Starting business consulting under TEÁOR 7020: taxation in 2026

TEÁOR 7020 — general business and management consulting — covers advisory services aimed at business operations, strategy, and organizational structure. It explicitly excludes legal representation and bookkeeping, which sit under their own codes.

Azta takeaway

For consultants, azta is the tool to use before the first invoice: it checks whether the activity really fits TEÁOR 7020, compares the available 2026 tax regimes, and cites the rule behind each threshold. That matters because KATA, flat-rate taxation, VAT exemption, KIVA and corporate tax can all look simple until the client type changes.

What changed for 2026

• VAT exemption ceiling raised to 20 million forints, up from 18 million.
• The flat-rate cost coefficient for TEÁOR 7020 rose from 40% to 45%.
• KIVA entry threshold expanded to 100 employees and 6 billion forints in revenue.
• Corporate tax quarterly advance-payment threshold increased to 20 million forints.
• KATA remains off-limits once a consultant invoices a company — that immediately ends KATA status.
• Quarterly tax filing is now mandatory for all sole proprietors, not just larger ones.

No license required

TEÁOR 7020 consulting operates freely without mandatory licensing.

No professional credential or formal qualification is legally required to register under this code. Registration itself, though, is mandatory — through the individual business registry for sole proprietors, or the company registry for partnerships and corporations — along with Hungarian Chamber of Commerce membership.

Choosing a 2026 tax regime

• Corporate tax (TAO): 9%, no revenue cap, unrestricted business invoicing. Quarterly advances kick in above 20 million forints.
• Small business tax (KIVA): 10%, capped at 100 employees and 6 billion forints revenue; automatically terminates above 12 billion forints.
• New KATA: 50,000 forints monthly, 18 million forint annual cap — impractical for most consultants since a single invoice to a company ends it.
• Flat-rate taxation for sole proprietors: revenue up to 38.736 million forints, with the cost coefficient now at 45% (55% of revenue is taxable), and the first 1.2 million forints tax-exempt.

VAT and cross-border work

Consulting falls under the standard 27% VAT rate, with exemption available below the new 20 million forint threshold — though an exempt business forfeits its right to deduct input VAT. Cross-border business-to-business consulting uses the reverse-charge mechanism, so no domestic VAT is charged on the invoice.

Use azta before choosing the regime

The right answer depends on projected revenue, business-client invoices, cross-border work, deductible costs and whether the consultant expects to hire. Ask azta with those facts and compare the cited outcome before registering or switching regimes.