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Contents: 1/10 · Short answer
  1. Short answer
  2. Calculator
  3. Who pays and how much
  4. When you don't pay
  5. Key dates
  6. What letting earns
  7. Reporting the lease
  8. Affordable renting (APN)
  9. Frequently asked questions
  10. Sources
A covered sofa and closed shutters beside a box and keys in an empty flat.A covered sofa and closed shutters beside a box and keys in an empty flat.

Guide for landlords · updated 20 October 2026

Zagreb's 2027 property tax on empty flats: what you'll pay and how a long-term let avoids it

Short answer: From 1 January 2027, the City of Zagreb charges property tax of €8 per m² of useful floor area a year on homes that aren't lived in (€5 in 2026), so an empty 50 m² flat pays €400. A flat that someone lives in, or that's let long-term under a reported lease, pays nothing.

Work out your tax

For example from last year's property tax decision.

Exemptions
Property tax for 2027€400€0 if let long-termWithout an exemption: 50 m² × €8/m² = €400How we calculate
Empty flat of 50 m²
2026: €2502027: €400

An estimate based on the City of Zagreb's decision. Not tax advice.

Who pays the tax and how much

Property tax (porez na nekretnine)simplifiedA yearly local tax per m² of useful floor area on homes not used for permanent living. In Zagreb it's €8 per m² from 1 January 2027 (€5 in 2026).Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 26., 27. i 49., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary is paid by the owner of a flat or house that isn't used as someone's permanent home. In Zagreb, Porezna uprava (the Tax Administration) assesses and collects it on the City's behalf.

The amount is simple: Useful floor area (korisna površina)simplifiedA flat's net floor area measured inside the walls, with loggias and balconies counted only in part. Property tax and the communal fee are charged on it.Source: Pravilnik minimalnih tehničkih uvjeta za projektiranje i gradnju stanova iz POS-a (NN 106/04, 25/06, 121/11), čl. 19., checked 23 Oct 2026More in the glossary × €8 per m² a year. The same rate applies across the whole City of Zagreb, with no zones or coefficients. The City Assembly adopted it on 16 October 2026, and the decision was published in the City's official gazette (Službeni glasnik Grada Zagreba 32/2026) on 19 October 2026. It takes effect on 1 January 2027. It's the highest rate the Local Taxes Act allows (the range is €0.60 to €8 per m²).

  • 40 m²: €320 a year (2026: €200)
  • 50 m²: €400 (2026: €250)
  • 70 m²: €560 (2026: €350)
  • 100 m²: €800 (2026: €500)

Short-term tourist letting doesn't exempt a flat: if nobody lives in it permanently, it pays the tax just like an empty one, unless its Communal fee (komunalna naknada)simplifiedA public charge paid to the City for maintaining communal infrastructure, per m² of useful floor area. The owner pays it unless a written contract moves it to the tenant.Source: Zakon o komunalnom gospodarstvu (NN 68/18 … 145/24), čl. 93. i 94., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary is charged as business premises.

The 2021 census counted 84,617 empty flats in Zagreb, 22% of dwellings for Permanent address (prebivalište)simplifiedThe address where you've settled for good, the centre of your life. You register it with the police within 15 days of moving in.Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2.–4. i 10., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary. Our map of empty flats shows them by district.

When a long-term let exempts you

A flat let as someone's permanent home is exempt. Under the Local Taxes Act and Porezna uprava's guidance, all three conditions must hold for 2027:

  1. 1The flat is let for at least 10 months in calendar year 2027.
  2. 2The lease is in writing under the Zakon o najmu stanova (the Housing Lease Act) and reported to Porezna uprava.
  3. 3For that period, the tenant has registered residence (Permanent address (prebivalište)simplifiedThe address where you've settled for good, the centre of your life. You register it with the police within 15 days of moving in.Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2.–4. i 10., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary or Temporary address (boravište)simplifiedThe address where you live for a while without settling there for good. You register it with the police within 15 days if you'll stay longer than three months.Source: Zakon o prebivalištu (NN 144/12, 158/13, 114/22), čl. 2., 4. i 10., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary) at the flat's address.

Letting to a company only qualifies if the flat is let for at least 10 months and the same people, with registered residence, live there the whole time. A shorter let to a company doesn't qualify. A registered address alone isn't always enough either: if it turns out nobody actually lives there, the exemption is refused.

A flat that you, your family or anyone else lives in as their registered permanent home is exempt too.

Key dates: 1 March and 31 March

The tax follows the flat's situation on 31 March. By that date, you report only what Porezna uprava doesn't already know, such as proof for an exemption. No tax decision is issued for an exempt flat. Otherwise a decision (rješenje) follows, and you pay within 15 days of receiving it. An appeal doesn't postpone payment. Our guide to the property tax bill and appeals explains appeals, instalments and late interest.

On our reading of these rules, for a flat to be let for at least 10 months in 2027, the lease has to start by 1 March 2027. That makes January and February 2027 the key window for owners who are new to letting. Check the exact conditions in Porezna uprava's opinion (in Croatian).

An open window with a plant and short laundry line on a schematic façade.An open window with a plant and short laundry line on a schematic façade.
An open window with a plant and short laundry line on a schematic façade.

