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Investment tax in Czechia
The 3-year time test, the 100,000 CZK cliff, dividends and crypto — a guide to the daňové přiznání
A three-year holding makes an entire gain tax-free, 100,000 CZK of proceeds is a cliff rather than an allowance, the 15% and 23% bands sit at 36× the average wage, income types never offset each other and losses are never carried forward, accumulating ETFs go untaxed until sale, crypto-to-crypto is a disposal, foreign tax is credited country by country — and every koruna is converted with ČNB rates under § 38.
Last updated: · Covers tax years 2024, 2025 and 2026. Informational only — not tax advice.
WHAT CHANGED, AND WHAT YOU MUST KNOW
INVESTMENT LOSSES HAVE ALMOST NO RELIEF IN CZECHIA
§ 5 odst. 3 creates a carryable tax loss only from business (§ 7) and rental (§ 9) income. § 8 has no loss provision at all, and § 10 odst. 4 says that where expenses exceed income within one type of income, "k rozdílu se nepřihlíží" — the difference is disregarded. Realising a loss in December is worth nothing unless you have a matching gain in the same type of income in the same year. There is no carryforward and no carryback.
THE 40 MILLION CZK CAP ON SECURITIES ENDED ON 1 JANUARY 2026
The annual 40,000,000 CZK ceiling on time-test-exempt income from securities and corporate participations, introduced for 2025 by the consolidation package, was abolished from 1 January 2026. For crypto-assets the cap survives — and it bites proportionally, not as a threshold: once exempt proceeds pass 40 m CZK, the exemption is lost on the proportional excess and § 10 odst. 4 cuts the deductible cost in the same proportion.
CRYPTO-ASSETS GOT THEIR OWN EXEMPTIONS ON 15 FEBRUARY 2025
An amendment effective 15 February 2025 inserted a 100,000 CZK proceeds exemption at § 4 odst. 1 písm. zj) and a three-year time test at písm. zk). The 100,000 CZK limit expressly does not cover an "elektronický peněžní token" — typically a fiat-referenced stablecoin. Before that date crypto disposals had no exemption at all.
Why this is so laborious in practice
- -Foreign brokers report nothing: the Czech return is not pre-completed anywhere. Every trade, dividend and interest payment has to be converted to koruna and entered by you.
- -Two exemptions that exclude each other: guidance GFŘ D-59 says the time test and the 100,000 CZK limit "nelze kombinovat", and the limit is measured on gross proceeds, not on gain.
- -Losses do not travel between income types: a crypto or derivative loss cannot reduce a share gain — and inside a negative type it disappears entirely.
- -Buy and sell are often in different currencies on different days: under the daily method each leg takes its own ČNB fixing, and § 38 odst. 7 forbids mixing the daily rate with the annual one inside a year.
- -The credit is computed per source country (§ 38f odst. 8) and only up to the treaty rate — 30% withheld on US dividends is creditable only to 15%.
- -An exempt sale after three years destroys the loss too: exempt income cannot be reduced by expenses, so a long-held position sold at a loss yields no deduction at all.
What Tax-Wizard does for you
✅ The calculation
- Conversion to CZK at the ČNB fixing for the day each item arises, or at the annual jednotný kurz — one method for the whole return
- The three-year time test and the 100,000 CZK limit evaluated separately for securities and for crypto-assets, including the proportional 40 m CZK cap
- Income-type silos per § 10 odst. 4 and Pokyn GFŘ D-59, summing only the positive differences into row 209
- The general base and the § 16a separate base computed both ways and compared — with a reminder that the election is all-or-nothing
📄 The output
- A workbook laid out like the form: Souhrn, Příloha 2, per-leg disposal detail with rates and dates, exempt disposals, § 8, Příloha 3 and open positions
- The "Otevřené pozice" sheet shows, for every open lot, the date from which its sale becomes exempt
- The "Ke kontrole" sheet lists every estimate, heuristic and open question — nothing is hidden
- An EPO XML file for MOJE daně (you submit it yourself)
📈 Shares, ETFs and funds
When you pay nothing at all
| Situation | Rate | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| Held for more than 3 years | 0% | § 4 odst. 1 písm. u) |
| Securities proceeds up to 100,000 CZK for the year | 0% | § 4 odst. 1 písm. t) |
| Everything else — up to 36× the average wage | 15% | § 16 odst. 1 písm. a) |
| Everything else — above 36× the average wage | 23% | § 16 odst. 1 písm. b) |
The 23% band starts at 1,582,812 CZK for 2024, 1,676,052 CZK for 2025 and 1,762,812 CZK for 2026 (36 × the government-decree average wage). It is measured on your whole tax base, salary included — which is why Tax-Wizard treats it as a warning rather than a calculation.
