INR bills: Is it better for you to be a local patriot or a global nomad?

The decade-long wait is over. Individual investment accounts (INRs) are now available in mobile banks and at brokerage firms. But once the initial dust settles and an investor gets their hands on the 13-digit number – their “financial EMŠO” – a key question arises. How much will it actually cost me and which INR provider is right for me?

Not every INR account is suitable for every budget. While some providers are competing for those who want to invest 100 euros per month, others have adjusted their cost structure to those who will take full advantage of the legal deposit limit.

Digital EMŠO of your money

Before we get into the costs, we need to understand the mechanics. The 13-digit identifier assigned by Furs is not just a bureaucratic whim. It is your security stamp. Since the law allows only one active INR account per person, this number prevents the investor from “forgetting” about the account at NLB and opening a new one at Ilirika.

Once you activate this number with one provider, you are “married” to it for at least 12 months if you want the free transfer. If you decide after three months that you don’t like the app, it will cost you to transfer to another provider (both in money and time, up to 30 days). Choose wisely, as the 15-year countdown mechanism for tax exemption begins on the day this number is assigned.

In the first calendar year, the maximum deposit is €20,000. Each subsequent year, the limit is reduced to €5,000 for the basic sub-account (universal, can be for global or Slovenian investments) and €5,000 for a special sub-account intended for Slovenian instruments (Krka, Petrol, NLB, etc.). You can deposit a maximum of €150,000 over the entire period. If you so wish, you could invest €10,000 each year only in Slovenian instruments.

Deposits to the special sub-account are generally only allowed once you have reached the €5,000 limit on the main sub-account in the current year. This means that INR encourages a balanced portfolio, where domestic investments serve as an upgrade to global ones. If you do not top up the entire €20,000 value in the first year, you will lose this opportunity forever.

Main costs of doing business with INR

With all banks/brokers, opening an INR account is free of charge, and there are no periodic (monthly or annual) management fees.

The usual brokerage commission applies to the purchase/sale of securities on an INR account. Most providers have set an online commission of around 0.30 % of the transaction value. Due to one-time promotions, a 50% discount will apply in 2026, i.e. approximately 0.15 % of the value. When purchasing small amounts, a minimum commission may also be charged (e.g. NLB charges a minimum of €1 for an online transaction, and €15 for a traditional transaction). Direct stock exchange costs (Stock Exchange and KDD commissions) may be added to each commission.

The maintenance of the securities balance is calculated on an annual basis, linked to the average value of the portfolio. The amounts are very low: for example, NLB charges 0.0009 % per month for domestic securities and 0.0050 % for foreign securities (which is around 0.0108 % or 0.06 % per year) with a cost of at least €9 per year. Ilirika has a similar approach (0.0008 % per month, min. €8.40/year), and BKS charges 0.0010 % per month (min. €0.60 per month = €7.20/year). At OTP, maintenance is determined by classes: up to €10,000 it amounts to €9.12 per year, up to €100,000 it amounts to €18.24, which corresponds to percentage rates in a similar range. Because annual costs are so low, they have the greatest weight for her in long-term portfolios, where they are more relevant compared to transactions.

When withdrawing money from an INR account, providers charge a fee. NLB charges 2 % of the withdrawal value (min. €5, max. €100). OTP Bank has set a fee of 1.90 % (min. €4, max. €120) for each withdrawal from INR. This fee should be paid with caution, as it quickly reaches hundreds of euros for larger withdrawals. When withdrawing all funds, a 15-% profit tax is also charged (if you withdraw earlier than in 15 years, after 15 years the tax is 0 %).

In the INR portfolio, there may also be dividend payout fees (e.g. in OTP 0.95 % for domestic dividends), currency exchange costs (e.g. 0.25–0.30 % for EUR/USD conversion) and one-time costs of transferring financial instruments (most providers waive the transfer to a new provider, for foreign transfers they are usually 0.1–0.5 %). If you use a management service (JonatanMars, Generali), the cost is expressed in an annual fee (with JonatanMars 0.7 % management + 0.2 % custody + 10 % performance) instead of classic trading fees.

For an even more transparent overview of all costs, see INR comparator on money-how.si.

What kind of investor are you?

Peter is a small investor

Peter is a young professional who wants to build a secure portfolio for retirement through gradual contributions. His strategy is simple: make a monthly contribution and buy a globally diversified ETF.

• Insert: €300 per month (€3,600 per year).

