2,000,000 CZK
Full VAT-payer status normally starts on 1 January of the following year. A timely application can elect the day after the threshold was crossed.
Czech VAT / DPH · 2026
VAT for SaaS
in Czechia.
A foreign software bill can create a Czech VAT obligation before your first sale. A subscription’s treatment depends on the customer’s business status, location and the seller.
Find the case that matches your businessStart with the transaction.
Buying software, selling to a business, selling to a consumer and crossing the Czech turnover limit are four different checks.
01 / Four worked examples
What changes
your VAT position?
Examples for a business established in Czechia, with no foreign fixed establishment. Amounts illustrate the rules; they are not client results.
01 / Foreign costsNo sales yet.
No sales yet.
A cloud bill still creates VAT.
Your Czech business is not a full VAT payer. It buys an ordinary taxable cloud service from a supplier not established in Czechia, invoiced without VAT under reverse charge.
Cloud serviceExample / CZK
Net amount already converted to CZK. Standard rate: 21%.
Enter an amount from 0 to 10,000,000 CZK, with up to two decimal places.
- Czech VAT at 21%
- Input VAT deduction as an identified person
- 0.00
- Supplier cost + Czech VAT
- CZK
What the company does
Check identified-person registration.
This qualifying purchase can create identifikovaná osoba status even before revenue reaches CZK 2 million. An identified person accounts for the Czech VAT but cannot deduct it.
- Apply for registration within 15 days of the triggering event.
- Report and pay the VAT for the relevant month.
- Keep the invoice, service or advance date and currency-conversion basis.
A qualifying advance can trigger the obligation before the service is delivered.
Financial Administration · foreign services and advancesWhich purchases does this example cover?
A business purchase with a Czech place of supply, no applicable exemption, and a 21% rate. The supplier is not established in Czechia. Do not apply the calculation to every payment-provider fee, exempt service or invoice already carrying VAT. Full VAT payers have a different input-deduction analysis.
02 / Direct B2B saleA German company buys
A German company buys
a €1,000 subscription.
The customer is a VAT-registered business receiving the service in Germany. Your Czech company is not a full VAT payer. This ordinary SaaS sale is outside any foreign SME exemption.
Subscription invoiceExample / EUR
Your Czech companyGerman business
- SaaS subscription
- 1,000.00
- Czech VAT charged
- 0.00
- Invoice amount
- 1,000.00EUR
Invoice treatmentReverse charge
Customer VAT ID and the required reverse-charge wording.
What the company doesNo Czech VAT on the invoice.
No Czech VAT on the invoice.
Reporting can still be required.
For this case, the German business accounts for VAT. The Czech non-payer becomes an identified person and reports the qualifying EU service in a recapitulative statement.
- Verify business status, VAT ID and the establishment receiving the service.
- Retain the invoice, contract and VAT-check evidence.
- Check registration and reporting from the first qualifying service or advance.
An invalid VIES result needs review. It does not automatically make the customer a consumer.
Financial Administration · IT services to Germany03 / Direct B2C saleConsumer subscriptions
Consumer subscriptions
cross the €10,000 exception.
Automated SaaS is sold directly to consumers in other EU countries. This example assumes:
- The supplier is established only in Czechia.
- The previous year’s qualifying total did not exceed €10,000.
- No destination-tax election has been made.
- No SME exemption is approved in the customer’s country.
While the exception applies, Czech VAT rules apply. It is not a VAT-free allowance.
Qualifying cross-border salesExample / EUR
- Earlier sales this calendar year
- 9,000
- Next subscription sale
- +1,500
- Total after this sale
- 10,500EUR
€10,000 exception exceeded
Amounts exclude VAT. Count the relevant cross-border electronic services and intra-EU distance sales of goods together.
What the company doesApply the destination rules.
Apply the destination rules.
Choose how to report.
For this example, VAT applies where the consumer is located, including the sale that takes the total over €10,000. Union OSS can report the covered VAT through Czechia instead of separate registrations in each relevant country.
- The €10,000 test covers both the current and previous calendar year.
- It is one combined EU-wide limit, not a limit for each country.
- Union OSS returns are quarterly and do not replace domestic VAT returns.
Check the SME exemption before concluding VAT is due.
Since 2025, an eligible Czech business can apply for an exemption in selected EU countries under the cross-border SME scheme. EU-wide turnover must be no more than €100,000 in both the current and previous calendar year; national thresholds and other eligibility conditions also apply. The relevant country must be approved and EX status confirmed before use. Small turnover alone is not approval.
European Commission and Financial Administration · SME / EXIs every service delivered online an electronic service?
No. This case concerns an essentially automated service with minimal human intervention. Custom development, consulting or live training is not automatically an electronic service because it is delivered online. The product and delivery model must be checked.
European Commission · electronic services definition04 / Full Czech VAT registrationTwo turnover thresholds.
Two turnover thresholds.
Different start dates.
For a Czech-established business, monitor the legally defined domestic VAT turnover by calendar year. It is not your bank receipts, Stripe payouts or total worldwide subscription sales.
2,536,500 CZK
Full VAT-payer status starts the next day. If you previously applied for a next-year start after crossing CZK 2 million, submit a new application.
