VAT and tax exports · 4 min read

Flat-rate tax for the self-employed (OSVČ)

What flat-rate tax is, who can enter it, the amount of the flat rate for 2026, and how to set it up in Taxorio.

What flat-rate tax is

Flat-rate tax (paušální daň) is a simplified tax regime for the self-employed (OSVČ), introduced from 1 January 2021 (§ 2a and § 38la et seq. ZDP). Instead of separately filing a DPFO income tax return and statements for the ČSSZ and your health insurer, you pay a single monthly flat-rate payment that bundles together:

  • Personal income tax advances.
  • The advance on social insurance — pension insurance and the contribution to the state employment policy.
  • The advance on health insurance.
⚠️ Sickness insurance isn't in the flat-rate payment. For an OSVČ it's voluntary, and flat-rate tax doesn't change that. If you want a right to sick pay or maternity benefit, you have to register for sickness insurance with the OSSZ separately and pay it on top of the flat-rate payment.

After the year ends, there's normally no shortfall or overpayment — the flat-rate payment is treated as final, as long as you meet the conditions for staying in the regime. The exception is a retroactive change in the law: amendment No. 90/2026 Sb. reduced the Band I payment retroactively from January 2026, so an overpayment of CZK 4,932 arose for the first half of 2026 (see below).

Who can enter the flat-rate regime

Flat-rate tax is for a self-employed person who meets all of these conditions:

  • Annual income from self-employment did not exceed CZK 2,000,000.
  • Isn't a VAT payer. You can be an identified person — § 2a odst. 1 ZDP explicitly excludes identified-person registration from the condition "has no duty to register for VAT." Taxorio allows this combination; being a VAT payer, on the other hand, is entirely incompatible with flat-rate tax, and the app will refuse to save it.
  • Isn't a partner in a general commercial partnership, or a general partner in a limited partnership.
  • Has no income from employment (except income exempt from tax or taxed by withholding tax).
⚠️ Note: you always enter the flat-rate regime as of 1 January of the given year, and you must register by 10 January at the latest (in 2026, by 12 January, since 10 January falls on a Saturday). You file the application with the relevant tax office — through the Moje daně portal or via a data box.

The flat-rate payment amount for 2026

The flat-rate payment depends on the level of your income and on which expense flat rate you'd use in the standard regime. The band is set as the lowest one you fit into:

  • Band I — CZK 9,162/month (the statutory liability for 2026 totals CZK 109,944; from January–June you originally paid CZK 9,984, creating an overpayment of CZK 4,932):
    • Income up to CZK 1,000,000 — applies to all types of activity (30/40/60/80% flat rate)
    • Income up to CZK 1,500,000 — applies to the 60% and 80% expense flat rate (trades, crafts)
    • Income up to CZK 2,000,000 — applies only to the 80% expense flat rate (craft trades, agriculture)
  • Band II — CZK 16,745/month (CZK 200,940 a year):
    • Income from CZK 1,000,001 to CZK 1,500,000 (30/40% flat rate), or up to CZK 2,000,000 (60/80% flat rate), if you don't fall into Band I
  • Band III — CZK 27,139/month (CZK 325,668 a year):
    • Income from CZK 1,500,001 to CZK 2,000,000 — if you don't fall into Band I or Band II
💡 Not sure which band you fall into? Use the flat-rate tax calculator — enter your income and type of activity, and it works out the band automatically.

The exact amounts for each year are announced by the Financial Administration. Always check the current figures at financnisprava.cz.

How to set up flat-rate tax in Taxorio

  1. Go to Settings → Tax regime.
  2. Choose Flat-rate tax. (If you're a VAT payer, the app first sends you to change your VAT status in Company details — it won't switch it for you.)
  3. Choose the band (Band I / II / III) based on your estimated annual income, and the year you enter the flat-rate regime. The breakdown of the advance into tax, social and health insurance is calculated based on the year too.
  4. Click Start activation wizard — Taxorio walks you through the rest and saves the settings only at the end. It then adapts the tax calendar (monthly advances due on the 20th, instead of social/health insurance advances and return deadlines) and, instead of an income tax return, offers only Income records with an income book in case of an audit.

The band's decisive income counts paid documents by their payment date; a foreign-currency invoice counts at the amount that actually arrived, converted at the CNB rate on the day of payment — the same as in the income book.

💡 The expense flat rate is incompatible with flat-rate tax — in the flat-rate regime, expenses aren't recorded, so the Flat-rate expenses field in Company details stays off.

Advantages and disadvantages compared with actual expenses

  • Advantages: Minimal paperwork — no DPFO return, no statements for the insurers. One payment instead of three. Certainty — you know exactly how much you'll pay.
  • Disadvantages: You can't claim tax deductions (mortgage, pension contributions, donations). You can't be a VAT payer. If your actual tax liability works out lower than the flat rate, you overpay.
💡 Tip: before entering the flat-rate regime, compare your tax liability for last year in Taxorio with the sum of the flat-rate payments. The AI assistant can help you with the calculation.