The quality of services in accountancy is assessed by clients as well as by a professional jury. The FIRM OF THE YEAR awards have been organized four years. We are very proud that LERIKA Tax & Accounting has made it among the best firms on the market.

The FIRM OF THE YEAR awards have been organized by Wolters Kluwer ČR, and professionally backed by the Chamber of Certificated Accountants and the Association of Accountants of the Czech Republic. The competition features three categories: the best accounting professional, the best accountancy firm and the best accountant personality of the year. The winner is called by a professional jury composed of representatives of main accounting institutions of the Czech Republic and by accounting professionals.

The award ceremony took place on 1 December 2021 in a semi-virtual event: the winners of the competition and a small group of organizers met on site in the premises of Wolters Kluwer ČR while others could attend the ceremony online.

Award for LERIKA Tax & Accounting

In the ACCOUNTANCY FIRM OF 2021 category, LERIKA Tax & Accounting clinched an impressive spot number two.  This is a guarantee that if we keep your accounting books, they are in good hands.

The award was accepted by the firm partners, Ivana Ottová and Monika Borkovcová:

„We are very happy about the award and are proud to have received it. We would like to thank mainly to our employees and colleagues for their dedication and energy which they bring to work every day. This award mainly belongs to them, because they are the main representatives of our services and of our products.

Many thanks also to our clients for being with us and having faith in us. An award so close to the top does not just represent commitment for the future, but also provides a motive to further develop our services with maximum possible care and with an emphasis on you, our clients and business partners.”

Are you interested in the award ceremony? You can play a recording from the ceremony or look at the photo gallery.

One more round of thanks to all those who have supported us and who have put faith in our services by having us handle their accounting!

Summer holidays have entered their second half and we are reporting back to you with our regular information service in terms of July tax news:

OSS – news and practical experience

As of 1 July, significant EU-wide changes to the application of VAT with respect to mail order business have been implemented. For those of you impacted by these changes, we are bringing you a summary of our practical experience so far. Among things covered – we show you what the VAT tax return filed as part of OSS regime looks like or what should be the format of the tax payment, which will be made in EUR.

Increases in tax benefits, tax bonuses and social assistance for children

Towards the end of July, an amendment of Act on Social Assistance came into force which introduced also relating changes of Income Taxes Act. Changes will mainly be welcome by families with children due to the fact that tax credits for 2nd and any further child increase, along with changes to conditions for pay-out of tax bonuses. This increase will first impact employees via monthly payroll as of January 2022; however, the change will also be operational retroactively as of 1 January 2021 and implemented via 2021 payroll settlement. Changes in conditions for the pay-out of the tax bonus and increases to social assistance for children have also been implemented. You will find more information in our article.

Gifts for Southern Moravia and their tax treatment

The striking of South Moravia by a tornado has given rise to a huge tide of solidarity and companies as well as individuals started sending in financial as well as other forms of support. In many cases, a financial or tangible gift can be deducted from taxable income on a tax return. We have prepared for you a summary of conditions as to how you can deduct the gift on a tax return and which documents you will need to that effect.

Our June/July Tax News is mainly focused on extensive changes in the field of VAT, which will affect especially e-shops and other companies that send their packages to customers – non-entrepreneurs to other EU countries.

One-Stop-Shop or OSS

Extensive changes in the field of VAT are the result of the transposition of the EU directive into the Czech VAT Act. It introduces a new One-Stop-Shop (OSS) regime. Although the start date on which the changes were expected to take effect in Czech legislation was planned for July 1, 2021, the amendment to the VAT Act has fallen asleep in the legislative process and is currently in the Senate. Fortunately, these changes, which are being implemented uniformly throughout the European Union, could be applied in Czech Republic since July 1, 2021 on the basis of the direct effect of European legislation. We encourage the companies involved to choose this alternative. You can read more about the news in our article here.

What you should know about OSS

If you are interested in a new One-Stop-Shop (OSS) regime, pay attention also to our next article, where we deal with this topic in more detail. VAT levies in other EU Member States may, for example, affect non-VAT payers too.

Import of small parcels from abroad

Do you buy goods in e-shops outside EU? Small purchases of goods from abroad will become more expensive soon. A beneficial tax treatment for parcels with value up to EUR 22 is about to end. More info here.

During the last two months, we have published several interesting Tax News on our blog, Below, you may find our short summary.

New law on beneficial owners

As of 1 June 2021, a new law enters into force, which regulates the obligations of legal entities in the area of registration of beneficial owners. The absence of registration can have significant effects on the business of corporations. In addition to financial sanctions, there is a risk of invalidation of decisions taken by General Meetings in the period when beneficial owners were not registered. Therefore, proper attention should be paid to this area. In our article we have focused on main changes.

VAT refund from the United Kingdom since 2021

One of the consequences of Brexit was the termination of the standard VAT refund regime for Czech VAT payers regarding VAT paid to the United Kingdom. The last period for which Czech VAT payers could apply for a tax refund in accordance with the standard procedure used within the EU was the calendar year 2020. Information on how this process is handled in 2021 is provided in our article.

