How to Claim the VAT Refund on Your First New-Build Apartment in Serbia

If this is your first apartment and it is a brand-new build from an investor, you are very likely entitled to a VAT refund of 10% of the price, the "first apartment" relief under the Serbian VAT Law (Zakon o PDV-u, art. 56a). Most buyers simply don't claim it, or leave money on the table by not adding household members.

The short version

• Applies only to a newly built apartment bought directly from the investor (VAT invoice, not a resale where transfer tax applies).
• Refundable surface area: up to 40 m² for the buyer + 15 m² for each additional household member with registered residence at the same address.
• The buyer must be at least 18, a Serbian citizen with registered residence in Serbia, and must never have owned an apartment or family house before (anywhere in Serbia, including inherited shares above the threshold).
• The price per m² used for calculation is capped, check the current cap on the Tax Administration (Poreska uprava) page before signing.

Documents you will need

1. Sale-purchase contract (overen, notarized).
2. Investor's VAT invoice with clearly stated 10% VAT.
3. Proof of payment for the full purchase price (bank statement, not cash).
4. Certificate of citizenship (uverenje o državljanstvu), not older than 6 months.
5. Certificate of registered residence (uverenje o prebivalištu).
6. A written statement that this is your first apartment, form RFN (on the Tax Administration website).
7. If you are adding household members: their ID copies and proof they share your registered residence.

How to file

You submit the RFN form to the Tax Administration office that covers your residence within 30 days of the final payment. The refund lands on your bank account, typically within 30 to 90 days depending on the office's workload.

Three mistakes that cost people the refund

1. Paying in cash. Only traceable bank payments qualify. If any part of the price was paid outside the banking system, that portion is excluded.
2. Forgetting household members. A buyer with a spouse and one child who lives at the same address qualifies for 40 + 15 + 15 = 70 m², not 40 m². That is a meaningful difference at Belgrade prices.
3. Co-ownership confusion. If you buy 50/50 with a non-family co-owner, each of you files separately for their share, and if your co-owner has already owned property, that share is disqualified.

Is an "old" new-build still eligible?

Yes, what matters is that the first transfer after construction happens with VAT, and that you are the first owner. An unsold apartment that sat with the investor for three years is still a first transfer and still qualifies.

Bottom line

On a 55 m² apartment at 2,800 EUR/m², a full refund of VAT on eligible surface can easily exceed 12,000 EUR. It is worth one afternoon of paperwork. Go to your accountant or Tax Administration counter before the 30-day window closes.

A note on the program itself

First-apartment VAT relief has gone through several revisions since it was introduced. Before you count on it, confirm with the Tax Administration (Poreska uprava) or your accountant that the current rules still match whats described here, and that your specific contract qualifies. Rules, surface caps, and per-m² price ceilings are updated periodically.