What a long-term let earns

Rental income is taxed at 12%, after a flat 30% allowance for expenses. In practice that's 8.4% of the rent. Porezna uprava sets it in a tax decision; you pay it monthly (by the end of each month), and it isn't part of the annual Income tax on rent (porez na dohodak)simplifiedThe tax a private landlord pays on rent: 12% of the rent less 30% for expenses, i.e. 8.4% of the rent. It's paid monthly under a Tax Administration decision.Source: Zakon o porezu na dohodak, čl. 57. i 62., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary return.

  • Example with an assumed rent of €700 a month: €8,400 a year.
  • Income tax: €8,400 × 70% × 12% ≈ €706 a year.
  • Property tax (porez na nekretnine)simplifiedA yearly local tax per m² of useful floor area on homes not used for permanent living. In Zagreb it's €8 per m² from 1 January 2027 (€5 in 2026).Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 26., 27. i 49., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary: €0 if the exemption conditions are met.

To work it out for your own rent, use the rental income tax calculator.

For comparison: the same 50 m² flat left empty in 2027 pays €400 in tax and earns nothing.

Report the lease within 8 days

You hand the lease to the Porezna uprava office for your own place of residence or habitual residence within 8 days of the lease being made or the let starting. If a notary certified your signature on the lease, Solemnisation (solemnizacija)simplifiedA notary confirms a contract: checks it, explains the consequences and gives it the force of a notarial deed. With an enforcement clause it becomes an enforcement title.Source: Zakon o javnom bilježništvu (NN 78/93 … 57/22), čl. 54. i 59., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary it or drew it up as a notarial deed, the notary sends it for you. A copy also goes to the City of Zagreb. If you let the flat for more than three months, you report that to the police within 15 days, and the tenant registers their residence within the same period.

We've put every step, with links to the official pages, in a short checklist for reporting a lease.

In July 2026 the Government presented a draft new Housing Lease Act under which every lease would have to be a notarial deed, with the notary reporting it to Porezna uprava. It hasn't been passed. We'll update this guide when it is.

An alternative: the state's affordable-rent programme (APN)

Under the affordable-rent programme, governed since May 2026 by the Zakon o priuštivom stanovanju (NN 45/2026), the state rents homes that have stood empty for a long time. The agency APN signs a lease for 3 to 10 years, pays the median rent for the cadastral district (60% upfront, 40% halfway through), covers running costs and returns the flat in its original condition.

The flat must have been unused for at least two years, with some legal exceptions (an inherited flat, for example). The first call for owners ran from 18 Dec 2025 to 15 Feb 2026. No call is open now; the Act provides for calls as needed, once a year. Porezna uprava hasn't explicitly confirmed whether letting to APN exempts a flat from Property tax (porez na nekretnine)simplifiedA yearly local tax per m² of useful floor area on homes not used for permanent living. In Zagreb it's €8 per m² from 1 January 2027 (€5 in 2026).Source: Zakon o lokalnim porezima (NN 115/16 … 152/24), čl. 26., 27. i 49., checked 19 Oct 2026More in the glossary. Check the current status on APN's page (in Croatian).

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay the tax if I let to tourists?

Yes, if nobody lives in the flat permanently. Only letting as someone's permanent home is exempt, and short-term tourist letting isn't that. The tax isn't due if the flat's communal fee is charged as business premises.

What if the lease starts in April 2027?

Then the flat is let for 9 months in 2027, fewer than 10, so you pay the full tax for 2027. You'll be exempt for 2028 if the flat is let for at least 10 months that year.

Do I have to apply for the exemption?

By 31 March you report anything Porezna uprava doesn't already know, including proof for an exemption. If you reported the lease properly, the tax office already has it, but it's worth checking. No tax decision is issued for an exempt flat.

Is the rate the same across Zagreb?

Yes. From 2027 it's €8 per m² across the whole City of Zagreb, with no zones.

Is there relief for pensioners or low-income owners?

The law lets cities exempt only socially vulnerable residents; it has no relief for pensioners as such. Zagreb's decision has neither (as of 19 October 2026).

Which area should I enter in the calculator?

The tax is charged on useful floor area as the regulations define it: the inside of the flat counts in full, a loggia at 75%, and a balcony or open terrace at 25%. Porezna uprava takes the area from the communal-fee records, so the easiest place to find it is last year's tax decision.

How and when is property tax paid in Zagreb?

In Zagreb, Porezna uprava (the tax authority) assesses and collects the tax on the City's behalf. The decision follows the flat's state on 31 March, and none is issued for an exempt flat. You pay within 15 days of receiving it, and an appeal doesn't postpone payment (Local Taxes Act, Art. 49). Porezna uprava lists Zagreb's payment account as HR7810010051713314004. Its call centre (0800 1001, weekdays 9:00–15:00) answers general questions; for your own decision, contact your local tax office.

Does the tenant pay property tax?

No. The owner pays it, and the Tax Administration says that duty can't be transferred to the tenant by contract. The flat is exempt if it's let for at least 10 months under a lease reported to the Tax Administration, with the tenant's permanent or temporary address registered at the flat.

Do foreigners pay property tax in Croatia?

Yes. The tax is paid by whoever owns the property on 31 March, Croatian or foreign, with the same exemptions. The bill, appeals and paying from abroad are covered in our guide to the property tax bill and appeals.

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Sources

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules can change, and Porezna uprava (the Tax Administration) sets the final amount in its decision.