VAT (DPH, daň z přidané hodnoty) is 21% in the Czech Republic for most services and goods, and 12% for some, such as food and accommodation. A company is not automatically a VAT payer. It becomes one when it crosses a limit or does business with other EU countries, and then it must register itself: the tax office does not send a reminder.
Three situations
| No VAT registration | Identified person (VAT-light) | VAT payer (full VAT) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| When | Czech or non-EU business only, below the limits | Services to or from businesses in other EU countries, below the limits | Above the limits, or by choice |
| VAT on your Czech invoices | No | No | Yes, 21% or 12% |
| Claim back VAT on costs | No | No | Yes |
| Filing | None | VAT return and EC sales list, only in months with EU transactions | VAT return, control statement and, with EU clients, EC sales list |
Full VAT: the limits
A company must become a VAT payer when its revenue from taxable supplies in the Czech Republic:
- passes 2,000,000 CZK in a calendar year: it is a VAT payer from 1 January of the next year; or
- passes 2,536,500 CZK within the year: it is a VAT payer from the day after the invoice that crossed this limit.
Services invoiced to businesses in other EU countries (taxed there under the reverse charge) do not count towards these limits. Sales to private persons in other EU countries, and most services to private persons abroad, do. A company that buys a business, or that is the successor of a VAT payer, can become a payer earlier.
Voluntary registration is possible, for example before a large investment or when all clients are VAT payers who can claim the VAT back. The tax office looks closely at such requests, especially for new companies without real activity yet.
VAT-light: the identified person
An s.r.o. becomes an identified person (identifikovaná osoba) as soon as it:
- invoices a service to a business in another EU country (place of supply abroad), even a single invoice; or
- buys a service from a business in another EU country or outside the EU with the place of supply in the Czech Republic: online advertising, software subscriptions, consultants abroad; or
- buys goods from other EU countries above the limit for acquisitions.
The company must apply for registration within 15 days. As an identified person it gets a Czech VAT number (CZ + its IČO), invoices EU businesses without Czech VAT with the note "reverse charge", and for services bought from abroad it declares and pays 21% Czech VAT itself, which it cannot claim back. It files only in the months with such transactions.
Filing as a VAT payer
- VAT return (přiznání k DPH) by the 25th of the next month, with the payment. Every new payer starts monthly, for the year of registration and the whole next year. After that, a smaller payer can switch to quarterly. An identified person (VAT-light) always files monthly, only for the months with transactions.
- Claiming without earning. A company that keeps claiming VAT back on its costs, without real taxable income, draws attention. The tax office may conclude that it does not need a VAT registration at all and cancel it.
- Control statement (kontrolní hlášení): a list of all Czech invoices issued and received, those above 10,000 CZK one by one. A company files it every month by the 25th, also with a quarterly VAT return. Late filing triggers automatic fines, starting at 1,000 CZK.
- EC sales list (souhrnné hlášení): invoices to EU businesses, by the 25th of the next month.
- Everything is filed electronically only, through the company's data box or accounting software.
A foreign company
A company from abroad that sells goods or services with the place of supply in the Czech Republic, for example events, goods stored here or sales to Czech consumers, may have to register for Czech VAT from the first sale, without any limit. A foreign company with a Czech permanent establishment counts that establishment's revenue towards the limits.
The most common case in practice: an online seller, for example on Amazon, whose goods are stored in a Czech warehouse. That requires a Czech VAT registration and a monthly VAT return. For small one-off sales, such as merchandise sold on a tour through Europe, registering in every country is hardly workable; ask a tax advisor how to handle it.
Common mistakes
- "We only have EU clients, so no VAT." One invoice to an EU business makes the company an identified person.
- "Google Ads and software from Ireland have no VAT." As an identified person or payer, the company pays the Czech VAT on them itself.
- "VAT once a year." No: monthly or quarterly, and the control statement every month.
- Waiting for the year end to check the limit. The 2,536,500 CZK limit applies from the next day.
Related
- Running an s.r.o.: every obligation in one calendar
- VAT calculator: amounts including and excluding VAT
- Accounting and VAT for companies
- VAT registration for the self-employed on tradelicense.cz
This guide is general information for 2026, not personal advice: which registration a company needs depends on its clients, suppliers and amounts.
Official sources: Act No. 235/2004 Coll. on Value Added Tax (§ 6, § 6g–6l, § 94, § 101c–101i, § 102); Finanční správa (VAT, control statement, EC sales list).
