Income tax advances for the self-employed in 2026

Income tax advances for the self-employed: a 2026 guide

Advances on income tax are a recurring source of uncertainty for OSVČ — self-employed people in Czechia. When exactly are they due, how large should they be, and what happens if they do not match the tax that eventually comes out? This guide answers all of that, and shows how to have the advances lowered legally if your income has dropped.

Who has to pay advances and who does not

Whether you pay advances at all depends on your last known tax liability — the income tax calculated in the most recent tax return you filed and the tax office accepted.

There are three bands:

Last known tax liability	Advances	Amount of each advance
Up to CZK 30,000	No advances	–
CZK 30,001 – CZK 150,000	Half-yearly (twice a year)	40% of the last known liability
Over CZK 150,000	Quarterly (four times a year)	25% of the last known liability

Advances are rounded up to whole hundreds of crowns.

Due dates in 2026

Half-yearly advances

• 1st advance (40%): due by 15 June 2026
• 2nd advance (40%): due by 15 December 2026

Quarterly advances

• 1st advance (25%): due by 16 March 2026 (15 March is a Sunday)
• 2nd advance (25%): due by 15 June 2026
• 3rd advance (25%): due by 15 September 2026
• 4th advance (25%): due by 15 December 2026

If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, it moves to the next working day.

How to work the advances out: two examples

Example 1: half-yearly advances

A sole trader filed a 2025 return showing income tax of CZK 90,000. Advances for 2026:

• Band: CZK 30,001–150,000 → half-yearly advances
• Each advance: 90,000 × 40% = CZK 36,000
• Due: 15 June and 15 December 2026

Example 2: quarterly advances

A sole trader filed a 2025 return showing tax of CZK 200,000. Advances for 2026:

• Band: over CZK 150,000 → quarterly advances
• Each advance: 200,000 × 25% = CZK 50,000
• Due: 16 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December 2026

Advances and overpayments: what happens at year end

The advances you paid during the year are deducted from the calculated tax liability when you file your return:

• If the advances exceeded the final tax → you have an overpayment; the tax office refunds it or sets it against another tax
• If the advances were lower than the final tax → you have an underpayment and settle it within the filing deadline

Advances do not replace the tax return. You must file the return in any case, even if you paid every advance on time all year.

How to reduce or cancel advances

If your income has fallen sharply against the previous year — illness, the loss of a key client, a seasonal gap — you have the right to ask the tax administrator to reduce or waive the advances under Section 174 of the Tax Procedure Code.

How to apply

1. File a request for the advances to be set differently with your local tax office
2. State your reasons in the request (lower expected income; attach a calculation of the tax liability you expect)
3. The tax administrator assesses the request and may reduce the advances, waive them, or set them in another way

The request can be filed electronically through a datová schránka (data box) or through the Portál MOJE daně tax portal. File it well before the next advance falls due.

When advances do not arise automatically

The obligation to pay advances does not arise automatically in these situations:

• In the year you start trading — you have not filed your first return yet
• If you were on the paušální daň (flat tax) regime in the previous year — the tax office handles your advances differently there
• If your last known tax liability is CZK 30,000 or less
• If all your income comes from employment and your employer pays the advances for you

Advances when you combine employment and self-employment

If you have income from both employment and self-employment, what matters is the share of the employment partial tax base (§ 6) in your total tax base (§ 38a(5) of the Income Tax Act). Your employer pays advances on your employment income separately.

How the advances work for a sole trader who is also employed:

1. If the employment partial tax base makes up 50 % or more of your total tax base, you pay no income tax advances at all
2. If it makes up 15 % to 50 %, you pay the advances at half the usual amount
3. If it is below 15 %, you pay the advances in full, calculated in the usual way

Do not confuse these with social and health insurance advances

Income tax advances are separate from the advances on social security and health insurance. These are three different payments, to three different accounts, at three different institutions:

• Income tax advances — to the account of your local tax office; the account number depends on which office you fall under
• Social security advances — to the account of the relevant OSSZ district office of ČSSZ, due by the last day of the month they relate to (the January advance is due by 31 January)
• Health insurance advances — to the account of your health insurance company, due by the 8th day of the following month

Minimum advances in 2026 after the legislative change

2026 brought a political turn: from January to June 2026 the minimum assessment base for social insurance stood at 40% of the average wage (an advance of CZK 5,720), and an amendment then returned it to 35% of the average wage from 1 July 2026 with retroactive effect from 1 January 2026. The minimum monthly social insurance advance therefore fell to CZK 5,005. The resulting overpayment of CZK 4,290 (6 × CZK 715) is refunded or set against future advances.

A practical routine for keeping track

1. As soon as the tax return is filed, work out the advances for the following year
2. Set up a standing order for the right amount, well before the first due date
3. Check the variable symbol (your birth number or IČO — the business ID — according to the tax office's instructions)
4. Keep the payment confirmations; when you file the return you need to show which advances you paid

Note that Taxorio does not record the income tax advances you have paid and does not put them into the DPFDP7 export — you enter them yourself in the EPO portal when you file the return.

Our tax deadline calendar lists the dates for the year in one place.

In short

Income tax advances are compulsory for any sole trader whose last known tax liability exceeded CZK 30,000. They are paid half-yearly (40% where the tax was CZK 30,000–150,000) or quarterly (25% where it was over CZK 150,000). If income drops significantly you can ask the tax office to reduce or waive them. Advances paid during the year are deducted from the final liability when the return is filed. What matters is keeping a running record and a standing order in place — a missed advance means late-payment interest for nothing.

Taxorio scope: Taxorio provides invoicing and income/expense records for Czech sole traders. It is not full accounting or personalised tax advice. For an unsupported or unusual case, verify the treatment with a Czech accountant or tax adviser before filing.