OSVČ — Self-employed person / sole trader
Osoba samostatně výdělečně činná — an individual doing business under a Czech trade licence (živnost), taxed on personal income rather than as a company.
Glossary · EN / CZ
Czech tax terms, in plain English
Czech tax vocabulary is half the battle for foreigners. This glossary translates the terms you actually meet — on invoices, in the app and in letters from the tax office — into plain English. If a term applies to your situation and you are not sure how, just ask.
EN ↔ CZ Plain definitions
Business setup and IDs
The terms that describe how you are set up and how the authorities identify you.
s.r.o. — Limited liability company
Společnost s ručením omezeným — the most common Czech company form, a separate legal entity that keeps double-entry books.
Živnost — Trade licence
The authorisation to run a self-employed trade. Types include volná (free), řemeslná (crafts) and vázaná (regulated) trades.
IČO — Business ID number
Identifikační číslo osoby — the public identifier of a Czech business, visible in the trade and company registers.
DIČ — Tax identification number
Daňové identifikační číslo — the tax ID, issued on registration; for VAT it carries the CZ prefix.
Taxes, VAT and filings
The terms that show up on your filings, deadlines and tax office letters.
DPH — VAT
Daň z přidané hodnoty — value added tax. Charged and reported by VAT payers; deductible on eligible costs.
Identifikovaná osoba — Identified person
A non-VAT payer that must declare VAT on certain cross-border services from the EU (a limited reverse-charge status), without becoming a full VAT payer.
Přenesení daňové povinnosti — Reverse charge
A mechanism where the recipient, not the supplier, accounts for VAT — common on cross-border EU services.
Kontrolní hlášení (KH) — VAT control statement
A detailed VAT report that VAT payers file alongside the VAT return, listing transactions for cross-checking.
Souhrnné hlášení (SH) — EC Sales List
A recapitulative statement of cross-border supplies to other EU VAT-registered parties.
Paušální daň — Flat-rate tax
A single monthly payment that covers income tax plus social and health insurance for eligible OSVČ, replacing separate filings.
Daňové přiznání — Tax return
The annual tax return. For OSVČ it is filed personally; for an s.r.o. it is the corporate return.
Přehled — Insurance overview
Přehled o příjmech a výdajích — the annual social and health insurance summaries filed with ČSSZ and the health insurer after the tax return.
Zálohy — Advance payments
Periodic advances on tax, social and health insurance, settled against the actual amounts once the year is filed.
ČSSZ — Social security administration
Česká správa sociálního zabezpečení — the authority for social security and pension contributions.
Finanční úřad (FÚ) — Tax office
The Czech tax authority that handles income tax and VAT and sends assessments and requests (výzva).
Not sure how a term applies to you?
Tell us the term and your setup. We answer in English how it affects your filings — and what, if anything, you need to do.