Private accommodation providers on Krk do not pay only the lump-sum tax per bed. Along with it come the tourist tax, tourist board membership fee, possible real estate tax, invoices, turnover records and a special VAT obligation when using foreign platforms.

This is not a guide for non residents, companies or those who have exceeded the threshold.

This text applies to standard private accommodation providers, residents of the Republic of Croatia, who rent out an apartment, room or holiday home within a household on the basis of an approval decision.

It does not apply to non residents. If you own property on Krk but are not a Croatian tax resident, special rules apply to you. This topic is covered separately in the section Non Residents.

This article also does not cover accommodation providers who have exceeded the threshold for entering the VAT system, nor those who rent through a company, sole proprietorship or another business model. That is a different tax story and deserves a separate text.

Također, ovdje ne ponavljamo sve ono što iznajmljivač mora imati spremno u objektu za turističku inspekciju. To smo već obradili u članku o turističkoj inspekciji kod iznajmljivača.

The topic here is simple: what a private accommodation provider pays and what they must pay attention to when it comes to taxes and charges.

The lump sum tax is not the only obligation

Many accommodation providers understand “tax” to mean only the lump sum tax per bed. That is wrong.

As a rule, a private accommodation provider must keep track of several different obligations:

• lump sum income tax
• tourist tax
• tourist board membership fee
• real estate tax, if there is an obligation for the specific property
• VAT on commissions of foreign platforms or foreign agencies, if such services are used
• invoices and turnover records

To nisu ista davanja. Ne plaćaju se na isti način, ne idu uvijek istom tijelu i nemaju iste rokove. Zato nastaje zbrka. Netko plati paušalni porez i misli da je time riješio sve. Nije.

Lump sum income tax: paid according to the approved capacity

Most private accommodation providers pay lump sum income tax. This means that the tax is not calculated according to actual earnings, but according to the approved capacity and the amount that applies to the area where the property is located. In practice, the accommodation provider does not pay less tax if they had a weaker season, nor more just because they had a better season, as long as they remain within the lump sum regime.

The tax is determined by a decision of the Tax Administration, and the amount depends on the decision of the city or municipality. For accommodation providers on the island of Krk, this means that they must check the decision of the local self-government unit in which the property is located: the Town of Krk, Baška, Dobrinj, Malinska-Dubašnica, Omišalj, Punat or Vrbnik.

It is not enough to read a general text on the internet and conclude that the same applies to everyone. Decisions are made locally, within the framework prescribed by the state.

The lump sum tax is the basic tax obligation of a private accommodation provider, but it is not the only one. This is where many make their first mistake.

The tourist tax is not the same as the lump sum tax

The tourist tax, which many still call the sojourn tax, is a separate obligation. For private accommodation providers in households, it is most often paid as a lump sum, according to the number of beds, both main and auxiliary. This is important: the tourist tax is not the lump sum income tax. The lump sum income tax goes through the tax system. The tourist tax is linked to the tourism system and is paid according to the rules of the Tourist Tax Act.

Može se platiti jednokratno do 31. srpnja ili u tri obroka:

• the first instalment by 31 July
• second instalment by 31 August
• third instalment by 30 September

Payment slips are generally downloaded through eVisitor.

For private accommodation providers in households, the tourist tax is not shown separately to the guest on the invoice for the overnight stay. It is the accommodation provider’s obligation and should not be confused with the invoice issued to the guest.

Tourist tax for 2026 on the island of Krk

According to the county table for 2026, the annual lump sum amounts of the tourist tax for island local units are as follows:

Town/municipality on the island of Krk	Accommodation in a household, per bed	Accommodation on a family farm, per bed	Campsite, camper stop or Robinson accommodation in a household, per accommodation unit
Krk	60,00 €	40,00 €	90,00 €
Baška	63,00 €	40,00 €	85,00 €
Dobrinj	62,00 €	40,00 €	85,00 €
Malinska-Dubašnica	60,00 €	40,00 €	80,00 €
Omišalj	65,00 €	40,00 €	85,00 €
Punat	60,00 €	45,00 €	120,00 €
Vrbnik	60,00 €	40,00 €	85,00 €

This is not income tax. This is the tourist tax. That is why an accommodation provider who sees an amount of, for example, 60 or 65 euros per bed must not conclude that this is their total tax. It is only one of the obligations.

Tourist board membership fee: another item that is often forgotten

In addition to the lump sum tax and the tourist tax, there is also the tourist board membership fee. Natural persons who provide hospitality services in a household are obliged to pay membership fees to tourist boards.

For private accommodation providers, this obligation is reported using the TZ-2 form, which is submitted for the previous year. The deadline is 15 January of the current year. This means that an accommodation provider does not complete all obligations by closing the season in September or October. Part of the obligations comes at the beginning of the following year, when the membership fee calculation must be properly submitted.

Here too, the location of the property is important. If someone lives in Rijeka, Zagreb or Slovenia, but rents out an apartment in Baška, Punat or Malinska, the obligation is linked to the place where the property being rented is located.

Real estate tax: it should not be confused with renting, but it should not be ignored either

Since 2025, a real estate tax has been introduced, replacing the previous tax on holiday homes. This is not the same as the lump sum income tax from renting.

The lump sum tax is paid because you earn income from tourist accommodation. Real estate tax is linked to the property itself and its status. In practice, owners of apartments and holiday homes on Krk should check whether this obligation applies to their property, especially if it is a property that is not used for permanent residence.

