What rental yield can I get in Serbia?

As a market estimate, gross yields typically run around 4 to 6 percent. Smaller, well-located long-let apartments in Belgrade and Novi Sad sit at the higher end, while larger or prestige units sit lower because the price is high relative to the rent. Short-term letting can show a higher headline yield in central Belgrade, but management, seasonality, and voids pull the net figure back toward a long let.

Can I run a short-term rental or Airbnb in Serbia?

Yes, but not informally. A short-stay rental must be categorised and registered, guests are reported through the national eTurista system, and you collect the per-night tourist tax (boravišna taksa) from them. Building or homeowners-association rules can also restrict short-term letting. Treat it as a small registered business rather than a side arrangement, and factor the admin into the return.

How is rental income taxed in Serbia?

For an individual letting long-term, the taxable base is the gross rent reduced by a standard 25 percent deduction for costs (or actual documented costs if higher), and that base is taxed at 20 percent, so the effective burden is roughly 15 percent of gross rent. A non-resident is taxed on Serbian-source rental income, subject to any double-taxation treaty. Holding through a company changes the calculation and is worth modelling if you scale.

Is long-term or short-term letting better in Serbia?

It is the usual trade. A long let gives you steady income, low effort, and simple tax, at a modest yield. A short let can gross more in a central, tourist-facing location, but it carries registration, tourist-tax admin, higher management fees, seasonality, and more wear. For a hands-off foreign owner, long letting is usually the cleaner return; short letting rewards active management or a good local operator.

Can a foreigner rent out property in Serbia?

Yes. A foreign owner can let residential property on the same footing as a local, and can use a Serbian agency to manage it. The income is taxable in Serbia as Serbian-source income, and how it interacts with tax at home depends on the treaty between Serbia and your country. Keep clean records from the first tenancy, because the tax and the currency rules both rely on them.

Do I need a management company?

Not required, but most foreign owners use one. For a long let, management typically costs around one month of rent to find a tenant, or a percentage of the rent for ongoing management. For a short let, expect a management company to take roughly 15 to 25 percent of revenue in exchange for handling listings, guests, cleaning, and the tourist-tax reporting. Price it into the yield before you buy.

Buyer's guide

Renting out property in Serbia: what you can earn and what you owe

The operational side of buy-to-let in Serbia: realistic gross yields, long-let versus short-let, the registration and tourist-tax rules for short stays, how rental income is taxed for an individual versus a company, and what management costs.

Last reviewed 2026-07-17

Plenty of foreign owners in Serbia let their property, either to cover the costs of a home they use part of the year or as a straight investment. The gross numbers are decent and the entry price is low, but the net return and the paperwork depend on choices you make before the first tenant. This is the operational picture: what you can earn, and what you owe.

The yield, honestly

As a market estimate rather than a promise, gross yields cluster around 4 to 6 percent. The higher end is smaller, well-located long-let apartments in Belgrade and Novi Sad, where the rent is strong relative to a modest purchase price. The lower end is larger or prestige property, where the price runs ahead of the rent it can command.

Two things move the net figure well below the gross: costs and voids. Management, maintenance, tax, and the weeks a unit sits empty between tenancies all come out before you see a return. Model the net, not the headline.

Long let or short let

This is the first real decision, and it changes everything downstream.

A long let is the low-effort path. You sign a tenant for a year or more, the income is steady, the tax is simple, and a management agency can run it for a small share. The yield is modest but reliable.

A short let, the Airbnb model, can gross more in a central, tourist-facing location, especially in Belgrade. But it is a small business, not a passive holding. It carries registration and tax admin, higher management fees, real seasonality, more wear on the property, and the risk of empty nights. The higher headline yield narrows once you account for all of it. Short letting rewards active management or a good local operator; it punishes absent owners.

The rules for short stays

If you go the short-let route, treat the compliance as part of the job.

The rental must be categorised and registered as tourist accommodation.
Guests are reported through the national eTurista system.
You collect the per-night tourist tax, the boravišna taksa, from guests and remit it.
Building or homeowners-association rules can limit or ban short-term letting, so check before you buy a unit specifically to short-let it.

