Important: This guide explains general Czech rules in force on 17 July 2026. It is not individual tax advice. Cross-border supplies, advances, long-term services, and changes of record-keeping method can require a case-specific analysis.
A client asks you to invoice on 20 December, the invoice says the service was supplied in December, and the money reaches your account on 10 January. Is this December income, January income, or both? If you work in Czechia as an OSVČ (osoba samostatně výdělečně činná, a Czech sole trader), the answer depends on which tax you are asking about and which records you keep.
Czech invoices bring together dates that serve different jobs. The issue date documents when the invoice was made. DUZP (datum uskutečnění zdanitelného plnění, the taxable supply date) places a domestic taxable supply into a VAT period. The payment date shows when cash was actually received. Treating them as interchangeable is one of the easiest ways to put an amount into the wrong year.
The three clocks on a Czech invoice
| Clock | What it tells you | What it does not tell you by itself |
|---|---|---|
| Issue date | When the document was created and whether invoicing deadlines were met | The cash-income year for every sole trader |
| DUZP | The VAT tax point for the supply, subject to the detailed rules for that type of supply | When an unpaid receivable becomes ordinary cash-basis income |
| Payment date | When the customer’s money was received | The VAT period for a supply that already took place |
Income tax starts with your record-keeping method
Daňová evidence: tax records based on received and paid amounts
Many individual OSVČ do not keep statutory accounts. Instead, they use daňová evidence, the tax-record system under Section 7b of Act No. 586/1992 Coll., the Czech Income Tax Act. The record contains income and expenses in the detail needed to calculate the tax base, plus assets and liabilities.
For an ordinary business invoice in this system, the key income-tax event is generally receipt of the money. Before payment, the invoice is a receivable rather than received cash income. It must still be tracked: Section 7b requires the actual state of receivables and liabilities to be established at the end of the tax period. “Not taxed yet” therefore does not mean “delete it from the year-end list.”
There are important boundaries. Closing a business, switching methods, assigning a receivable, or another special transaction can trigger adjustments under Section 23. A person using percentage expenses also keeps different statutory records. The practical cash rule is useful only after you have confirmed that you are not keeping accounts and that no special adjustment applies.
Účetnictví: statutory accounting
An OSVČ who keeps účetnictví, Czech statutory accounting, does not simply wait for the bank credit. Under Section 23 of the Income Tax Act, the tax base starts from the accounting result and is then adjusted by tax rules. Revenue is recognised in the period to which the work economically belongs. A December service can therefore be December revenue even if its receivable is collected in January.
This is why advice saying “freelancers always tax invoices only when paid” is too broad. It usually describes a non-accounting sole trader’s tax records. It is not a universal rule for every person or entity doing business in Czechia.
A December invoice paid after New Year
Assume a web developer supplies a domestic service on 20 December 2026, issues an invoice for CZK 80,000.00 on that date, and gives the client until 5 January 2027 to pay. The payment is credited on 10 January 2027.
- Tax records: the developer normally lists CZK 80,000.00 as an outstanding receivable at 31 December 2026 and records the received income on 10 January 2027.
- Accounting: in a standard fact pattern, the revenue belongs to the 2026 period even though cash follows in 2027.
- VAT: if the developer is a VAT payer and the domestic service has DUZP on 20 December, output VAT belongs to the VAT period containing December. The late payment does not move that tax point to January.
The 5 January due date is commercially important: it tells you when the client falls overdue. It does not choose the income-tax year or replace DUZP.
VAT follows the supply — unless a qualifying advance comes first
Section 21 of Act No. 235/2004 Coll., the Czech VAT Act, places the obligation to declare VAT on an ordinary supply at the taxable supply date. The exact DUZP depends on what was supplied. For services, the statutory rule can treat the date of supply or an earlier issue of the relevant tax document as decisive, subject to specific exceptions. The issue date is therefore not irrelevant, but it is not a universal substitute for analysing the supply.