The amount of real estate tax is determined by the city or municipality, within the legally prescribed range per square metre of usable area. This is an item that some accommodation providers will not perceive as part of their “tourism obligations”, but in the real cost of ownership and renting it can certainly have an impact.

Invoices and turnover records: briefly, because this is not the main topic of this article

A private accommodation provider must issue invoices. This also applies if they are not in the VAT system.

For lump sum accommodation providers, two things are often confused: issuing invoices and fiscalization. An invoice must exist. The fact that the accommodation provider is not in the VAT system or does not fiscalize the invoice does not mean that they do not have to issue one.

Along with invoices, turnover records are also kept, meaning records of issued invoices. We will not repeat the entire inspection part here, because that is a separate topic. What matters is that invoices and records must follow the actual turnover, not be put together at the end of the season from memory.

If the accommodation provider works through a tourist agency, they should check exactly what is written in the contract. In some models, the invoice to the guest is issued by the agency, and in others by the accommodation provider. The same applies to the data needed for turnover records.

This does not mean that the accommodation provider can ignore the documentation. It only means that they must know who does what and where the data is kept. The worst sentence after the season is: “I thought someone else was taking care of that.”

VAT on commissions from foreign platforms: a trap many do not see

The biggest tax trap for small accommodation providers is often not the lump sum tax. The trap is VAT on commissions from foreign platforms and foreign agencies. Many accommodation providers think that VAT does not concern them because they are not in the VAT system. That is not always true. If an accommodation provider works directly through a foreign platform or foreign agency that charges them a commission, an obligation may arise to calculate Croatian VAT on that service.

It is important to understand: this is not VAT on the full accommodation price paid by the guest. It is VAT on the service that the accommodation provider received from the foreign platform or foreign agency, for example on the commission. If a platform from abroad charges the accommodation provider a commission, the accommodation provider must check whether they need a VAT identification number and whether they must calculate Croatian VAT on that commission. The allocation of a VAT identification number is not the same as entering the VAT system for the entire business.

This is the part many people skip because they see only the payment arriving in their account. The platform deducts the commission, the money arrives, the season continues, and the obligation towards the Tax Administration remains invisible. That is why it is important to distinguish between two situations.

1. If the accommodation provider works directly through foreign platforms, they must take care of the VAT identification number, commissions and any forms that may result from this.
2. If the accommodation provider works directly through foreign platforms or foreign agencies, they must take care of the VAT identification number and the calculation of VAT on the commission. But if they work with a domestic tourist agency that acts in its own name and on behalf of another party, then the agency takes over the transfer of tax liability for commissions from foreign agencies and platforms, so the accommodation provider does not have to calculate that part themselves.

This does not mean that the accommodation provider does not need to know how their business is set up. It means that they must have a clear agreement with the agency on who issues invoices, who keeps turnover records, how the commission is calculated and which obligations the agency operationally takes over.

This is exactly where working through an agency makes sense for many private accommodation providers. It is not only about who will bring the guest, but also about who will manage reservations, invoices, commissions and tax administration that many people do not understand clearly.

The threshold for entering the VAT system is a separate topic

For standard private accommodation providers, it is important to know that there is a threshold after which they can no longer act as a small lump sum accommodation provider. Since 2025, the threshold for entering the VAT system has been 60,000 euros.

Accommodation providers who are approaching that amount, who have several properties, higher turnover or a more complex operating model, should check their status in time.

At that point, we are no longer talking only about “how much do I pay per bed”, but about a completely different way of monitoring income, obligations and tax status.

Long term rental outside the season is not covered by the tourism lump sum

Some apartment owners on Krk rent to tourists in summer, and in winter give the same space for long term rental to workers, students or a family. This is not the same tax basis.

The tourism lump sum does not mean that long term rental is automatically covered as well. If the same property is used for tourist rental and for long term rental, tax obligations should be checked on both bases.

This is a common mistake because the owner thinks: “I already pay the lump sum for the apartment.” Yes, but that lump sum applies to tourist rental in a household. Long term rental has its own rules.

The most common misconceptions among private accommodation providers

With taxes and charges, the problem most often does not arise because someone has paid nothing. The problem arises because they have paid one thing and thought that this covered everything.

The most common misconceptions are:

• the lump sum tax and the tourist tax are the same thing
• the tourist board membership fee does not have to be reported if the season was weak
• an invoice does not need to be issued if the accommodation provider is not in the VAT system
• VAT does not concern small accommodation providers
• the commission of a foreign platform is only a cost, without additional obligations
• real estate tax has nothing to do with apartments
• the agency automatically handles everything, regardless of the contract
• winter rental is covered by the tourism lump sum

Some of these mistakes can go unnoticed for years. But that does not mean that the obligation does not exist.

Conclusion

A private accommodation provider on Krk must not look only at the lump sum tax per bed. That is only one part of the overall picture.

There are also the tourist tax, the tourist board membership fee, possible real estate tax, invoices, turnover records, VAT on commissions from foreign platforms and special rules if the same space is also rented long term.

For small accommodation providers, all of this does not have to be complicated if it is handled regularly. The problem arises when obligations are mixed up, postponed or dealt with only after the season.

Tourism on Krk is no longer a side activity as it once was. Prices are higher, inspections are more serious, platforms are more complex, and tax obligations are no longer something that can be handled “approximately”. Anyone who rents must know what they are paying, whom they are paying and why they are paying. Because the most expensive mistake is often not the tax itself, but the belief that everything has been settled just because the lump sum tax per bed has been paid.