Croatia has finalised amendments to its Corporate Income Tax Ordinance, introducing new procedures for handling tax overpayments across all primary return forms, refining asset transfer reporting obligations, and expanded transitional provisions for investment and tourism sector incentives, with effect from 1 January 2026.
Croatia has published the amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Ordinance in the Official Gazette No. 39/2026 on 15 April 2026. All key changes previously outlined in the draft released for public consultation have been adopted, with only minor modifications. However, the final version also introduces several new provisions that were not included in the consultation draft.
The key additions are as follows:
Tax refund procedures across CIT forms
The amendments introduce specific procedures for taxpayers to declare how they wish to handle tax overpayments (the difference for a refund) across all primary return forms:
- Form PD (Regular CIT Return): Taxpayers now use Part XI of the form to specify whether they want a refund (including the specific account), a transfer to the next period, or a cession. The refund difference is determined on the due date of the tax liability for the period.
- Form PD-NN (Cash Basis CIT Return): Similar to the regular return, taxpayers must now complete Part XII of the form to declare their preference for handling the refund difference.
- Form PD-PO (Lump-sum CIT Calculation): A new Supplement III (Part 5) has been added to this form, allowing taxpayers to declare how they will use the difference for tax refunds, monument rents, and tourist membership fees.
- Form PT (Ship Tonnage Tax Return): Taxpayers now use Part V of this form to declare the method of refund for tax differences.
Reporting asset transfers – Time limit
The obligation for a company (either the transferred company or the acquiring company) to report the tax consequences of an asset transfer has been refined. Following a transfer, these entities must submit notifications regarding the presentation of the transaction’s tax consequences with their CIT returns “as long as the tax consequences of the transaction last”.
Expanded transitional provisions
The amendments include specific transitional rules for taxpayers in unique incentive situations:
- Investment incentives: Taxpayers who are beneficiaries of acquired rights under previous investment incentive regulations must report their tax liability reductions in the updated return forms until those rights are fully utilised.
- Tourism sector incentives: Taxpayers utilising incentives in the tourism sector for tax periods that began before 1 January 2026 are required to apply specific provisions of the CIT regulations in an “adjusted manner” for those periods.
These regulations generally apply to tax return procedures for the year 2026 and onwards, or for tax periods beginning from 1 January 2026. The regulations entered into force on the day following their publication in the Official Gazette.
Earlier, Croatia’s Ministry of Finance released a draft amendment to the Corporate Income Tax Ordinance, which was open for public consultation until 25 March 2026. The proposed changes, set to apply from 1 January 2026, aim to strengthen oversight of investment funds, simplify compliance processes, and broaden available tax reliefs for businesses.
