Tax returns are an annual obligation for most of us. Some people avoid this obligation by having their taxes (in the form of an annual return) prepared by their employer. Many, however, often have to wade through the incomprehensible boxes of the tax return themselves. What are the deadlines for filing a tax return and who is affected? We will answer this in the following lines.
The basic deadline for filing your 2023 tax return is 2 April 2024. However, the vast majority of people do not have to deal with this date, as the next deadline, 2 May 2024, will apply to tax returns filed electronically, which are the majority. This typically applies to all sole traders and others who have a mandatory or voluntary data box. The following date of 1 July 2024 then applies to tax advisers and solicitors. But there is nothing to stop you from ignoring the deadlines and preparing your tax return as early as February or March.
Tip: If you’re a chronic procrastinator and don’t remember your taxes until the day before the statutory deadline, then the good news is that the tax offices will be increasing their capacity on 27 March to 3 April 2023 and will be available on each of these days until 5pm in addition to their normal opening hours. There will be no such exception for the other dates, as electronic submissions can be sent at midnight without the need for clerical assistance.
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In the first place, you can fill in and submit your personal income tax return via the tax office’s website, i.e. online. It is necessary to confirm your identity in some qualified way, typically with a bank identity. However, it is also possible to use an ID card with a chip, or to prepare the tax return online in another form and then send it via a data box. Incidentally, if you have a data box, then a form other than electronic (in the prescribed format and structure) is not an option for you. So forget about filling in printed pink forms.
However, the method of processing must be separated from the method of submission. While some members of the public find the tax administration’s online form easy and intuitive enough to get by with, others would like more help. Then various apps and paid services can be used to help with taxes. One of them is for example onlinepriznani.cz, which for a relatively low price (within a few hundred crowns) will guide us through the whole process, clearly and in human language point out what needs to be filled in where, where the data can be obtained from and what are the limits for deductible items, donations, etc. And, of course, she will also calculate everything and fill in the results, including any overpayments or underpayments to the health insurance company and the Social Security Administration. Even someone who doesn’t understand the language of laws and numbers can do a complete tax return.
For those who do not want to deal with tax returns at all (and do not have an employer who is legally obliged to prepare their taxes), there is no choice but to use the services of a tax advisor. As we have already stated above, in this case the filing deadline will be significantly extended.
Tip: Read what payments and levies the self-employed must take into account.
All sole traders, entrepreneurs and certain employees are obliged to file a tax return. If you are a pensioner, student, or even a parent on maternity or parental leave, and you are self-employed or earn extra income as a part-time worker, you are also obliged to file a tax return if your income exceeded CZK 50,000 last year and was also subject to personal income tax.
If you are an employee, a slightly different regime applies. In fact, you only file a personal income tax return if your other taxable income (i.e. not income from employment, but e.g. from self-employment or rent) for 2023 exceedsCZK 20,000 per year. And at the same time, employees for the past calendar year:
If you are not obliged to file a tax return, you can ask your employer for an annual tax statement. This is usually worthwhile as, although some allowances and tax benefits can be claimed during the year (typically child benefit), others can only be claimed once a year (mortgage, gifts given or blood donations). This can mean that you may still get some money back from the state.
If, as an employee, you are not required to file a tax return and you do not request an annual tax return, then your tax liability is met by withholding monthly tax payments.
Who is not required to file an income tax return?
This obligation does not apply to those,
Tip: You are entitled to a refund of overpaid tax if you paid more tax for last year than you had to. Alongside this, we also sometimes see overpayments for health or pension insurance. Under what circumstances do overpayments arise, how do you claim them and when do you get the money? We’ve covered this in a separate article.
However, it is sometimes advantageous to apply for an annual tax settlement, as some discounts and tax credits cannot be claimed during the year. For this reason, an employee may be entitled to a tax rebate in the annual tax return.
Tip: Even a master carpenter makes mistakes sometimes. You file your tax return every year and have the whole process down pat, but you may still forget to declare extra income, or you may forget a tax-deductible item that helps reduce your tax. Can I amend my tax return? We’ve covered this topic in more detail in our separate article.
Many sole traders are unaware that, quite paradoxically, the due date for payment of tax may be earlier than their statutory deadline for filing their tax return. How is this possible?
As a rule, sole traders, as owners of data boxes, are legally obliged to file their tax return by 2 May. However, if they voluntarily choose to calculate everything before the earlier deadline (i.e. before 2 April 2024) then they will have to pay the tax by that date at the latest. So if you calculate your tax on 1 March and incur an underpayment, you must pay it by 2 April.
If you are subject to a later deadline, 2 May, and you calculate your tax on 15 April (after the first deadline), then you must pay any arrears by 2 May 2024.
If a sole trader files a return with the help of a tax adviser on, for example, 10 May, they can pay the tax due by 2 July 2024.
The amount due can be paid by bank transfer, by postal order type A or at the cash desk of the catchment tax office.account numbers can be found on the website of the Tax Administration, the variable symbol is usually the taxpayer’s birth number or identification number. The constant symbol is the number 1148.
If the entrepreneur neglects to pay the tax, he can pay it within 3 calendar days of the due date, so that the tax office does not charge him interest for late payment.from the 4th day onwards, interest on late payment starts to accrue.
In the case of arrears of health insurance and social security, the deadline is always set according to when the statements are actually filed.
Subsequently, they must be paidwithin 8 days of the submission of the statements. It does not matter whether the statements were filed in February or April. Insurance arrears incurred shall be paidinto the same account into which the regular monthly advance payments are sent
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