Montenegro: Witholding tax on dividends and its methodology

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Montenegro: Witholding tax on dividends and its methodology

zivkovic.jpg

Jelena Zivkovic

March 31 was the deadline in Montenegro for a number of statutory filings, particularly in the area of taxation and annual financial statements. This includes the annual balance sheets, income statements and annual tax reports after which the distribution of dividends is possible. As a first step in the process, companies are obligated to settle their liabilites for corporate income tax at the rate of 9%. After tax liabilities are settled, joint stock companies as well as limited liability companies are able to distribute dividends in line with the Law on Business Entitites and per the nominal value of the shares or percentage of ownership in the LLC.

Shareholders or owners of LLCs can be legal or physical entitites. Taxation of the distribution of dividends is done in line with the Law on Corporate Income Tax (for legal entities) or the Law on Personal Income Tax (for physical persons).

In cases when the shareholders or owners of an LLC are legal entitites, a withholding tax of 9% has to be calculated and paid against dividends according to Article 29 of Law on CIT.

In the other situation, when the shareholder or owner of an LLC is a physical person, the base for taxaton is the gross amount of the distributed dividend, on which a 9% tax should be calculated, witheld and paid by the company on behalf of the shareholder or owner per Article 50 of the Law on Peronsal Income tax. In addition to this, the dividend-distributing company should pay sur-tax (15% or 13% depending on the municipality where the company has a seat).

Jelena Zivkovic (jelena.zivkovic@eurofast.eu)

Eurofast Global, Podgorica Office

Tel: +382 20 228 490

Website: www.eurofast.eu

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The US president’s threats expose how one superpower can subjugate other countries using tariffs as an economic weapon
The US president has softened his stance on tariffs over Greenland; in other news, a partner from Osborne Clarke has won a High Court appeal against the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Emmanuel Manda tells ITR about early morning boxing, working on Zambia’s only refinery, and what makes tax cool
Hany Elnaggar examines how AI is reshaping tax administration across the Gulf Cooperation Council, transforming the taxpayer experience from periodic reporting to continuous compliance
The APA resolution signals opportunities for multinationals and will pacify investor concerns, local experts told ITR
Businesses that adopt a proactive strategy and work closely with their advisers will be in the greatest position to transform HMRC’s relief scheme into real support for growth
The ATO and other authorities have been clamping down on companies that have failed to pay their tax
The flagship 2025 tax legislation has sprawling implications for multinationals, including changes to GILTI and foreign-derived intangible income. Barry Herzog of HSF Kramer assesses the impact
Hani Ashkar, after more than 12 years leading PwC in the region, is set to be replaced by Laura Hinton
With the three-year anniversary of the PwC tax scandal approaching, it’s time to take stock of how tax agent regulation looks today
Gift this article