Investing from Hungary: TBSZ, NYESZ, income tax and szocho

• Income tax: 15% on dividends, capital gains and income from controlled capital market transactions.
• Szocho: 13% on dividends, capital gains and interest. For dividends and capital gains it is due only until your income for the year reaches 24 times the minimum wage.
• TBSZ: after 5 years, 0% income tax and 0% szocho on the yield.
• NYESZ: 20% of contributions back through the tax return, at most HUF 100,000 a year.
• US dividends: since 1 January 2024 the treaty no longer applies to withholding tax; the non-treaty rate is 30%.
• Transaction levy: 0.45%, at most HUF 20,000 per purchase, on financial instruments with a Hungarian ISIN.

Under §8(1) of the Personal Income Tax Act (Szja tv.), the tax is 15% of the tax base. That applies to dividends (§66), capital gains (§67) and income from controlled capital market transactions (ellenőrzött tőkepiaci ügylet, §67/A).

• Rate: 13% of the tax base (§2(1) of Act LII of 2018).
• What is covered (§1(5)): income withdrawn from a business, securities lending, dividends, capital gains under §67, income under Szja tv. 1/B, interest under §65 and the yield of a TBSZ. Income from controlled capital market transactions under §67/A is not on this list.
• Cap: for items a to e, which include dividends and capital gains, you pay szocho only until your income for the year reaches 24 times the minimum wage. The cap does not apply to interest or to TBSZ yield. We did not retrieve the 2026 minimum wage in forint.
• Listed dividends in the EEA: dividends on securities listed on an exchange that is a regulated market in a state of the European Economic Area are not subject to szocho.

The TBSZ (tartós befektetési számla) is governed by §67/B of the Personal Income Tax Act.

• Deposits: the first deposit is at least HUF 25,000; you pay in only in the calendar year of opening, not afterwards (§67/B(2)).
• Lock-in: 3 years, with an extension of 2 years.
• Investments: financial instruments in controlled capital market transactions, for example government securities and fund units, or interest-bearing bank deposits (§67/B(3)).

The rates on the yield depend on when you close the account:

What the providers write: XTB offers a TBSZ in Hungary and writes that after the first deposit you must register the TBSZ account with the NAV tax authority yourself. Lightyear also offers a TBSZ. According to Lightyear, the tax on TBSZ yield is 0% after 5 years, but assessing and paying the tax remains your task; Lightyear says it provides tax certificates.

A Hungarian provider that we do not compare and do not rate: Equilor Befektetési Zrt. According to its MiFID page it is supervised by the Hungarian National Bank (MNB), with the licence decisions ÁPTF 73.051/1998 and PSZÁF III./73.051-6/2002; its tax information also covers transactions on TBSZ accounts.

On contributions in forint to a pension pre-savings account (nyugdíj-előtakarékossági számla, NYESZ) you get 20% back through income tax, at most HUF 100,000 a year (§44/B(1)). For people who reached pension age before 1 January 2020 the cap is HUF 130,000. We have not verified a NYESZ offer at any broker in our comparison.

The double tax treaty between the United States and Hungary was terminated, effective 8 January 2023; since 1 January 2024 it no longer applies to withholding taxes. The IRS writes that US withholding agents may not accept treaty claims for payments made on or after 1 January 2024. The non-treaty rate therefore applies: 30% on dividends (IRS, Table 1).

Worked example (our own calculation): on a US dividend of USD 100, USD 30 is withheld. We have not checked how this tax is credited in Hungary. Statements giving a 15% treaty rate for Hungary have been out of date since 2024.

Under §8/A of Act CXVI of 2012, a levy of 0.45%, at most HUF 20,000 per purchase, applies when you buy financial instruments with an ISIN issued by KELER, that is a Hungarian ISIN. It is owed by Hungarian investment firms and by foreign providers operating cross-border in Hungary (§1(1)(d)); they assess it themselves monthly. Exempt are, among others, purchases by individuals of up to HUF 50,000 each and accounts held only by non-residents.

On a purchase of HUF 1,000,000 that is HUF 4,500 by arithmetic. We have not checked whether any broker in our comparison passes the levy on to you.

• BEVA: the Investor Protection Fund (Befektető-védelmi Alap) pays at most EUR 100,000 per investor and member firm: 100% up to HUF 1 million, above that HUF 1 million plus 90% of the excess (§217(2) Tpt.).
• Supervision: under the Investment Firms Act (Bszt.), the MNB is the supervisor.
• Careful with the address: on 25 October 2026 beva.hu showed a domain provider's parking page. We therefore do not link it as the BEVA's site.

• TBSZ: XTB and Lightyear.
• Tax certificates: Lightyear. Not verified for XTB; XTB points out that you register the account with the NAV yourself.
• Website in Hungarian: XTB and Lightyear.

The overview with source and date for every entry is on the page brokers for investors in Hungary. All brokers that accept clients resident in Hungary: broker directory for Hungary; for ETF investors: ETF brokers for Hungary.

• the 2026 minimum wage in forint, and so the szocho cap as an amount;
• which transactions exactly count as controlled capital market transactions under §67/A;
• whether XTB issues Hungarian tax certificates;
• how a 30% US withholding tax is credited in Hungary;
• whether foreign brokers pass the transaction levy on to clients;
• NYESZ offers from the brokers in our comparison, the MNB register entries and the licence of other Hungarian providers.

1. 1If you invest for the long term: check whether a TBSZ suits you. You pay in only in the first year; the rates fall only after 3 and after 5 years.
2. 2With XTB: remember to register the TBSZ with the NAV after the first deposit.
3. 3On US dividends, allow for 30% withholding tax.
4. 4With Hungarian securities: ask about the 0.45% transaction levy.

• net.jogtar.hu, Personal Income Tax Act (Szja tv.)
• net.jogtar.hu, Act LII of 2018 on szocho
• net.jogtar.hu, Capital Market Act (Tpt.) and Investment Firms Act (Bszt.)
• net.jogtar.hu, Act CXVI of 2012 (transaction levy)
• IRS, Hungary – Tax Treaty Documents and Tax Treaty Table 1
• XTB, TBSZ and Hungary; Lightyear, TBSZ
• Equilor, MiFID information and tax information

This article is for information only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice.