Living and subsistence minimum in 2026: When are you entitled to them and how are they calculated?

Quick summary

• The minimum subsistence level is the legal limit for basic personal needs; it does not include housing costs.
• The subsistence minimum is an even lower amount and is only used in limited, usually punitive situations.
• In 2026, the assessment depends mainly on household composition, age of children and countable income.
• The deciding factor is often who is the jointly assessed person, not the amount of earnings alone.
• After the changes from October 2025, entitlement must already be assessed under the new state social assistance benefit system.

Not sure if you are entitled to benefit, how to properly document household income or how to defend against a refusal? We can help you assess your entitlement, prepare your claim, appeal and how to proceed with the Jobcentre.

What is the living wage and what is it for?

The minimum subsistence level is the amount of money that the state considers necessary to cover the basic needs of life. These necessities include food, clothing, or ordinary services. It is important to note that the minimum subsistence level does not cover the cost of living. This is dealt with separately.

The amount of the subsistence minimum varies depending on whether it is claimed by an individual or by a household of several members. However, the family subsistence minimum is not simply the sum of individuals and their entitlements, but is calculated according to specific rules and rates.

The subsistence minimum is used in particular for assessing social entitlements, especially under the Act on Assistance in Material Need, the Act on State Social Support for certain benefits and the Act on State Social Assistance Benefits. In addition, it is also used to assess the amount of child maintenance and to determine the amount to be recovered in the event of execution or insolvency. The minimum subsistence level is regulated by the Act on Living and Subsistence Minimum.

What is the subsistence minimum?

The subsistence minimum is an even lower amount than the minimum subsistence level. The subsistence minimum is meant to ensure a person’s absolute survival, not a normal standard of living, which is what a living wage is for. It is used in exceptional cases when the state does not recognise the claimant’s entitlement to full assistance for various reasons (for example, when a person does not cooperate with the authorities or repeatedly refuses employment).

The subsistence minimum is therefore used as a kind of last safety net – often as a sanction if a person fails to fulfil his or her obligations to the employment office, for example (repeatedly refusing to cooperate with the office, unreasonably refusing retraining or a job offer, not making a long-term effort to increase his or her income) – so instead of the subsistence minimum, he or she receives only the subsistence minimum. This implies that the subsistence minimum is a punitive instrument to motivate a proactive approach.

According to the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, the subsistence minimum cannot be applied to a dependent child, a person receiving an old-age pension, a person with a third-degree disability, and a person over 68 years of age.

How much is the living wage and subsistence minimum in 2026?

This year the living wage and subsistence minimum have been increased, the current amounts for 2026 are as follows:

As you can see, the amount of the subsistence minimum depends on the age of the child, the number of members in the household and their status (whether they are the first or the next adult).

How to calculate the family subsistence minimum

The calculation of the minimum subsistence level is always based on the actual income of the whole household. When assessing eligibility for the subsistence minimum, the following are counted among the incomes:

• wages,
• pensions,
• alimony,
• income from business, rental and capital assets,
• benefits and unemployment benefits.

On the contrary, they are not included:

• housing benefit, housing benefit supplement and one-off social benefits,
• income from the sale of immovable property and severance payments for vacating a dwelling used to meet the cost of housing needs,
• compensation for damages and funds for the consequences of a natural disaster,
• financial assistance to victims of crime,
• social assistance provided by the employer,
• support from foundations and civic associations,
• scholarships,
• rewards for blood donations,
• tax bonus,
• care allowance (for jointly assessed persons), material hardship benefits
• the part of the allowance for the child’s needs that is due for health reasons,
• mobility allowance and special assistance allowance,
• a special pension allowance for participants in the national struggle for the creation and liberation of Czechoslovakia,
• income arising from a decision of the European Court of Human Rights on the basis of just satisfaction or amicable settlement.

For 2026, the previous simple rule that a fall in income below the minimum subsistence level triggers entitlement to a living allowance no longer applies. From October 2025, the legislation introduced a state social assistance benefit to replace child benefit, housing benefit, subsistence allowance and housing benefit supplement. One of its components is the subsistence component, which is available to households with an income below 1.43 times the minimum subsistence level.

When calculating the minimum subsistence level of a family, it is necessary to follow the household structure. As an example, here is a calculation for a family with two parents and two children aged 5 and 10.

• First adult: CZK 5,000
• Second adult: CZK 3 750
• Child under 6 years old: 2 480 CZK
• Child 6-15 years old: 3 050 CZK

Family subsistence = 5 000 + 3 750 + 2 480 + 3 050 = 14 280 CZK/month.

This amount represents the threshold below which the household income should never fall without the family being entitled to social assistance.

You can apply for state social assistance through the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, not only at its contact offices but also online.

The most common problem is not that the client does not know that there is a living wage, but that he or she is unsure how to properly document household income, who the authorities will count in the household, and how to defend against a denial of benefits. In these situations, it makes sense to use our welfare law advice service: we will check the authority’s decision, prepare an appeal or objection and suggest a way forward so that you do not unnecessarily lose the benefit you are entitled to.

Who is a jointly assessed person?

According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the following are jointly assessed persons

• parents and minor dependent children,
• spouses or partners,
• parents and dependent minor children, if they share a home with their parents and are not being assessed with other people,
• other persons sharing the dwelling, except for persons who prove that they do not live together permanently and do not jointly meet the costs of their needs,
• and persons temporarily staying away from the dwelling for reasons of continuous training for a future occupation, health or work (including voluntary service).

Example from our law practice

Mrs. Bart contacted us after the Labor Office denied her benefits on the grounds that her household income exceeded a certain threshold. The client was convinced that she met the conditions because, although she lived in the same flat with her ex-partner, they had long run separate households and each paid their own expenses.

We first went through the actual household arrangements with her and identified what would need to be documented. This was mainly rent and utility payments, the split of current expenses, communications between the former partners and other documentation to show that they were not a jointly managed unit. We then prepared arguments as to why they should not be assessed jointly.

After supplementing the submissions and defending the proceedings, we succeeded in obtaining a reassessment of the case. In cases like this, the main issue is often not the amount of income itself, but whether the correct assessment is made as to who actually forms a single household and what income should be counted.

Summary

The minimum subsistence level is a key variable for assessing social assistance and other legal entitlements. The subsistence minimum is even lower and is only used in specific situations. In practice, it is essential to correctly identify who belongs to the household, what income counts and under which scheme the authority assesses the case. Moreover, with the introduction of state social assistance benefits from October 2025, the system is different than before, so older advice is often not enough. If the authority refuses the benefit or calculates it suspiciously low, a quick check of the supporting documents and a timely procedural defence are often crucial.