As a flat-rate entrepreneur, you pay your own contributions, so whether your health insurance card is validated is up to you as well. The good news: if your contributions are paid on time, validation today most often happens automatically. In this article we explain how a flat-rate entrepreneur obtains health insurance, how card validation works, and what to watch out for.

How a flat-rate entrepreneur has health insurance in the first place

A flat-rate entrepreneur (an entrepreneur taxed on a lump-sum basis) is a payer of mandatory social insurance on the basis of self-employment. This means that through the monthly contributions you pay, you automatically acquire the right to health insurance through the Republic Health Insurance Fund (RFZO). You do not have an employer to do this for you, so it is your obligation to make sure the contributions are paid on time.

The monthly obligation of a flat-rate entrepreneur comprises tax and three types of contributions: for pension and disability insurance (PIO), for health insurance, and for unemployment insurance. All of this is determined for you by the Tax Administration in a decision — you do not calculate the base yourself. The contribution rate for health insurance is 10.3%, but the exact amount in RSD for your case is stated in the Tax Administration’s decision, because it depends on the business activity code and location.

Health contribution: deadlines and payment

What matters most for health insurance is paying on time. If contributions are late, validation of your card is late too (or does not happen at all).

You receive the amount of your monthly obligations in a decision from the Tax Administration — check your own decision, do not rely on someone else’s amounts.
The deadline for paying contributions is the 15th of the month for the previous month.
The amounts are adjusted once a year, so what applied last year does not necessarily apply this year.

Validation of the health card — automatic

The biggest change in the past few years is automatic validation. The information systems of the RFZO and the Tax Administration are connected, so the RFZO pulls the data on paid contributions and, based on it, performs validation automatically — without going to a counter and without bringing proof of payment.

As of 1 March 2018, this option was extended to entrepreneurs, farmers and other categories who pay contributions themselves, as well as to members of their families. The key condition is simple: the due contribution must be paid. As soon as the payment data arrives, the status is validated and becomes visible to health institutions, most often the same day.

If contributions are paid — validation happens by itself, you do not have to do anything.
If contributions are not paid — there is no automatic validation until you settle what is due.
You can check the validation status on the RFZO portal (www.rfzo.rs).

Freelancers and registration via the CROSO portal

If you work as a freelancer and do not have insurance on another primary basis (e.g. employment), you register for health insurance via the CROSO portal. For this you need an electronic signature — free of charge on a chip-enabled ID card through the Ministry of the Interior (MUP), or with authorized issuers.

The procedure in short: you send an authorization form to CROSO (only the first time), register as a payer, log in with your electronic signature, select the appropriate insurance-basis code, and enter the data along with supporting evidence (a contract, a statement, or proof of payment). The insurance start date can be at most three working days back from the day of registration, so do not delay registration for too long.

After the first registration, the health card is validated for six months, provided you have prior insurance coverage (at least 3 months continuously, or 6 months with interruptions in the last 18 months). You check the validation status in the relevant section of the RFZO portal, usually 24 hours after registration.

Insurance for family members

As the holder of the insurance, you can also register family members — at no additional cost and with no increase in contributions. The right to insurance through you can be obtained by a spouse or common-law partner and children (children in regular education up to 26 years of age).

For a spouse: a marriage certificate and an ID card.
For a common-law partner: a notarized statement of a union lasting more than 2 years, with witnesses.
For children: a birth certificate, proof of residence, and a certificate of schooling for ages 18–26.

If you register family members electronically, their card is updated automatically, most often within 24 hours.

Key takeaways

A flat-rate entrepreneur pays contributions themselves; health insurance is obtained through them.
The contribution rate for health is 10.3%; the exact amount is stated in the Tax Administration’s decision.
Deadline for paying contributions: the 15th of the month for the previous month.
Card validation happens automatically if the due contributions are paid.
Freelancers register via the CROSO portal; validation lasts 6 months.
Family members are insured free of charge, through the insurance holder.

If you need help with registration, card validation, or tracking contributions, get in touch with us.