Accumulating ETFs: nothing is taxed until you sell
Czech law has no deemed-distribution regime whatsoever — no equivalent of the German Vorabpauschale, the Austrian ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge or the Irish 8-year deemed disposal. § 8 odst. 1 písm. a) taxes an actually distributed share of profit and § 10 taxes a disposal; an accumulating fund does neither.
Combined with the three-year time test, an accumulating UCITS ETF held for more than three years by a Czech resident is, on these rules, completely untaxed. It is without exaggeration the single largest tax advantage a Czech investor has.
Careful: the exemption is automatic, not elective
§ 4 exempts the income, not the gain. Sell a share after four years at a 60,000 CZK loss and the income is exempt — and because § 10 odst. 4 does not let you set expenses against exempt income, the loss is worth nothing. You cannot opt to tax the transaction in order to use the loss.
Deductible costs and the matching method
For securities § 10 odst. 5 expressly allows, alongside the acquisition price, the "výdaje související s uskutečněním úplatného převodu a platby za obchodování na trhu s cennými papíry při pořízení" — broker fees on both legs. The matching method (FIFO, LIFO, weighted average) is not prescribed: Pokyn GFŘ D-59 confirms the accounting-law rule does not bind a § 10 investor. Apply whichever you choose consistently and across all brokers — the cost basis is yours, not the account's.
💵 Dividends
| Source | How it is taxed | On the return? |
|---|---|---|
| Czech (e.g. ČEZ) | 15% withheld at source, separate tax base | No — it is final |
| Foreign — general base | 15% / 23% on the gross amount | Yes, row 38 |
| Foreign — § 16a separate base | a flat 15% on the gross amount | Yes, Příloha č. 4 row 401a |
The § 16a separate-base election
§ 8 odst. 8 lets foreign income under § 8 odst. 1 písm. a)–f) and i) be moved into a separate tax base taxed at a flat 15%. The election is all-or-nothing — the law says that if any such income goes in, all of it does.
It is not automatically better. The rate is capped at 15% (good if you are otherwise in the 23% band), but the foreign credit works differently: Příloha č. 4 row 413 allows at most 15% of the income, whereas the general base uses the proportional cap in § 38f odst. 2. Tax-Wizard computes both and shows the comparison.
Foreign withholding tax is not a cost
Both § 8 odst. 4 and odst. 5 state that capital income is not reduced by expenses. Foreign tax withheld is therefore never a deductible cost — only a possible credit, and only up to what the source state was entitled to levy under the treaty (Příloha č. 3, row 323). If a US broker withholds 30% instead of the treaty's 15%, you credit 15% and reclaim the rest in the United States, not from the Czech tax office. Filing a W-8BEN with the broker avoids the problem entirely.
🏦 Interest and P2P lending
| Kind of interest | Provision | Tax base | § 16a eligible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech bank account | § 8/1/c, § 36 | 15% withheld — final | — |
| Foreign account or deposit | § 8/1/c → § 8/4 | general, 15% / 23% | Yes |
| Loans, credit, P2P | § 8/1/g → § 8/5 | general, 15% / 23% | Never |
P2P: defaulted principal is not an expense
§ 8 odst. 5 allows exactly one deduction — interest you paid on money borrowed to on-lend, and only up to the income. Written-off principal is not in that list, and § 5 odst. 3 creates no loss from § 8 income. An investor who receives 10,000 CZK of interest and loses 40,000 CZK of principal is taxed on 10,000 CZK. A secondary-market sale of a note may be a securities disposal depending on the instrument — Tax-Wizard flags those for review rather than guessing.
