Natural persons are deemed to be Personal Income Tax payers.
The amount and way of determining the payer’s final tax liability depends on the…
Natural persons are deemed to be Personal Income Tax payers.
The amount and way of determining the payer’s final tax liability depends on the determination of his/her residence status.
A payer deemed to be a Czech tax resident has an unlimited tax liability, which means that he/she is required to pay Tax in the Czech Republic on all his/her worldwide income. A payer deemed to be a Czech tax non-resident is only required to pay Tax in the Czech Republic on income derived from sources on the territory of the Czech Republic, as specified by Czech regulations and the particular International Double Taxation Prevention Treaty.
According to Czech tax legislation, a Czech tax resident is a person having his/her permanent place of residence(1) or habitual abode (domicile)(2) in the Czech Republic. If the payer is deemed to be a Czech tax resident and is simultaneously a resident of another State, his/her final tax residency shall be determined on the basis of the particular International Double Taxation Prevention Treaty. The provisions of the Double Taxation Prevention Treaty have priority over the Czech tax law.
In the case of the Czech Republic not having a bilateral Double Taxation Prevention Treaty with a particular country, the situation may arise where the payer will be deemed to be a tax resident in both States.
Object of Tax
Employment income is generally defined as income derived from current, previous or future employment(3), where the employee carries out work for the employer according to his instructions; this category also includes emoluments of members of the statutory bodies of juristic persons and remuneration of executives(4). These incomes comprise wages, bonuses, wage compensation and all employer provided benefits in both monetary and non-monetary form.
On the other hand, travel expenses compensation within the statutory limit and various other income and benefits, such as luncheon voucher compensation, cultural and social fund benefits and temporary accommodation compensation up to CZK 3 500 (approx. 140 EUR), are not objects of Personal Income Tax under certain conditions.
No expenses related to income from dependent activity are tax deductible. For the purpose of tax base computation, the income from dependent activity is augmented by the percentage of Social Security and Public Health Insurance premiums, which the employer is obliged to pay on such income (supergross wage). In the case of the employee participating in a foreign Social Security and Healthcare Insurance system, his/her income is augmented by the amount of the hypothetical Czech premium(5), which his/her employer would be obliged to pay if the employee were party to the Czech system.
Tax-Deductible Items
To calculate the overall tax base, the dependent activity tax base as defined above must be consolidated with all the other partial tax bases (e.g. income from rent, proceeds from capital). Before the actual computation of tax liability, tax deductible items are deducted from the overall tax base. The most important items are, for example, donations for public utilities purposes, interest on housing credits, contributions to supplementary Pension Insurance and private Life Insurance premiums paid by the employer. Applicable to all these items is the fact that the employer is obliged to support the payments for the said purposes with documentation and to ensure that all the conditions allowing the deduction are met.
Tax Rate
The employee’s tax liability is computed from the tax base reduced by deductions, using the 15% linear rate.
Tax Allowances
The computed tax liability can be further adjusted for tax allowances. Every employee is entitled to a Taxpayer Allowance (CZK 23 640 in 2011 (approx. EUR 945 ). The full amount of this allowance can be claimed, regardless of the taxpayer’s tax residency status. In the case of the income of the taxpayer’s spouse in the particular tax period not exceeding CZK 68 000.(EUR 2720), the payer is entitled to claim an allowance for the spouse to the amount of CZK 24 840 (EUR 994). Other allowances are, for example, Disability Allowances and Student Allowances. The taxpayer may also claim a Child Tax benefit to the amount of CZK 11 604 (EUR 464). In the case of the taxpayer’s tax liability having been fully covered by tax allowances, the Child Tax benefit can also be used as a Child Allowance or a Tax Bonus. In that case, the Tax Bonus is an amount added to the employee’s net salary or paid to him/her by the financial authority. Taxpayers can also claim proportionate amounts of tax allowances, with the exception of the Taxpayer Allowance, and Child Tax benefits in the case of the conditions for allowing them being met only in certain months of the tax period.
An employee deemed to be a Czech tax non-resident may only claim the allowances mentioned above(6) if his/her income derived from sources on the territory of the Czech Republic amounts to at least 90% of all his/her taxable income in the particular calendar year.
