If you are not a payer (plátce DPH) of Czech value added tax (daň z přidané hodnoty, DPH), buying services from abroad can still create VAT obligations. You become an identified person (identifikovaná osoba) when you receive a taxable service for your business and the conditions below are met. Your business must have its place of business (sídlo) or a fixed establishment (provozovna) in Czechia. The service must have its place of supply (místo plnění) in Czechia, and the supplier must be a person not established in Czechia (osoba neusazená v tuzemsku). An earlier advance payment (záloha) can also trigger this status if it creates an obligation to account for VAT. Under section 6h(a) of the Czech VAT Act (zákon o dani z přidané hodnoty), there is no monetary threshold for these services. The rule applies to small limited liability companies (společnost s ručením omezeným, s.r.o.) and sole traders (osoba samostatně výdělečně činná, OSVČ) alike.
Registering as an identified person does not make you a VAT payer. This registration alone does not mean you must start charging VAT on your usual domestic invoices.
Which purchases are covered?
Examples include Google Ads, advertising on Facebook or Instagram, subscriptions to Canva, Adobe or ChatGPT, and hosting from abroad. The service name alone does not tell you whether the rule applies. Check who actually supplies it, whether you are buying it for your business and where its place of supply is.
For standard business-to-business services, the place of supply under section 9(1) is where the customer has its place of business. If the service is supplied to the customer’s fixed establishment, the place of supply is where that establishment is located. A business that is not a VAT payer is still a taxable person (osoba povinná k dani) for this rule.
The supplier may be based in the EU or outside it. What matters is whether it is a person not established in Czechia under section 4(1)(l). If it has a Czech fixed establishment, check whether that establishment is involved in the supply. The Czech Financial Administration (Finanční správa) also explains the principle using Google Workspace as an example.
For standard purchases of goods from other EU countries by a business that is not a VAT payer, a different threshold applies: CZK 326,000 excluding VAT. The total value of purchases is checked separately for the current and previous calendar years. Do not apply this threshold to services.
The service or advance payment matters, not the invoice date
For services covered by section 9(1), the obligation to account for VAT usually arises on the date the service is supplied (section 24). If the service is identified in sufficient detail when you make an advance payment, you must account for VAT on that payment on the date you make it. The invoice issue date alone does not determine when this obligation arises. For services supplied for more than 12 months, the obligation can also arise at the end of the calendar year under section 24(4).
For subscriptions, give your accountant the invoice, payment details and the period the subscription covers. Do not automatically wait until the prepaid period ends. Your accountant needs to assess the particular service and any advance payment to identify the correct month.
Register within 15 days and file electronically
Submit your registration application within 15 days of becoming an identified person (section 97). You acquire this status automatically under the law. Waiting for the tax office’s decision does not postpone the date you acquire it or the associated obligations.
Use the VAT registration application form (Přihláška k registraci k dani z přidané hodnoty). Both the application and the VAT return (přiznání k dani z přidané hodnoty) must be filed electronically, whether you operate as a limited liability company or a sole trader (section 101a). You can use the electronic filing portal (Elektronická podání pro Finanční správu, EPO), your online tax account (Daňová informační schránka PLUS, DIS+) or your data box (datová schránka). Submit the forms in the prescribed XML format, not as scans or PDFs. You can also apply to register voluntarily as an identified person before your first purchase. The Czech Financial Administration’s electronic filing overview explains the options.
If you discover the obligation late, submit your registration application with the actual date you became an identified person, file any missing returns and pay the VAT as soon as possible.
See our services and agree on who will prepare the registration application, returns and payment instructions.
How much you pay and when
The standard advertising, software and hosting services described above are subject to VAT at 21% (section 47). The customer accounts for Czech VAT under section 108(3)(a)(1). This is known as the reverse charge (přenesení daňové povinnosti).
An identified person cannot claim an input VAT deduction (odpočet daně) under section 72(1) of the VAT Act. The VAT paid therefore increases the cost of the purchase. This does not automatically mean that the cost is deductible for income tax (daň z příjmů) purposes.
The tax period is a calendar month. File the return and pay the VAT within 25 days of the end of that month. You can find the deadlines in the Czech Financial Administration’s tax calendar. If you pay by bank transfer, the money must reach the tax office’s account by the payment deadline. If the final day falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day.
Example: a photographer pays CZK 10,000 for advertising
A photographer works as a sole trader in Czechia and is not a VAT payer. In March 2026, she receives her first advertising service from a supplier not established in Czechia. She is not yet an identified person. She pays CZK 10,000 excluding VAT. The service has its place of supply in Czechia, and there was no earlier advance payment.
She becomes an identified person on the date she receives the service. She submits her registration application within 15 days. She calculates VAT as 10,000 × 0.21 = CZK 2,100.
Her March return would normally be due by 25 April, with the CZK 2,100 payment due on the same date. In 2026, 25 April falls on a Saturday, so the deadline is Monday 27 April. She cannot deduct the VAT, so the advertising costs her CZK 12,100 in total.
What to do with your first invoice from abroad
- Check the supplier, its place of business and whether a Czech fixed establishment is involved in the supply.
- Check the business details in your customer account and, once registered, give the supplier your VAT identification number (daňové identifikační číslo, DIČ).
- Give your accountant the invoice, the date the service was supplied and details of any payment or advance payment.
- Establish the date you became an identified person and make sure you meet the 15-day registration deadline.
- Calculate VAT and prepare the return and payment for the relevant month.
If the invoice already includes VAT, do not assume that your obligations have been met. VAT shown on the invoice does not, by itself, remove any obligation to account for Czech VAT on the purchase. Czech VAT may have been charged correctly if the service is supplied through a Czech fixed establishment involved in providing it. If VAT has been charged incorrectly, ask the supplier to correct the invoice and refund the tax.
For amounts in foreign currencies, check the conversion under section 4(8). The law allows exchange rates from the Czech National Bank (Česká národní banka, ČNB) or the European Central Bank (Evropská centrální banka, ECB). Use a rate valid for you on the date the obligation to account for VAT arises. For regular processing of invoices from abroad, see our prices.
Questions about identified person status
Do I have to file a return every month?
If you have no obligation to account for VAT in a given tax period, you do not file a nil return or notify the tax office that no VAT is due (section 101(5)). Keep track of advance payments too, as these can create that obligation.
Do I have to file a VAT control statement or an EC sales list?
An identified person does not file a VAT control statement (kontrolní hlášení). Buying services from abroad does not, by itself, require an EC sales list (souhrnné hlášení) either. An EC sales list may be required when you supply services to a business registered for VAT in another EU country that accounts for the VAT, subject to the conditions in section 102. This obligation can also arise when you receive an advance payment for such a service if the service is identified in sufficient detail (section 102(3)(a)).
To discuss a purchase from abroad with Bilanta’s office in Prague 2, use our contact page. Include the supplier, the type of service and the date of your first payment.
