Tax residence in Hungary for U.S. citizens and green card holders

Hungary treats as residents its own citizens with a Hungarian address, holders of permanent residence permits, people whose only permanent home or center of vital interests is in Hungary, and those staying 183 days or more. There is no income tax treaty in force between the United States and Hungary, so a dual resident can rely only on domestic relief such as the U.S. foreign tax credit.

Check your status: United States and Hungary

Free, no sign-up, about 3 minutes. Conclusion under U.S. law, compared with the law of Hungary and the tax treaty.

When Hungary treats you as a tax resident

Hungary treats its citizens as residents by citizenship alone; a dual citizen only if he or she has a registered Hungarian address. For others: long-term residence right, permanent home, centre of vital interests or 183 days.

Hungarian law asks whether your only permanent home is in Hungary; a home in the United States (or elsewhere) sends you to the centre-of-vital-interests test.

You are a Hungarian citizen with a registered address in Hungary — under the Szja tv. you are a Hungarian resident by citizenship alone, regardless of days or home.
You hold only Hungarian citizenship — under the Szja tv. you are a Hungarian resident by citizenship alone, regardless of days or home.
You hold a long-term (permanent) residence right in Hungary — under the Szja tv. you are a Hungarian resident.
Your only permanent home is in Hungary — you are a Hungarian resident.
Your centre of vital interests is in Hungary — you are a Hungarian resident.
Your centre of vital interests cannot be determined and you spent 183 days or more in Hungary in the calendar year — that is a habitual abode, so you are a Hungarian resident.

When you are a nonresident

Under Hungarian law you are not a Hungarian resident. Hungarian-source income (including pay for work physically done in Hungary) is still taxed there — and with no treaty there is no 183-day exemption.

Where the rules of Hungary clash with U.S. tax rules

Collision: resident of both countries — no tie-breaker. Hungary treats you as resident and so does the United States. Without a treaty nothing resolves the conflict: both countries tax your worldwide income. Hungary credits 90% of U.S. tax on U.S.-source income in the consolidated base (capped at the Hungarian tax) but gives no credit for U.S. tax on Hungarian-source income. The United States credits Hungarian tax on Hungarian-source income (or you exclude foreign earned income under § 911); without a treaty there is no re-sourcing rule, so double tax on U.S.-source income may be relieved only partly.
Collision: U.S.–Hungarian dual citizens with a Hungarian address. If you hold Hungarian citizenship and a registered Hungarian address (address card), Hungary treats you as resident by citizenship alone — even if you live in the United States. The United States taxes you as a citizen. With no treaty there is no tie-breaker and no mutual agreement procedure: you are fully taxable in both countries, with relief only through the unilateral credits. Deregistering the Hungarian address removes the citizenship-based residence (the other tests still apply).
Collision: Hungarian long-term residence right. With a long-term residence right Hungary treats you as resident automatically, whatever your home or centre of vital interests (Kúria, Kfv.I.35.493/2019/7). With no treaty, a U.S. citizen, green-card holder or substantial-presence resident remains a full U.S. resident as well.
Collision: centre of vital interests in Hungary. If your centre of vital interests is in Hungary, Hungary treats you as resident even if you keep a home in the United States. The Kúria weighs family and economic ties, in particular where you use your bank accounts and cards day to day. Without a treaty the U.S. side cannot be displaced by a tie-breaker.

What else to know

No income tax treaty in force between the United States and Hungary. The United States terminated the 1979 U.S.–Hungary treaty (notice of 8 July 2022). It no longer applies to taxes withheld on payments made from 1 January 2024 or to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, and no new treaty is in force for 2026. Consequences: there is no tie-breaker, so you can be a full resident of both countries at once; no 183-day rule protects short work trips; no reduced withholding rates; no mutual agreement procedure. Double tax is relieved only unilaterally — in the United States by the foreign tax credit or the foreign earned income exclusion (§ 911), in Hungary by the 90% credit for foreign tax on foreign-source income (§ 32 Szja tv.).
Working in Hungary — including remotely for a U.S. employer. Work physically performed in Hungary is Hungarian-source income even if the employer is American. Without a treaty there is no 183-day exemption: Hungary may tax the salary from the first working day, even if you are a non-resident. A U.S. citizen or resident can credit the Hungarian tax in the United States or exclude the income under § 911 if he or she qualifies (no credit on excluded income); Hungary does not credit U.S. tax on this income.
Social security: the U.S.–Hungary agreement still applies. The termination concerned only the income tax treaty. The U.S.–Hungary social security agreement has been in force since 1 September 2016: as a rule contributions are due where the income is earned, but a worker posted to Hungary by a U.S. employer stays in the U.S. system (and vice versa); it covers FICA/SECA and Hungarian social security contributions.

How dual residence is resolved

There is no income tax treaty in force between the United States and this country.

Terms you will come across in Hungary

belföldi illetőségű: tax resident of Hungary
külföldi illetőségű: nonresident
lakcímkártya: address card — registered place of residence
létérdekek központja: center of vital interests
illetőségigazolás: certificate of tax residence
NAV: National Tax and Customs Administration

Questions

Is there a tax treaty between the U.S. and Hungary?

No longer. The United States gave notice of termination on 8 July 2022; the treaty ceased to apply to withholding taxes from 1 January 2024 and to other taxes for taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024. There is no tie-breaker and no mutual agreement procedure for 2024 onwards.

