The deadlines for personal income tax returns for 2024 are approaching. It can be filed in paper form until 1 April 2025. The 2 May 2025 deadline then applies to taxpayers who file electronically. The last option is to file through a tax preparer, and that's until July 1, 2025. Find out who is required to file and what changes are coming to the form this year below.
Who doesn't have to file a tax return?
Tax returns do not have to be filed by persons whose taxable income does not exceed CZK 50,000 per year. These are typically pensioners, non-working students receiving scholarships or persons on parental leave. Importantly, the threshold of CZK 50,000 is a limit on total gross income, i.e. without any reduction for expenses.
Furthermore, persons who receive income from one or more employers in succession do not have to file a tax return. However, it is a condition that the employee has made a taxpayer's declaration with all these employers. At the same time, these persons must not have other income (business income, rental income, capital income, other income) exceeding CZK 20,000 in total. These persons have usually already asked their employer to make an annual tax settlement.
The last larger group of persons who do not have to file a tax return are entrepreneurs (self-employed persons) who have entered the flat-rate tax regime and have not violated the statutory conditions in 2024. In this case, their tax is equal to the flat-rate tax and they do not have to file returns or reports to the Social Security and Health Insurance Institutions. A breach of the conditions of the flat-rate regime is considered to be, for example, the commencement of dependent activity taxed with advance tax, the realisation of other taxable income above CZK 50,000 or exceeding the income threshold of the given band. Flat-rate tax payments thus become advance payments for the purposes of returns and reports.
If you will not be obliged to file a tax return, but you have realised exempt income in excess of CZK 5 million in 2024 (e.g. sale of shares in a business corporation, inheritance, donation from a close person, etc.), do not forget to file a notification of exempt income with the tax office by 1 April 2025. We have informed you in more detail about this obligation and the significant penalties for non-compliance here.
What is your filing deadline?
The deadline of 1 April 2025 applies to all persons who file a tax return in paper form or file a return in any form by 1 April 2025. If you know that you will incur an overpayment of tax, it is worth filing your return by this date so that it can be refunded by the tax office as soon as possible.
The deadline of 2 May 2025 applies to all persons who file their returns electronically themselves and who file after 1 April 2025. Electronic filing is compulsory for persons who have a data box established and accessible by law, i.e. self-employed persons. Electronic filing means, in particular, filing via the My Tax Portal or via a data box (in xml format).
The deadline of 1 July 2025 is then relevant for persons who file their tax return through a tax adviser or attorney by proxy and the filing is made after 1 April 2025.
The time limit for payment of any underpayment of tax is the same as the time limit for filing the return.
Is it worth filing a voluntary tax return?
If you are not obliged to file a tax return, you can choose to file voluntarily. It is typically worthwhile if you are entitled to deductions from your tax base or have not claimed any tax credits during the year. This situation may arise for people who have been on temporary disability, maternity or parental leave or on the register of the employment office for part of the year.
If you decide to file a voluntary tax return, you must include all income that is subject to tax, is not exempt and has not been subject to Czech withholding tax.
Changes to tax rates, deductions and allowances from 2024
When filing their 2024 tax returns, some individuals will experience the full extent of the increase in tax burden brought about by the consolidation package for the first time. This amendment to the tax laws reduced the threshold for progressive taxation from a total tax base of approximately 1.94 million (2023) to approximately 1.58 million. The reduction in the threshold affects employees the most due to the inability to claim expenses.
At the same time, from 2024, the student discount and the discount for the placement of a child (the so-called school fee) will be abolished. Another major change was the modification of the conditions for applying the spouse discount, where, in addition to the condition of the other spouse's own income of up to CZK 68,000 per year, the condition of a dependent child under three years of age living with the spouses in a jointly managed household was added. Under the same conditions as in previous years, it is still possible to apply the basic taxpayer's discount, the tax benefit for children, the disability discount or for holders of the ZTP/P card.
Possible deductions from the tax base continue to be interest paid on a home loan, donations to charity (again up to 30% of the tax base for 2024), deductions for blood donations or contributions paid for supported retirement savings products and tax-supported long-term care insurance (now up to a total of CZK 48,000 per year).
We will be happy to advise you on your personal tax situation: we will explain how you can make the most of possible tax exemptions, which expenses can be claimed for the purpose of calculating the tax base, which spouse's income is worth attributing to the community property, when to use a separate tax base for certain foreign income, and what deductions and allowances you are entitled to.
Autor: Monika Lodrová