Montenegro tax for expats: what the official texts say

What this page is based on

This page uses texts published on the Government of Montenegro's websites and in the Official Gazette, read on 29 October 2026: the Government's summary page on personal income tax, its summary page on VAT, a consolidated text of the Law on Personal Income Tax (Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica), and amending acts published in the Official Gazette. The consolidated text is served from the Government's document server. It carries the label "Katalog propisa 2025" and the name of its compiler, Pravni ekspert doo, Podgorica, and it lists the acts it includes; the latest is the amending law published in the Official Gazette (Službeni list Crne Gore) no. 160/25 of 30.12.2025. A consolidated text is a working compilation; the authentic wording is the one published in the Official Gazette. The rates quoted below were also checked against the text of that amending law as published in the Official Gazette, which replaces the rate article of the law and applies from 1 January 2026. A later amendment (Službeni list Crne Gore no. 70/2026 of 20.05.2026) changed only the rate on gambling winnings, which this page does not cover.

Amounts below are written as the law writes them, with a dot for thousands and a comma before the cents.

Government of Montenegro (document server): Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica, consolidated text

Službeni list Crne Gore (Official Gazette): amending law no. 160/25 of 30.12.2025, Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica

Službeni list Crne Gore (Official Gazette): amending law no. 70/2026 of 20.05.2026

Who pays income tax in Montenegro

The law says the taxpayer is a resident or non-resident individual who earns income from the sources the law sets. For a resident, what is taxed is income earned in Montenegro and outside Montenegro. For a non-resident, it is income earned in Montenegro. The Government's summary page repeats that residents and non-residents are taxpayers on income from the sources set by the law.

Government of Montenegro (document server): Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica, consolidated text

Government of Montenegro: Porez na dohodak fizičkih lica

Who is a tax resident under the law

The law's definition of a resident lists two points: (1) an individual who has a domicile or a centre of business and life interests in Montenegro; (2) an individual who stays in Montenegro for more than 183 days in the tax year. A person sent outside Montenegro to work for a Montenegrin resident individual or legal entity, or for an international organisation, is also a resident.

The law text read here does not explain how the two points combine or how days of stay are counted, and no Tax Administration guidance on this was read. This page therefore does not say how the definition applies to any particular stay.

Government of Montenegro (document server): Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica, consolidated text

Income tax rates on salaries and other personal earnings

The rate article of the consolidated law sets three rates for income from personal earnings (lična primanja), which the law says include salaries and salary compensation earned under labour rules:

• 0% on taxable income up to 700,00€;
• 9% on taxable income from 700,01€ to 1.000,00€;
• 15% on taxable income from 1.000,01€.

The rate article does not name the period these amounts refer to. The article on tax returns refers to personal earnings from two or more employers "whose total monthly gross amount is above 700€". Under the law, the employer or other payer calculates, withholds and pays the tax on personal earnings.

The Government's summary page on income tax, dated 21 April 2021 in its page data, says only that the income tax rate is 9% of the tax base, and does not mention the 0% and 15% rates. This page follows the law text for the rates, which the amending law no. 160/25 published in the Official Gazette also sets out for these rates.

Government of Montenegro (document server): Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica, consolidated text

Službeni list Crne Gore (Official Gazette): amending law no. 160/25 of 30.12.2025, Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica

Government of Montenegro: Porez na dohodak fizičkih lica

Self-employment, capital and capital gains

For income from a main self-employment activity (osnovna samostalna djelatnost), the law sets 0% on taxable income up to 8.400,00€, 9% from 8.400,01€ to 12.000,00€, and 15% from 12.000,01€.

For several other types of income listed in the law, which include supplementary and occasional self-employment, income from property, income from capital and capital gains, the rate is 15% of the tax base. The law says tax on income from capital is calculated at 15%, and tax on capital gains is calculated annually at 15% and paid when the annual tax return is filed.

Government of Montenegro (document server): Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica, consolidated text

Službeni list Crne Gore (Official Gazette): amending law no. 160/25 of 30.12.2025, Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica

How the tax is paid and when a return is due

For a resident who receives earnings from another state, the law says the taxpayer calculates the tax on that income themselves and pays it within five days of receiving it.

A tax return is filed after the end of the tax period, by the end of April of the current year for the previous year. The residents the law names as having to file include those with income from self-employment (with some exceptions the law sets out), from capital gains, from abroad, and from personal earnings with two or more employers or payers whose total monthly gross amount is above 700€, among other cases it lists.

Government of Montenegro (document server): Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica, consolidated text

Tax paid in another country

The law grants a resident who earns income outside Montenegro and pays income tax on it in another state a tax credit equal to the tax paid there. The credit cannot be larger than the amount the Montenegrin law would produce on the income earned in the other state. The law also says that an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation prevails over its provisions. The texts read here do not list which countries have such an agreement with Montenegro.

Government of Montenegro (document server): Zakon o porezu na dohodak fizičkih lica, consolidated text

VAT in Montenegro

The Government's VAT summary page, dated 21 April 2021 in its page data, says two positive VAT rates apply, a standard rate of 21% and a reduced rate of 7%, as well as a zero rate (0%). An amending law published in the Official Gazette (Službeni list Crne Gore no. 94/2024) and applied from 1 January 2025 added a reduced rate of 15%, which covers, among other things, books, accommodation in accommodation establishments, and the preparation and serving of food and drinks in hospitality establishments (except alcoholic drinks, sugared drinks and coffee). A new VAT law (Službeni list Crne Gore no. 104/2026) is in force but, by its own terms, applies only from the day Montenegro joins the European Union. VAT is charged on supplies of goods and services that a taxable person makes for consideration in the course of business, and on imports of goods. The summary page does not itself list which goods and services take the reduced rate; among the implementing acts it names a rulebook that determines them.

Government of Montenegro: Porez na dodatu vrijednost

Službeni list Crne Gore (Official Gazette): amending VAT law no. 94/2024

Službeni list Crne Gore (Official Gazette): new VAT law no. 104/2026

What the official pages used here do not cover

The texts read for this page do not settle the following, and silence here is not a rule:

• social security contributions on salaries or self-employment income;
• any local or municipal charges on top of income tax;
• how the Tax Administration counts days of stay, and how the two points of the residence definition combine;
• whether pensions paid from abroad are taxed in Montenegro;
• which countries have a double-taxation agreement with Montenegro, and what each says;
• any special tax regime for foreigners, digital nomads or investors;
• property tax and tax on real estate transfers;
• flat-rate taxation of self-employment and the reliefs for less developed municipalities;
• corporate profit tax, and registration with the tax authority.

For any of these, the issuing authority is the place to confirm the rule. Related pages on this site: the Montenegro country page, the digital nomad guide to Montenegro and banking in Montenegro.