Taxation of deposit interest
The income tax exemption is valid for bank deposit interest until the end of 2017. From 2018, the received deposit interest will also be subject to income tax.
- The interest on which income tax has been withheld during the year is reflected in part I of table 5.1 of the income tax return. If income tax has not been withheld from the interest, the natural person must declare the received interest in part II of table 5.1 of the income tax return.
- If a person wishes to defer the income tax liability arising from the interest on a deposit (investment deposit) for the purpose of investing, he or she must have an investment account opened with a credit institution (bank) and the money deposited must come from a cash account used as an investment account. In this case, the principle must also be followed that at the maturity of the deposit, the principal amount of the investment deposit, as well as the interest must be received in the investment account.
- If the principle that the money transferred to the investment deposit comes from the investment account has been followed and if it is desired to defer the income tax liability arising from interest, then the person may notify the bank in writing so that the bank does not withhold income tax from the interest received. Such interest is taxed among the payments in the investment account based on the data declared in table 6.5 of the income tax return. If income tax has been withheld from the interest received on the investment account, such interest may be declared as a contribution to the investment account.
Taxation of income from crowdfunding platform loans
In the following, we explain the taxation of income received from so-called person-to-person loans.
A natural person may receive the following types of taxable income from this loan:
- interest – the fee for the use of loan money is taxed on the basis of § 17 (1) of the Income Tax Act;
- default interest – the fee for the delay in fulfilling the loan obligation is taxed as other income based on § 12 (1) of the Income Tax Act;
- benefit from the transfer of the loan claim – gains received from the transfer of a loan claim are taxed as gains from the transfer of other assets on the basis of § 15 (1) of the Income Tax Act. A benefit is obtained if the sale price on the transfer of the loan claim or the market price on the exchange exceeds the acquisition cost. Depending on the method of granting or acquiring the loan, the acquisition cost is either the cost incurred in granting the loan, i.e. the amount borrowed, or the amount paid to acquire the loan claim. It is not possible to take into account for tax purposes the loss received upon termination or transfer of the loan relationship, nor is it possible to offset the loss with the income received.
The lender must reflect the interest, default interest or gain received from the transfer of the loan claim in the income tax return for the calendar year of receipt of the income, including receipt in his or her registered portal account. If the income of the loan is reinvested, it must also be declared. The income tax payable by the lender is determined from the tax result calculated based on the income tax return.
Last updated: 13.02.2024