🧾 Bonds
| Event | Where it belongs | Time test and 100,000 CZK |
|---|---|---|
| Coupon | § 8 odst. 1 písm. a) | Do not apply |
| Redemption at maturity | § 8 odst. 2 písm. a) → § 8 odst. 5 | Do not apply |
| Sale before maturity | § 10 odst. 1 písm. b) bod 2 | Apply |
| Bond issued by an EU/EEA state | § 4 odst. 1 písm. x) | Exempt |
Sell, or hold to maturity?
The difference is decisive. Sell the bond after three years and the whole income is exempt. Let it run to maturity and the positive difference between the redemption amount and the acquisition price is § 8 odst. 2 capital income — taxed in the general base with no exemption at all. Tax-Wizard routes redemption rows into § 8 and sale rows into § 10, and flags any bond leg it cannot tell apart.
📉 Derivatives, CFDs and currency pairs
A derivative is not a security. Pokyn GFŘ D-59 (K § 10 odst. 1 písm. b)) says that "za jinou věc se považuje také nehmotná věc, např. právo na pohledávku nebo měnový pár", so options, futures, CFDs and spot forex fall under § 10 odst. 1 písm. b) bod 3 — code F on Příloha č. 2.
- No time test — § 4 odst. 1 písm. u) covers only a cenný papír
- No 100,000 CZK exemption — § 4 odst. 1 písm. t) is likewise securities-only
- Not even the 50,000 CZK exemption — § 10 odst. 3 písm. a) expressly excludes § 10 odst. 1 písm. b)
- Results net only against each other; if the silo ends negative, the difference is disregarded
Turbo certificate vs CFD: economically the same, a chasm in tax
Turbo certificates, ETNs, warrants and other securitised products are securities, so the three-year time test and the 100,000 CZK exemption both apply. An economically comparable CFD gets neither. Where an instrument's securitised status is not certain, Tax-Wizard puts it on the "Ke kontrole" sheet rather than classifying it silently.
₿ Crypto-assets
| Event | Taxable? | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sale for fiat | Yes | GFŘ ref. 18809/22, ad C |
| Swap for another crypto-asset | Yes | GFŘ ref. 18809/22, ad B |
| Paying for goods or services | Yes | GFŘ ref. 18809/22, ad B |
| Mining (at the moment of mining) | No | GFŘ ref. 18809/22, ad A |
| Transfer between your own wallets | No | — |
| Staking, lending, airdrops | Unsettled | GFŘ has issued no position |
Exemptions and the 40 million cap
Since 15 February 2025 crypto has its own 100,000 CZK limit (§ 4 odst. 1 písm. zj)) and its own three-year time test (písm. zk)) — both separate from the securities basket. The limit does not cover an "elektronický peněžní token", i.e. typically a fiat-referenced stablecoin.
§ 4 odst. 3 then caps the písm. zk) exemption at 40,000,000 CZK, proportionally. With 50 m CZK of exempt proceeds, 20% is not exempt — and § 10 odst. 4 cuts the deductible cost by the same 20%.
Staking and airdrops: an open question
GFŘ has published no position at all. The only adjacent guidance is the mining rule: acquiring a thing by one's own activity creates no taxable income, and tax arises only on disposal. Tax-Wizard therefore offers both routes — tax on receipt at fair value (which then becomes the acquisition cost), or the mining analogy (zero cost, taxed on sale) — and flags every such row for review. Rewards are reported as their own income type, so they can never be netted against a crypto disposal loss.
💱 Currency conversion under § 38
A taxpayer who keeps no accounting may choose, under § 38 odst. 1 písm. b), between the ČNB exchange-market rate for the day the income or expense arises and the jednotný kurz. § 38 odst. 7 then forbids combining them: "V rámci zdaňovacího období … nelze použít kurz pro přepočet daně a jednotný kurz současně."
