Insurance for self-employed people 2026: social and health advances

Insurance for self-employed people in brief: what you pay and to whom

As a self-employed person (OSVČ), you pay two insurance premiums every month. Social insurance goes to the ČSSZ (Czech Social Security Administration), and health insurance goes to your health insurance company. These are two different institutions, two different accounts and, as you will see, two different due dates.

For 2026, the minimum advances for main activity are: 5,005 Kč for social insurance (from 1 July 2026; until 30 June 2026 it was 5,720 Kč) and 3,306 Kč for health insurance. Together, 8,311 Kč per month. This is the minimum you pay whether you earned one hundred thousand in the month or zero.

The social advance has changed significantly this year. In 2025 it was roughly 4,759 Kč and from January 2026 it jumped to 5,720 Kč. An amendment effective from 1 July 2026 reduced the minimum assessment base back to 35 % of the average wage (until 30 June 2026 it was 40 %); the average wage for 2026 is 48,967 Kč, so the new minimum social advance is 5,005 Kč. The higher the average wage, the higher the minimum advances, and that will continue.

Warning: Income tax is not included in this 8,311 Kč. These are only insurance advances. You calculate tax separately in the tax return according to actual profit. The only exception is flat-rate tax, where everything is in one payment.

What do you get for the money? Social insurance counts your insured years for old-age pension and opens entitlement to disability pension. Health insurance pays for your healthcare. What is not included in the minimum: sickness insurance is voluntary for self-employed people and costs extra (from 243 Kč per month). Without it, you have no entitlement to sickness benefit during illness or to maternity cash benefit. Consider it if you are planning a family or work in a risky profession.

Social (pension) insurance: ČSSZ

Social insurance for self-employed people is essentially pension insurance. It is used to calculate your future old-age pension, so it is not wasted money but your insured years. It is administered by ČSSZ through the locally competent OSSZ (district social security administration).

The rate is 29.2 % of the assessment base. You set the assessment base yourself, but it must be at least 35 % of the average wage, i.e. 17,139 Kč per month. This gives a minimum advance of 5,005 Kč (from 1 July 2026; until 30 June 2026 it was 5,720 Kč).

Starting out? You pay less in the first years

There is good news for new entrepreneurs. If you set up a trade licence for the first time (or return to business after more than 20 years), in the year you start and the next two calendar years you pay a reduced minimum advance of 3,575 Kč instead of 5,005 Kč. You save more than 1,400 Kč per month while this benefit applies.

When the advance is due

The social advance is due from the first to the last day of the given month. The advance for January 2026 must therefore be in the OSSZ account no later than 31 January. Remember it as "by the end of the month".

Health insurance: your insurer

You pay health insurance to the insurer with which you are registered (VZP, ZP MV ČR, OZP, VoZP, ČPZP and others). The rate is 13.5 % of the assessment base.

The minimum assessment base here is 50 % of the average wage, i.e. 24,483.50 Kč. This gives a minimum advance of 3,306 Kč per month, and it applies from January 2026 to all self-employed people with main activity.

An important difference from social insurance: health insurance has no reduced rate for beginners. Even in your first month of business, you pay the full 3,306 Kč. There is no new-starter relief here.

The due date differs from social insurance

This catches many people out. The health advance is due from the first day of the given month to the 8th day of the following month. The advance for January 2026 is therefore due by 8 February (because of a weekend it may move to 9 February).

Here are both deadlines side by side:

The simplest solution is to set a standing order for both payments on the same day each month, for example the 25th. You comfortably meet the social insurance deadline and still have a reserve for health insurance.

Main versus secondary activity: a major financial difference

This is the most important decision point in the article. Whether your activity is main or secondary determines whether you pay 8,311 Kč per month or perhaps nothing.

You carry on secondary activity when you simultaneously have another main source of security. Specifically, if you also:

• are employed (the employment establishes participation in insurance),
• receive an old-age or disability pension,
• are entitled to parental allowance or maternity benefit, or care for a small child,
• are a student up to age 26.

Suppose you are an accountant in employment and earn extra in the evenings by building websites under a trade licence. Your trade is a secondary activity. You pay no social advances in the first year, and for health insurance your employer covers the minimum, so you only settle insurance from actual profit after filing the statement.

