Czech tax domicile

Czech “tax domicile” is a confirmation of your tax residency in the CR issued by the Tax Authority (FÚ).

The FÚ is part of the administration of the Ministry of Finance. The office examines your situation and determines your tax residency. The single-page document issued is called “daňový domicil“. The residency can be determined for the past year or to a particular date, but only if you lived here longer than 183 days in a calendar year.

You don’t need the domicile confirmation to be a Czech tax resident. You can be (or must be!) a Czech tax resident, claim it in your tax return forms, support the claim with your rental contract and employment contract, and you don’t need to wait for the domicile confirmation – if you take the responsibility (in an individual tax return).

However, there are situations when your employer is responsible for your annual tax reconciliation and they want you to bring a confirmation of your domicile. Or your home country wants you to prove that you are a Czech tax resident in order to avoid double taxation. In that case, you need to obtain the tax domicile confirmation on your own. Read on.

You may need the tax domicile confirmation in order to have proof of your tax residency and apply some tax reliefs available only to Czech tax residents:

• tax allowance from a tax base for charity gifts, mortgage interests, pension savings contributions, life insurance, education or union fees
• tax relief for your (unemployed) spouse, children, kindergarten, disabilities
• avoid double taxation in your home country
• set the tax residence to CR for any other purpose (and prove it to other countries)

The process is quite simple after you have gathered all the required documents and found the right Tax Authority (see below). Once you are at your Tax Authority, you can ask for a tax domicile application form – each office has its own. You can then fill out your personal details and state which time period you would like it for, whether it is for the past tax year or the current one. You can choose whether you wish to have the tax domicile delivered by post or if you would rather choose to pick it up in person. The process usually takes 2-3 weeks. Some Tax Authority branches in Brno will invite you for an interview if they need to double-check some information.

(In case you need an international seal on your domicile, the process is much longer and you have to follow more steps. See the question about international use.)

To apply for a tax domicile, you will need to bring:

• copy of your passport or Czech residence card
• copy of the contract(s) of accommodation or a statement from the Katastr land register if you own an apartment / house (valid for every day of the last year, at least 185 days in a calendar year)
•  copy of the employment contract with Czech employer or copy of your trade license “živnost”  (valid for at least 185 days in a calendar year)
•  a kolek fee stamp worth 100 CZK for every year you need the tax domicile for; fee stamps can be bought either at any post office or you can pay the administrative fee at the tax office on box office hours.

You need to specify which period you need it for:

• a full year, e.g. 2019 – in which case you can apply for daňový domicil za rok 2019
• OR the current date – apply for a so-called “to a date” tax domicile (daňový domicil k datu) which will be valid from the beginning of the year until the date of your application.

In any case, you can get it only after you have stayed over 6 months in the CR!

To apply for a tax domicile, you will first have to find out which Tax Authority (FÚ) in Brno you belong to. There are four of them and their jurisdiction depends on your home address in Brno. Finding out this information may prove tricky as you can only find out if you call an FÚ in Brno but they do not provide the service in English. You can send us an inquiry and we will point you in the right direction.

A list of Tax Authority offices in Brno

• Tax Authority 1, Příkop 25, 545 561 111
• Tax Authority 2, Cejl 113, 545 120 111
• Tax Authority 3, Šumavská 35, 541 511 111
• Tax Authority 4, Rybníček 2, 541 557 111

Office hours of all four Tax Authorities are Mon and Wed from 8 am to 5 pm.  A reception and registry where you can leave your application is open on the same days as the office hours plus Tue and Thu from 8 am to 3:30 pm, and on Friday from 8 am to 2 pm.

We recommend at least some basic knowledge of Czech before you go to the tax office or bring someone who speaks Czech with you. Generally, the clerks do not speak English.

If your home country requires you to provide proof of your tax residency, they will most likely require the document to be apostilled / superlegalized. An apostille is a form of international recognition. Learn more about obtaining one in our guide Authorizations, translations, and interpreting.

1) To get the Apostille for the tax domicile, you will first have to ask your Tax Authority in writing to have the document signed by the general director. You have to do so either at the same time you apply for the tax domicile, or at a later date. Attach a short note in which you ask for the higher verification for the tax domicile document from the general director of the Tax Authority. Then you can hand it in along with the application for domicile. Keep it in mind that the note must be in Czech (something along “Prosím o vyšší ověření domicilu pro účely superlegalizace“)

2) In a couple of weeks, you will receive the tax domicile with verification from the superior authority. With this document, you can either visit or mail the Ministry of foreign affairs (MoFA) in Prague.

The address is as follows:

• Ministerstvo zahraničních věcí ČR, Odbor konzulárních činností – pracovní skupina legalizace, Hradčanské nám. 5110 00,  Praha

The fee here is another 100 CZK in revenue stamp “kolek” – you can get it at any post office. Put the “kolek” with the tax domicile document and the letter asking for an Apostille in an envelope and send it to the address above. Don’t forget to provide a return address, as well. The process at the MoFA can take up to 30 days. Usually, it takes around two weeks.

3) Later you can have it translated with any registered translator to any language you need. See the guide for translations and interpreting.