The state pays you about 3% a year for three years, and, as with deposits, the interest is tax-free up to a shared €1,000 a year. These are retail bonds (ljudske obveznice), government bonds that Slovenia offers only to the public. There is no new issue at the moment, but all three existing ones can be bought on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, where at the end of October 2026 they yielded about 3.0 to 3.3% a year. The best regular 12-month deposit paid 2.50%.
Whether the bond is the better choice depends mostly on the amount. On €10,000 the difference after costs is small; on €50,000 and more the bond can pay noticeably more. Below we work out why, how the bonds are taxed and how to buy them.
We checked the data on 23 October 2026 in the Ministry of Finance offering documents and explanations, on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange and in our deposit comparison.
What retail bonds are and how they work
When you buy a bond, you lend the state money. The state pays you fixed interest every year and returns the principal at maturity. Slovenian retail bonds run for three years, pay interest once a year in arrears, and one bond has a face value of €1,000.
They differ from ordinary government bonds in three ways. At issue only individuals living in Slovenia can buy them, the coupon includes a margin for the public, and the interest has the tax advantage described below.
Issues so far and the yield on the exchange
The state has issued retail bonds three times:
| Bond | Coupon | Issued | Matures | Time to maturity | Exchange price | Yield to maturity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RS94 | 3.40% | 23 Feb 2024 | 23 Feb 2027 | 4 months | 100.10% | about 3.06% |
| RS96 | 2.75% | 28 Mar 2025 | 28 Mar 2028 | 17 months | 99.58% | about 3.04% |
| RS99 | 3.00% | 2 Apr 2026 | 2 Apr 2029 | 29 months | 99.37% | about 3.26% |
Source: Ministry of Finance offering documents and explanations, Ljubljana Stock Exchange closing prices of 19 Oct (RS94), 23 Oct (RS96) and 22 Oct 2026 (RS99). Yield to maturity is our calculation before broker costs, assuming coupons are reinvested at the same rate. For RS99 the ministry raised the coupon from 2.60% to 3.00% during the subscription.
The coupon in the table applies to whoever bought the bond at issue at 100%. On the exchange the price moves. When market rates fall, a bond with a fixed coupon becomes more expensive; when they rise, cheaper. If you buy below 100%, you get the difference as extra earnings at maturity, and the shorter the remaining term, the more that adds per year. That is why the yield when you buy on the exchange differs from the coupon.
For the third issue 6,893 investors subscribed €210 million. The minimum subscription was €1,000, the maximum €250,000.
Tax: one €1,000 allowance shared with deposits
Interest on retail bonds is taxed the same way as interest on deposits. You have one annual €1,000 allowance that covers deposit interest and retail bond interest together. Up to that limit you pay no tax; above it, 25%.
Important details:
- The allowance also covers interest you receive from these bonds after 2026.
- The bank does not withhold tax. You declare the interest yourself by 28 February for the previous year if, together with deposits, you exceed the allowance.
- A gain on sale is tax-exempt. If you buy below 100% and hold to maturity, that difference is also a gain you do not pay tax on.
Important: the shared €1,000 allowance applies only to bonds issued in 2024 to 2026. For a possible issue in 2027 it is not yet clear whether the treatment will be the same.
By comparison, interest on treasury bills, which companies and banks also buy, is taxed at 25% from the first euro. More in the article Treasury bills or a deposit, and on the €1,000 allowance in the article on tax on interest.
Retail bonds or a deposit
| Retail bond | Term deposit | |
|---|---|---|
| Yield at end of October 2026 | about 3.0 to 3.3% (exchange) | best 12-month 2.50% (BKS Bank), best 36-month 2.15% (Addiko Bank) |
| Tax | €1,000 allowance shared with deposits, gain exempt | €1,000 allowance |
| Who guarantees it | the Republic of Slovenia in full | deposit guarantee up to €100,000 per bank |
| Early exit | sale on the exchange at the current price | fee to the bank or loss of interest |
| Costs | broker and account maintenance | usually none |
| Minimum amount | €1,000 (one bond) | €100 to €1,000 depending on the bank |
The best deposit rates of all banks are in the deposit comparison. With a multi-year deposit, check when the bank pays the interest. If it pays only at the end of the term, all of it counts towards the €1,000 allowance in a single year, while bond coupons are spread over every year.
Worked example: Maja with €10,000 and €50,000
Maja has savings she will not need for three years. She has no other interest income.
Example: €10,000
On the exchange she buys 10 RS99 bonds at 99.37%, so for €9,937. She also pays the seller about €168 of interest accrued since April, which she gets back with the first coupon in April 2027. By maturity in April 2029 she receives three coupons of €300 and €10,000 of principal.
