Silvia Hallová | 6.3.2026 | News
Even if the company paid for the car last year, it cannot claim a full VAT deduction. Anyone who stops keeping a logbook must file an additional tax return for the previous two months.
The reduction in VAT deduction on the purchase of new company cars and on the operating costs of these cars from January 1, 2026, has created a number of controversial situations for entrepreneurs in their accounting. A frequent question in practice is, for example, the taxation of cars ordered and partially paid for last year but not actually put into operation until 2026. Similarly unclear is the tax regime for specific categories of vehicles or for entrepreneurs who purchased a car last year as non-VAT payers but became VAT payers in the new year.
Two fundamental changes have come into effect since the new year:
The problem with this change is that even entrepreneurs who use passenger cars and related goods or services for their operation exclusively for business purposes will not be able to claim the full VAT deduction without detailed records of journeys. This violates the principle of tax neutrality, which is the basis of the entire VAT system. These changes are currently limited by the amendment to the VAT Act to the period from January 1, 2026, to June 30, 2028.
In December 2025, Company A (a VAT payer) ordered a new car and paid the Slovak dealer an advance invoice for 100% of the purchase price. The company claimed a full VAT deduction (100%) in 2025. The company was only able to register the vehicle in February 2026 (as it was not a stock vehicle), and the car is now used by the managing director for both business and private purposes, and no detailed logbook is kept.
Can the taxpayer claim a full tax deduction (100%) when paying the deposit and then tax the private use in accordance with Section 9(2) of the VAT Act?
NO. According to the transitional provisions, the decisive moment for the application of the new rules (Section 85n) is the date of acquisition of the vehicle. Since the company did not actually acquire the car until 2026, it must apply the rules in force at the time of acquisition when it is first used. Although the company deducted the full amount of tax in 2025, it will have to make a correction to the deducted tax in 2026.
In December 2025, Company B (VAT payer) purchased and took over a new stock car from a dealer in the Czech Republic. It plans to use it for business and private purposes. The transfer of ownership took place before the end of 2025, but for logistical reasons, the car remained in the dealer's warehouse and was not physically transported to Slovakia, assigned Slovak license plates (EČV), and registered as company property until January 2026.
Môže si platiteľ uplatniť odpočítanie dane v plnej výške (100 %) a následne zdaňovať súkromné použitie podľa § 9 ods. 2 zákona o DPH?
YES. To assess whether the new transitional provisions apply to the vehicle, it is not the date of physical import into Slovakia, the date of EČV assignment, or the moment of tax liability under Section 20 that is relevant, but the moment of acquisition of the available right to the vehicle. Since this right was transferred in 2025 by full payment of the price and taking delivery of the vehicle, the taxpayer does not proceed in accordance with the new provision of Section 85n(1) in this case. For the tax deduction, the regime valid in 2025 applies (pursuant to Section 49(5)).
In November 2025, an entrepreneur ordered a new passenger car (category M1). He paid the seller an advance payment of 20% of the total price. The remaining 80% will be paid upon delivery of the vehicle in May 2026, when the car will actually be acquired.
The vehicle will be provided to an employee for both business and private use. How should VAT be deducted from the 20% advance payment made in 2025? What deduction regime should be chosen for the final delivery in 2026?
At the time of payment of the advance payment, the payer can choose: either to deduct the tax in full (100%) or to deduct it in an estimated proportion according to the expected use for business purposes. At the time of vehicle acquisition and additional payment (May 2026), the entire purchase falls under the new rules according to § 85n (1). From the final invoice (80% of the price), the payer can deduct tax only to the legal extent of 50%. The payer is obliged to correct the tax deducted from the original 20% advance payment. If they deducted 100% in 2025, they must return part of this tax so that the total deduction from the advance payment corresponds to 50%.
