How to Rent Out an Apartment in Montenegro: Tax and Rules

How is income from renting out a flat taxed? As income from property, at 15% on a base reduced by costs: 30% without documentation, 50% or 70% when letting to tourists. On top comes a surtax set by the municipality, at most 13%, and at most 15% in Podgorica and Cetinje.

The decision to rent out a flat in Montenegro starts with a question many people skip: who are you renting to. A long-term lease to a tenant and nightly lets to tourists are not the same activity. They differ in income, in risk, in how much of your time they take and, most importantly, in the obligations they bring.

Local searches show it too: next to "kako izdati stan" (how to rent out a flat), people most often add "na dan" (by the night), "preko bookinga", "preko airbnb", and also "bez agencije" (without an agency). This article separates the two paths.

Two models, two sets of numbers

The most common mistake is comparing the nightly rate with the monthly rent. The tourist rate has to cover empty months, cleaning, consumables, the platform's commission and your time. Once those are deducted, the gap to a long-term lease is much smaller than it looks at first, and in places that are not strictly touristic it often disappears.

Tax: what you pay in both cases

Under the Law on Personal Income Tax, rental income is income from property, defined as income earned from letting movable and immovable property. That applies both to long-term leases and to letting to tourists.

The mechanics are as follows:

• The rate is 15% for this category of income, as set by the December 2025 amendments to the Law on Personal Income Tax.
• The tax base is reduced by costs. If you document your costs, the actual costs are recognised. If you do not, standard costs of 30% of income are recognised. For letting rooms, apartments, houses and flats to tourists, standard costs are 50% of income if the tourist tax has been paid, or 70% if you have a contract with a travel agency or a local tourist organisation and average occupancy of at least 60 days a year.
• On top of the tax comes a surtax (prirez), calculated on the tax amount and set by the municipality: at most 13%, and at most 15% in Podgorica and Cetinje.

An example for 10,000 euros of annual rent with no documented costs, in a municipality with a 13% surtax: on a long-term lease the base is 7,000 euros, the tax 1,050 and the surtax 136.50, a total of 1,186.50 euros or about 11.9% of the rent. When letting to tourists with the tourist tax paid, the base is 5,000 euros, the tax 750 and the surtax 97.50, a total of 847.50 euros or about 8.5%.

The exact amount depends on whether you document costs, who you rent to and what the surtax rate is in your municipality, so check your specific calculation with the Tax Administration or a tax adviser. Fijaka is a classifieds platform and does not give tax advice.

Extra obligations if you let to tourists

Short-term letting is not just "the same flat, shorter stays". It comes with a regime a long-term lease does not have: the accommodation is entered in the Central Tourist Register before the first guest (rooms, tourist apartments and houses also receive a category, while a flat let to tourists is exempt from categorisation), guests are registered, and the tourist tax is collected and paid over. We work through the deadlines and rules for Budva step by step in our article on letting a flat to tourists. Skip this and the problem usually does not appear in the first summer, but later, with interest.

VAT and platforms. VAT registration becomes compulsory once turnover in the last 12 months exceeds 30,000 euros. On 9 July 2026 Parliament also adopted a new VAT Law (Official Gazette of Montenegro 104/2026) that takes over the European rules for online platforms: a platform facilitating short-term accommodation keeps records of those transactions, retains them for ten years and makes them available to tax authorities in electronic form, and in certain cases it is treated for VAT purposes as the supplier of the accommodation. The new law keeps the 30,000 euro threshold.

⚠ Important: the new law has entered into force, but it will apply only from the day Montenegro joins the European Union. Until then the current VAT law applies. The direction is still clear and worth factoring in now: income earned through platforms is becoming ever more visible to the tax authorities, so "undeclared" is less and less a realistic option.

The lease: what it must contain

For a long-term let, a written lease is not a formality but the only place where deadlines and money are defined. As a minimum:

1. Term and conditions for renewal.
2. Rent amount, payment date and method.
3. Deposit, and exactly in which cases it is reduced.
4. Who pays utilities, building charges and internet.
5. Rules on alterations to the flat and on subletting.
6. Notice period for both sides.
7. Handover record with meter readings and photos.

If you plan to use the flat yourself during the season on the coast, that has to be in the lease from the start. A late "I'll need the flat in July" is not something you sort out by agreement in June.

Before you post the listing

• Check the legal status. A flat that is not registered in the cadastre or not legalised causes problems for a lease too, not only for a sale.
• Sort out the heating. On the coast this is the field that decides whether you get a year-round tenant or only seasonal guests.
• Decide furnished or unfurnished. Furnished widens the pool of tenants, but brings an inventory that wears out and becomes the subject of disputes at move-out.
• Make an inventory with photos before the tenant moves in.

Once that is ready, posting a listing is free. How to write a listing that gets calls, with examples, is covered in a separate article; if you are also weighing a sale instead of renting, there is our guide to selling a flat.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to declare income if I let through Airbnb or Booking? The income is taxable regardless of the channel. The new VAT law also provides for platforms to keep records of these transactions, but it applies only from Montenegro's EU accession.

Which pays better, long-term or by the night? It depends on the location and on how much of your own time you put in. The nightly tourist rate has to cover empty months, cleaning, commission and your work.

Do I need an agency? There is no legal obligation. If you hire one, the fee is not set by law but agreed in the contract.

Can I rent out a flat that is not registered in the cadastre? The legal status causes problems for a lease too. Sort out the registration before entering a long-term arrangement.

What is the 30,000 euro threshold? The VAT threshold: anyone whose turnover in the last 12 months exceeds 30,000 euros becomes liable for VAT. The new VAT law keeps the same threshold.

A note on sources

The income category, the rate and the standard costs come from the Law on Personal Income Tax with amendments up to 2026; the surtax caps from the Law on Local Self-Government Financing. The new VAT law was published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro 104/2026 and will apply from the day Montenegro joins the European Union.