How much can you save on benefits?

A non-cash benefit that meets the statutory conditions and stays within the annual limit is exempt for the employee from income tax and from social and health insurance. So from 1,000 Kč in benefits a person gets the full value; from 1,000 Kč in salary, far less is left after tax and contributions.

For the employer the same applies in reverse: a benefit within the limit pays no insurance, which on salary is 33.8%. Even after the tax deductibility covered below, you give people more for the same budget. The calculator above works out the exact impact for your company.

The limit is tied to the average wage, set each year by government decree. For 2026 the average wage is 48,967 Kč. For leisure benefits, which this calculator targets, half is exempt – 24,483.50 Kč a year per employee. The rule is in Section 6(9)(d) of the Income Tax Act.

Because the limit is based on the average wage, it changes yearly: for 2025 it was 23,278.50 Kč, and for 2026 it rose to the 24,483.50 Kč mentioned. From 1 January 2027 the leisure limit no longer applies, except for recreation and trips, which keep a cap of 20,000 Kč a year.

Since 2025 there are two limits, tracked separately. Leisure benefits – sport, culture, education, recreation, trips or a books allowance – are exempt up to half the average wage, i.e. 24,483.50 Kč for 2026. Health benefits, such as rehabilitation, preventive check-ups, vaccinations, dental care or prescribed medical devices, have their own higher limit of the full average wage, i.e. 48,967 Kč for 2026.

The two limits don't add into one figure, nor do they reduce each other. So in a single year an employee can use both leisure and health benefits, each up to its own cap.

Only the part up to the limit is exempt. Anything above it the employee taxes as ordinary employment income – income tax plus social and health insurance, like salary. That's why the calculator shows a separate line for the reward above the annual limit.

For the employer, the above-limit part has one upside: unlike the exempt part, it can usually be claimed as a tax-deductible cost, provided the benefit entitlement follows from an internal rule, a collective agreement or the employment contract.

From both. A benefit within the limit doesn't enter the assessment base, so it carries no income tax and no insurance. The employee pays no 11.6% in contributions (7.1% social and 4.5% health) and no 15% tax advance. The employer pays no 33.8% in contributions (24.8% social and 9% health). This saving on contributions is what creates most of the difference you see in the calculation.

Here it's fair to be open. Because benefits don't enter the assessment base for insurance, they don't raise an employee's future pension, sick pay or unemployment support. Nor do they count towards average earnings, used e.g. for holiday pay. Benefits are tax-efficient, but unlike salary they build no social entitlements. For most people the immediate value outweighs this – but it's good to know upfront.

For exempt benefits, no. The law is built so that what's exempt for the employee isn't a tax-deductible cost for the employer (Section 25(1)(h) of the Income Tax Act). Benefits are paid from after-tax profit, a social fund or non-deductible costs. The calculator accounts for this, so on the benefits side you'll see a corporate income tax line.

Even when a company loses this deductibility, the saving on insurance usually outweighs it, so the total cost of a benefit is still lower than the same amount as salary. The reward above the limit is tax-deductible.

The exemption applies only to non-cash benefits. If you send an employee money to buy a benefit themselves, for tax it's ordinary income with all that entails. That's why benefits go through cafeteria points or by paying for a service directly, not in cash. The exception, with its own rules, is the meal allowance, covered in the last question.

Besides higher limits, one key condition was added. The exemption now applies only to non-cash benefits that aren't wages, salary, reward or compensation for lost income. The point is to separate real benefits from pay for work done. Simply put, a performance bonus or part of a salary can't be repackaged as a benefit to dodge tax and levies. The change is set in Section 6(9)(d) of the Income Tax Act.

For companies that provide benefits above salary as standard, nothing changes; they stay exempt under statutory conditions.

No. Meals have their own regime and don't count towards the leisure limit. For 2026 the meal allowance is exempt for the employee up to 129.50 Kč per shift, if they work at least three hours. For shifts over 11 hours, a second allowance of the same value can be exempt. The meal allowance is also tax-deductible for the employer. So both the leisure limit and the health limit stay untouched.