News in Brief, January 2026

DOMESTIC NEWS

• The Czech Ministry of Finance has prepared a summary of changes within its competence taking effect on 1 January 2026.
   
• The Czech Financial Administration has prepared a summary of changes in taxation from 2026.
   
• As reported on the Ministry of Finance’s website, the European Commission has published its final report on the VAT Gap for 2023. The EU average worsened to 9.5% compared to 7.9% in 2022, while the Czech Republic remained stable at 8.0% (8.2% in 2022) and below the EU average.
   
• An updated overview of valid double tax treaties was published on the Ministry of Finance’s website in December.
   
• At the beginning of December, Financial Bulletin 19/2025 was published, which contains:
   
  • an overview of the types of taxes and parts thereof for which the tax authorities maintain personal tax accounts, to whose respective bank accounts payments from taxable entities are received
     
  • an instruction on how to correctly pay tax to the tax authority in 2026, including appendices.
     
• News, deadlines and recommendations for self-employed persons relating to lump-sum tax are summarised on the Financial Administration's website. The option to enter the lump-sum tax regime ends on 12 January 2026!
   
• The new year has brought a change in the reporting of work-related accidents. Government Regulation No. 322/2025 Coll., on the obligations of employers in the event of occupational accidents, has been in effect since 1 January 2026. Employers will now have to report occupational accidents and send records of occupational accidents only electronically via the State Labour Inspection Office’s portal. 
   
• A large number of legislative changes under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs entered into force from the beginning of 2026. Key changes include adjustments to unemployment benefits and retraining allowances, the introduction of single monthly employer reporting (JMHZ), and an increase in care allowances for persons with level I and II dependency. 
   
• The following was published in the Collection of Laws and the Collection of International Treaties in December:
   
  • Decree on the percentage share of individual municipalities and regions in the national gross revenue from value added tax and income tax (effective 1 January 2026, Print No. 511/2025)
     
  • Government Regulation No. 516/2025, on the procedure for calculating cost-based rent for affordable rental housing (effective 1 January 2026, Print No. 516/2005)
     
  • Amendment to Government Regulation No. 351/2013 Coll., which determines default interest and costs associated with the enforcement of claims, determines the remuneration of receivers, liquidation administrators and court-appointed members of statutory bodies of legal entities, and regulates certain issues of the Commercial Bulletin, public registers of legal entities and natural persons,  the register of trust funds, and the register of beneficial owners (effective 1 January 2026, Print No. 517/2025)
     
  • Amendment to Government Regulation No. 220/2019 Coll., on the maximum number of applications for visas for stays exceeding 90 days for business purposes, applications for long-term residence permits for investment purposes, and applications for employee cards that can be filed with an embassy (effective 1 January 2026, Print No. 520/2025)
     
  • Amendment to the Valuation Decree (effective 1 January 2026, Print No. 523/2025)
     
  • Notice of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on establishing the average wage in the national economy for the first to third quarters of 2025 for the purposes of the Employment Act (Print No. 537/2025) and the Labour Code (Print No. 538/2025) – according to both notices, this amounts to CZK 48,171.
     
  • Notice of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on establishing one hundred and seventy-fourths of the average wage in the national economy per recalculated number of employees for the first to third quarters of 2025 for the purposes of Section 203a of the Labour Code (Print No. 539/2025) – according to the notice, this amounts to CZK 276.90.
     
  • Decree on the determination of the lump-sum amount of compensation for costs for remote work for 2026 (effective 1 January 2026, Print No. 572/2025) – the compensation amounts to CZK 4.70.
     
  • Decree on the change in the basic compensation rate for the use of road motor vehicles and meal allowances and on the determination of the average price of fuel for the purposes of providing travel allowances for 2026 (Print No. 573/2025). For single-track and three-wheeled vehicles, the amount is CZK 1.60, and for passenger cars, CZK 5.90. At the same time, the price of fuel under the Labour Code has been announced: CZK 34.70 per litre of 95 octane petrol, CZK 39 per litre of 98 octane petrol, CZK 34.10 per litre of diesel, and CZK 7.20 per kilowatt hour of electricity.
     

​FOREIGN NEWS
 

• Under the Danish presidency, the ECOFIN Council has published a report on progress in tax initiatives for the second half of 2025. The report shows that the Commission has decided to withdraw several draft directives that have not yet been discussed (e.g. on financial transaction tax, abuse of shell companies, DEBRA, and transfer pricing). With regard to the Unshell Directive consideration is being given to incorporating the relevant provisions into the new version of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC). The BEFIT proposal for a common framework for corporate income tax in the EU was not discussed in the second half of the year due to other priorities. The Council approved an agenda for simplifying and clarifying tax legislation, which aims to reduce the administrative burden and remove outdated rules. The Commission plans to present a comprehensive legislative proposal in the second quarter of 2026. 
   
• The Cyprus presidency's programme for the first half of 2026 indicates that the priority in taxation will be the agenda for simplifying and clarifying EU tax legislation with the aim of strengthening the EU's competitiveness. Another objective is to advance legislative work on modernising the customs union (adoption of the EU Customs Code and establishment of a European Customs Office). 
   
• Sweden has been added to the OECD’s list of countries that have signed a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of GloBE Information (GIR MCAA, Pillar 2). The list now includes 23 countries.