Peter is not concerned about the annual limits (€20,000 or €5,000), as he does not reach them. His biggest enemy is fixed transaction costs.

If Peter buys €300 worth of shares every month from a provider that charges a minimum of €12 per transaction, he initially loses 4 % of value.

A better strategy is for Peter to deposit money monthly in INR (depositing money is free) and make purchases only twice a year (€1,800 each). This reduces commission costs to less than 1 % per year.

Niko wants to take advantage of all the benefits

Niko has larger savings and wants to take full advantage of the tax benefits of the INR account. His goal is to top up the account to the legal limit as soon as possible.

• Year 1: He deposits the full €20,000. He allocates this amount to global ETFs (e.g. S&P 500 or MSCI World).
• Year 2: Deposit 10,000 € (5k for the global part and 5k for the Slovenian part – e.g. Krka shares).
• Year 3 and beyond: Repeats deposits of €10,000 up to a total of €150,000.

At €20,000 in deposits, transaction costs (e.g. €0.20 %) become negligible (€40), and custody becomes key. If the bank charges €0.15 % annually, Niko will pay €45 per year with €30,000 in assets.

At a 0.9 % annual management fee (after discounts expire, for example at JonatanMars), Niko would pay €270 annually.

For larger amounts, independent stock brokerage (NLB, OTP, Ilirika, BKS) is significantly cheaper, as after the initial purchase, the investor only pays minimal custody, not expensive management of the entire portfolio.

SCENARIO 1: The investor utilizes the entire INR limit

• First year: €20,000
• each subsequent year: €10,000
• portfolio after 5 years: €60,000
• portfolio after 10 years: €110,000
• strategy: 4 transactions per year (ETFs or stocks)

Costs by provider (after 5 years)

For larger portfolios, a significant difference emerges:

• independent trading: approximately 0.1–0.3 % portfolio per year
• managed portfolio: approximately 0.8–1 % portfolio per year

SCENARIO 2: The investor invests €300 per month

• monthly deposit: €300
• annual contribution: €3,600
• portfolio after 5 years: €18,000
• portfolio after 10 years: €36,000
• transaction: 1 ETF purchase per month

Annual costs

With a small monthly investment, the difference is even greater:

• an active investor with an ETF strategy can pay €30–60 per year
• a managed portfolio can cost 3–5× more

Hidden costs that investors often overlook

When comparing providers, investors usually focus on the purchase fee, but INR is a long-term game.

If you buy US stocks (in USD), most Slovenian banks will charge you from 0.5 % to 1.5 % mark-up on the exchange rate. For Peter's €20,000, this means up to €300 in costs that he doesn't even see on his commission statement. Some providers charge a fixed amount (e.g. €2) for each dividend received. If you have 10 different companies in your portfolio that pay dividends quarterly, this costs you €80 per year.

Then there are the costs of KDD and foreign custody. These are external costs that some providers include in their tariff, while others charge them separately.

Is it worth waiting 15 years?

The main reason for opening an INR is the exemption from capital gains tax and dividends after 15 years. Let's look at the difference in the case of Peter, who deposits €10,000 every year (from year 2 onwards) and achieves an average return of 7%.

• After 15 years in a regular account: Niko would pay 0 % in profit tax upon sale (under current legislation, the rate drops to 0 after 15 years), but would pay 25 % in dividend tax every year.
• After 15 years on INR: All dividends are reinvested gross. This tax deferral means that the money in the INR account that would otherwise be taken by the government also earns interest. In the long run, this can mean a 10-15% larger final portfolio.

Do you need to open an INR account today?

INR accounts have brought the competition that we in Slovenia have long wanted. Costs have fallen, procedures are digital.

If you are a small investor, don't worry about limits. Take advantage of free management offers from providers and start with small but regular amounts. Your biggest advantage is time.

If you are a larger investor, however, don't delay too long. Since the €20,000 limit is tied to the calendar year, a deposit on December 31st counts as a deposit on January 1st. If you miss the end of the year, you have lost the opportunity to invest that initial €20,000 in the INR system forever.

Before signing a contract, ask the provider for a Standardized Cost Statement for a 15-year period. This is a document required by the Agency for Investment and Financial Services and will show you in black and white how much your portfolio will lose due to fees over the entire savings period.

Price list of INR accounts of all providers

• NLB
• BKS
• Illyricum
• OTP
• JonathanMars