Tax Collection
Each month, the employer is obliged to compute and withhold an advance on the dependent activity Income Tax payable by his employees and to return it to the financial authority concerned. After the end of the tax period, the employee may ask his employer for a statement of the advances returned by him/her to the financial authority(7).
If, in addition to his/her earnings from employment, the employee also has other income (e.g. interest or dividends originating in a foreign country, income from the sale of securities) and the amount of that income is more than CZK 6 000 (approx. EUR 240), the payer is required to file a personal Income Tax Return. The employee is also required to file the Tax Return if he/she derives income from several employers simultaneously.
The Tax Return for the tax period (the calendar year for Personal Income Tax) must be filed with the financial authority concerned by 1 April of the following year. On the basis of the Power of Attorney issued to a certified Tax Consultant, or on the basis of an Application, the deadline for filing the Return may be extended to 1 July , possibly 1 November of the following year (in the case of payers whose income originates in a foreign country/countries).
If, in the course of the tax period, the employee also receives income from a foreign country, the provisions of a bilateral Double Taxation Prevention Treaty will be applicable.
Social Security and Healthcare Insurance Premiums
Employment income is subject to the payment of Social Security and Healthcare Insurance premiums.
The assessment base for premium computation is derived from the amount of income from employment, where the assessment base is the sum of the income subject to Personal Income Tax and not tax exempt.
The premium consists of a part to be paid by the employer and of a part to be paid by the employee. The payer of the premium is the employer, who withholds the premium from the employee’s monthly income. The employer pays both these parts to the Social Security and Healthcare Insurance authorities. The employer pays 25% of the Social Security premium and 9% of the Healthcare Insurance premium; 6.5% of their gross wages for Social Security and 4.5% for Healthcare Insurance are withheld from employees. Members of statutory bodies only pay Healthcare premiums, while executives pay both Social Security and Healthcare Insurance premiums; however, the employer only returns 21.5%, and 6.5% is withheld from the executive’s salary.
In 2008, a maximum ceiling(8) was set for premiums; when the Social Security and Healthcare Insurance contributions have reached the maximum level, nothing more is paid until the end of the year. In the case of an employee changing his employment in the course of the calendar year, or if he works for several employers simultaneously, the maximum assessment base is calculated for each employer separately. If the amount of the premium the employee has paid exceeds the annual maximum, after the end of the year the employee may claim the return of the surplus. No premium surplus arises to the employer.
Employees coming from another EU country, or a country with which the Czech Republic has a bilateral treaty in the area of Social Security and/or Healthcare Insurance, and working in the Czech Republic, or working in another country for an employer having his headquarters in the Czech Republic, may apply for an exemption from premium payment in the Czech Republic. On the basis of such an exemption, employees are not required to contribute to the Social Security and/or Healthcare Insurance systems in the Czech Republic, but remain contributors to their home Social Security and Healthcare Insurance systems.
Martina Kneiflová
Andrea Schvábová
E&Y
(1) The place of residence is a place where the payer has a permanent residence, i.e. an apartment which is available to him/her at all times, whether owned by him/her, or rented, and where the payer intends to be staying (depending on his/her personal and family situation). The apartment may be rented to another person, but only in a form enabling the payer its use according to his/her needs.
(2) Stays on the territory of the Czech Republic for at least 183 days in the particular calendar year, continuously or over several periods.
(3) Or in connection with a previous, current or future performance of dependent activity, regardless of whether the activity is carried out for the payer of the income or not.
(4) Hereinafter “income from dependent activity”.
(5) In general, 34% of income up to the amount of the Social Security and Healthcare Insurance premium from the maximum assessment base.
(6) With the exception of the basic Taxpayer Allowance, which he can claim to the full amount.
(7) The condition is that he/she received no other income besides the income from dependent activity exceeding CZK 6 000 (approx. EUR 240) and the income from dependent activity was paid to him/her during the tax period by a single employer, or by several employers, for whom he/she did not work simultaneously. He/she is also required to complete the employer’s forms concerning employment.
(8) Amounting to 72-fold average wages; in 2011 it is CZK 1 781 280 (EUR 71 250)
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