A host in Slovakia can be inspected by three different institutions — the Foreigners Police, the municipality and the tax office — and each checks something different. The good news: all three inspections rest on the same foundation, which is complete and continuously kept records. Whoever has them has nothing to fear.
Who checks what
| Inspector | What they check | Key document |
|---|---|---|
| Foreigners Police | reports of foreigners, guest register | guest register + report confirmations |
| Municipality (tax administrator) | local accommodation tax | overnight-stay records, returns, exemption documentation |
| Tax office | income tax, VAT | accounting, records of platform income |
| SO SR | statistical reporting duty | filed CR 1-12 reports |
The Foreigners Police inspection
The police have a statutory right of entry into all premises of the accommodation establishment for the purpose of checking compliance — and the host has the duty to allow that entry. The inspection typically focuses on:
- whether foreign guests were reported within 5 days of accommodation (plain calendar days, not working days),
- whether the guest register is kept completely and continuously — not filled in retroactively the day before the inspection,
- whether the data in the register match the filed reports — a discrepancy between them is a typical finding.
It is important to know that an offence can be prosecuted within one year of discovery and up to three years after it was committed — so an inspection can easily deal with guests from a year ago. The fine is up to €3,300 per individual case.
The municipal inspection (local tax)
The municipality, as tax administrator, checks:
- registration — whether you are registered as a payer of the tax at all,
- returns and remittances — whether you file and pay within the deadlines set by the ordinance,
- amounts matching the records — whether the remitted amount corresponds to the number of overnight stays,
- exemptions — whether you can document the entitlement (for example a guest’s ZŤP card).
It is precisely for exemptions that records are key: an unclaimed exemption is your loss; an undocumented exemption is an inspection finding.
The tax office inspection
The tax office deals with income tax and VAT — and thanks to the DAC7 rules it has income reported directly by the platforms at its disposal. An inspection therefore typically compares the platform data with your return. A discrepancy between what Airbnb reported and what you declared is today the most easily detectable problem a host can have.
What to prepare: the checklist
- The guest register — complete, continuous, exportable. Digital form is acceptable.
- Confirmations of foreigner reports — archive the messages from your electronic mailbox on slovensko.sk.
- Returns and payment records for the local tax — by period, per the ordinance.
- Documentation for tax exemptions — who was exempt and why.
- Records of platform income — Airbnb/Booking.com statements matched against your bank account.
- Knowledge of your own ordinance (VZN) — your municipality’s rate, deadlines and exemptions.
How Best Guest handles this
An inspection is essentially a test of record quality — and records are exactly what Best Guest keeps automatically: a digital guest register generated from online check-ins, accommodation tax overviews by period, and report documents prepared for filing via portal.minv.sk. Everything is exportable at any time — for the police, the municipal office and your own archive.
Related pages
Frequently asked questions
Can the Foreigners Police enter my apartment?
Yes. Act No. 404/2011 Coll. obliges the host to allow the police unit entry into all premises of the accommodation establishment for the purpose of checking compliance — including inspecting the guest register. Refusing entry is a separate breach of duty.
What exactly do the Foreigners Police check?
Above all whether foreign guests were reported within the 5-day deadline from accommodation, whether you keep the guest register completely and continuously, and whether its data match the filed reports. Discrepancies between the register and the reports are a typical finding.
How far back can an inspection reach?
An offence concerning the reporting of foreigners can be prosecuted within one year of the day the authority learned of it, and no later than three years after it was committed. In practice, an inspection therefore also deals with guests from months or years ago — a reason not to shred your records prematurely.
What does the municipality check?
The administrator of the local accommodation tax — the municipality — checks whether you are registered as a payer, whether you file returns within the deadlines set by the ordinance (VZN), whether the remitted amount matches the number of overnight stays in your records, and whether you have documentation for the exemptions you claimed (for example ZŤP cards).
Do I have to produce the guest register on paper for an inspection?
No. The guest register does not have to be paper — a digital record satisfies the requirement as long as it is complete, accurate and producible on demand, for example as an export or on screen. What matters is producibility, not form.
What fines can result from an inspection?
For reporting foreigners, up to €3,300 per individual case; for the local tax, sanctions under the municipality's ordinance and the Tax Procedure Code (a fine for not filing a return, late-payment interest); for statistics, sanctions under the State Statistics Act. The overview is in the separate article on fines.
Sources
Verified against
Informational only
This page is provided for general information and is not legal or tax advice. Rates, deadlines and exemptions are set by law and municipal ordinances and can change — always verify current requirements with your municipality or a qualified advisor.