Duty Payment in Hungary: The Most Important Rules from a Legal Perspective

Many clients tend to treat duty simply as “another cost to be paid.” From a legal perspective, however, duty means much more than that: it is a statutory payment obligation connected to certain acquisitions of assets, court proceedings, company procedures, and administrative applications. In Hungary, the main rules on duties are set out in Act XCIII of 1990 on Duties.

In practice, duty law is especially important because it may significantly affect the total cost of a transaction or procedure. In real estate matters, inheritance, gifts, litigation, or company law procedures, understanding the duty rules is not merely an administrative issue — it is also a matter of risk management and cost planning.

What is a duty?

A duty is a public charge that usually arises not as a general tax obligation, but in connection with a specific legal acquisition or procedure. Hungarian law distinguishes, among others, between:

• asset acquisition duties, and
• procedural duties

These include, for example, inheritance duty, gift duty, transfer duty for consideration, as well as administrative and court procedural duties.

The main types of duties in Hungary

From a legal perspective, the most important categories of Hungarian duties are the following:

1. Asset acquisition duties

These are connected to the acquisition of assets. The most important subtypes are:

• transfer duty for consideration,
• inheritance duty,
• gift duty

2. Procedural duties

These arise in connection with a state or court procedure, especially:

• administrative procedural duty,
• court procedural duty,
• duties in certain special procedures, such as company registry proceedings

1. Transfer duty for consideration

This is the most typical duty, for example in the case of real estate purchases. Based on the current guidance of the Hungarian tax authority (NAV) and the official duty rates, the general rule is that in the case of acquiring real estate, the general rate of duty is 4% up to HUF 1 billion per property, and 2% on the part exceeding that amount, subject to a maximum of HUF 200 million per property. The same logic also applies in certain cases to the acquisition of interests in a company holding domestic real estate assets.

In practice, this means that duty must be considered not only in direct real estate sale and purchase transactions, but in certain cases also in indirect real estate acquisitions through corporate structures. This is particularly important in company acquisitions or in the design of holding structures.

2. Inheritance duty

Inheritance duty is connected to the acquisition of an inheritance. Its general rate is 18%, and in the case of acquiring residential property, 9%. At the same time, Hungarian law provides for significant exemptions: for example, inheritance may be duty-free in certain close family relationships. The exact exemption regime always depends on the person of the heir and the subject matter of the inheritance.

From a legal perspective, it is especially important to note that inheritance duty often arises together with probate procedure, real estate law, and family law issues. For this reason, knowing only the duty rate is not always sufficient.

3. Gift duty

The rules on gift duty follow a similar logic. The general rate is likewise 18%, while the gratuitous acquisition of residential property is subject to 9% duty. Separate rules apply in the case of motor vehicles and trailers. Gift duty also includes a number of exemptions, such as between certain close relatives.

In practice, gift duty often arises in:

• family wealth transfers,
• the transfer of real estate,
• or the gratuitous transfer of quotas, shares, or other rights of value

4. Administrative procedural duty

Under the Duties Act, administrative procedural duty is payable for the administrative procedures listed in Annex 1, and, as a general rule, for certain legal remedies as well. The law expressly states that the duty obligation may arise even if the authority rejects the application or grants it only in part. The duty on an appeal against an order is generally HUF 3,000, the duty on an enforcement objection is HUF 5,000, and the duty on an appeal against an order adopted in that subject matter is HUF 10,000.

As a general rule, the administrative procedural duty is paid by the person initiating the procedure. It is also important that the duty paid for a legal remedy must be refunded to the client if the decision is found to be unlawful, in whole or in part, to the detriment of the client.

5. Court procedural duty

In legal practice, one of the most important categories is court procedural duty. Under the Duties Act, the duty prescribed there must be paid for court proceedings, and as a general rule it is borne by the party initiating the procedure when the case is filed.

On what basis is it calculated?

In civil litigation, the basis of the duty is generally the value of the subject matter of the litigation; in non-contentious proceedings, the value of the subject matter of the procedure. In case of appeals, the value of the disputed claim or disputed part of the claim is decisive. If the value cannot be determined, the law assigns fixed duty bases depending on the level of the court. For example, before a district court in contentious matters it is HUF 350,000, and before a tribunal as a first instance court it is HUF 600,000.

The amount of first-instance civil litigation duty

From early 2025, the system of first-instance civil litigation duty changed. Instead of the previous uniform 6% logic, a tiered duty system now applies. Under the current rules, for example:

• up to HUF 300,000: HUF 18,000
• between HUF 300,001 and HUF 3,000,000: HUF 18,000 + 4.5% of the part exceeding HUF 300,000
• between HUF 3,000,001 and HUF 10,000,000: HUF 139,500 + 5% of the part exceeding HUF 3,000,000
• between HUF 10,000,001 and HUF 30,000,000: HUF 489,500 + 7% of the part exceeding HUF 10,000,000
• in higher value brackets, further differentiated rules apply

This means that court duty in civil actions is no longer simply one percentage, but a progressive fee structure depending on the value bracket. This is especially important in legal cost planning.

