Many expats still have income from their home country: a salary from a foreign employer, rent from an apartment back home, a pension, dividends or interest from a foreign bank or broker. Whether and how this is taxed in the Czech Republic depends on two things: where you are tax resident, and what the double tax treaty (smlouva o zamezení dvojího zdanění) between the two countries says.
Step 1: are you a Czech tax resident?
A Czech tax resident is taxed in the Czech Republic on their worldwide income. A non-resident is taxed here only on income from Czech sources. You are a Czech tax resident if you have your home here or usually stay here; when two countries both consider you resident, the treaty's tie-breaker decides. The 183 days are only part of the story: see tax residency and the 183-day rule.
Everything below assumes you are a Czech tax resident.
Step 2: which country may tax the income?
The Czech Republic has double tax treaties with around 90 countries. Each treaty gives the taxing right per type of income. Typical outcomes:
| Income | Usually taxed |
|---|---|
| Salary for work physically done abroad | In the country where you work, and the Czech Republic exempts or credits it |
| Salary from a foreign employer for work done in the Czech Republic | In the Czech Republic (a few exceptions for short stays) |
| Rent from property abroad | In the country where the property is, and the Czech Republic exempts or credits it |
| Dividends and interest from abroad | In the Czech Republic, with a limited withholding tax abroad that is credited |
| Pensions | Private and state pensions often in the country of residence; government service pensions often in the paying country. It differs per treaty. |
These are typical patterns, not rules: always read the treaty for the two countries concerned.
Step 3: how the Czech Republic avoids double tax
When both countries may tax the income, the treaty says which method the Czech Republic uses. There are two:
Exemption with progression
The foreign income is left out of the Czech tax base (vynětí s výhradou progrese), but it still counts when the tax rate is set. Because Czech income tax is 15%, with 23% only on the part of the tax base above 1,762,812 CZK a year (2026), the foreign income in practice only matters if your total income passes that limit.
Credit
The foreign income is taxed in the Czech Republic, and the tax paid abroad is subtracted (prostý zápočet), but only up to the Czech tax on that same income. If the foreign tax was higher than the Czech tax, the difference is not refunded; in some cases the part that could not be credited can be claimed as a cost in the following year. The calculation is made per country, in annex 3 of the tax return (příloha č. 3).
A special rule for salaries earned abroad
For a salary for work done in a treaty country and taxed there, Czech law allows the exemption method even when the treaty says credit, and even when the tax abroad came to zero after allowances there. If that foreign salary is your only income, you may not need to file a Czech return at all. With any other Czech-taxable income, you declare it and exempt it in the return.
Working from your Czech home for a foreign employer is different: that work is done here, so the salary is usually taxed here. See working remotely for a foreign employer.
Income from a country without a treaty
Without a treaty, the Czech Republic does not credit the foreign tax. For a salary, the foreign tax lowers the Czech tax base; for other income, the foreign tax paid can in some cases be deducted as a cost in the following year. The result is often more tax than with a treaty country.
What you need for the return
- Proof of income: the foreign employer's annual statement, the tax assessment from abroad, broker and bank statements, rental contracts and the rent received.
- Proof of the tax paid abroad: a confirmation from the foreign tax office (potvrzení o zaplacení daně), or in justified cases from the payer or the bank. Without it, a credit can be refused.
- Exchange rates: foreign amounts are converted to CZK either at the single yearly exchange rate (jednotný kurz) published by the Financial Administration, or at the Czech National Bank's daily rate on the day of each payment, consistently for the whole year. See exchange rates.
Common mistakes
- "Tax was already deducted abroad, so I leave it out." A Czech tax resident still declares it; the treaty method then removes or credits the tax. Leaving it out is technically wrong, and whether it matters depends on the details.
- Using the wrong country's tax year. The Czech tax year is the calendar year; a foreign April-to-March statement must be split into calendar years.
- Forgetting rent from property at home. It belongs in the Czech return as rental income, with either real costs or a flat 30% (see renting out an apartment).
- Health insurance and social security follow different rules from income tax. A salary taxed abroad can still be subject to Czech or foreign social insurance under EU rules, decided by the A1 certificate.
This guide explains the general rules; the treaty for your two countries and your own facts decide the outcome.
Related
- Personal income tax return: we file it for you
- Tax residency and the 183-day rule
- Americans in Czechia
- Investments, ETFs, crypto and RSUs in your tax return
- The Czech personal income tax return in detail
Official sources: Income Tax Act No. 586/1992 Coll., § 38f and § 24(2)(ch) (zakonyprolidi.cz); list of double tax treaties of the Czech Republic (mfcr.cz); Financial Administration (financnisprava.gov.cz).
