Flat-rate expenses (paušální výdaje)

A joiner with turnover of CZK 1,000,000 and 80 % flat-rate expenses declares a tax base of just CZK 200,000, about CZK 16,700 a month. On that income he will get only a small mortgage. Had he claimed actual expenses of CZK 600,000, the tax base would be CZK 400,000 and the bank would count double the income, at the cost of more tax and higher contributions.

With applicants on flat-rate expenses, some banks calculate income from turnover and ignore the flat rate, while others take only the tax base. Ask about the method before you apply. If a mortgage is on the horizon, you can switch to actual expenses in your latest tax return and declare a higher profit. Just don't change the way you claim expenses at the last minute without working out the tax and contributions.

Flat-rate expenses are often confused with the flat-rate tax. That is a separate regime with a single monthly payment covering tax and contributions, under which an OSVČ files no tax return, so the bank has nothing to work from. The opposite of the flat rate is actual expenses backed by records or full accounts: more admin, but the declared profit reflects reality.