2% of taxes and how it will affect parental pensions

Every year, taxpayers in Slovakia have a unique opportunity to decide where part of their income tax will go. This mechanism is known to the public as "allocating 2% of taxes."

For years, allocating 2% of taxes has been one of the most important tools in Slovakia that citizens can use to directly support the activities of non-profit organizations. Every taxpayer can decide how to allocate part of their taxes at no additional cost and direct them to causes they believe in, whether it be helping children, protecting nature, culture, sports, or social services.

From 2026, individuals will also be able to allocate 2% of their taxes directly to their parents. The allocation of a portion of the tax paid by children to their parents comes as a replacement for the parental pension (abolished from January 1, 2025).

This is a fundamental innovation that expands the existing options for allocating a portion of paid taxes and at the same time creates a new way for the working generation to support their parents in retirement. The legislation precisely defines who can apply for this form of support, which conditions must be met by both the taxpayer and the parent, what the declaration should look like, and how the state will check the eligibility of the claim.

For parents who are retirees, the main change is that they will no longer receive an automatic parental pension, and the amount of financial support will depend on their children's decision. The amount of the parental pension may vary depending on the amount of tax paid by the child. The parental pension is not guaranteed by the state; this support will depend solely on the child's decision.

Children gain greater control over whether and to what extent they support their parents. At the same time, allocating 2% of their taxes costs them nothing, as it is part of the tax they would pay to the state anyway. Children can support one or both parents. For the purposes of claiming the new form of parental pension, children no longer need to notify the Social Insurance Agency.

A natural person - taxpayer can thus allocate up to 6% (or 7%) of their taxes (e.g., 2% to their father, 2% to the mother, and 2% or 3% to a non-profit organization (3% can be allocated by those who did volunteer work at least 40 hours in 2025 and can prove it with written confirmation from a specific organization).

Parents of children with high incomes will benefit financially in particular. For the purposes of determining the amount of parental pension in 2024, the child's assessment base for the calendar year 2022 was taken into account. For example, if the child's annual assessment base was EUR 12,000, the parent was entitled to a parental pension of EUR 180. If 2% of taxes are transferred to the parent with the same taxable income for 2025, the parent will receive only 17.63 from their child.

 

Conditions for transferring 2% of taxes to parents

For the 2025 tax period, a natural person - taxpayer may transfer a portion of the tax paid to their parent(s). A taxpayer's parent is considered to be a natural person who, as of December 31, 2025, is:

• a recipient of an old-age pension,
• a recipient of a disability pension paid after reaching retirement age,
• a recipient of a service pension paid after reaching retirement age
• a recipient of a disability service pension paid after reaching retirement age.

At the same time, the person must be either the taxpayer's biological or adoptive parent, or a person to whom the taxpayer was entrusted in the past for substitute care on the basis of a decision by the competent authority. In the latter case, a copy of the decision on entrusting the taxpayer to care must be attached to the declaration, unless it has already been submitted in the past.

It is not necessary to prove to the relevant tax administrator that the taxpayer is the biological or adopted child of this parent.

The tax paid is considered to be the tax reduced by the tax bonus for dependent children and the tax bonus for interest paid. The taxpayer can decide whether to allocate 2% to one parent or to each of them separately – in which case there are two separate allocations of 2%. The minimum amount that can be allocated to a parent is €3.

 

How to allocate 2% of taxes to parents

When allocating 2% of taxes to parents, it is important to consider the method of annual tax settlement for a natural person (taxpayer) for the 2025 tax period.

A natural person whose employer will perform annual accounting of advance payments for income tax from dependent activity will transfer 2% of their tax using the prescribed form – Declaration of transfer of a share of paid tax (by filling in the information in Section III) published on the website of the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic. This form is also valid for the transfer of 2% of taxes to non-profit organizations. The Declaration on the Transfer of a Share of Paid Tax can be submitted to any tax office, its branch, contact point, or electronically via www.slovensko.sk by April 30, 2026.

A mandatory attachment to the declaration on the allocation of a portion of paid tax is the Confirmation of payment of income tax from dependent activity, which the employer issues to the employee at their request no later than April 15, 2026. The employee was required to request this confirmation by submitting an application for annual tax settlement. If the parent is a natural person to whom the taxpayer has been entrusted into care replacing parental care on the basis of a decision by the competent authority, a copy of the decision of the competent authority on this fact is also a mandatory attachment, if it has not yet been submitted to the tax administrator.

If a natural person is required to file a personal income tax return (tax return), that natural person will allocate 2% of their taxes to parents and non-profit organizations by completing the declaration in Section VIII. Section – Declaration on the allocation of a portion of personal income tax paid tax return – type A or XII. Similarly, if the parent is a natural person to whom the taxpayer has been entrusted into care replacing parental care on the basis of a decision by the competent authority, a copy of the decision of the competent authority on this fact is also a mandatory attachment, if it has not yet been submitted to the tax administrator.

As part of each declaration in the prescribed forms, the natural person - taxpayer is required to fill in the identification details of the parents, namely the parent's birth number, surname, and first name. If a natural person - taxpayer decides not to transfer 2% of their taxes to their parents, they shall indicate this on the relevant form.

 

Condition of no tax debt

The statutory deadline for filing a personal income tax return for 2025 is March 31, 2026 (in the case of an extension, June 30 or September 30, 2026).

In order for a taxpayer to be able to transfer 2% of their taxes to their parents, they must have paid the tax from their submitted tax return. If, on the 16th day after the deadline for filing the return, they have a tax arrears of more than €5, the tax office will not transfer the tax share. If the tax return is filed by March 31, 2026, the taxpayer cannot have a tax arrears of more than €5 as of April 16, 2026.

 

What happens if an error or non-compliance is found

If the declaration contains incorrect information or the required documents are missing, the tax administrator will ask the taxpayer to correct it. If the taxpayer does not remedy the deficiencies within the specified period, the entitlement expires. The entitlement also expires if the parent does not meet the legal conditions or if the taxpayer has not met the condition of being debt-free. The tax administrator shall inform the taxpayer of the expiry of the entitlement in writing in the form of a notification.

 

Verification of conditions and the role of the Social Insurance Agency

The 2% share of tax paid in the form of parental pension compensation for 2025 will therefore be paid for the first time by the Social Insurance Agency in 2026.

The Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic will send the Social Insurance Agency a list of parents to whom the tax share is to be paid. The Social Insurance Agency will then verify whether the parent meets the conditions – in particular, whether they are a pension recipient and whether they have reached retirement age.

After verifying the conditions, the Financial Directorate will transfer the share of the tax paid to the Social Insurance Agency within four months of the deadline for submitting the declaration. The Social Insurance Agency will then pay the amount to the parent, usually together with their pension.

 

Selected cases from practice