Working in Hungary as a French National: Right to Work, Minimum Wage, Contract, Taxes and Contributions

Citizens of the European Union carry out an employed or self-employed activity in Hungary under their right of residence: a French national does not have to apply for a work permit. For a job of more than three months, the employee applies to register their stay with the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policy by day 93 at the latest, with their employment contract; the page on living in Hungary details these formalities. The employer declares the employee to the NAV and withholds the contributions.

Job hunting goes through employers’ vacancies and public employment services. Hungarian opens up the widest market; several international companies also operate in English. The guide to working abroad helps you prepare the departure on the French side.

Government Decree 426/2025 (XII. 23.) sets, for salaries from January 2026 onwards, the minimum wage at 322,800 HUF a month for a full-time job, or 74,210 HUF a week, 14,850 HUF a day and 1,856 HUF an hour. The guaranteed minimum, for jobs that require at least secondary education, is 373,200 HUF a month, or 85,800 HUF a week, 17,160 HUF a day and 2,145 HUF an hour. Eurostat, which converts national minimum wages into euros, records EUR 906 a month in Hungary in the second half of 2026, against EUR 1,867 in France.

• Average salary: the KSH puts the average monthly earnings of a full-time job at 745,500 HUF gross and 523,300 HUF net in July 2026, up 7.5% gross and 9.1% net over a year; median earnings are 618,200 HUF gross and 437,900 HUF net (publication of 16 September 2026).
• By sector: average gross earnings in July 2026 are 744,200 HUF in the business sector, 743,000 HUF in the budgetary sector and 764,200 HUF in the non-profit sector (KSH).
• How to read an offer: the advertisement generally states the monthly gross salary; the net amount depends on the social contribution and the tax described below.

To compare an offer with a job in France, the guide to secondment versus expatriation recalls the differences in status that change net pay and social protection.

According to CLEISS, the daily sickness allowance is paid with no waiting period for one year at most: the employer pays 70% of gross salary for a maximum of 15 days a year, then health insurance takes over at 50% or 60% of the average daily gross income of the last 180 days (page of 2022). Maternity leave lasts 24 weeks, with an allowance of 100% of the average daily gross income, with no cap, on condition of 365 days of insurance during the previous two years.

• Reimbursement of care: the employee’s health insurance rights and how they fit with supplementary cover are explained in the page on healthcare reimbursement in Hungary.
• Local contract or secondment: an employee hired locally falls under the Hungarian scheme; see the glossary entry on the local contract.

Section 8 of the Hungarian Act CXVII of 1995 on personal income tax sets the rate at 15% of the tax base, unless otherwise provided. The return for the previous year’s income and the payment of the tax are due by 20 May of the following year at the latest; the NAV prepares a draft return, which becomes valid on that date if the taxpayer does not correct it (NAV, leaflet of 26 January 2026).

• France-Hungary tax treaty: signed in Paris on 28 April 1980 and in force since 1 December 1981, it provides that the salary of a resident of one State is taxable only in that State, unless the employment is exercised in the other State (article 15). The salary remains taxable in the State of residence if the recipient stays in the other State for no more than 183 days in the calendar year, if the employer is not resident there and if the cost is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base.
• Double taxation (article 24): France exempts income taxable in Hungary under the treaty, except dividends, income from independent professions (article 14), directors’ fees and income of artistes and sportspersons, which are taxable in France with a tax credit equal to the Hungarian tax, within the limit of the French tax; French tax is calculated at the rate corresponding to total income. Hungary exempts income taxable in France, subject to a deduction for dividends.

If in doubt about tax residence or about double taxation of the same job between the two countries, the tax office for non-resident individuals in France and the NAV remain the points of contact.

According to CLEISS, the employee bears an overall social contribution of 18.5% of gross salary, which includes the health insurance share, and the employer pays the social tax (szocho) of 13% of gross salary, as at 1 January 2026. The employee’s minimum base is 30% of the monthly minimum wage, or 96,840 HUF; CLEISS also cites an annual cap on the employer side of 7,747,200 HUF, or 24 times the minimum wage. The NAV collects these levies; they open access to the care described in the page on the Hungarian healthcare system.

• Self-employed: the 18.5% social contribution and the 13% social tax are calculated on declared income, with a minimum base equal to 100% of the monthly minimum wage, or 322,800 HUF; the social tax is waived in the case of a supplementary activity or when a pension is received (CLEISS, page updated on 21 May 2026).
• Flat-rate health fee: a person with no job and no other right to care pays 12,300 HUF a month (NAV).
• Seconded from France: an employee seconded with the A1 form stays in the French scheme, for 24 months at most, and does not pay contributions in Hungary (europa.eu).

Under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, an employee who works remotely for at least 25% of their time in their State of residence falls under the social security of that State (CLEISS). The multilateral framework agreement that allows an employee to stay affiliated to the employer’s State for less than 50% of remote work has 23 signatory States as at 1 February 2026; Hungary is not on the list, whereas France is a signatory. Regular remote work between France and Hungary is therefore settled case by case, through a request from the employer to its competent institution, which may issue an A1 form.

Self-employed people and digital nomads settled in Hungary fall under the NAV for tax and contributions; the guide to digital nomad insurance presents the points of caution for this status.

Eurostat puts Hungary’s gross value added at 70,033 billion HUF in 2024. Industry excluding construction accounts for 21.7% of it (of which 18.5% for manufacturing), trade, transport and accommodation and food service 17.6%, public administration, education and health 16.7%, real estate 11.8%, professional and support activities 10.5%, construction 6.0%, information and communication 5.4%, finance and insurance 4.4%, agriculture 3.2% and other services 2.8%.

• Second quarter of 2026: the KSH records, over a year, a rise of 3.7% in industry (2.7% for manufacturing), of 1.9% in services, with 6.0% for finance and insurance, and a fall of 0.3% in construction and of 12.4% in agriculture, because of a severe drought (publication of 1 September 2026).
• Currency: Hungary keeps its own currency, the forint (HUF), and does not belong to the euro area. Income received in euros therefore carries an exchange-rate risk, whose evolution is tracked in the “Economic indicators” block of this page.
• Outlook: growth, inflation and unemployment forecasts are continuously updated in the same block.