10 working days
Application deadline after crossing each applicable threshold. Do not wait for a registration decision before checking the statutory start date.
Example / 2026
Financial Administration · registration rules effective from 2025 No next-day start was elected after the first threshold, and no earlier registration trigger applies.
Turnover exceeds CZK 2 million.Default start in this example: 1 January 2027.
Turnover exceeds CZK 2,536,500.Full VAT-payer status starts on 10 November 2026. A new application is required.
02 / Your sales model
Who sells
the subscription?
A payment processor and a merchant of record do different jobs. Check the product enabled and the agreement covering the transaction.
Stripe PaymentsStandard direct sales
SellerYour company
Stripe processes the payment. Adding a tax-calculation service alone does not change the seller.
Records
Customer invoices, billing and tax reports, refunds, fees, provider balances and bank receipts. Check which registration and filing services you have actually contracted.
Follow the Stripe reconciliation exampleStripe Managed PaymentsCovered transactions
SellerStripe via Link, as merchant of record
A separate product from standard Stripe Payments / Stripe Tax. Coverage depends on the actual setup.
Records
Retain the merchant-of-record agreement, settlement reports and documents for your supply. Direct sales outside the arrangement need their own VAT treatment.
Stripe’s product and coveragePaddleCovered reseller sales
SellerPaddle
Paddle handles customer VAT for sales under its merchant-of-record agreement.
Records
Monthly statements, reverse invoices, payout reports and the actual Paddle contracting entity. Customer-tax handling does not settle your company’s own Czech VAT obligations.
Follow the Paddle accounting exampleThe Paddle or Stripe payout amount does not determine your Czech VAT turnover. The legal supply and supporting documents do. Provider sources
03 / The accounting file
Keep the evidence
with the transaction.
A checkout tax figure is only one part of the record. Your accountant needs the sale, the customer evidence and the filing result.
Company status and dates
VAT and identified-person registrations, OSS / EX confirmations, effective dates and the first relevant service or advance.
Customer and subscription
Business or consumer status, receiving establishment, VAT-check evidence, customer location, invoices, credits and service periods.
Processor or reseller
The provider agreement, contracting entity, transaction and tax exports, statements, reverse invoices, refunds and payout reconciliation.
Foreign costs and filings
Supplier invoices, service and advance dates, currency conversions, relevant returns, submission confirmations and payment instructions.
04 / Common questions
Before the
next invoice.
We are below CZK 2 million. Can we ignore VAT?
No. A qualifying foreign software or cloud purchase, or an EU business sale, can create identified-person obligations before the full Czech VAT registration threshold. Purchases, cross-border sales and domestic turnover require separate checks. See the worked examples.
Does Stripe Tax make Stripe the seller?
No. With standard Stripe Tax, your company remains merchant of record. Stripe Managed Payments is a different merchant-of-record product for covered transactions. Check the enabled product and agreement, not just whether tax appears at checkout. Stripe explains the merchant-of-record role.
If Paddle handles VAT, what is left for our company?
Paddle handles customer VAT on covered reseller sales. Your company still needs its own Czech bookkeeping and a review of supplies to the actual Paddle entity, foreign costs and any direct sales. Keep the agreement and actual issuer documents. See our Paddle accounting guide.
Is OSS mandatory for every SaaS company?
No. First establish whether destination-country VAT is due on the transaction. The €10,000 exception has specific conditions, and an approved SME exemption may apply. OSS is an optional reporting route for covered sales; it does not replace domestic returns. See the EU consumer example.
Does an identified person charge Czech VAT on all invoices?
No. Identified-person status alone does not make the company a full Czech VAT payer. It does not itself require VAT on ordinary domestic sales, and it does not provide input VAT deduction. The treatment of each cross-border transaction still needs to be checked. Financial Administration guidance.
What should we send ORNEVIO first?
Your email and a short description are enough to start. Tell us where customers are, whether they are businesses or consumers, and which billing provider you use. We will request the relevant records.
Sources and scope
Checked 22 October 2026. Examples cover ordinary SaaS / cloud services for a Czech-established business. Actual contracts, VAT status and exemptions can change the result.
Foreign services / identified personFinancial Administration · Google Workspace and registration, 2026 GFŘ · identified-person rules, sections 1.3–1.4 GFŘ · 2025 changes, advances, page 4
EU business servicesFinancial Administration · IT services to a German business GFŘ · qualifying advances, page 4
Consumer sales / OSSEuropean Commission · OSS and €10,000 exception, section 9 Financial Administration · OSS returns and domestic filings
SME exemption / EXEuropean Commission · eligibility and confirmed EX status Financial Administration · Czech cross-border SME registration
Czech turnover / full registrationGFŘ · two thresholds, dates and applications, pages 1–3 Financial Administration · Czech tax system, 2026
Electronic services definitionEuropean Commission · electronic-service definition in the annex
SaaS accounting with ORNEVIO
Tell us how
you sell.
Your customers, billing provider and current accounting setup. We will reply by email and request the records needed for your company.
hello@ornevio.comRoutine identified-person registration is included in every accounting package; full Czech VAT registration is included in packages from CZK 4,990 a month. Union OSS: CZK 1,490 setup and CZK 1,490 per quarter. Service fees exclude VAT. See fees and scope.