- In total she earns about €795 before costs. About two and a half years remain to maturity, so that is about €325 a year.
- She pays no tax: the coupons are below €1,000 and the difference to 100% is exempt.
- Broker and account costs can be €20 to €40 a year, so she keeps about €285 to €305 a year.
With the best 12-month deposit (2.50%) she would get €250 a year, with the best 36-month one (2.15%) €215 a year, both with no tax and no costs. The bond earns about €35 to €90 a year more, while the deposit is less work and covered by the deposit guarantee.
Example: €50,000
RS99 coupons are €1,500 a year. The first €1,000 is tax-free; on the remaining €500 she pays 25%, so €125. With a 12-month deposit at 2.50% she gets €1,250 of interest and pays €62.50 of tax.
| Net a year | Yield | |
|---|---|---|
| Bond RS99 | €1,375 | 2.75% |
| Deposit 12 m | €1,187.50 | 2.38% |
Bought below 100%, the bond also has the tax-free difference to 100%, so its net yield is a little above 2.75%. With a 36-month deposit at 2.15% that pays interest at the end, Maja would receive €3,225 at once in the third year and pay €556 of tax, because she would exceed the allowance in a single year.
On a larger amount the bond is clearly better, and broker costs are small next to the interest. How much a deposit earns on your amount you can work out in the deposit calculator.
With inflation at 3.7% (September 2026) the real return of both options is close to zero or slightly negative. Current inflation and interest rate data are on the macro dashboard.
Retail bonds, treasury bills or an INR
Treasury bills are short-term government debt of 3 to 18 months, bought at auction through a bank or brokerage. The yield is similar, but the interest is taxed from the first euro. On smaller amounts a retail bond or a deposit is therefore better after tax.
An individual investment account (INR) also lets you hold retail bonds; the ministry explicitly allows it. On an INR the return is taxed at 15% only when you withdraw, while outside an INR the interest up to the shared €1,000 allowance and the gain on sale are tax-free. For retail bonds an ordinary account is therefore usually better, and an INR makes sense once the €1,000 allowance is used up. How an INR works is explained in the article INR in Slovenia, and provider costs are in the INR comparison.
How to buy retail bonds
At issue. When the state announces a new issue, you subscribe during the subscription period, which lasts about two weeks, with one of the distributors. For RS99 they were NLB, OTP banka, BKS Bank and Ilirika. You need a securities account opened with the distributor and residence in Slovenia. Subscriptions started at €1,000, and for minors the legal representative subscribes. The distributors charged no special fees for subscribing.
On the exchange. Bonds already issued are bought through a broker on the Ljubljana Stock Exchange, where they trade one bond (€1,000 face value) at a time. The price is quoted as a percentage of face value and does not include interest accrued since the last coupon. You pay that to the seller when you buy and get it back with the next coupon. OTP banka is the official liquidity provider.
Before buying on the exchange, always check the total costs: the commission on buying and selling, the minimum commission per order and the annual fee for the securities account. Together they can be several tens of euros a year, which on small amounts eats much of the advantage over a deposit. The minimum commission per order matters most when you buy only a few bonds. Some banks charge no account fee for bonds bought at issue.
When is the next retail bond?
As of 23 October 2026 the Ministry of Finance had not officially announced a new issue. So far there has been one every year in February or March, and the first bond, RS94, matures on 23 February 2027.
With an issue in 2027, watch the tax. Under the current law the shared €1,000 exemption covers bonds issued from 2024 to 2026. Unless the law changes, interest on a new issue could be taxed differently.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- the state fully guarantees the bond, also above €100,000,
- interest up to the shared €1,000 allowance and the gain on sale are tax-free,
- you receive interest every year and the principal at maturity,
- you can sell it at any time on the exchange.
Cons:
- there is no new issue now, and buying on the exchange needs a broker and costs money,
- if you sell before maturity, the price can be below what you paid,
- on small amounts costs eat much of the advantage over a deposit,
- the €1,000 allowance is shared with deposits, so it is used up quickly.
Retail bonds can make sense mainly if:
- you have savings you will not need for at least three years,
- your combined interest from deposits and bonds is close to or above the €1,000 allowance, which at 2.5 to 3% is roughly €35,000 of savings,
- you are willing to open a securities account and accept that the exchange price moves if you have to sell before maturity.
On smaller amounts, up to about €20,000, the difference is only a few tens of euros a year, and a term deposit is simpler. Before deciding, always check the current exchange price and the best deposit rates, because both change.