Meal vouchers lump sum

The issue of meal voucher lump sum has been filling newspaper pages since January of this year, under many guises. In our article, we bring you a look at when it is worthwhile for an employer to use a meal voucher and in which cases it is better to stay with traditional meal vouchers. We have also prepared a short summary of potential issues with meal voucher lump sums in less standard situations.

Deadlines for filing tax returns and reports with the self-employed

There were plenty of changes in the deadlines for fulfilling of tax obligations in recent months. For the sake of clarity, we have prepared a summary of the deadlines within which you are required to file an annual income tax return and, in the case of the self-employed, also statements of income and expenditure for the social security administration and the health insurance company. More information can be found here.

Changes in tax depreciation

2021 Tax Package brought an increase in the threshold for tax depreciation of tangible assets. The increased threshold can be adopted for all assets put into use as of 1 January 2020. The threshold for what qualifies as a technical improvement of tangible assets has increased as well. For intangible assets, tax depreciation as such has been abolished in its entirety. You will find the full overview in the following article.

Extended deadline for filing property and road tax returns

In connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Finance has extended the deadline for filing property and road tax returns until 1 April 2021.  You’ll find more detailed information here.

Our path towards digitalization

The practice of keeping accounting books has been subject to a massive shift from reliance on paper form to the digital realm lately. We decided to share our observations and experience from this process in our article, which should serve not only a distraction from the usual discussion of tax regulations, but also as a useful lesson for your own digitalization process within your organization.

2021 Tax Package

2021 Tax Package has introduced key tax changes and was published in the Collection of Laws on the last day of the year. Contrary to some expectations, the majority of changes therefore took effect as of 1 January 2021, which simplifies many practical procedures. On the other hand, there is very little time (if any) to prepare for these far-reaching changes or implement them in practice. You will find out more in our article.

Brexit and VAT

UK Brexit is a topic that has been filling headlines for the last few years. It has become all the more tangible by the signing of EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement on 24 December. From the point of view of VAT treatment, UK has become a so-called third country as of 1 January 2021. It ceases to participate in the internal EU market and is no longer a member of the EU customs union. All the details can be found in our article.

Tax Code Amendment

A Tax Code amendment will come into force on 1 January 2021. Thanks to it, taxpayers will be able to file tax returns as late as May, even without a power of attorney signed by their tax adviser. For a detailed summary, please refer to our article.

2021 Per Diems

Changes have also affected per diems paid during domestic business trips. Per diem rates go up, compensation mechanism for the use of road motor vehicles changes and the average cost of fuel goes down. As of 1 January 2021, some rates of foreign per diems for foreign business trips change as well. For a detailed summary, please refer to our article.

On behalf of the entire LERIKA team, we wish you all the best in the New Year.

2021 Income Tax law amendments

Towards the end of November, the media attention has been focused squarely on the so-called 2021 Tax Package, which was approved by the Parliament in its third reading. The law is now subject to review by the Senate. You can read about what the Tax Package entails and which amendments will be reviewed by the Senate here.

Lump sum taxation for entrepreneurs and other self-employed individuals                 

The Senate fully endorsed the new law implementing the concept of the lump sum tax for entrepreneurs and other self-employed individuals and the law now awaits its signature by the President. Go live of the lump sum taxation is expected as of 1 January 2021. In our article, you’ll find out what you should consider and which steps you should make if you want to participate in the lump sum taxation scheme.

Small-scale employment with income of up to CZK 3,500

Not only HR staff will appreciate the possibility to increase monthly payments to employees working on the basis of one-off work arrangements such that the payments would be exempt from mandatory health and social security payments. You can read more information in our article here.

Increase of minimum wages

As every year, minimum wages shall increase as of 1 January 2021. The increase triggers updates to various tax-related parameters, such as kindergarten subsidies, tax credits or limits for taxation of pensions. You can read a short summary in our article.

We wish you a peaceful Advent season.

2021 Tax Package

The legislative journey of the 2021 Tax Package has not yet reached its destination. We already covered the main changes brought by the Income Tax Law amendment in our article last month. In the meantime, the Tax Package was discussed in the Parliament, which resulted in several modifications to the proposed amendments in terms of tax depreciation of assets. The new article covers this in more detail.

Lump Sump Tax

The proposal of the Ministry of Finance on lump sum tax for entrepreneurs and other self-employed individuals was negotiated and approved by the Parliament and headed to the Senate. Read our article about the main principles of this tax and for whom their implementation will be beneficial.

Tax Loss carryback

Tax loss carryback is one of the instruments that income taxpayers (individuals and corporations alike) can newly adopt to improve cash flow and bridge a period of an unexpected fall in income. The new regulation is part of the tax package which was approved as of 1 July 2020 and was implemented in tax laws to counter future economic shocks. The new article covers this in more detail.

Abolition of real estate transfer tax

One of the most discussed laws of this year is the law that would abolish the real estate transfer tax, which was approved by the Parliament at the end of September. This tax is now a thing of the past. You will find basic information in our summary. We recommend that you read it in its entirety – you will learn a lot of practical information as to various exceptions from the rules and in terms of deadlines, as well as of the relating impact on the income tax law.

We wish you that you stay healthy in the upcoming autumn days. And we will keep you posted about further changes in the tax laws.