An advance can bring the VAT event forward. Under Section 20a, VAT may become due when payment is received before the supply if the future taxable supply is already known with sufficient specificity. A vague deposit that cannot yet be tied to a sufficiently identified taxable supply needs separate analysis; a clearly allocated advance for an agreed service is the classic case.
Suppose a VAT-registered consultant receives CZK 24,200.00 on 28 December 2026 for a clearly identified January service. If Section 20a’s conditions are met, VAT on that advance belongs to December. The remaining amount is dealt with when the January supply takes place. The Czech Financial Administration’s official control-statement questions and answers show advances and final settlement being reported separately.
For a sole trader using tax records, the received advance is also normally a cash receipt in December. Income tax and VAT may land in the same month in this example, but they reach that result through different legal rules.
Foreign-currency payment: timing first, conversion second
Foreign sole traders often invoice international clients outside their Czech invoicing app. Take an invoice for EUR 1,000.00 issued elsewhere on 15 December 2026 and paid on 10 January 2027. If the supplier uses Czech tax records, the cash income normally falls into 2027. The foreign-currency receipt then has to be translated into the relevant Czech tax currency under Section 38 of the Income Tax Act.
For illustration only, if the applicable rate under the chosen permitted method were CZK 25.10/EUR, the record would contain exactly CZK 25,100.00 (EUR 1,000.00 × 25.10). CZK 25.10 is not presented as an official rate for that day. A non-accounting taxpayer should document the permitted conversion method used and apply it consistently; check the current Section 38 rules and the Financial Administration’s annual exchange-rate guidance.
If Czech VAT applies, the VAT conversion may instead use the rate tied to the VAT tax point. A December VAT amount and a January cash-income amount can therefore differ in CZK. This example does not claim that Taxorio creates foreign-currency invoices. It shows how to analyse a payment for an invoice prepared outside Taxorio.
Quick decision table
| Your situation | Income-tax timing | VAT timing | Evidence to retain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax records, invoice still unpaid | Usually no cash receipt yet; keep the receivable | VAT payer uses DUZP | Invoice, DUZP, due date, outstanding balance |
| Tax records, customer has paid | Record income on receipt | Earlier VAT period does not move merely because payment arrived | Payment date and exact amount |
| Statutory accounting | Revenue follows accounting period and tax adjustments | VAT rules operate separately | Revenue period, receivable, DUZP, settlement |
| Advance for a sufficiently specific supply | Normally a receipt when collected in tax records | VAT can arise on receipt before DUZP | Agreement, advance payment, tax document, final invoice |
| Payment in foreign currency | Receipt period plus Section 38 conversion | Potential conversion at the VAT tax point | Currency, amount, date, method and rate |
A practical Taxorio year-end workflow
Taxorio keeps the invoice’s issue date, DUZP, due date, and payment status distinct. When money arrives, you can enter the payment date or mark the invoice as paid. Issued and overdue invoices remain visible as outstanding until their status changes. That gives you a useful list for checking which December invoices were actually collected before midnight on 31 December.
The software does not choose your legal record-keeping regime, decide whether an advance is sufficiently specific, select a foreign-exchange method, or convert accounting accruals into tax conclusions for you. A “Paid” status also does not rewrite DUZP. At year-end, compare the invoice list with bank evidence, review open receivables, and give the dates to your Czech accountant or tax adviser where the treatment is not routine.
Summary
For a typical non-accounting OSVČ using daňová evidence, an ordinary invoice generally becomes received income when payment arrives; until then, it remains a receivable. A person keeping účetnictví follows accounting recognition and tax adjustments instead. A VAT payer declares output VAT according to DUZP, or potentially earlier when a sufficiently specific advance is received. The issue date and due date each matter, but neither replaces those tests.
The authoritative starting points are the Czech Financial Administration’s OSVČ income-tax guidance, the current Income Tax Act, the current VAT Act, and the control-statement guidance linked above. Use the dates as separate evidence, then apply the rule for the tax and record-keeping method you actually have.