Understanding your filing obligation in the Czech Republic is key, especially for employees with “side income” and freelancers.
1) General rule: income over CZK 50,000 (or a tax loss)
You must file a personal tax return if your annual income that is subject to Czech personal income tax exceeds CZK 50,000, unless it consists only of:
tax-exempt income, or
income taxed by final withholding tax.
You must also file if you report a tax loss, even if you did not exceed CZK 50,000.
2) Employees: when you don’t have to file
You typically do not have to file if all of the following apply:
you had employment income from one employer (or several employers consecutively, not at the same time),
you signed the tax declaration (“Prohlášení k dani”) with the employer for the relevant period, and
you had no other taxable income exceeding CZK 20,000 (excluding exempt income and income taxed by final withholding tax).
Practical examples of “other income” that can trigger filing: freelance income, rental income, capital gains, certain investment income, etc.
3) Non-residents claiming reliefs/deductions
If you are a Czech tax non-resident, you must file a return if you want to claim:
tax credits other than the basic taxpayer credit,
child tax credit, and/or
deductions / non-taxable allowances (reductions of the tax base).
4) Salary paid late (for prior years)
You must file if you received employment income relating to previous years.
5) Donations made abroad
If you are an employee and want to claim a tax-base reduction for qualifying charitable gifts provided abroad, a tax return is required.
6) Optional filing for certain EU/EEA non-residents
Some EU/EEA tax non-residents may choose to file and apply the special procedure under § 36(7) ZDP (this is optional, not automatic).
7) Other situations where filing is required
A return is also mandatory in specific “non-standard” cases, for example:
filing obligations arising under the Tax Procedure Code (e.g., death of the taxpayer, insolvency),
where the employer reports unpaid tax / incorrectly paid tax bonus caused by the employee,
certain cases connected with the “tax-supported retirement savings products” where additional taxation is triggered.
Deadlines for the 2025 tax year (filed in 2026)
For tax year 2025, the key filing deadlines are:
1 April 2026 (standard deadline),
4 May 2026 if filed electronically,
1 July 2026 if filed by a tax advisor.
Form, responsibility, and how it can be filed
The taxpayer is responsible for:
calculating the tax liability,
providing complete and accurate information.
The return must be filed using:
the official form issued by the Ministry of Finance, or
an identical software-generated version, or
electronically in the format/structure published by the tax authority (xml – typically via Financial Administration of the Czech Republic portals).
Need help with your 2025 Czech tax return?
If you’re not sure whether you must file (or you want us to handle the return + submission under a Power of Attorney), get in touch. This is exactly the kind of situation we help expats and freelancers with.