If you work as an OSVČ (osoba samostatně výdělečně činná — a self-employed person, usually trading on a živnost licence), income tax is only part of what you owe the state. The other two big payments are health insurance and social insurance. An employee never has to think about them because the employer pays them through payroll. As an OSVČ, you calculate, pay and report both yourself. This guide covers the whole picture for 2026: how the amounts are calculated, the minimum monthly advances, the due dates and the annual reports.
A quick orientation on the institutions you will deal with:
- ČSSZ (Česká správa sociálního zabezpečení) — the Czech Social Security Administration. Locally it acts through your OSSZ (okresní správa sociálního zabezpečení), the district social security office. Social insurance goes here.
- Zdravotní pojišťovna — your health insurance company (VZP or one of the other health insurers). Health insurance goes here.
- Přehled (přehled o příjmech a výdajích) — the annual statement of income and expenses you file with each of them after your tax return. It settles the real amount for the past year and sets your advances for the next one.
- Datová schránka — the official electronic data box. Every OSVČ has one by law, which is why tax returns and přehledy are filed electronically.
All figures below apply to 2026 and are based on the average wage of CZK 48,967. Here are the two insurances side by side:
| Parameter | Health insurance | Social (pension) insurance |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | 13.5% | 29.2% |
| Assessment base | 50% of profit | 55% of profit |
| Minimum advance 2026 (main activity) | CZK 3,306/month | CZK 5,005/month (from July 2026, retroactively for the whole year; CZK 5,720 was due for January–June) |
| Advance due | by the 8th of the following month | by the end of the month it covers |
| Maximum assessment base | none | 48 × the average wage |
Health insurance for the self-employed
How it is calculated
Health insurance is 13.5% of the assessment base. The assessment base is 50% of your profit — income minus expenses, which is the same figure as your partial tax base from self-employment.
Formula: annual premium = (income − expenses) × 0.5 × 0.135
Example: with an annual profit of CZK 600,000, the assessment base is CZK 300,000 and the annual premium is CZK 40,500, i.e. CZK 3,375 a month.
Minimum advances
The law sets a minimum assessment base derived from the national average wage, and you cannot pay less than the corresponding advance. For 2026 the minimum monthly health insurance advance is CZK 3,306 (check the current amount with your health insurance company).
You pay the minimum if the advance calculated from your last přehled is lower than that, and also when you are just starting out and have no advance set from a previous year.
Due date
Health insurance advances are due by the 8th day of the following calendar month. The January advance is due by 8 February, the February advance by 8 March, and so on.
The přehled for your health insurance company
After the year ends, you file a přehled with your health insurance company. The deadline depends on when you actually filed your tax return for 2025: if you filed it by 1 April 2026 (in any form), the přehled was due by 4 May 2026. If you filed electronically only after 1 April, the deadline moved to 4 June 2026 for the health insurer (and 2 June 2026 for ČSSZ). If a tax adviser filed your return, the přehled deadline was 3 August 2026.
The přehled determines the actual premium for the past year. If your advances were lower, you pay the difference within 8 days of filing the přehled. If you overpaid, the insurer refunds the overpayment on request or offsets it against future advances.
Social insurance for the self-employed
How it is calculated
Social insurance (strictly speaking, pension insurance plus the state employment policy contribution) is 29.2% of the assessment base. The assessment base is 55% of your profit. Note that it rose from 50% in 2024 as part of the government's consolidation package, so social insurance is now calculated from a higher base than health insurance.
Formula: annual premium = (income − expenses) × 0.55 × 0.292
Example: with an annual profit of CZK 600,000, the assessment base is CZK 330,000 and the annual premium is CZK 96,360, i.e. CZK 8,030 a month.
Minimum advances
From July 2026, the minimum monthly social insurance advance for a main activity is CZK 5,005. For January to June 2026 it was CZK 5,720. Amendment No. 90/2026 Coll. lowered the minimum base back to 35% of the average wage retroactively from 1 January 2026, so anyone who paid the higher minimum for six months has an overpayment of CZK 4,290 (6 × CZK 715), which can be refunded or offset. The minimum for the whole year is therefore CZK 60,060. Check the current figures on the ČSSZ website.
Relief for new OSVČ. There are two separate rules, and it is easy to mix them up:
- Zero advances. If you started (or restarted) self-employment after 31 December 2024 and did not carry it on in the previous 5 calendar years, your social insurance advances are set at CZK 0 in the year you start and in the following calendar year. This applies to both main and side activity. It is a deferral, not an exemption: you pay the premium for those years in one lump sum based on the přehled (within 8 days of filing it), so put money aside as you go.
- Reduced minimum base. A main activity started on or after 1 January 2024, with no self-employment in the previous 20 years, has a reduced minimum assessment base of 25% of the average wage (a minimum advance of CZK 3,575 a month in 2026) in the year you start and the two following calendar years (Section 14(6) of Act No. 589/1992 Coll.). It applies when the annual premium is settled in the přehled, to advances in the third year, and from the start for anyone who last traded 5–20 years ago and so does not get the zero-advance rule.
Health insurance has no such relief: with a main activity, you pay the minimum advance of CZK 3,306 from the month you start.
Unlike health insurance, social insurance has a maximum assessment base (a cap), above which no further premium is due. For 2026 the cap is 48 times the average wage.
