Bank account blocked by the Albanian tax office: three ways to lift it

When the tax office blocks your account, the bank will not let you take out money up to the amount of the debt. A call to the bank will not fix it. There are three legal ways to lift it: pay everything, sign an instalment agreement by paying 20% upfront, or wait for the amnesty write-off to go through. Below you can find which one fits.

Find your route

Pick the situation that describes you best. The steps follow the tax procedures law.

Which route lifts your block?

Choose your situation to see the steps in order.

I can pay the whole debtI cannot pay it all nowThe debt is from 2024 or earlierI disagree with the debt

Paying in full closes the matter fastest.

1. Open e-Filing and check the full amount: tax, interest, fines and any other debt.
2. Remember that the amount blocked at the bank goes to the tax office and reduces the debt.
3. Pay what is left.
4. Ask the debt collection directorate to release the block. The measure stops once all debts are paid.

Read every route

I can pay the whole debt

Paying in full closes the matter fastest.

1. Open e-Filing and check the full amount: tax, interest, fines and any other debt.
2. Remember that the amount blocked at the bank goes to the tax office and reduces the debt.
3. Pay what is left.
4. Ask the debt collection directorate to release the block. The measure stops once all debts are paid.

I cannot pay it all now

An instalment agreement lifts the account block.

1. Work out 20% of the debt: this is paid upfront.
2. Prepare documents showing the financial difficulty and that you can keep up with instalments.
3. Send the written request to the director of your regional tax directorate.
4. Expect the signature within 10 calendar days; the block order is lifted after it.
5. Pay every instalment and every new tax on time, or the agreement is cancelled.

The debt is from 2024 or earlier

The amnesty may apply, but the block stays until the write-off shows.

1. Split the debts by year: up to 2014, 2015 to 2019, 2020 to 2024.
2. Pay what the law asks by 31 December 2026, if anything.
3. If the debt is under appeal, withdraw with a formal request by 30 November 2026.
4. Watch e-Filing for the write-off, then ask for the block to be released.

I disagree with the debt

Check the deadlines before you act.

1. Find the date of the assessment notice in e-Filing.
2. An appeal is filed within 30 calendar days of receiving the notice (article 69).
3. Enforced collection powers apply to debts not appealed, or whose appeal has ended (article 88).
4. If the debt is more than 5 years old with no appeal, inspection or criminal case, ask about the limitation period (article 100).

Your choices stay on this page and reset on reload. They are not sent to Pivot or the tax authority.

Official source: tax procedures legislation

Why the account was blocked

A block is an enforcement measure. Before it, the tax office sends a written notice, by registered post or electronically in e-Filing, demanding full payment (article 89). If you neither pay nor appeal, the debt collection directorate sends a block order to every Albanian bank where you hold an account (article 90).

Many people find out when a payment is refused, because the notice sat unread in e-Filing. It is worth opening your tax account every month, even when your accountant follows it.

The instalment agreement: the fastest route when you do not have the full amount

If a financial difficulty stops you paying the whole debt, you can ask for an instalment agreement at any time (article 77). This is how it works:

Illustrative example: a business owes ALL 1,500,000 and its account is blocked. For the agreement it pays ALL 300,000 (20%) upfront. The remaining ALL 1,200,000 is split into instalments until the end of the following year, plus the interest that keeps running.

The tax office can refuse the request or ask for a bank guarantee. No agreement is possible for income tax you withheld and self-declared, or for contributions you calculated or withheld from employees' pay. Nor once an auction of seized assets has started.

When the debt falls under the amnesty

The law stops enforcement when a debt is forgiven by a special law (article 102). But the tax administration has clarified in its questions and answers of 23 June 2026 that a block is not lifted just because you say the debt is forgiven. The write-off must first be verified and show in the tax system. For 2015 to 2024 debts, the amnesty only applies once you pay what the law asks by 31 December 2026. Details are in our guide to the 2026 amnesty.

When the block ends

Under article 102, the tax office stops enforcement immediately when:

How Pivot helps

We pull your exact position from e-Filing, including interest. We tell you whether the amnesty, full payment or an instalment agreement suits you. If you choose instalments, we prepare the request with the reasons and the financial documents that support it, and follow up until the block order is lifted at the banks.

Contact us about unblocking your account. Related: the tax certificates your bank asks for.

Official sources and period

• Tax procedures legislation
• Tax administration: amnesty questions and answers, 23 June 2026

Sources: Law no. 9920 of 19.5.2008 on tax procedures, as amended including by Law no. 79/2025, articles 76 to 79, 88 to 91, 100 and 102. Checked on 28 October 2026. The example is illustrative.