Other first-instance court duties

The law separately regulates, among others:

• the duty on an objection against a court order for payment: 3%, but at least HUF 5,000, at most HUF 750,000
• the duty in enforcement proceedings: 1%, but at least HUF 5,000, at most HUF 350,000
• the application for an attempt at settlement before court: 1%, minimum HUF 3,000, maximum HUF 15,000

Appeal duty

In the case of an appeal against a judgment, the duty is 8%, but at least HUF 15,000 and at most HUF 2,500,000. In the case of an appeal or objection against an order, the duty is 3%, but at least HUF 7,000 and at most HUF 300,000. If the appeal is directed only against the reasoning, the duty is HUF 8,000.

Review and uniformity complaint

In the case of a review petition against a judgment and a uniformity complaint, the duty is 10%, but at least HUF 50,000 and at most HUF 3,500,000. In the case of a review against an order, half of that amount applies, but at least HUF 20,000 and at most HUF 1,250,000.

Criminal procedural duty

In criminal proceedings there is generally no broad duty payment obligation, but in private prosecution cases, for example, the duty on the complaint is HUF 10,000, the duty on the private prosecutor’s appeal is also HUF 10,000, and the duty on a motion for retrial is HUF 15,000.

6. Company registry procedural duty

In company law practice, company registry duty is of particular importance. Under the current rules, the registration duty is, for example:

• in the case of a European Company (SE): HUF 600,000
• in the case of a private company limited by shares: HUF 100,000
• in the case of certain other legal entities: HUF 100,000
• for the Hungarian branch office of a foreign company: HUF 50,000
• for a direct commercial representation office: HUF 50,000

At the same time, the regulation also contains an important facilitation: the registration procedure of a limited liability company (Kft.), a sole proprietorship company, a general partnership, and a limited partnership is exempt from duty. This is particularly significant in Hungarian company formation practice.

7. Duty in administrative court proceedings

In administrative lawsuits, as a general rule, the duty is HUF 30,000, but in tax, duty, contribution, customs, or competition supervision matters, in certain cases the general rules on litigation duties must be applied. The duty in administrative non-contentious proceedings is generally HUF 10,000.

8. Duty exemptions: when does no duty have to be paid?

The Duties Act distinguishes between:

• objective duty exemption, and
• personal duty exemption

In the case of an objective exemption, no duty is payable at all for the given transaction or procedure. In the case of a personal exemption, the duty cannot be claimed from the exempt person. The law lists separately the entities enjoying full personal exemption, such as the Hungarian State and local governments.

In addition, there are several special objective exemptions in court duties as well, for example in certain family law matters, public interest cases, or matters that are exempt from costs under a special law. These must always be examined based on the specific legal ground of the case.

9. How must procedural duty be paid?

This is an especially important practical issue. From 1 January 2024, duty stamps were abolished, therefore neither court duty nor administrative procedural duty can be paid in that form anymore. According to the NAV guidance:

• in court proceedings, persons not obliged to use electronic communication may still pay by postal cheque, using the cheque of the relevant court
• administrative procedural duty must generally be paid through EFER or by bank transfer

Unless otherwise provided by law, administrative procedural duty must be transferred to the Hungarian State Treasury’s procedural duty revenue account.

10. Why is all of this important from a lawyer’s perspective?

Duty is not merely a cost item. In many cases, it may affect:

• the admissibility of an application,
• the practical timing of filing a lawsuit,
• the cost risk of a legal remedy,
• and in some cases even the overall structure of the transaction

In real estate transactions, company acquisitions, inheritance planning, family wealth transfers, or litigation strategy, prior review of duty rules is often just as important as drafting the contract or procedural submission itself.

A poorly chosen legal structure, a wrongly interpreted exemption, or the failure to plan for duty exposure may lead to unnecessary additional costs or legal disputes. For this reason, duty analysis is usually not a separate technical task, but part of the overall legal planning of the transaction or procedure.

Conclusion

In Hungary, the duty system can essentially be divided into two major areas: asset acquisition duties and procedural duties. For businesses and private individuals alike, the most important ones include:

• transfer duty for consideration connected to real estate transactions,
• inheritance and gift duty,
• court duties in contentious and non-contentious proceedings,
• as well as company registry and administrative procedural duties

Under the currently effective rules, the amount and legal treatment of duties are now often differentiated, tiered, or linked to the type of case. Therefore, one of the most important practical rules in the field of duty law is that duties should never be calculated automatically or by habit: every transaction or procedure must be analysed based on its own legal basis, value, parties, and applicable exemptions.