VAT Identified Person in Slovakia: What It Means for Best Guest, Booking.com and Airbnb

Why it covers Best Guest, Booking.com and Airbnb alike

From the Slovak VAT perspective, it does not matter which specific tool you use — what matters is that it is a service from a supplier established abroad, whose place of supply under §15(1) of the VAT Act is determined by the recipient’s seat (i.e. yours, in Slovakia). This typically includes:

• Best Guest — services invoiced by Hotel Analytics s.r.o., a Czech company,
• Booking.com — service fees invoiced by Booking.com B.V., a Dutch company,
• Airbnb — service fees invoiced by Airbnb Ireland UC, an Irish company,
• other foreign channel managers, PMS tools or advertising platforms (such as Meta or Google Ads) used for business.

If you are not a VAT payer and receive such a service, you must register as an identified person — regardless of how many suppliers you receive services from, or their value.

An identified person is not a VAT payer

The common worry: “If I register, will I have to add VAT to my accommodation prices?” No.

As an identified person you:

• do not become a regular VAT payer,
• do not add VAT to your guests’ prices,
• have no right to deduct VAT on your regular purchases — the tax paid is a cost to you,
• handle VAT only on the specific received foreign services that §7a covers.

When the registration duty arises

Unlike registration under §7 (acquisition of goods from the EU), which has a threshold of €14,000 per calendar year, §7a has no threshold at all. The duty arises with the very first received service, regardless of its value.

An important difference from common practice: the law requires you to register before receiving the service, not retroactively after the duty arose. In reality most hosts realise it only in hindsight — in that case, register as soon as possible and discuss the situation with a tax advisor.

How to register

Registration is done electronically via the Financial Administration portal.

1. Log in to the Financial Administration portal with your electronic identity (eID) or a qualified certificate.
2. Fill in the VAT registration form and select registration under §7a.
3. State the reason — typically receipt of a service from a person not established in Slovakia.
4. Submit the application. The tax office usually processes it within 7 days and assigns you a VAT ID (IČ DPH).

Obligations after registration

VAT returns

For every calendar month in which you receive a §7a service, you must file a VAT return and pay the tax — by the 25th of the following month. If no such service is received in a month, no return is filed.

Keeping records

We recommend keeping an organised archive of:

• invoices from Best Guest, Booking.com, Airbnb and other foreign suppliers,
• service-fee statements,
• payment confirmations.

Common misconceptions

“I only have one apartment, so it doesn’t apply to me.” Business size is irrelevant — the type of received service is what matters.

“I’m not a VAT payer, so VAT doesn’t concern me.” That is exactly why the identified-person regime exists — it handles selected cross-border situations without making you a regular VAT payer.

“The platform never told me.” Neither Best Guest, Booking.com nor Airbnb is a tax advisor — responsibility for Slovak tax compliance always rests with the host.

Summary

If you operate accommodation in Slovakia and use foreign tools such as Best Guest, Booking.com or Airbnb, check whether the identified-person registration under §7a applies to you. It is not VAT payership in the usual sense — it is a narrowly defined obligation concerning specific services received from abroad.

This article is informational and does not replace individual tax advice. Please discuss your specific case — especially if you are discovering the obligation in hindsight — with a tax advisor or directly with the Financial Administration SR.

Related guides

• All host obligations in Slovakia
• Reporting foreign guests to the Foreigners Police
• Accommodation tax in Slovakia