apply. The taxpayer of calculations and contribution payments is the employer of the referred worker/insuree or other person who pays the salary to the insuree instead of the employer, or the insuree if he or she has assumed the obligation to independently calculate and pay such contributions.
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