Slovakia Company Guide: the s.r.o., Tax, Konateľ Rules and Yearly Duties

What a Slovak Company Is Used For

Slovakia gives a foreign owner a company inside both the European Union and the euro area, so it holds its capital, invoices and pays its taxes in euro. Owners use it to sell to Slovak and other EU customers, to run production or services in Central Europe, or for a small trading business that stays within the 10% corporate tax rate available while revenues do not exceed EUR 100,000. The usual vehicle is the spoločnosť s ručením obmedzeným, abbreviated s.r.o. or spol. s r. o., and ready-made Slovak companies are sold in this form. Since 17 August 2026 notaries can register companies as registrars beside the courts, under the Commercial Register Act No. 29/2026.

Slovak Company Forms at a Glance

With a single founder, the whole capital must be paid before registration; with several, part may follow within five years. The founding document, the capital and the registration route are covered on our page on company formation in Slovakia.

Slovak Tax at a Glance

A growing company should watch the EUR 100,000 line: once revenues pass it, the 21% rate reaches the whole year’s profit, not only the part above the line.

Who May Own and Run a Slovak Company

Ownership is open. A person or company from any country may hold all of an s.r.o. Management is where Slovakia differs from its neighbours. A konateľ, the managing director, must be a natural person, and under section 51(4) of the Commercial Register Act a foreign konateľ who is not a citizen of an EU or OECD member state is entered only with a Slovak residence permit. An owner from the United States, the United Kingdom or Turkey can therefore be konateľ, while an owner from Ukraine, India or the United Arab Emirates either holds a permit or appoints a konateľ who qualifies. A disqualified person, or a debtor listed in the register of enforcement mandates, is always refused.

Beneficial owners (konečný užívateľ výhod) are the natural persons holding at least 25% of the votes, capital or economic benefit, directly or indirectly, or controlling the company otherwise. They are entered in the commercial register together with the company, in a part that is not published. Authorities and obliged entities such as banks can see them, and since 10 July 2026 so can a person who proves a legitimate interest connected with preventing money laundering.

No Slovak law requires a resident director, secretary or local agent. Slovak law does recognise a nominee konateľ, whom we arrange only through a provider registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit as an obliged person under the Anti-Money Laundering Act; that person must meet the same citizenship or residence permit rule, is bound by section 135a of the Commercial Code to professional care with a liability no agreement may limit, and the commercial register records the real owner as beneficial owner.

The Yearly Cycle of a Slovak s.r.o.

• the corporate income tax return three months after the year end, which a notice to the tax office can push back by three months, or by six where the company has revenues from abroad;
• the minimum tax in any year after the first in which the computed tax falls below it, dormant years included;
• financial statements deposited in the register of financial statements within six months of the balance sheet date;
• an audit once two of three thresholds are exceeded: total assets of EUR 4,000,000, net turnover of EUR 8,000,000 and an average of 50 employees;
• VAT returns for a VAT payer, which must also tell the Financial Directorate about every account it uses for business;
• a registry filing within 30 days of a change of members, konateľ, name, seat or beneficial owner.

The tax office registers a new company for income tax on its own motion, and the Commercial Code gives an s.r.o. no company secretary, so these duties sit with the konatelia, who usually work with an accountant.

Banking for a Slovak Company

An s.r.o. does not need a Slovak bank account to be registered, because until the company exists the paid capital is held by the contribution administrator named in the articles, normally a founder. The account comes afterwards, and the bank decides. Since 1 June 2026 Slovak banks must check beneficial owner information against reliable sources instead of relying on the register alone. Deposits are protected up to EUR 100,000 per depositor per bank by the Deposit Protection Fund, companies included. Each bank’s requirements are on bank accounts for Slovak companies.

Forming a New s.r.o. or Buying a Ready-Made One

A new s.r.o. and a bought one are the same company in law, taxed the same way.

• Form a new company when you want your own name and articles from the start and can assemble the founding deed, the paid capital and the documents the registry checks for the first konateľ. See company formation in Slovakia.
• Buy a ready-made or shelf company when an earlier date in the commercial register matters or when the founding paperwork is the obstacle. The residence permit rule for the konateľ, a transfer made as a notarial deed or authorised by an advokát, and a registry filing still apply, and a company past its first tax period owes the minimum tax for the year of purchase. See ready-made shelf companies in Slovakia.
• When age itself matters is discussed in our guide to aged shelf companies.

What We Do in Slovakia

We form new Slovak companies and supply ready-made ones, draw up the founding or transfer documents, prepare the registry filings and help put the bank application together. Where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, we can introduce you, and the bank alone decides on the account.

Frequently Asked Questions about Slovak Companies

What does s.r.o. mean in a Slovak company name?

It abbreviates spoločnosť s ručením obmedzeným, a company with limited liability, and spol. s r. o. is the other accepted short form. The letters tell a reader that the members are liable only up to any unpaid part of their registered contributions and that the company has at least EUR 5,000 of share capital. Each s.r.o. can be looked up at orsr.sk, the public commercial register.

Is a Slovak s.r.o. the same as a Czech s.r.o.?

The name and the idea are shared; the law is not. A Slovak s.r.o. needs EUR 5,000 of share capital and is registered under the Slovak Commercial Code and the Commercial Register Act of 2026, while a Czech s.r.o. can start with CZK 1 under the Czech Business Corporations Act. Slovakia also checks a residence permit for a konateľ from outside the EU and the OECD, which Czech law does not. See our Czech Republic overview.

What do corporate or secretarial services for a Slovak company cover?

Usually the registered office and the owner’s certified consent behind it, the bookkeeping, the tax and VAT returns, the deposit of financial statements, and the registry filings when a konateľ, member or address changes. None of this is a separate statutory office: the duties belong to the konatelia, who can hand the practical work to an accountant or a service provider while remaining responsible for it.

Do Slovak companies pay tax on their bank payments?

Yes. Under Act No. 279/2024 a financial transaction tax applies to most outgoing payments from a company’s accounts at 0.4% each, up to a cap, and to cash withdrawals at 0.8%. Transfers between the company’s own accounts at the same bank and payments of taxes and social and health insurance are outside it. A Slovak bank deducts it; with a payment provider abroad, the company calculates and pays it itself each month.