Updated 30/09/2026

Airbnb and short-term rentals in Czechia in 2026

What a host in Czechia must comply with and what it really costs: eTurista registration, trade licence, VAT on the Airbnb fee, tourist tax, insurance contributions and realistic occupancy.

Short-term letting via Airbnb or Booking is, in Czechia, an accommodation service (ubytovací služba), i.e. a trade (živnost). Compared with long-term letting it has different taxes, extra obligations and costs that are often missing from calculations.

Registration and obligations

eTurista: every accommodation must have a registration number from the central register. Since 20 May 2026, EU Regulation 2024/1028 applies, under which platforms verify the registration and report data to the authorities. Fines are up to 100,000 CZK.
A trade licence (živnostenský list) for accommodation services, plus registration with the social security administration (správa sociálního zabezpečení) and your health insurance company.
A guest register (evidence hostů) and reporting of foreign guests, now within 24 hours of arrival.
Tourist tax (poplatek z pobytu) of up to 50 CZK per person per night (guests over 18). It is usually added to the price of the stay.
Prague is considering a limit of roughly 60 nights a year in some areas. You can test this in the calculator with the "Max nights per year" field.

VAT: a trap for non-payers

VAT registration is mandatory once turnover exceeds 2 million CZK a year. Less well known is that even a non-VAT payer (neplátce) becomes an identified person for VAT (identifikovaná osoba) because of the fee charged by a foreign platform (Airbnb, Booking). They must then pay 21 % VAT on that fee, for every month in which they paid the fee, by the 25th day of the following month. With a 15 % fee, that is roughly another 3 % of turnover.

A VAT payer (plátce DPH) charges 12 % VAT on accommodation, but deducts the VAT on costs (management, cleaning, energy, furnishing). Whether voluntary registration pays off depends on the ratio of costs to revenue.

Taxes and insurance contributions

	2026 value
Flat-rate expense deduction (paušální výdaje)	60 % of income, max. 1.2 million CZK
Social insurance (sociální pojištění)	29.2 % of 55 % of profit
Health insurance (zdravotní pojištění)	13.5 % of 50 % of profit
Secondary activity (vedlejší činnost)	Social insurance only above 117,521 CZK of profit a year
Main activity (hlavní činnost)	Minimum advance payments 5,720 + 3,306 CZK a month

Realistic numbers for Prague

Average occupancy across all Prague listings over the past year was 49 %, at an average nightly rate of around 171 USD. Seasonality ranges roughly between 40 and 58 %. Professionally managed flats in the centre achieve 60-75 %. Calculators from management companies often assume the upper bound. It is sensible to calculate a pessimistic variant too.

Costs people forget

Manager 15-25 % of revenue (plus VAT if they are a VAT payer)
Platform fees 15-18 % + VAT for non-payers
Cleaning and laundry for every stay
Utility advances paid via the owners' association (zálohy SVJ na služby: heating, water, lift, cleaning of the building), which the tenant pays in a long-term let; here you pay all of them
Electricity and gas, internet, pricing and calendar software
Replacement of furnishing (roughly 10 % of its value a year)
Empty months at the start (furnishing, registration, first reviews)

In detailed mode, the Compare both switch shows whether short-term letting of the same flat pays more than a long-term let, and from what occupancy.

Sources

This text is indicative and does not replace tax, legal or financial advice. For binding decisions consult a Czech tax adviser. · Privacy policy · Terms of use ·