Slovenia Company Guide: the d.o.o., 22% Tax, Owners and Yearly Duties

What a Slovenian Company Is Used For

A Slovenian company is an EU company whose capital, thresholds and taxes are all set in euro, with access to the single market, the EU VAT system and a network of roughly 60 double taxation conventions. Foreign owners use it for trading and service businesses in the region, for a subsidiary with staff in Slovenia, or to hold shares in other EU companies. The usual vehicle is the družba z omejeno odgovornostjo, the d.o.o., and ready-made Slovenian companies are sold in the same form.

Slovenian Company Forms at a Glance

A d.o.o. can be founded on a standard form at a SPOT point, the state business contact points, through a notary, or online by a single resident member who also holds a qualified certificate. It becomes a legal person only when the court register enters it. The routes and the capital rules are explained on our page on company formation in Slovenia.

Slovenian Tax at a Glance

Directive and treaty relief depends on the holding conditions and the principal purpose test, and a director living abroad does not take a Slovenian-seated d.o.o. out of Slovenian tax.

Who May Own and Run a Slovenian Company

Slovenia sets no residence or nationality condition for members or for the director (poslovodja, usually called direktor), so one foreign person may own and run the d.o.o., but it screens people in other ways. Everyone entered in the court register needs a Slovenian tax number, which a non-resident obtains from the Financial Administration (FURS). Article 10a of the Companies Act (ZGD-1) keeps a person from founding or joining a company after a conviction for listed economic crimes, after appearing in the last 12 months on a FURS list of non-filers or non-payers, or while holding more than 25% of a company on such a list; and someone who founded a d.o.o. in the last three months cannot found or join another, subject to exceptions. A director must not be barred under Article 255, and a non-EU national who will work in Slovenia as the company’s representative needs a single residence and work permit.

Beneficial owners, the individuals with more than 25% of the business share or votes or with control by other means, go into the Register dejanskih lastnikov at AJPES within 8 days of the company’s entry and of every later change. Public access to that register ended on 9 August 2025; authorities, obliged entities such as banks and notaries, and applicants with a legitimate interest can still consult it. The court register itself can be inspected by anyone on the AJPES website.

No resident officer is required. Slovenian law does allow a nominee director, and we arrange one only through a company service provider that is an obliged entity under the Anti-Money Laundering Act (ZPPDFT-2), supervised by the Office for Money Laundering Prevention; the nominee bears the full liability of Article 263 of the Companies Act, and the Register of Beneficial Owners shows the real owner.

The Yearly Cycle of a d.o.o.

• the corporate income tax return through eDavki within three months of the business year, so by 31 March for a calendar year, with any balance due within 30 days of filing;
• the annual report sent to AJPES for public disclosure within three months of the year end by a small company, and within eight months, audited, by a medium or large one;
• an audit only for medium and large companies, classed by headcount, net sales and assets;
• VAT returns once registered, bearing in mind that a voluntary registration binds the company for at least two calendar years;
• changes of director, seat, name, activity or members filed through a SPOT point or a notary, and the beneficial owner record updated within 8 days;
• in a single-member d.o.o., each decision of the member written into the book of resolutions, without which it has no legal effect.

How corporate and secretarial work is organised around these dates, and what stays with the accounting office, is set out on our page on corporate services in Slovenia.

Banking for a Slovenian Company

In Slovenia the bank comes before the company. Cash capital is paid into a temporary account at a Slovenian bank, and the bank’s certificate that the money is available to the company goes with the registration application. Once the company is entered, that account becomes an ordinary business account. Each bank still decides for itself whether to open and keep an account, and some complete business openings only at a branch with a valid identity document. Deposits are protected up to EUR 100,000 per depositor per bank by the scheme that Banka Slovenije operates, and companies are covered. Our page on bank accounts for Slovenian companies sets out what each bank asks for.

Forming a New d.o.o. or Buying a Ready-Made One

• Form a new company when all founders can sign together at a SPOT point or before a notary and nothing turns on the date in the register; SPOT itself reports that the court decides in four days on average. See company formation in Slovenia.
• Buy a ready company in Slovenia, an off-the-shelf d.o.o., when an older entry in the court register matters, when founders in different countries cannot sign on the same day, or when you expect to need a further Slovenian company soon, since on a plain reading of Article 10a(5) acquiring a d.o.o. older than three months does not start the three-month bar that founding one does. The transfer is a notarial deed, and the notary checks the buyer against Article 10a first. See ready-made shelf companies in Slovenia.
• The general case is in our guide to off-the-shelf companies.

What We Do in Slovenia

We form new d.o.o. companies and supply ready-made ones, prepare the founding or transfer documents and the filings for the court register and the beneficial owner register, and help with the bank application. Where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, we can make an introduction; the decision on the account stays with the bank.

Frequently Asked Questions about Slovenian Companies

What does d.o.o. mean after a Slovenian company name?

It abbreviates družba z omejeno odgovornostjo, a company with limited liability. Each member holds one business share (poslovni delež) expressed as a percentage, and the Companies Act forbids issuing securities for it, so the court register entry of the members, not a certificate, proves who owns the company. Croatia and Serbia use the same letters, but each country’s d.o.o. follows its own law.

How much corporate tax does a Slovenian d.o.o. pay?

22% of its taxable profit for each tax year from 2024 to 2028, the rate set by Article 64 of the reconstruction act; the general rate written into the corporate income tax rules is 19%. The return goes through eDavki by 31 March for a calendar year. Dividends paid abroad then carry 15% withholding tax unless the EU and EEA exception or a treaty reduces it.

Can a non-EU citizen run a Slovenian d.o.o.?

Yes, as director, because the Companies Act sets no nationality or residence condition and the registry checks only that nothing in Article 255 bars the appointment. Living and working in Slovenia is a separate question: a non-EU national who will represent the company and work there needs a single residence and work permit, which owning the company does not give.

Who can see the owners of a Slovenian company?

Anyone can see the members of a d.o.o., because the court register shows them and AJPES must let the public inspect it online. The beneficial owners behind a corporate member are a different matter: the Register dejanskih lastnikov has been closed to the general public since August 2025, and only authorities, obliged entities and applicants who demonstrate a legitimate interest can consult it.

What is a ready company in Slovenia?

A d.o.o. that the court register has already entered, that has never traded and that is sold by a notarial transfer of its business share. The buyer acquires an existing legal person with its registration number (matična številka), tax number, paid capital and date of entry, but no customers or trading history. Whether it is worth buying depends mainly on whether the date of entry or the Article 10a rules matter to you.