Due date
Social insurance advances are due by the last day of the calendar month they cover. The January advance is due by 31 January, the February advance by 28 February, and so on. You can pay at any time between the 1st and the last day of that month.
The přehled for ČSSZ
The přehled for ČSSZ covering 2025 is due one month after the tax return deadline, and what counts is the date you actually filed the return: filed by 1 April 2026 (in any form) → přehled by 4 May 2026; filed electronically after 1 April → ČSSZ by 2 June, health insurer by 4 June 2026; filed by a tax adviser after 1 April → by 3 August 2026. Any additional premium is due within 8 days of filing the přehled.
For a more detailed walkthrough of the form itself, see our guide to the annual přehled and its 2026 deadlines.
All deadlines in one place
Key dates for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026):
| Date | What is due |
|---|---|
| 1 April 2026 | Standard income tax return deadline |
| 4 May 2026 | Tax return filed electronically (data box or the MOJE daně / EPO portal); also both přehledy if the return was filed by 1 April |
| 2 June 2026 | Přehled for ČSSZ if the return was filed electronically after 1 April |
| 4 June 2026 | Přehled for the health insurance company in the same situation |
| 1 July 2026 | Tax return filed through a tax adviser |
| 3 August 2026 | Both přehledy when a tax adviser filed the return |
Monthly advances run alongside:
- By the 8th of the following month — health insurance
- By the last day of the month — social insurance (January advance by 31 January)
All tax and insurance dates for the year are also in our self-employed tax calendar for 2026.
Side activity: lower advances and exceptions
If you are self-employed alongside a job, while on maternity or parental leave, while studying or as a pensioner, your business counts as a side activity (vedlejší činnost). That brings much lower minimums:
- Social insurance: the minimum advance for a side activity is only a fraction of the main-activity minimum. On top of that, if your annual profit does not exceed the decisive amount (CZK 117,521 for 2026 — check the current figure on the ČSSZ website), you do not pay social insurance at all.
- Health insurance: if the minimum assessment base does not apply to you (typically because you are employed, a student or a pensioner), from 2026 you pay no health insurance advances at all — neither in your first year nor later. You settle the premium in one payment after filing the annual přehled.
You must tell ČSSZ (and your health insurance company) that your activity is a side activity and prove the reason — a confirmation from your employer, a certificate of study and so on.
For the details that matter to foreigners — who is in the public health system and who needs private cover — see health insurance for self-employed foreigners in Czechia. A shorter summary of the minimum amounts is in minimum social and health insurance in 2026.
What happens if you pay late
Late payments have unpleasant consequences:
- Penalty interest (penále) at the ČNB repo rate + 8 percentage points a year, divided by 365 for each calendar day of delay. With the 2-week repo rate at 3.75% (in force since 19 June 2026), that means 11.75% a year, or 0.0322% a day, from 1 July 2026.
- Enforcement — both the health insurers and ČSSZ can recover debts through enforcement proceedings.
- Impact on benefits — unpaid social insurance can affect your entitlement to sickness benefit or pension.
An overpayment arises the other way round, when your advances exceed the actual annual premium. For health insurance you ask the insurer for a refund; for social insurance you ask ČSSZ to refund it, or the amount is offset against future advances.
Sickness insurance for the self-employed
Unlike employees, an OSVČ does not have to be covered by sickness insurance — it is voluntary. If you sign up for it, you become entitled to:
- sickness benefit from the 15th day of incapacity for work,
- maternity benefit (PPM, peněžitá pomoc v mateřství),
- paternity benefit (otcovská).
The minimum sickness insurance premium is derived from the minimum assessment base. Voluntary sickness insurance is worth considering especially if you are planning to have a child, because maternity benefit is only available to OSVČ who have been insured for the required qualifying period.
Periods when you do not pay advances
In some situations the advances are not due:
- Social insurance: for any month in which you receive sickness benefit or maternity benefit for the whole month
- Health insurance: for the time you receive sickness or maternity benefit. If the state pays your health insurance (for example while you receive parental allowance), you only pay premium on any business income
Practical tips
- Set up standing orders for the correct amounts well ahead of the due dates.
- Use the right variable symbol — for social insurance it is the one your OSSZ assigned to you; for health insurance it is usually your birth number (rodné číslo) without the slash.
- Watch for changes to the minimum advances — new amounts normally apply from January (2026 was an exception, with the lower social minimum applied from July and retroactively). A new health insurance advance calculated from your přehled is paid for the month in which you file it; a new social insurance advance applies from the following month.
- File your přehledy on time — late-filing sanctions are an avoidable cost.
- Keep your income and expense records up to date — rather than sorting everything out in March.
For many OSVČ, health and social insurance together cost more than the income tax itself, so it pays to understand how they are calculated and to plan your cash flow around them. The two most common mistakes are mixing up the due dates (health by the 8th of the next month, social by the end of the month) and underestimating the jump in advances after the first years, once they are set from your real profit. If your real expenses are low and you would fall into the first band, also consider the flat tax (paušální daň), which combines tax and both insurances into one monthly payment.
Where Taxorio helps
In Taxorio, the Insurance (Pojištění) tab is available in every plan, including FREE. Keep in mind that the Overview (Přehled) dashboard shows an estimated income tax without insurance, and that the app does not model voluntary sickness insurance or overlapping situations such as a job alongside the business. Your tax profile is set up in the tax settings, and a summary of deadlines and sanctions is in the help article on deadlines and penalties.