Hiring in Serbia: Employer Costs, Labor Laws and How to Hire

How to hire in Serbia

Hiring in Serbia comes down to two decisions: who you hire, and how you employ them.

1. Find the person. Write the role, set the salary against Serbian pay levels, then source and interview candidates. You can run the search yourself with a job post, or use a placement service that delivers a shortlist.
2. Choose how to employ them. A Serbian entity running payroll, an employer of record or a contractor agreement. Each option is explained below.
3. Make the offer. The contract has to meet the rules in the employment table above. It is signed by both sides in at least 3 copies.

Your options for employing someone in Serbia

• Serbian entity: you register a company in Serbia, run payroll, withhold salary tax and pay the contributions to the Tax Administration yourself. It suits a team of several people in Serbia.
• Employer of record (EOR): a third-party provider becomes the legal employer and runs Serbian payroll for a monthly fee per employee. Your company directs the work.
• Contractor: the person invoices you through their own business. The relationship has to be genuinely independent, or it can count as employment.

Euro Remote Talent does not employ people on your behalf. We handle the placement: we find and shortlist the candidate, and you employ them through the route that fits.

What an employee costs in Serbia

Employers pay 15.15% in social contributions on gross pay: 10% for pension and disability insurance and 5.15% for health insurance. Take a gross salary of RSD 200,000 a month. The employer pays:

• Pension and disability insurance: RSD 200,000 x 10% = RSD 20,000
• Health insurance: RSD 200,000 x 5.15% = RSD 10,300

The employer's cost is RSD 200,000 + RSD 30,300 = RSD 230,300 a month. From the gross salary, the employee pays 19.9% in contributions (RSD 39,800) and 10% salary tax on RSD 200,000 minus RSD 34,221, which is RSD 16,577.90. The net salary is RSD 143,622.10. Contributions are paid on at least RSD 51,297 and at most RSD 732,820 a month in 2026.

Minimum wage and pay

Serbia sets its minimum wage per working hour, net of taxes and contributions. It is RSD 371 an hour from 1 January to 31 December 2026, or RSD 64,554 for a month of 174 working hours. The Government has adopted RSD 405 an hour for 2027, a rise of 9.2%, or RSD 70,470 for 174 hours. See the full breakdown on our Serbia minimum wage page. The average gross salary was RSD 161,953 in August 2026 and the average net salary RSD 117,282, according to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. See our average salary in Serbia page.

Income tax in Serbia

The employer withholds salary tax from pay each month. People with high yearly income also file an annual income tax return. The rules for 2026:

Annual income tax applies only to income above 3 times the average annual salary. Each taxpayer first deducts 40% of the average annual salary as a personal deduction.

Work permits

Serbia is not in the European Union, so EU free movement rules do not apply there. Foreign nationals working in Serbia need a single permit for temporary residence and work under the Law on Foreigners and the Law on Employment of Foreigners. The application is filed online on the Government's Welcome to Serbia portal. For employment under a contract, the employer first runs a labor market test.

How Euro Remote Talent can help

We do placement. We source, screen and interview remote professionals across Europe, then deliver a shortlist of 3 candidates within 21 days for a flat $6,500, or your deposit back. Prefer to run the search yourself? Post a job for $299 and reach candidates who want to work remotely.

See how placement works, post a job or book a 30-minute call. Browse remote jobs in Serbia to see who is hiring there now.