The jednotný kurz is defined as the average of the ČNB rates published for the last day of each started calendar month of the tax period. GFŘ publishes it every year — for 2025 in Pokyn GFŘ-D-75:
| Currency | Amount | Jednotný kurz 2025 (CZK) |
|---|---|---|
| USD | 1 | 21.84 |
| EUR | 1 | 24.66 |
| GBP | 1 | 28.80 |
| CHF | 1 | 26.33 |
| PLN | 1 | 5.82 |
| JPY | 100 | 14.59 |
FX gains on a foreign-currency account
§ 10 odst. 4 also counts as other income the "kursový zisk při směně peněz z účtu vedeného v cizí měně" (with an exception for accounts on a European regulated market), and § 10 odst. 5 has the mirror rule for FX losses. If you hold material non-CZK balances at a broker and convert them, that is a separate item Tax-Wizard does not compute — it only warns about it.
Worked examples
1. The time test destroys a loss
Shares bought in January 2021 for 200,000 CZK, sold in September 2025 for 140,000 CZK. The holding exceeded three years, so the 140,000 CZK is exempt under § 4 odst. 1 písm. u). Exempt income cannot be reduced by expenses, so the 60,000 CZK loss is worth nothing and nothing at all goes on the return.
2. The 100,000 CZK limit is a cliff, not an allowance
Sell shares for 99,000 CZK at a 40,000 CZK gain ⇒ fully exempt, zero tax.
Sell for 101,000 CZK at the same 40,000 CZK gain ⇒ the exemption does not apply and the whole gain is taxed: 6,000 CZK.
And note: guidance GFŘ D-59 says the two exemptions cannot be combined, so a large post-three-year sale in the same year can push the aggregate over the limit. Tax-Wizard shows both readings and what each costs.
3. A CFD loss does not reduce a share gain
Share gain +80,000 CZK (code D), CFD loss −50,000 CZK (code F). Only the positive difference reaches row 209, so 80,000 CZK is taxed. The 50,000 CZK loss does not carry, does not offset, and is gone next year.
4. The proportional 40 million cap on crypto
Time-test-exempt crypto proceeds of 50,000,000 CZK against a 25,000,000 CZK cost. The excess over the cap is 10 m CZK, i.e. 20%. Tax falls on 20% of the proceeds (10 m) less 20% of the cost (5 m) = 5,000,000 CZK. Remember that § 10 odst. 4 scales the cost by the same fraction — setting the full cost against the reduced income would be wrong.
5. Converting each leg
An ETF bought in February 2024 for 4,000 EUR and sold in September 2025 for 8,000 USD. Under the daily method the purchase converts at the ČNB rate for February 2024 and the sale at the rate for the sale date — two currencies, two dates. Under the jednotný kurz both legs use the 2025 annual rates (EUR 24.66, USD 21.84). Both are lawful; combining them within one year is not.
📮 How and when to file
Which figure goes where
| Row | Content |
|---|---|
| Příloha 2, table 2 | One row per income type: code D securities, C movable things (crypto-assets), F other other-income; column 5 "Z" for foreign-source rows |
| rows 207 / 208 / 209 | Total income, total expenses (capped at income) and the sum of the positive differences |
| row 38 | Partial base from capital income (§ 8), excluding anything moved to § 16a |
| row 40 | Partial base from other income — carried from row 209 |
| Příloha 3, rows 321–327 | The credit, computed separately for each country; a Samostatný list for the second and every further country |
| Příloha 4, rows 401a–414 | The § 16a separate base; row 414 carries to row 74a |
| § 38f/10 list | The list of foreign-tax certificates, filed together with the return |
Deadlines (§ 136 daňového řádu)
| Filing route | Deadline |
|---|---|
| On paper | 1 April of the following year |
| Electronically | 1 May (rolled to the next business day) |
| Through a tax adviser under a power of attorney | 1 July |
If you have a data box established by law, you must file electronically. A return is due once annual taxable income exceeds 50,000 CZK (§ 38g odst. 1); for an employee who signed prohlášení k dani, § 7–§ 10 income above 20,000 CZK is enough. Note it counts income, not gain.
Notifying exempt income above 5 million (§ 38v)
Exempt income above 5,000,000 CZK must be notified to the tax office by the filing deadline (form 25 5252) even though it is not taxed. The penalty under § 38w reaches 15% of the unreported amount. Selling a long-held portfolio is exactly the case where this gets forgotten.
