Doing business in Croatia - not just renting a property

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Today we will focus on entrepreneurship as a self-employed individual. If you have decided to buy property in Croatia and settle down there permanently, you are surely thinking about your source of income, which does not necessarily have to come only from the seasonal rental of Croatian property.
Starting a business is similar to other European Union countries. Citizens of the Eurozone do not need a residence permit.

Self-Employed in Croatia

A business, Croatian obrt, like in many countries, varies according to the type of activity and is divided into free (slobodni obrt), tied (vezani obrt), and artisanal (povlaštěni obrt).

Registration in Croatia.

There are two registration options.

• online via the e-Gradani application
• In person at the local business office (ured za registriranje obrta).

What You Will Need

For free businesses, these documents are sufficient

• ID card or passport

For tied businesses and concessions, the following may be required:

• Certificate of operation at your workplace - e.g., a lease or purchase agreement
• Registration in the business register (prijava za upis u obrtni registar)
• Proof of completed required education or achieved technical conditions - for tied businesses

After providing all the documentation, you will receive a so-called business license (obrtnica) for a fee of 35 EUR. Your details will be forwarded to the tax office (porezna uprava) and the health insurance company. Taxes for Self-Employed in Croatia In Croatia, incomes are taxed through a progressive tax rate. You can see it clearly in the following table.

Income	Tax Rate
Up to 47,745.36 EUR annually	20 %
Up to 3,978.78 EUR monthly	20 %
Over 47,745.36 EUR annually	30 %
Over 3,978.78 EUR monthly	30 %

Based on your income, your tax will be calculated as either 20 % or 30 %. However, a municipal surcharge tax is also added, known for example in Germany as "Gewerbesteuer". This increases the more inhabitants the community where you carry out your activity has. In smaller villages, it is minimal, but in Zagreb, it is 18 %.

City	Municipal Surcharge Tax
Zagreb	18 %
More than 30,000 inhabitants	up to 15 %
Less than 30,000 inhabitants	up to 12 %
Small villages	up to 10 %

Health and Social Insurance

In this regard, Croatian legal norms are not the same as in most European Union countries. If you, as a self-employed person, work for a company, a part of these contributions must be paid by them. The state-mandated health insurance is called "obvezno". However, as soon as you need to see a doctor in Croatia for any reason, you will find that every office will require a dodunsko. An additional private health insurance that you arrange yourself.

Doing Business in Croatia as a Foreigner

Yes, doing business in Croatia as a foreigner with a business license from another EU country is possible. However, this is only possible in the case regulated by the European Union convention on cross-border service provision. This means that you will be doing business in Croatia only temporarily and occasionally, your main life interests - family, permanent residence - will remain in your home country.

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