Hungary’s new government wants its richest residents to pay a yearly tax on what they own, not only on what they earn. On 6 October 2026 the Ministry of Finance published a draft wealth tax law for public consultation. Prime Minister Péter Magyar’s Tisza party, which defeated Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz in April, had promised such a tax in its campaign.
What stands out is how few exits the draft leaves open. Trusts and private foundations are taxed as taxpayers in their own right, including foreign ones run from Hungary, and Hungarian citizens who move abroad stay in the net for up to ten years. Comments can be sent until 14 October 2026, so as of 12 October the consultation is still open and the text may change before it reaches parliament.
Who pays, and how much
The tax is charged on net wealth: assets minus documented debts, especially loans taken to buy or improve a taxed asset.
- Net wealth up to HUF 1 billion (roughly €2.7 million) is not taxed.
- The slice between HUF 1 billion and HUF 100 billion is taxed at 1% a year.
- The slice above HUF 100 billion (roughly €270 million) is taxed at 1.5% a year.
So a person with HUF 3 billion would pay 1% of HUF 2 billion, or HUF 20 million a year. Each spouse has their own HUF 1 billion allowance. Most of a minor child’s assets are counted with the parent who has custody (split equally if custody is shared), but what the child inherited or earned stays with the child. Advisers quoted by Telex disagree on the size of the tax: Blochamps Capital expects 25,000 to 30,000 households to be affected, and Károly Radnai of Andersen said HUF 200 billion in the first year would be a good result.
What counts as wealth
Almost everything a resident owns, in Hungary or abroad: real estate, company shares, securities, bank deposits, funds, receivables, crypto-assets, life insurance with a savings element, and investment gold. Ordinary household goods are left out. But art, collections and jewellery count if a single item is worth more than HUF 3 million, and so do vehicles worth more than HUF 10 million.
Values follow set formulas. Listed shares use market prices. Private companies use a mix of book value and recent after-tax profits. Hungarian property can use the purchase price (indexed in some cases), the tax authority’s model value, or an appraisal. People who are not Hungarian residents pay only on Hungarian real estate and shares in Hungarian companies, including companies that own Hungarian property, and tax treaties can override the rules.
How trusts and foundations are caught
The draft creates a separate kind of taxpayer for asset-holding structures: Hungarian trusts, private foundations, and any foreign arrangement that serves a similar purpose, whatever its legal form. (For how these structures work, see our guide to holding structures.) They pay on their own assets, separately from the founder and the beneficiaries.
A foreign trust or foundation counts as Hungarian if its place of effective management is in Hungary. In simple terms, that is where the important decisions are really made: what to invest in, how to run the assets, and who receives money. Signing papers or holding formal meetings somewhere else does not change the answer. Telex gave an example: a Liechtenstein foundation whose board meets in Budapest would pay Hungarian tax.
The draft goes further. If any founder or settlor is a Hungarian resident, or if a Hungarian resident beneficiary actually steers key decisions, management is presumed to be in Hungary. The structure must prove otherwise. A family also cannot multiply the HUF 1 billion allowance by setting up several linked trusts: related structures share a single allowance.
The ten-year tail for people who leave
For this tax, a Hungarian citizen counts as a domestic taxpayer even without a home in Hungary, and even with a second passport, unless they have lived abroad for at least ten years by the end of the tax year. On a plain reading, a citizen who moves away now would stay liable on worldwide wealth for about a decade. Foreign citizens follow the normal income tax residence rules, with a few exceptions.
Separately, some Hungarian press reports say the government is also considering an “exit tax” on unrealised gains when wealthy citizens move abroad. It is not in the draft bill, and nothing has been confirmed.
Self-assessment and key dates
The tax is self-assessed. Each taxpayer values their own assets, declares them one by one with the method used, and pays. If a lump sum would be disproportionately burdensome, the tax authority can allow deferral or instalments, normally for up to 12 months and up to 24 months in exceptional cases.
- 6 October 2026: draft published for consultation.
- 14 October 2026: consultation closes.
- 15 December 2026: planned entry into force.
- 31 December 2026: first valuation date.
- 31 August 2027: first return and payment due.
A fair caveat
This is a draft, and the ministry has said the rules may change after consultation. Formula values for private companies and foreign property may differ from what those assets would actually fetch. Revenue estimates range widely, from HUF 160 billion to HUF 600 billion a year in figures cited by Telex, which shows how uncertain the tax base is.
Five lessons to take away
- Wealth taxes follow decisions, not paperwork. Where the board really decides matters more than where the foundation is registered.
- A foreign wrapper is not a shield. Foreign trusts and foundations run from Hungary would be taxed like Hungarian ones.
- Leaving takes time to work. For Hungarian citizens, the draft keeps the tax going until ten years abroad.
- Splitting does not multiply allowances. Linked structures share one threshold.
- Valuation is the real work. EY’s András Módos called it “a complex data collection, valuation and documentation task”, as quoted by the Budapest Business Journal.
Questions to bring to your advisors
Counted the draft’s way, would our net wealth per person cross HUF 1 billion on 31 December 2026? Where are decisions about our trust or foundation actually made, and could we prove it? Is anyone in the family a Hungarian citizen who has lived abroad for less than ten years? These are questions to bring to your lawyers and tax advisors, not advice.