Student and trade licence
Self-employment while studying
As long as you are studying and are under 26, your trade licence counts as a secondary activity — with no minimum social insurance advance payments, and with health insurance paid for you by the state.
Why a trade licence pays off for students
If you are studying at a secondary school or university in a full-time, in-person or otherwise recognised form of systematic preparation for a future career, and you are under 26, you count as a dependent child for insurance purposes. If you also set up a trade licence, it counts as a secondary self-employed activity — the same as for employees or parents on parental leave. This is covered in detail in the article Main vs. secondary activity for the self-employed (OSVČ).
A student's secondary activity has two main advantages:
- You pay no social (pension) insurance at all, until your annual profit from the trade exceeds the decisive amount of 117 521 Kč (2026). Below this threshold, no advance payments are due and nothing needs to be settled afterwards either — you simply state this in the income and expenses statement (přehled) for ČSSZ (Czech Social Security Administration).
- Health insurance is paid for you by the state, as for a dependent child. As long as you remain a state-insured person, there is no compulsory minimum for health insurance and you effectively pay no advance payments — you settle the premium on your actual profit (13.5 % of 50 % of profit) with your health insurance company according to your OSVČ income and expenses statement.
You must still notify the start of your secondary activity — ČSSZ by the 8th day of the month following the month you started, and your health insurance company within 8 days of starting, and prove the reason for your secondary activity with a confirmation of study. You can find the full process for setting up a trade licence in the guide How to set up a trade licence.
Calculate your advance payments for a secondary activity
The calculator works out both the minimum and the actual monthly advance payments according to the type of activity. As a student, choose secondary activity — up to an annual profit of 117 521 Kč your social insurance advance payment comes out at zero, and health insurance is covered by the state. At a higher profit you will also see the actual advance payment of 1 574 Kč (minimum assessment base of 5 387 Kč).
Indicative calculation based on 2026 rates. Does not replace a tax advisor's calculation. Verified 2026.
Watch out for the age 26 limit and the end of your studies
Your entitlement to secondary activity as a student lasts only until the day you stop being a dependent child — that is, at the latest until your 26th birthday, or earlier if you finish your studies (final state examination, school-leaving exam, expulsion, interruption of studies). As soon as this status ends, the trade licence changes to a main activity and you must pay the minimum advance payments — social insurance 5 005 Kč (from 7/2026; until 30 June 2026 it was 5 720 Kč) and health insurance 3 306 Kč, 8 311 Kč in total per month. Notify both ČSSZ and your health insurance company of the change within 8 days. For a university, the decisive date for the end of studies is the day of the state final examination or its last part, not the day of the graduation ceremony (§ 55 of Act No. 111/1998 Coll.); the dependent-child status, however, continues for the whole calendar month in which you finished your studies and usually also for the following calendar month, provided that throughout that entire month you do not carry out gainful activity (§ 14 of Act No. 117/1995 Coll.). Source: ČSSZ, VZP ČR, Act No. 111/1998 Coll. and Act No. 117/1995 Coll. — verified 2026.