Under Government Decree 479/2016 a condominium may prepare a simplified report if its combined income from core activity (common costs) and business activity (for example renting out advertising surfaces or attic space) does not exceed 50 million forints in two consecutive years. Most residential buildings with 50 to 150 units fall into this group, while a larger building with commercial units or heavily rented common areas can easily cross the threshold.
The difference between the two forms lies mainly in the level of detail. The full report also contains supplementary notes presenting the composition of individual balance sheet and profit and loss items, while the simplified form is more aggregated and involves less administration. This does not make the simplified report less reliable; the law simply imposes a lighter administrative burden on smaller entities.
In practice the choice of form is not a one off decision: it must be reviewed every year. A condominium that receives a large one off income in a given year, for example several years of rent for a long vacant common room paid in a single sum, may fall under the full reporting obligation and return to the simplified form the following year if income drops back below the threshold.
This seemingly technical question matters to owners because it affects the bookkeeping fee and the preparation time to expect for the annual report: a full report naturally requires more bookkeeping hours.
Merbo's bookkeeping team checks the previous two years' income data at the start of each year and warns the supervisory committee if the building is approaching the 50 million threshold, so a change in reporting form never comes as a surprise.