Home / Guide

How to start as a sole trader in Czechia: step by step

Notifying a trade, the fee, social and health insurance, the tax office and deadlines. What to do and by when when you start out as a sole trader (OSVČ).

Starting out as a sole trader in Czechia is easier than it seems. You can handle most of the formalities in one place, the Trade Licensing Office (živnostenský úřad). The main thing to watch is the deadlines for notifying the insurers.

Before you start: which trade you need

Trades are either notifiable, which you simply notify, or licensed, which need a state licence (Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Section 9). Most beginners start with a notifiable trade. Some notifiable trades are unrestricted, such as translation, IT services or retail; for others the law requires professional qualifications, i.e. education or experience, for example electricians, plumbers or real estate agents. Before you file, check which group your activity belongs to.

Step 1: notify your trade

A natural person with full legal capacity and a clean record may run a trade (Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Section 6(1)). For a notifiable trade, the licence arises on the day you notify it (Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Section 10(1), point (a)). The first notification costs an administrative fee of CZK 1,000 (Act No. 634/2004 Coll., fee schedule, item 24). Documents in a foreign language must come with a translation by a court interpreter; this does not apply to EU citizens (Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Section 5(3)).

Step 2: deal with the insurers in the same place

When you notify your trade, you can also report the start of self-employment to the social security administration and to your health insurer; the office passes the data on (Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Section 45a(1) and Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Section 45a(3)). If you do not, these deadlines apply:

• the social security administration within 15 days at the latest (Act No. 582/1991 Coll., Section 48(1) and Act No. 582/1991 Coll., Section 48(4)),
• your health insurer within 8 days of becoming self-employed (Act No. 48/1997 Coll., Section 10(3)).

Step 3: the tax office and your tax return

The Trade Licensing Office also sends your trade details to the tax office (Act No. 455/1991 Coll., Section 48(1)). You file the tax return for a calendar year within 3 months of its end at the latest (Act No. 280/2009 Coll., Section 136(1)). If you miss that deadline and then file electronically, you have up to 4 months (Act No. 280/2009 Coll., Section 136(2), point (a)).

The flat-rate regime: one payment a month

Instead of separate advances for tax, social and health insurance, you can pay one monthly advance in the flat-rate regime (paušální režim). You can enter it if you are self-employed, not a VAT payer (an identified person is the exception), have no employment income at the same time other than income taxed by withholding, did not exceed the income limit for your chosen band in the previous year and file a notice of entry (Act No. 586/1992 Coll., Section 2a(1)). The notice is due by 10 January. If you start your business later, you can file it on the day you start at the latest (Act No. 586/1992 Coll., Section 38lc(1) and Act No. 586/1992 Coll., Section 38lc(2)). You can also include the details in your notification at the Trade Licensing Office (Act No. 586/1992 Coll., Section 38lc(7)).

After the year ends: statements for the insurers

If you are not in the flat-rate regime, after the year ends you file two statements of income and expenses (přehled): one with the social security administration and one with your health insurer. Both are due within 1 month of the deadline for filing the tax return (Act No. 589/1992 Coll., Section 15(1) and Act No. 592/1992 Coll., Section 24(2)). The statements settle the difference and set new advances.

The most common mistakes

• Missing the deadline for notifying your health insurer or the social security administration when you did not do it at the Trade Licensing Office.
• Filing the notice of entry into the flat-rate regime too late.
• Using the flat-rate regime alongside employment where the law does not allow it.
• Forgetting the insurers' statements after filing the tax return.
• Paying a foreign company for a service and becoming a VAT identified person as a result.

Work out your insurance advance payments and whether the flat-rate tax pays off in our calculator:

• Self-employed (OSVČ) calculator: contributions and flat-rate tax

This article is general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Updated 31 Oct 2026 in line with the laws in force. — 777 PRODUCTION s.r.o.