Self-employed persons

The following categories of self-employed person are insured on a compulsory basis:

• sole traders (persons pursuing a gainful activity independently in Slovenia);
• natural persons pursuing a professional activity independently, such as lawyers, private doctors, detectives, etc. (persons pursuing another permitted activity independently in Slovenia) and
• persons who are entered in the relevant register for pursuing an independent activity abroad and to whom Slovenian legislation is applied under EU regulations (self-employment, registered in another Member State)^[1].

Self-employed persons are insured on a full-time insurance basis, unless the law provides otherwise.

If foreign (third-country) nationals who require a single or other statutory permit for work, are registered as self-employed persons in Slovenia, they are insured on a compulsory basis from the day they obtain a valid single or other statutory permit for an activity they have already registered. Only then are they able to start pursuing that activity. If they already have a valid single or other statutory permit at the time of registration, they join the compulsory insurance scheme on the day the activity is entered in the register.

Self-employed persons join all four compulsory social insurance schemes with a single application:

• pension and disability insurance;
• health insurance;
• unemployment insurance;
• parental care insurance.

Insured persons are responsible for registering for insurance.

How to register: a person liable to file an application files it, along with any cancellations and changes to the insurance application, for all compulsory social insurance schemes electronically via the SPOT portal (Slovenska poslovna točka/Slovenian Business Point, an electronic one-stop shop) for enterprises and entrepreneurs.

Self-employed persons who are registered abroad in the relevant register for the pursuit of an independent activity and who, in accordance with European Union law, are subject to Slovenian legislation, file an application for insurance with the registration and de-registration department at the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia.

Deadlines for registering for insurance

Self-employed persons are responsible for registering for insurance, which must be done within eight days of the insurance conditions being met. They must file for cancellation of insurance within eight days of the day they no longer meet the conditions for insurance. The same deadline applies to any notification of changes to the insured person’s details during the period in which they are insured.

Payment of contributions

Contribution types and rates for all four compulsory social insurance schemes:

Person liable to pay contributions

The person liable to pay the related insured person’s contribution is the insured person.

The person liable for payment of the employer’s contribution is the insured person, except in the case of receipt of compensations, where the person liable for payment of the employer’s contributions is the office who pays the compensations.

Basis for the calculation and payment of contributions

The basis for the payment of contributions is the insurance base. The insurance base is the insured person’s profit as determined under the Personal Income Tax Act. Profit does not take into account the calculated compulsory social security contributions, or any reduction or increase in the tax base, converted into a monthly amount. For self-employed persons, the profit determined as setting the insurance base under the preceding paragraph is reduced by 25 %.

The minimum base for calculating a self-employed person’s contribution is 60 % of the last known average annual salary of employees in Slovenia converted into a monthly amount.

The maximum base is 3.5 times the average annual salary of employees in Slovenia, converted into a monthly amount (350 % of the last known average annual salary of employees in Slovenia converted into a monthly amount).

The forms for calculating and paying contributions are detailed in the Rules on the forms for calculating social security contributions (Note: link to the page prepared by FURS or to a translation of the rules prepared by the Legislation and Legal Service of the National Assembly (ZPS DZ)) pursuant to the tax procedure regulations.

Since January 2017, the tax authority has compiled a pre-completed calculation of social security contributions, sending it to the liable person electronically via the eDavki (electronic tax) portal by the 10th of the month for the previous month at the latest. If the information contained in the calculation drawn up by the tax authority is incorrect and/or incomplete, or if the tax authority has not uploaded it to the electronic tax system, the liable person must submit the social security contributions form by the 15th of the month for the previous month at the latest.

The calculated contributions must be paid by the 20th day of the month for the previous month at the latest.

Explanations concerning the contributions of self-employed persons are published on the Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia website. (Note: insert a link to the page to be prepared by FURS)