Electronic communication of self-employed person with the state: When is it mandatory and what benefits will it bring you?

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Electronic mailbox for self-employed individuals

In many cases, self-employed individuals and business entities are required to communicate with the state electronically. However, having an electronic mailbox is only optional for both self-employed and non-self-employed individuals.

While the creation of an electronic mailbox is automatic for all entities, if you are a self-employed individual, authorities will communicate with you via the electronic mailbox only if you have voluntarily activated it.

Did you know that…
…activating your electronic mailbox is very simple? After logging into your electronic mailbox on Slovensko.sk, click on the option “Activate Mailbox” in the top right corner. Your mailbox will be activated no later than the third business day.

 

Subsequently, delivery from public authorities can take place in the electronic mailbox. Electronic decisions have the same legal effect as if they were delivered in paper form.

If you are a self-employed individual, you have two electronic mailboxes – one as a non-entrepreneur and one as an entrepreneur. When logging in, you always choose which one you want to access.

Logging into the Electronic mailbox

You can access your electronic mailbox through the Central Public Administration Portal website, Slovensko.sk. In the top right corner, click the “Log in to the portal” button, where you can log in:

• using an ID card – either an ID card with a chip, a residence permit with a chip, or an alternative authenticator with a card reader,
• using a mobile key via the Slovensko v mobile app – using a QR code or a numerical code through your mobile phone and the Slovensko v mobile app,
• using another European document, where you use a login method issued in a European Union country.

Mandatory electronic communication for self-employed individuals with the state

As a self-employed individual, you are currently required to communicate electronically with institutions such as the tax offices overseen by the Financial Administration of the Slovak Republic. If you are also an employer, you must communicate electronically with the Social Insurance Agency as well.

#1 Communication with the tax office

Since July 1, 2018, natural persons – entrepreneurs registered for income tax under § 49a of Act No. 595/2003 Coll. on Income Tax and their representatives are required to communicate electronically with the financial administration.

This means your communication with the financial administration takes place online through the Financnasprava.sk portal. Decisions and official documents are sent directly to your message inbox, which you can access after logging into your personal internet zone.

Did you know that…
…the obligation to communicate electronically with the financial administration also applies to self-employed individuals who have temporarily suspended their business operations?

 

You can register on the financial administration portal:

• through the registration form on Financnasprava.sk, where you fill in the required identification details and then must personally visit the tax office with a valid ID to complete the registration process,
• through the Slovensko.sk portal if you have an ID card with a chip (eID), a residence permit with a chip, have the Slovensko v mobile app installed and activated, or own a login method issued in an EU country. Registration in this way is done entirely online.

After registering on the financial administration portal, completing registration as a tax entity, and receiving a user ID, you can submit documents to the financial administration electronically from your personal internet taxpayer zone. Submissions can be signed and filed with an electronic mark or a qualified electronic signature.

Did you know that…
…one of the most common instances of communication between self-employed individuals and the financial administration is the submission of an income tax return? Self-employed individuals are required to file their tax returns electronically, and any request for a tax return extension is also submitted electronically.

 

#2 Communication with the Social Insurance Company

If you, as a self-employed individual, employ workers, you are also required to communicate electronically with the Social Insurance Company.

When you start employing staff, you must:

• register with the Social Insurance Company’s employer register,
• conclude an agreement on the use of electronic services and activate access to e-Services.

Both steps can be completed in person at the insurance company branch or electronically through the Slovensko.sk portal. You can also authorize other persons to electronically send documents to the Social Insurance Company on your behalf.

Each employee must be registered with the insurance company no later than one day before they start working. This must be done electronically, except for the first employee, whose registration form can also be submitted in paper form.

On the insurance company’s website, you can log in in two ways:

• using a username, password, and mobile application – in this case, you must activate access using the application for two-factor authentication,
• using an electronic ID card (eID).

Through the electronic services portal, you can then submit all reports to the insurance agency, view a summary of insurance contributions, and check the status of your obligations to the agency.

#3 Communication with Health Insurance Companies

Since 2021, electronic communication with health insurance companies has been mandatory for all employers. This means that reports on insurance premium advances for public health insurance and employer notifications must be sent exclusively electronically, regardless of the number of employees you employ.

You will communicate only with the health insurance companies that your employees are registered with. If all your employees are registered with one insurance company, you will not gain access to the other two.

All three health insurance companies have set up electronic branches, and they are gradually transitioning from authentication via grid cards to mobile applications.

Signing Documents Online: For instructions on how to sign a document with an electronic signature, refer to the article Electronic Signature: A Beginner’s Guide.

Even though it’s mandatory, it has many benefits

While communication with authorities is mandatory for self-employed individuals in the cases mentioned, this method of communication offers many benefits. This way of handling administrative tasks is:

✔️ convenient – simple and efficient communication; you can handle tasks from home or the office,

✔️ time-saving – you are not restricted by the office hours of various institutions, you don’t waste time standing in queues, and electronic document submission is fast,

✔️ often cheaper – in many cases, you can save up to half on fees.

This is also why many self-employed individuals choose to communicate with authorities not only in situations required by law but also on a voluntary basis. An example of this is the electronic notification of a trade, which is not mandatory, but setting up a trade online saves you not only a trip to your district office but also fees.

Notification of a craft or regulated trade is charged at €7.50 for each business activity, while notifications of unregulated trades are free of charge. During an in-person visit to the trade office, you pay €15 for each craft or regulated trade activity and €5 for unregulated trades.

There are many more similar examples in business practice. We list more of them in our article What can you arrange electronically as a self-employed person?