You can’t get a mortgage, benefits or decent rent today without proof of income. Whether you are an employee, entrepreneur or contract worker, sooner or later someone will ask you for official proof of your monthly income. In this article, we’ll explain how each type of certificate works, when you need them and what shouldn’t be missing from them.
An income certificate is an official document that proves your income for a certain period. It is issued at the request of an employee, business or welfare claimant and is used to prove financial creditworthiness. In other words, you will need it when you are asked to prove that you have money to pay. This document is to confirm that.
The most common situations where you will need proof of income:
In common practice, you will encounter different variations of confirmation. They differ depending on who issues it and for what purpose. A certificate of income may be issued by an employer, by an accountant of a self-employed person, or a form issued by a specific institution (e.g. the MLSA or a bank) must be completed and submitted.
Under one name “income certificate” there are several documents with different formalities. It depends on who issues it and to whom it is addressed. The most important differences are the content, the scope and the period for which the income is documented.
The most common types of income certificate are:
Each form has its own specifics. For example, banks often do not accept generic templates and require their own version of the form. Therefore, always find out what kind of confirmation a particular institution requires.
Whether you’re dealing with a mortgage, divorce, foreclosure, or a claim for benefits, one thing is certain: the income certificate must fit the bill. We’ll advise you on what documents you need, what to include in a certificate of employment income or proof of monthly income. We can also help you if your employer refuses to issue a certificate, or if you’re self-employed and the banks don’t like your accountant’s creativity.
It depends on what type of activity you are doing. If you are an employee, your employer will issue you with a certificate. It is usually issued by a payroll accountant or HR officer. They are obliged to issue such a certificate without delay if you need it, for example, for a bank or for the authorities. This obligation is based on the Labour Code.
For self-employed persons, the situation is more complicated because they do not prove their income by a certificate, but by a combination of documents: tax returns, income and expenditure statements for the health insurance company, statements for the Czech Social Security Administration, or invoices or contracts.
If you work on an agreement, you must ask each employer for a separate certificate of activity or directly for a certificate of income if they keep it in their accounts.
You can usually request a certificate in person, by email or via an internal application. In some cases, you can also use a pre-populated form from the institution requesting it.
As a self-employed person, it’s a little more complicated to get an income certificate than a regular employee. No one will automatically issue you with a “paper” stamped with the exact amount you earn each month. Instead, you have to prove your income with a combination of several different documents.
The most important is your tax return – this is the basic document that proves how much you actually earned in the past year. But for most banks and authorities, a return alone is not enough. They also need to see the so-called income and expenditure statements, which every entrepreneur submits to their health insurance company and the Czech Social Security Administration. These documents show what you have paid contributions on and thus your “legitimate” income.
Sometimes bank statements, invoices or contracts with clients are also added, especially if you have income from different sources. For some authorities, such as the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, you may also need a certificate of activity – proof that you are actually in business and to what extent. And if any of the above is missing, sometimes an affidavit of income can help. However, this does not apply to banks.
For a mortgage or loan, the bank will not assess you on how much you have earned “on invoices”, but on what you have left after tax – i.e. your net profit. So, if you reduce your tax base through various expenses and optimizations (which is common), this can paradoxically make you look like a low creditworthy client to the bank, even though you actually earn a lot. This is a common stumbling block – the entrepreneur makes money but “looks poor” to the bank.
In order for an income certificate to carry weight, it must contain a number of mandatory details. Missing or inaccurate information can lead to the rejection of a mortgage or benefit.
The main elements are:
The certificate of employment income should also indicate whether the employment relationship is still ongoing, which is key information for mortgages. When filling in the form from the bank or office, remember that these institutions usually require the original, a copy or scanned document is not sufficient.
Tip: Taxes are a topic that continues to spark debate. Do you know how corporate taxation works? What taxes do companies have to pay and who supervises this?
While an income certificate is a document issued by a third party (e.g. an employer), a tax return is your own declaration of income – typically for self-employed people.
If someone is an employee, then they use an income certificate from their employer. Only file a tax return in specific cases (e.g. multiple jobs, side income).
For the self-employed , the standard is an income certificate in the form of a tax return and statements to insurance companies. It is not a certificate in the classical sense, but banks and authorities commonly accept it.
If someone is working on an agreement and has irregular income, the bank or other institution may require a certificate of activity, either on the basis of an agreement or an author’s contract.
The difference therefore lies in who issues the document, what information it contains and for whom it is intended.
When approving a mortgage, the bank is mainly interested in whether you have a regular and sufficiently high income. Verbal assurances are not enough, the facts documented in the income certificate are decisive.
The standard requirements of the bank are a confirmation of income from the employer (usually on their own form), an employment contract (not necessarily, but sometimes banks require it), pay slips for the last 3 months, for self-employed people tax returns for the last 2 years + summaries and for agreements a certificate of activity + documented salaries.
Banks usually do not accept certificates older than 30 days and they also pay attention to whether the employment relationship is still ongoing. In case of probation or termination, the application may be automatically rejected.
Tip: Planning to apply for a mortgage? We’ve listed the most common reasons why banks reject mortgage applications. Find out if any of them apply to you.
The authorities (especially the MLSA and the Labour Office) require proof of monthly income to determine eligibility for benefits (e.g. benefits, housing benefit). Each benefit has slightly different rules and requires a different time period.
However, it is always the case that the certificate must be completed on the form of the relevant institution and most often refers to the last calendar quarter. Self-employed persons again have to support it with a certificate of activity or a tax return.
In these cases, a simple certificate of average earnings is not enough – the specific period and income structure are decisive.
The certificate of income is a key document that you cannot do without today when applying for a mortgage, social benefits, court proceedings or even when looking for housing. It is an official proof of your monthly income that confirms your financial creditworthiness – i.e. your ability to pay your debts. If you are an employee, the income certificate is issued by your employer, usually a payroll accountant, and must include details such as type of employment, gross and net pay, contributions and length of employment. Self-employed workers (self-employed) have a more complicated situation – instead of one document, they have to provide a combination of tax returns, insurance statements, bank statements, invoices or business certificates. Banks and authorities mainly look at net profit after tax, not turnover. There are several types of certificate depending on the purpose: a certificate of earned income, a certificate of average earnings, a certificate of quarterly income, a certificate of quarterly income or a certificate of activity. It always depends on who requires the certificate – banks, authorities or courts have different forms and specific requirements.
If you are an employee, your employer will issue it to you. Self-employed people have to prove their income with a tax return and reports to the Social Security and Health Insurance Institutions.
Most banks accept receipts no older than 30 days from the date of issue.
No. Pay slips can be a supporting document, but a full certificate of income must be officially issued and signed.
He has an obligation to provide it to you. If it refuses, you can take your case to the Labour Inspectorate.
Yes, especially for child benefit, housing benefit or unemployment benefit, you must provide proof of your monthly income or a quarterly income certificate.
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