Investing from Czechia and Slovakia: time test, DIP and DIS

• Time test: a gain on the sale of a security is tax-free if more than 3 years pass between acquisition and sale (§4(1)(u) of Income Tax Act 586/1992, version 157, valid from 1 August to 31 December 2026). Securities held as business assets are excluded.
• No cap for securities: the cap of CZK 40,000,000 a year applies in the current text only to crypto-assets (§4(3)). We could not check since when the cap for securities has no longer applied.
• Small-proceeds exemption: income from the sale of securities is tax-free if its total in the tax year does not exceed CZK 100,000 (§4(1)(t)). The test is on sale proceeds, not gains, and it is all or nothing.
• Tax rate: 15% up to 36 times the average wage, 23% above (§16).
• Reporting duty: exempt income above CZK 5,000,000, for example the proceeds of a sale after the time test, must be notified to the tax office by the end of the deadline for the tax return (§38v).

Worked example (our own calculation): if you sell securities for a total of CZK 99,000 in one year, that is tax-free under the small-proceeds exemption, even at a gain. At CZK 101,000 this exemption falls away entirely; only gains on securities you held for more than 3 years then remain tax-free.

Dividends: on dividends from Czech sources a special rate of 15% is withheld at source (§36(2)(a)). You declare foreign dividends yourself; you can put them in a separate tax base taxed at 15% (§8(8) with §16a). Under the treaty with the United States, US withholding tax on dividends is 15% (IRS, Table 1).

The long-term investment product (dlouhodobý investiční produkt, DIP) is governed by Capital Market Act 256/2004 (§§134g to 134k).

• Deduction: contributions are deductible from the tax base up to CZK 48,000 a year, together with other tax-supported retirement products (§15(6) Income Tax Act).
• Employer: employer contributions are tax-free up to CZK 50,000 a year in total (§6(9)(m)).
• Lock-in: payout only after 120 calendar months and not before the calendar year in which you turn 60 (§15b(1)(a)(1)).
• Assets: cash; securities and money-market instruments traded on a regulated market or MTF in the EU or on a market on the Czech National Bank's (ČNB) list; EU government bonds; covered bonds; fund units; derivatives for hedging only (§134i(1)).
• Providers: banks, credit unions, securities dealers, investment companies, self-managed funds and comparable foreign persons authorised in Czechia (§134g(2)). For tax purposes, a comparable product from an EU or EEA provider also qualifies (§15a(5)).
• List: the ČNB keeps a list of DIP providers and publishes it on its website (§134k).

We found no DIP offer on the Czech pages of XTB or LYNX. Patria Finance, a securities dealer in the ČSOB group that we do not compare and do not rate, says it offers a DIP. We found no DIP offer at Fio banka.

• Time test: gains on the sale of securities admitted to a regulated market or a comparable foreign market are tax-free after 1 year of holding, provided more than 1 year has also passed between admission to trading and the sale (§9(1)(k) of Income Tax Act 595/2003, version of 1 January 2026). Securities held as business assets and those received as a non-monetary benefit are excluded.
• EUR 500: the net result of income under §8(1)(d) to (f), including sales of securities, is exempt up to EUR 500 a year; only the part above is taxed (§9(1)(i)). This income shares the EUR 500 with the exemption under letter (g).
• Tax rates 2026: 19%, 25%, 30% and 35% on the general tax base, with thresholds at 154.8, 212.4 and 264 times the subsistence minimum (§15(a)(1)).
• Dividends: 7% is withheld at source on domestic dividends (§43(1)(a)). Foreign dividends form a separate tax base that you declare, taxed at 7%, or 35% for payments from non-cooperating states.
• United States: under the treaty, US withholding tax on dividends is 15% (IRS, Table 1).

Long-term investment saving (dlhodobé investičné sporenie, DIS): the portfolio must be set up for at least 15 years, and nothing may be paid out in the first 15 years. At most EUR 6,000 may be invested per calendar year; reinvestments within the portfolio do not count (§7(11) Act 566/2001). Once the conditions are met, gains from securities, options and derivatives in the DIS are tax-free, including the payout after 15 years (§9(1)(l) Act 595/2003).

Supplementary pension saving (DDS) and the pan-European personal pension product (PEPP): your own contributions are deductible up to EUR 180 a year combined (§11(9)). Finax, a Slovak securities dealer supervised by the National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) that we do not compare and do not rate, says it offers a PEPP. We have not verified a DIS offer from Finax or from XTB.

• Czechia: the securities dealers' guarantee fund (GFO) compensates 90% of client assets not returned, at most the equivalent of EUR 20,000.
• Slovakia: the investment guarantee fund (GFI) compensates unavailable client assets up to EUR 50,000 per client (§87(2) Act 566/2001); the text contains no 90% haircut. The fund is supervised by the NBS.

• Website in Czech: XTB, LYNX and Revolut. In Slovak: XTB.
• DIP or DIS: not verified at any broker in our comparison.
• Differences by country of residence: in our data, Lightyear and Trade Republic accept clients from Slovakia but not from Czechia.

The overviews with source and date for every entry are on the pages brokers for investors in Czechia and brokers for investors in Slovakia. All brokers that accept clients from these countries: directory for Czechia and directory for Slovakia; for ETF investors: ETF brokers for Czechia.

• whether a tax on securities transactions applies in Czechia or Slovakia: we found no source either way;
• since when the CZK 40,000,000 cap in Czechia has applied only to crypto-assets;
• whether sales after the time test count towards the CZK 100,000 total;
• whether XTB, LYNX or any other broker in our comparison offers a DIP or a DIS; we did not find the ČNB list;
• whether clients of a foreign broker in Slovakia must file a particular type of tax return;
• the Slovak versions of the law from 31 December 2026.

1. 1Record the purchase date of every security: in Czechia more than 3 years count, in Slovakia 1 year from acquisition.
2. 2In Czechia: keep track of your total sale proceeds for the year if you want to use the CZK 100,000 exemption.
3. 3For a DIP: check the provider on the ČNB list.
4. 4You declare foreign dividends yourself: in Czechia optionally at 15%, in Slovakia at 7%.

• Czechia, Income Tax Act 586/1992 and Capital Market Act 256/2004
• Slovakia, Income Tax Act 595/2003, version of 1 January 2026 and Securities Act 566/2001, version of 25 June 2026
• Garanční fond obchodníků s cennými papíry, home page; Garančný fond investícií, home page
• IRS, Tax Treaty Table 1
• XTB, Czechia and Slovakia; LYNX, Czechia; Revolut, Czechia
• Patria Finance, home page and about us; Fio banka, legal notice
• Finax, home page and FAQ

This article is for information only and does not constitute investment, legal or tax advice.