Bosnia and Herzegovina opens VAT refunds on a first apartment: rulebook applies from 8 July 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Tax
- VAT
- Change type
- Update
- Status
- In force
- Impact
- FYI
- Announced
- 30 June 2026
- Effective
- 8 July 2026
- Authority
- Indirect Taxation Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina (UINO)
- Systems
- Invoicing
- Verified
- Fetched from official source · high confidence
Adult BiH citizens resident in BiH buying a first apartment whose supply is subject to VAT.
No action for businesses; developers selling apartments should expect buyers to request the VAT-bearing tax invoice and proof of full payment.
Invoicing
Under article 54a of the Law on Amendments to the VAT Law (Official Gazette of BiH 25/25), adult Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens resident in BiH who buy a first apartment whose supply is subject to VAT can claim a refund of the VAT paid. The Rulebook supplementing the VAT Law Rulebook, published in Official Gazette of BiH 45/26 on 30 June 2026, sets the conditions and procedure and has applied from 8 July 2026; claims go on form ZKPS to the Indirect Taxation Authority regional centre of the seller's seat. The Indirect Taxation Authority delivered the first refund decisions on 16-17 September 2026 after 1,453 claims had been filed.
What changed in detail
Under article 54a of the Law on Amendments to the VAT Law (Official Gazette of BiH 25/25), adult Bosnia and Herzegovina citizens resident in BiH who buy a first apartment whose supply is subject to VAT can claim a refund of the VAT paid.
The Rulebook supplementing the VAT Law Rulebook was published in Official Gazette of BiH 45/26 on 30 June 2026 and has applied from 8 July 2026. It sets the conditions and procedure. Claims are made on form ZKPS to the Indirect Taxation Authority regional centre of the seller’s seat.
The Indirect Taxation Authority delivered the first refund decisions on 16-17 September 2026, after 1,453 claims had been filed.
What it means
The refund is claimed by the buyer, not the seller, and goes through the regional centre for the seller’s seat, which is easy to get wrong when the buyer lives elsewhere. Only supplies that are subject to VAT qualify, and the buyer must be an adult BiH citizen resident in BiH. Buyers should keep the purchase documents together with form ZKPS, as the Rulebook sets the conditions for the claim.
Proof
Dana 30.6.2026. godine u „Službenom glasniku BiH“, broj: 45/26 objavljen je Pravilnik o dopuni Pravilnika o primjeni Zakona o porezu na dodanu vrijednost, kojim su propisani uvjeti i postupak ostvarivanja prava na povrat PDV-a pri kupnji prvog stana.On 30 June 2026 the Rulebook supplementing the Rulebook on the application of the Law on Value Added Tax was published in the Official Gazette of BiH, number 45/26, prescribing the conditions and procedure for exercising the right to a VAT refund on the purchase of a first apartment.
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