VAT Advice & Compliance in Croatia

VAT in Croatia is PDV, porez na dodanu vrijednost, run by the Tax Administration (Porezna uprava). This page covers VAT registration and compliance in Croatia: becoming a PDV obveznik (VAT payer), the Croatian VAT number — the PDV ID broj, the letters HR followed by the OIB — returns and reports, refunds and disputes. Some older lists and lawyer pages call this service “VAT Service”. It is for foreign companies selling goods or services in Croatia, Croatian companies and obrts nearing the registration limit, and the many owners of holiday flats asked for a VAT ID by a booking platform.

Typical situations

• A foreign business trading in Croatia. A business established elsewhere generally registers from its first taxable supply in Croatia, without the small-business limit. Businesses from outside the EU usually act through a tax representative (porezni zastupnik), who shares responsibility for the filings; EU businesses register directly.
• A Croatian company or obrt. Registration becomes compulsory above a turnover limit and can be chosen below it (dobrovoljna registracija). Once registered, returns go through ePorezna monthly or quarterly, with separate reports on trade within the EU.
• Online sales to consumers in other EU countries. The One Stop Shop lets a business declare the VAT due in other member states through one Croatian return.
• Private renters and sole traders outside VAT. Buying services from abroad — a platform's commission, advertising — can create a duty to pay Croatian VAT on that service. For this they receive a PDV ID number without becoming full VAT payers, and file a return only for the periods with such purchases.

Points to watch

Limits, rates and filing rules have changed several times since the euro was introduced, and domestic e-invoicing is being extended in stages under Fiscalisation 2.0; a lawyer or accountant confirms the current rules. A VAT number is not a separate service — it comes with the registration. A partner's number can be checked in the EU's public VIES database.

What a lawyer or adviser does

Works out whether and when registration is needed, files the request, acts as or arranges the tax representative, keeps the returns and EU reports, claims refunds and answers tax audits and assessments. Related pages: tourist rental licence for holiday lets, tax and accounting for limited companies and tax services for freelancers; the wider field is tax services.

Questions and answers

What does a Croatian VAT number look like?

HR followed by the eleven-digit OIB of the company or person.

Why does Booking or Airbnb ask for a PDV ID number?

Their commission is a service from abroad on which a Croatian renter pays the VAT; with the ID number the platform invoices without VAT and the renter declares it.

Does a foreign company need a Croatian tax representative?

Usually when it is established outside the EU; a company from another EU country registers on its own.

Can a foreign business get Croatian VAT back?

VAT paid in Croatia by a business not registered there can be refunded through the EU refund procedure or, for businesses outside the EU, a separate claim.