Tax and accounting
Paušální daň, advances, the ČNB rate, deductions and the annual return — from the point of view of a driver on a živnost, not an accountant. 7 articles.
Setting up as a sole trader (OSVČ)
Seven guides, in the order the questions come up: the regime (paušální daň or the standard one), insurance advances, VAT, costs, the ČNB rate, the first return, getting an overpayment back. We are not accountants and do not give tax advice: the figures below come from the law and the authorities’ websites, each with a year and a link. Choose the regime with an accountant; if you do not know who to go to, we can put you in touch with the ones our drivers use.
Reading order
- Paušální daň or the standard regime — which is better for a driver 6 min
The choice is made once a year and cannot be undone retrospectively; a driver’s costs are large, and paušální daň ignores them.
- Insurance advances: how much and when to pay 7 min
The health advance is set at the minimum in the first year; a newcomer pays no pension-insurance advances in the year they start or in the year after.
- VAT: when registration becomes compulsory 3 min
Two thresholds and two different start dates: from 1 January of the following year, or from the next day.
- Which costs actually reduce the tax base 3 min
Deductions work only on the standard regime: fuel, tolls, rent and insurance qualify, fines do not.
- How the ČNB rate works and why it matters to your settlement 3 min
The ČNB rate for the transaction date is used, not the date the money moves.
- Your first annual return: what to prepare in advance 4 min
Reports also go to ČSSZ and your health insurance fund; documents are collected through the year, not in March.
- Tax overpayment refund: why it happens and how to claim it 6 min
In the first year an overpayment is normal, but it does not come back on its own: you have to apply.
Figures from the law and the authorities
| What | How much | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paušální daň: monthly payment, band one | 9 162 Kč | 2026 | financnisprava.gov.cz |
| Income ceiling of band one for a driver (60 % expense allowance) | 1 500 000 Kč | 2026 | zakonyprolidi.cz |
| VAT thresholds: turnover in a calendar year / turnover after which you are a payer from the next day | 2 000 000 Kč / 2 536 500 Kč | 2026 | zakonyprolidi.cz |
| Minimum monthly pension-insurance advance, main activity, from 1 July 2026 | 5 005 Kč | 2026 | cssz.cz |
| Minimum monthly health-insurance advance, main activity | 3 306 Kč | 2026 | financnisprava.gov.cz |
| Deadline to notify the health insurance fund after setting up a živnost, days | 8 | 2026 | zakonyprolidi.cz |
| Deadline to notify ČSSZ, days | 15 | 2026 | zakonyprolidi.cz |
A row with a figure that changes every year disappears from this page when the year shown on it is over.
Common questions
- Which is better for a driver: paušální daň or the standard regime?
- A driver has large, regular costs — fuel, tolls, tractor rent, insurance. On the standard regime they reduce the tax base; under paušální daň they do not. That is why paušální daň more often wins in the first part-year, while there are few loads, and starts to lose once the truck reaches a normal mileage. The regime is chosen for the calendar year.
- Guide: Paušální daň or the standard regime — which is better for a driver
- Do I have to pay insurance advances in the first year?
- The health-insurance advance, yes, but in the first year it is set at the minimum. Pension-insurance advances are not paid by someone who was not self-employed in the previous five years: in the year they start and in the year after (outside the flat-tax regime); the premium for those years is settled after the annual overview is filed.
- Guide: Insurance advances: how much and when to pay
- When do I have to register for VAT?
- There are two thresholds: domestic turnover above 2 000 000 Kč in a calendar year — you are a payer from 1 January of the following year; above 2 536 500 Kč — from the very next day. A VAT payer cannot use the flat-tax regime.
- Guide: VAT: when registration becomes compulsory
- Why is there an overpayment in the first year, and does it come back on its own?
- Advances are calculated from last year’s profit, and in the first year there is no last year: you pay the minimum and the final figure is worked out on the actuals. The overpayment does not come back on its own: a tax overpayment has to be applied for — with the return or later, within six years; for contributions, filing the annual overview counts as the application.
- Guide: Tax overpayment refund: why it happens and how to claim it
How an OSVČ’s payments work as a whole: Setting up as a sole trader (OSVČ)
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