Filing electronically
Tax-Wizard generates an EPO XML file. Import it in MOJE daně (mojedane.cz) under Elektronická podání pro finanční správu → Načtení souboru, check every figure, and only then submit — with a recognised electronic signature, a data-box login, verified identity (Identita občana, bank identity) or through the daňová informační schránka. Tax-Wizard does not file anything for you.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay Czech tax if I held the shares for more than three years?
No. Under § 4 odst. 1 písm. u), income from selling a security is exempt once the period between acquisition and sale exceeds three years, whatever the size of the gain — and from 2026 there is no ceiling on that for securities. But the exemption is automatic, so a long-held position sold at a loss produces no deduction.
Is the 100,000 CZK limit an allowance or a cliff?
A cliff, measured on gross proceeds rather than on gain. Sell securities for 100,001 CZK and § 4 odst. 1 písm. t) gives you nothing — the whole gain is taxable. Crypto-assets have their own separate 100,000 CZK basket, which does not cover e-money tokens.
Are accumulating ETFs taxed every year?
No. Czech law has no deemed-distribution regime — nothing like the German Vorabpauschale, the Austrian ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge or the Irish 8-year deemed disposal. Nothing is taxed until you sell.
Can a crypto loss reduce a share gain?
No. § 10 odst. 4 assesses each income type separately, and Pokyn GFŘ D-59 lists the sale of securities and the sale of movable things as different types. A loss inside a negative type also does not carry forward — § 5 odst. 3 knows a tax loss only from § 7 and § 9.
Is swapping one cryptocurrency for another taxable?
Yes. The GFŘ crypto information (ref. 18809/22) states that income from exchanging one cryptocurrency for another is taxed in the same way as a sale. Mining is the opposite: it creates no income at the moment of mining, only on the eventual disposal.
Which exchange rate do I use, and can I mix them?
You may choose between the ČNB daily rate for the day the item arises and the annual jednotný kurz, but § 38 odst. 7 expressly forbids using both within one tax period. Pick one method for the whole return.
My US broker withheld 30% on dividends. Can I credit all of it?
No. Row 323 of Příloha č. 3 takes only the tax the source state could levy under the treaty — 15% for US dividends. The other 15% is not creditable in Czechia and must be reclaimed from the US; filing a W-8BEN prevents it in future.
Does my foreign broker report to the Czech tax authority?
Not in any way that fills in your return — you complete the whole thing yourself. Remember too that § 38g counts income, not gain: selling 300,000 CZK of shares at a loss still obliges an employee to file.
Sources
Sources
- Act No. 586/1992 Coll., on income taxes (consolidated text) — especially § 4, § 5, § 8, § 10, § 16, § 16a, § 36, § 38, § 38f, § 38g, § 38v
- e-Sbírka — the official text of Act No. 586/1992 Coll.
- Guidance GFŘ D-59 on the uniform application of the Income Tax Act (ref. 75325/22/7100-10111-702407) — K § 4 odst. 1 point 20 and K § 10 odst. 4
- GFŘ — Information on the tax assessment of cryptocurrency transactions (ref. 18809/22/7100-40050-205680)
- Guidance GFŘ D-75 — the jednotný kurz table for the 2025 tax period
- Instructions for completing the 2025 personal income tax return (25 5405/1, model 33)
- Příloha č. 4 — computing the tax on the § 16a separate tax base (25 5405/P4, model 13)
- Tax portal — the DPFDP7 file-structure specification and the dpfdp7_epo2.xsd schema
- Financial Administration — general information on personal income tax (filing deadlines)
- Financial Administration — tax changes for 2026 (abolition of the 40 m CZK cap for securities)
- Czech National Bank — exchange-market rates
Ready for the Czech tax return?
Upload your broker files and Tax-Wizard builds a report laid out like the form itself: Příloha č. 2 rows by income type, per-leg disposal detail with the ČNB rates applied, a list of the disposals that are already exempt, the foreign tax credit country by country, and open positions with the date from which their sale becomes tax-free.
Start now →This guide is informational and does not constitute tax advice. It reflects the law as it stands for the 2024–2026 tax periods; verify your specific situation with a Czech tax adviser or directly with the Financial Administration.
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