Croatia’s tax authority has urged property owners to report any changes affecting property taxation by March 31, warning that failure to do so could lead to problems in the 2026 tax assessment cycle, local media reported.
The warning comes as the country implements a new property tax system introduced at the start of 2025, which replaced the previous levy on holiday homes and has required extensive data processing by the Tax Administration in cooperation with local government units.
According to data presented at a briefing on Monday, the Tax Administration has worked with 386 cities and municipalities that delegated property tax assessment and collection, while 170 local units handle the process independently.
Authorities have processed around 1.3 million properties and issued approximately 280,000 tax decisions for 2025, officials said.
The number of tax rulings is significantly lower than the total number of properties reviewed because many are exempt, including primary residences, long-term rentals with registered tenants, and non-residential buildings.
Officials said most exemptions reflect cases where owners or their families live in the property, or where properties are used for commercial purposes.
By mid-March, around 36,000 objections had been filed, accounting for less than 3% of all processed properties. The most common complaints concern cases where family members live in the property but exemptions were not applied.
The Tax Administration said most objections are being processed within two months and that taxpayers will not face penalties, interest, or enforcement measures while disputes are pending.
Authorities acknowledged that some errors occurred, including mismatched address records across different databases, which in a small number of cases led to incorrect tax assessments. Incorrectly issued rulings are being revoked, and any payments already made will be refunded automatically.
Citizens can submit objections via the eTax system, by post, in person, or by phone.
Officials stressed that taxpayers who live in their own property and have no changes do not need to take any action.
The property tax, which ranges from €0.60 to €8 per square metre depending on local authority decisions, applies to secondary properties such as holiday homes, vacant apartments, or short-term accommodation units that do not meet long-term rental criteria.