In Official Gazette of Republic of Serbia no. 144/2020 published on 27. November 2020 amendments to Property Tax Law were prescribed. We highlight the following amendments that will apply from 1 January 2021.
Open and alternative investment fonds are taxpayers when it comes to property tax irrelevant to their obligation weather to keep business records or not.
Average value of certain real estate is determined based on sale prices of real estate per property zone during a period from 1 October of the year preceding the year for which the property tax is determined till the 30 September of the previous year for which property tax is beeing determined.
Auxiliary facilities are sorted in the same real estate group as garages that form a part of a real estate. Auxiliary facilities are:
- Separate facilities that are not used for residential or commercial purposes such as:
- Auxiliary facilities that are not buildings (well, pools, reservoirs, tanks and other);
- Auxiliary building (ground-floor buildings and buildings whose flooring is below ground) that are built on the same property as facilities used for residential or commercial purposes (furnace, basement, shacks and sheds);
- Economic facilities as defined in Planning and construction Law;
- Canopy that has a base over 10 m2 that are separate facilities.
When useful footage and average price are factors that determine tax base and there is no comparable sale price due to the fact that there were no sales performed during the prescribed period, tax base is defined as product of average price and coefficient as prescribed by local authorities.
Cases in which the value of real estate as recorded in business books on the last day of the business year can be used for calculation of property tax base are specifically prescribed.
Tax on inheritance and gifts
Digital property which is received as a gift or inherited is also subject to tax on inheritance and gifts.
Tax on transfer of absolute rights
The new amendments stipulate that the conditions for a realization of entitlement to a tax exemption by the buyer of the first apartment must be fulfilled as of the day of the concluding of the sales contract, i.e., another legal act on the basis of which the byer purchases his/her first apartment.
Determining taxes
The new amendments provide for two more cases in which taxpayer is obliged to file a tax return:
- For real estate the total tax base of which has exceeded the amount of RSD 400.000, which triggers a cessation to a tax exemption- within 30 days from the date of the occurrence of the tax liability on real estate for which the liability arose within the taxation year;
- For a facility the usable area of which had been changed – within 30 days from the day that of the change.
To determine the property tax for 2021, the following will be applied:
- average prices per square meter of relevant real estate in zones determined on the basis of market prices in zones or border zones, i.e., average prices of relevant real estate in the most equipped zone – if they have been published by November 30, 2020;
- acts regulating the depreciation rate, zones and property tax rates, which have been published by November 30, 2020., or before the year 2020., if their application had not been limited to the end of the year 2020.
When determining the property tax for the year 2021. for auxiliary facilities, the average prices per square meter of garages and garage spaces in zones will be applied, as determined on the basis of market prices of these real estates in zones or border zones, i.e., on the average prices of garages and garage spaces in the best equipped zone.