Decisive amount: threshold 117,521 Kč

For secondary activity, social insurance is paid only if your annual profit (tax base, i.e. income minus expenses) exceeds the decisive amount. For 2026 this is 117,521 Kč.

Example: alongside employment, your trade makes annual profit of 90,000 Kč. That is below the threshold, so you pay no social insurance from secondary activity. But if you make 150,000 Kč, you exceed the threshold and must settle insurance and pay advances from the next year (at least 1,574 Kč per month).

Tip: The decisive amount is calculated from profit, not turnover. If you claim expenses as a lump-sum allowance, it is calculated only after deducting them. This is useful to know in advance for side income alongside employment.

Income and expenses statements and their deadlines

Once a year you must submit an income and expenses statement (přehled) to both institutions. It calculates the actual insurance for the previous year and compares it with paid advances. Either you pay the difference or you have an overpayment.

Deadlines follow your tax return. Statements are filed within one month after the tax-return deadline:

Any insurance underpayment is due within 8 days after filing the statement, for both institutions. If you have a data box (datová schránka), you file the OSSZ statement electronically in XML format (ČSSZ ePortal, e-Filing data-box ID: 5ffu6xk).

After filing the statement, the amount of advances for the next period also changes according to actual profit. You pay the new advance amount from the month in which you filed the statement, so you do not back-pay advances, only insurance.

Model example for a full year

Take a craftsperson with main activity who pays minimum advances throughout 2026 and ends exactly at the minimum base. They pay 12 × 8,311 = 99,732 Kč in advances for the year. If their actual profit corresponds to the minimum base, the statements require no further payment. But if they earn more, an insurance underpayment arises and mandatory advances increase from the month in which the statement is filed. It is therefore worth setting aside a reserve so the June settlement does not surprise you.

What happens if you do not pay an advance

Short answer: penalties accrue and the debt grows. The longer answer is worth reading.

A penalty of roughly 11.5 % per year accrues on an unpaid advance or unpaid insurance (in the first half of 2026 it is 0.0315 % for each day of delay; in the second half of 2026 roughly 0.0322 % per day, i.e. about 11.75 % per year). The rate is tied to the ČNB repo rate, increased by 8 percentage points since 1 January 2022. Health insurance works on a similar principle. This is not ruinous interest, but if the debt sits for months, it grows.

The worse part is what follows. A health-insurance debt can be enforced by the insurer through a statement of arrears and sent for enforcement even without a court decision. ČSSZ proceeds similarly for social insurance. Non-payment of health insurance has another dimension too: the insurer must still pay for necessary care, but it will pursue the debt firmly.

What should you do if you cannot pay an advance right now? Do not disappear. Both institutions allow you to apply for an instalment plan (permission to pay overdue insurance in instalments). If you communicate in advance, a workable solution is almost always possible. If you stay silent, an enforcement officer handles it for you and that is much more expensive.

Warning: An advance paid late is first used for the oldest debt, including penalties. If you have an old underpayment, your new payment "erases" that first and the current month may remain formally unpaid. That is why it is worth dealing with debts immediately, not letting them accumulate.

Summary: what not to forget

• Minimum for main activity (from 1 July 2026): 5,005 Kč social + 3,306 Kč health = 8,311 Kč/month (until 30 June 2026 the social advance was 5,720 Kč).
• Starting out? Social advance only 3,575 Kč in the year you start and the next two calendar years. No health relief: always 3,306 Kč.
• Social is paid by the end of the month, health by the 8th of the following month. Two different dates.
• Secondary activity: you do not pay advances in the first year; social insurance applies only above profit of 117,521 Kč/year.
• File statements within a month after the tax return, and pay any underpayment within 8 days afterwards.
• Unpaid advances mean penalties and possible enforcement. If you cannot pay, ask for instalments.

The amounts and deadlines in this article correspond to the 2026 position according to ČSSZ and health insurance companies. Minimum advances change every year on 1 January, so check the current amount on the ČSSZ website and with your health insurance company before paying. This text is for information only and does not replace consultation with a tax adviser or accountant.