Updated 5.4.2023

Registering a trade 

Registering a trade works exactly as it does for any other business owner. I have devoted a whole series on the blog to this process, adding only that as a full-time student you will have secondary self-employment. With combined or distance study , as usual, things are not so straightforward. Your activity will be secondary for health insurance and main for social security.

Distance, combined Full-time
Secondary activity — health insurance yes yes
Secondary activity — social security yes/no* yes

* Social security and combined study are slightly more complicated. If you study by distance learning and your annual profit is below the qualifying threshold (in 2023: CZK 96,777), you may choose whether your trade counts as secondary or main activity for social-security purposes. Once your annual profit exceeds this amount, your trade automatically becomes your main activity.

When completing registration forms, students give the following reason for secondary activity: “dependent child”. A further restriction is that the student must be under 26.

Since the series mentioned above covers all the main information, I would just like to highlight points that may interest students:

  • health insurance — you pay no advances in the first year; in spring you pay the full actual amount in one settlement, and advances are then calculated to reflect your actual income, so an advance might easily be only CZK 230
  • social security for secondary activity (full-time study) — no advances in the first year; in spring your profit is calculated (income less expenses according to the tax return). If it is below CZK 85,058 in 2021, there is no one-off balancing payment either. If it is above this threshold, you pay the actual amount in one settlement, and subsequently advances reflecting your actual income will be calculated
  • social security for main activity (distance or combined study) — you pay the minimum advances applicable in that year from the very first month of business; essentially, your studies give you no advantage over other business owners
  • in your tax return you can claim a credit of CZK 335 for each month of study (supported by an official confirmation of study)
  • when switching to or from secondary activity, notify the change using the form (social security, health insurance), which you may submit on paper or through your business data box
Ending your studies

This is where things really start to get tangled. 🙂

What matters is the reason your studies end – leaving the course or completing it properly by passing the final state examination. 

Leaving  Proper completion
Social security secondary in the month of leaving; main from the following month secondary in the month of completion; main from the following month
Health insurance main already in the month of leaving secondary in the month of completion; main from the following month

If you finish a bachelor's degree and continue to a follow-on master's, your activity remains secondary during the holidays and you do not need to notify anyone. If you finish full-time studies but your follow-on course is combined , the situation is slightly different. For health insurance, you simply continue studying and your activity remains secondary. For social security, your activity becomes main when you finish the bachelor's degree. 

If you are unsure how advances work in your situation, get in touch and we will work it out in a consultation. 🙂