Drivora

Živnost for a driver: what it is and what you’re signing

Working for yourself means becoming a business. It is simpler than it looks, but it is not a formality: an OSVČ — a Czech sole trader — has different taxes, different liability and different penalties. We walk you through the registration as part of the rental, at no separate charge. Here is everything worth understanding before, rather than after.

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What an OSVČ is and what changes

You become a party to a commercial contract, a different relationship altogether — the paperwork changes because the job does.

  • A commercial contract, not employment

    You sign a transport contract. No paid holiday, no company sick pay, no dismissal — there are terms and deadlines instead.

  • You pay your own tax

    Income tax, social insurance and health insurance are yours. Advances are paid monthly, the return is filed once a year.

  • The liability is yours

    A fine for the tachograph, an overload or speeding goes on your record. That is the flip side of the earnings being yours too.

How to set it up — four steps

One visit to a Czech POINT counter covers the first two. After that you have eight days for the health insurer and fifteen for social security.

  1. 1 000 Kč

    Choose a volná živnost

    Driving someone else’s tractor only needs the unregulated trade licence — no exams and no qualifications to prove.

  2. one visit

    File it at a Czech POINT

    Passport, an address and the completed form. The IČO is issued the same day.

  3. 8 and 15 days

    Register with the insurance funds

    The two deadlines are not the same: the health insurer within 8 days (§ 10 odst. 3, Act No. 48/1997 Coll.), social security within 15 days (§ 48 odst. 4, Act No. 582/1991 Coll.) of starting to trade. Late means penalty interest.

  4. up to 7 days

    Open a euro account

    The bank asks for your IČO, so this comes after step 2. Allow a week for two appointments.

Paušální daň or the standard regime

Two ways to pay. The flat tax is simpler, but it doesn’t suit everyone — do the maths now, not in March the following year.

Paušální daň

One payment a month covers the tax and both insurance funds. No cost records to keep and no return to file.

  • One transfer, one date
  • No return, no reports
  • The amount is fixed regardless of your costs
  • Not available above the turnover threshold

Standard regime

You count income minus costs. Fuel, tolls, rent, insurance — all of it reduces the base.

  • Real costs reduce the tax
  • Works at any turnover
  • You need records and an accountant
  • A return and reports once a year

We are not accountants and this is not tax advice. Choose the regime with an accountant — we can put you in touch with the ones our drivers use.

What actually gets paid, and when

Three payments and two deadlines. Rates and thresholds change every year, so they are deliberately not quoted here — that is what an accountant is for.

Three payments

Whether you choose the flat-rate or the standard regime, money goes to three places. Under the flat rate they are combined into one payment; under the standard regime they are separate.

Income tax
On the difference between income and expenses. Under the standard regime fuel, tolls, rent and insurance all reduce it — which is why it pays to record everything, not only the large items.
Social insurance
Monthly advances, sized on last year's profit. In the first year you pay the minimum, and it settles up after the first annual statement.
Health insurance
Also monthly advances, also based on last year. Payable even in a month you did not drive — unlike the tax.

Two deadlines, and the refund

The year closes once. If your advances came to more than you owed, the difference comes back.

Tax return
Once a year, for the year before. Filing electronically gives you a longer deadline than filing on paper.
Statements to the insurers
To the social and health insurers, shortly after the return. Next year's advances are calculated from them.
Getting an overpayment back
Where advances exceeded the actual liability, the overpayment is refunded to your account on application. It does not happen by itself — the request is part of the return.
The first year is different
Advances have nothing to be based on yet, so they are at the minimum and the balance falls due after the first return. It is the most common unpleasant surprise.

What we do and what you do

The živnost and the tax stay with you. Everything around the load is ours.

Us

  • The transport licence and the company
  • Finding and agreeing loads
  • Contracts and customer invoices
  • Cost accounting and the ČNB rate
  • Settlement and payout on 60-day terms
  • Fuel cards and toll units

You

  • Živnost and registration with the insurance funds
  • Tax and advances
  • Fuel and tolls — by set-off, not upfront
  • Traffic fines
  • The load and its paperwork
  • The deposit on the tractor

You have the trade licence — what will you drive?

The paperwork is only half of it. The other half is the tractor, the freight, and what is left for you. Who we are looking for and what you get is on one page.

C+E drivers

Let’s look at your situation

Živnost or no živnost, arrears on your insurance or none — tell us how it actually is, and we’ll tell you what to do next.

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