How is double taxation relieved without a treaty?

On the U.S. side through the foreign tax credit (Form 1116) or the foreign earned income exclusion (Form 2555); on the Hungarian side through the unilateral credit in § 32 of the Personal Income Tax Act. The U.S.–Hungary social security agreement (in force since 1 September 2016) still applies.

When am I a Hungarian tax resident?

Hungarian citizens with a Hungarian address, holders of a permanent residence permit, people whose only permanent home or center of vital interests is in Hungary, and those who stay 183 days or more in the year.

Sources

Legislation and official guidance

§ 3 point 2(a) of Act CXVII of 1995 on Personal Income Tax (Szja tv.) — Every Hungarian citizen is resident, except a dual citizen who has no residence or habitual abode (registered address) in Hungary.
NAV booklet 04 «Magánszemélyek külföldről származó jövedelme» (20 Feb 2026) — Hungarian citizens remain resident even when living abroad for years (except dual citizens without a Hungarian address); categories of residents are listed as in § 3 point 2 Szja tv.
§ 3 point 2(c) Szja tv. — Resident: a third-country national holding a long-term residence right in Hungary, and a stateless person.
§ 3 point 2(d) Szja tv. — Other individuals are resident if (da) their only permanent home is in Hungary; (db) their centre of vital interests is in Hungary, if they have no permanent home in Hungary or also have one abroad; (dc) their habitual abode is in Hungary, if neither of the above settles it.
§ 7 point 44 of Act CL of 2017 on the Rules of Taxation (Art.) — Habitual abode in Hungary: at least 183 days of stay in a calendar year; days of arrival and departure count as full days.
§ 3 point 4(d) Szja tv. — Employment income is sourced where the work is normally performed: work done physically in Hungary (including remote work for a foreign employer) is Hungarian-source income.
IRS — Hungary tax treaty documents — The 1979 Convention was terminated effective 8 January 2023; it ceased to have effect for taxes withheld at source on 1 January 2024 and for other taxes for taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024. Withholding agents may not accept treaty claims for payments made on or after 1 January 2024.
U.S. Treasury press release JY0872 (15 July 2022) — On 8 July 2022 the United States notified Hungary of termination of the 1979 Convention; termination effective 8 January 2023, with effect for withholding taxes from 1 January 2024 and for other taxes for taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024.
NAV — «Szja-változások a magyar-amerikai kettős adóztatást elkerülő egyezmény megszűnése miatt» — From 1 January 2024 each state may tax income arising in the other under its own domestic law; such income must be treated as income from a non-treaty country.
§ 32(1) Szja tv. — Where a resident's consolidated tax base includes foreign-source income taxed in the source state, the Hungarian tax is reduced — unless a treaty provides otherwise — by 90% of the foreign tax paid, but not more than the Hungarian tax on that income. Without a treaty, foreign tax cannot be credited against tax on Hungarian-source income; refundable foreign tax does not count.
26 U.S.C. § 901(b)(1) — A U.S. citizen may credit income taxes paid or accrued to a foreign country (subject to the limitations of § 904).
26 U.S.C. § 911(a), (d)(1), (d)(6) — A qualified individual (tax home abroad and bona fide residence for an entire taxable year, or 330 full days abroad in 12 consecutive months) may elect to exclude foreign earned income and a housing amount; no foreign tax credit is allowed for taxes allocable to the excluded income.
SSA POMS GN 01755.105 and GN 01755.110 — The U.S.–Hungary social security agreement became effective on 1 September 2016; it covers U.S. Social Security taxes (FICA, SECA, including the Medicare portions) and Hungarian social security contributions.
Hungarian State Treasury — Social Security Agreement between Hungary and the USA (Act XXIX of 2015) — Contributions are generally payable in the country where the income is earned; for posted workers, in the country where the posting employer is established.

Case law

Kúria (Supreme Court of Hungary), Kfv.I.35.493/2019/7, 2020-04-30 — A Vietnamese national with permanent-residence (letelepedett) status who had lived in Hungary with his family since 1989 was a Hungarian resident under § 3 point 2(c) Szja tv.; his family and economic ties confirmed this, so his reliance on Vietnamese residence under Art. 4 of the treaty was rejected (income tax case following an expenditure-vs-income audit).
Kúria (Supreme Court of Hungary), Kfv.I.35.013/2016/10, 2016-06-16 — A Georgian national living in Budapest since 2006 was held a Hungarian resident: the centre of vital interests is determined comprehensively by the closest family and economic ties (home, companies, employment contract, bank accounts and card use).
Kúria (Supreme Court of Hungary), Kfv.I.35.118/2020/4, 2020-04-09 — A person who claimed to live in Germany was held a Hungarian resident: closer economic ties are decisive for the centre of vital interests, above all where the person regularly uses bank accounts and cards.
Kúria (Supreme Court of Hungary), Kfv.VI.35.085/2017/12, 2018-01-24 — A foreign national with an immigration permit, a registered home in Budapest, and family, companies and accounts in Hungary was a resident with unlimited tax liability, because his closest personal, family and economic ties led to Hungary.

Updated 2026-11-04. The result is for information only and is not tax or legal advice. Tax authorities and courts may interpret the rules differently, including because of circumstances not covered here, and the law changes. Consult a qualified adviser before making decisions.

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