A company (VAT payer) purchased a new company car in February 2026. As the car was to be used exclusively for the delivery of materials between construction sites, the company claimed a 100% VAT deduction. In accordance with the law, it reported this fact to the tax office and began keeping a detailed logbook in accordance with Section 85n(6). In August 2026, however, the administrative employee stops keeping these records, even though the car is still used exclusively for business purposes.
In such a case, can the company at least claim a 50% flat-rate deduction?
Keeping detailed records (logbooks) in accordance with Section 85n(6) is a basic legal condition for claiming a 100% deduction. Once the taxpayer stops keeping records, they no longer meet the conditions for a full deduction. The taxpayer must file an additional tax return for June 2026. In it, they must correct the original 100% deduction from the purchase of the vehicle to 50% (or another demonstrable ratio), because the entitlement to 100% retroactively expired due to failure to meet the record-keeping requirement.
An entrepreneur (non-VAT payer) purchased a passenger car (M1) for business purposes in October 2025. On January 1, 2026, he became a registered VAT payer. In his first tax return for January 2026, he wants to claim a tax deduction under Section 55. He also uses the vehicle for private purposes.
When claiming the tax deduction, must he comply with the new restriction in Section 85n(1) and reduce the deduction to a flat rate of 50%, since he is claiming the deduction for the first time in 2026?
The new rule on limited deductions does not apply in this case. For the application of the transitional provision of Section 85n(1), the key date is the date of acquisition of the vehicle, not the date of exercising the right to deduct tax in the tax return. Since the vehicle was acquired in October 2025, it falls under the old legal regime. The taxpayer will claim a proportional tax deduction (corresponding to the residual value and extent of use for business purposes) in accordance with the rules in force at the time of purchase, i.e. in accordance with Section 49(5).
A company (tax payer) purchased a passenger car in January 2026. Since it was decided at the time of purchase that the car would be used exclusively for business purposes, the company claimed a full VAT deduction (100%). However, the situation will change from March 2026, as the company will assign this vehicle to a sales representative who will also be able to use it for private trips in accordance with the contract.
Does the company have to retroactively correct or adjust the originally deducted tax?
In this situation, the company is not obliged to adjust the deducted tax, i.e., to claim the full (100%) VAT deduction for January and February. However, from March onwards, the company must start taxing private consumption in accordance with Section 9(2) and can only claim a 50% VAT deduction.
In March 2026, a construction company, which is a taxpayer, purchases a van that is registered in the registration certificate in category N1 (truck). The company expects to use this vehicle for business purposes 70% of the time, with the remaining 30% being used privately by the managing director.
Can the company claim a 70% tax deduction on the purchase in accordance with Section 49(5) of the VAT Act?
Yes, as the restriction under Section 85n(1) only applies to vehicles in categories M1, L1e, and L3e. Other categories of motor vehicles used simultaneously for business and other purposes continue to be subject to the regime under Section 49(5) of the VAT Act.
A VAT payer acquired an M1G off-road vehicle in 2026. As this is a vehicle designed for difficult terrain, the taxpayer believes that it is not subject to the provisions of Section 85n(1), which explicitly mentions only categories M1, L1e, and L3e.
Is this assumption correct?
NO. According to the relevant regulation, off-road vehicles are considered to be vehicles of categories M or N that meet certain technical criteria allowing them to be driven off paved roads. The letter "G" therefore does not represent a separate category, but only a supplement to the basic category expressing its off-road characteristics. Since a vehicle in subcategory M1G is also a vehicle in category M1, the same flat-rate tax deduction regime applies to it under Section 85n(1) of the VAT Act.
If a company decides not to keep a logbook, its tax obligations in relation to motor vehicles will be as follows:
Every entrepreneur must consider which cars will be used exclusively for business purposes and keep an electronic logbook with 100% VAT deduction, and for which cars they will only accept a 50% VAT deduction and it will not matter the ratio in which they are used for private and business purposes. Unfortunately, the rules only distinguish between these two situations and do not take into account the actual ratio of business to private use of the car.
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