None of this is onerous once set up, but it is not optional, and a management company usually handles it for a fee.

How the income is taxed

For an individual letting long-term, the mechanics are straightforward. The taxable base is your gross rent minus a standard 25 percent deduction for costs, or your actual documented costs if they are higher, and that base is taxed at 20 percent. In practice that is an effective burden of roughly 15 percent of the gross rent.

A non-resident owner is taxed on this Serbian-source income in Serbia, and whether you also pay at home, or get a credit, depends on the double-taxation treaty between Serbia and your country. If you let at any scale, or run short-lets, holding the property through a Serbian company can change the tax and the deductibility of costs, and is worth modelling with an accountant rather than assuming.

The one non-negotiable, whichever route you take, is records. Keep every rent receipt, cost invoice, and transfer from the first tenancy. The income tax and the currency rules both depend on them, and reconstructing them later is painful.

What management costs

Most foreign owners do not self-manage from abroad, and the cost is part of the return.

For a long let, expect to pay roughly one month of rent to find and place a tenant, or a percentage of the monthly rent for full ongoing management. For a short let, a management company typically takes somewhere in the region of 15 to 25 percent of revenue, in exchange for the listings, pricing, guest handling, cleaning turnovers, and the tourist-tax reporting. Put the real figure into your yield calculation before you buy, not after.

Who it suits

Buy-to-let works in Serbia, but it is a steady, unspectacular return rather than a high-yield play, and the honest version includes the costs and the admin. A long let in a proven city neighbourhood is the clean, low-effort option for a foreign owner who wants income without a second job. A short let can earn more in the right central spot, but only if you or someone local runs it properly.

Decide which of those you actually want before you choose the property, because the right unit for a long let and the right unit for a short let are rarely the same one.

Common questions

What rental yield can I get in Serbia?: As a market estimate, gross yields typically run around 4 to 6 percent. Smaller, well-located long-let apartments in Belgrade and Novi Sad sit at the higher end, while larger or prestige units sit lower because the price is high relative to the rent. Short-term letting can show a higher headline yield in central Belgrade, but management, seasonality, and voids pull the net figure back toward a long let.
Can I run a short-term rental or Airbnb in Serbia?: Yes, but not informally. A short-stay rental must be categorised and registered, guests are reported through the national eTurista system, and you collect the per-night tourist tax (boravišna taksa) from them. Building or homeowners-association rules can also restrict short-term letting. Treat it as a small registered business rather than a side arrangement, and factor the admin into the return.
How is rental income taxed in Serbia?: For an individual letting long-term, the taxable base is the gross rent reduced by a standard 25 percent deduction for costs (or actual documented costs if higher), and that base is taxed at 20 percent, so the effective burden is roughly 15 percent of gross rent. A non-resident is taxed on Serbian-source rental income, subject to any double-taxation treaty. Holding through a company changes the calculation and is worth modelling if you scale.
Is long-term or short-term letting better in Serbia?: It is the usual trade. A long let gives you steady income, low effort, and simple tax, at a modest yield. A short let can gross more in a central, tourist-facing location, but it carries registration, tourist-tax admin, higher management fees, seasonality, and more wear. For a hands-off foreign owner, long letting is usually the cleaner return; short letting rewards active management or a good local operator.
Can a foreigner rent out property in Serbia?: Yes. A foreign owner can let residential property on the same footing as a local, and can use a Serbian agency to manage it. The income is taxable in Serbia as Serbian-source income, and how it interacts with tax at home depends on the treaty between Serbia and your country. Keep clean records from the first tenancy, because the tax and the currency rules both rely on them.
Do I need a management company?: Not required, but most foreign owners use one. For a long let, management typically costs around one month of rent to find a tenant, or a percentage of the rent for ongoing management. For a short let, expect a management company to take roughly 15 to 25 percent of revenue in exchange for handling listings, guests, cleaning, and the tourist-tax reporting. Price it into the yield before you buy.