25 000 CZK support for freelancers affected by COVID-19

After weeks of discussing, it is finally here - all freelancers affected by the COVID-19 situation qualify for a 25 000 CZK support from the government. And it is actually quite simple to apply for it. Read on for a detailed guide on how to do that.

Who qualifies for the 25 000 CZK governmental support?

So called "kompenzační bonus pro OSVČ" ("compensation bonus for freelancers") is officially only meant for those freelancers who's business has been negatively affected by the COVID-19 situation, meaning that you had to close your business completely or you have lost a significant part of your income because of the situation. The most typical example are restaurant owners who had to close their restaurants completely, English teachers who lost teaching hours because of closed schools, etc.

The bonus is not officially meant for people for whom nothing has really changed because of the situation (i.e. if you are a web developer working from home normally anyway and you have still had the same amount of clients as before the COVID-19).

The bonus get be granted to everyone who's trade license was activated before March 12 this year (when the state of emergency started).

How to apply for the 25 000 CZK support?

Unlike the first drafts of the "compensation bonus" law, you do not have to prove anything to the government now (in one of the previous drafts, you would have to prove that your incomes have decreased at least by 10% comparing with the same time last year, etc.). You basically just have to fill in a form and send it to the Tax Office responsible for the area of where you live.

Let's go through everything step by step now.

1. Download the required form here: Application for compensation bonus. If the form does not open correctly (that happens for some reason, mainly if you try to open it on mobile or in your browser), click on the link using the left mouse button and choose "Save as", download it to your laptop and open with a standard Adobe or other pdf reader. If that still does not work, read our other blog here and fill in the application online.
2. If you are downloading the form, fill in the following details:
   1. After "Finančnímu úřadu" choose the tax office of the region where you live. For example if you live in Prague, choose "pro hlavní město Prahu" (Capital City of Prague), if you live in Brno, choose "pro Jihomoravský kraj" (South Moravian region), etc.
   2. In the "Územní pracoviště (v/ve/pro)" field, fill in the exact district of where you live. For example, if you have chosen the "pro hlavní město Prague" (Prague) as your region and you live in Prague 3, choose "Praha 3" in this field. The simplest way to do this right is to fill in the same details as you have in your registration letter from the Tax Office or the same information your accountant filled into your tax return this year. Once you have done this,  an e-mail address will appear under these two fields. This is the e-mail address (and only this one, no other) where you have to send the form once completed.
   3. "Jméno a příjmení" is your full name (your first name, middle name/s and your surname).
   4. "Datum narození" is your date of birth. Please mind it must be written the Czech way - day is first, month second, year third!
   5. "DIČ" is your Tax number you have received from the tax office when you got registered there (it usually has 12 characters and it looks like this "CZ1234567891"). As long as you have a trade license, you must have DIC! It is not only for VAT payers or given to you only in some cases. If you can not find your DIC, contacts us and we'll be happy to help.
   6. "Kontaktní údaje (telefon/email)" is your Czech phone number (in the shorter filed) and your e-mail address (in the longer field).
   7. "Adresa místa pobytu" is your address in the Czech Republic.
   8. "Účet vedený u" is the name of your Czech bank (where you want the bonus to be sent). For example "Raiffeisen Bank", "Česká spořitelna", "Komerční banka", "Equa bank" etc.
   9. "č. účtu" is your bank account number.
   10. "kod banky" is your bank code. For example "5500" for Raiffeisen bank, 0800 for Česká spořitelna, etc.
   11. In the "B" part named "POŽADOVANÁ ČÁSTKA", the government is asking you for what period of time you want to get the bonus. If you choose "Plná částka (tj. od 12. 3. do 30. 4. 2020)" you are asking for the maximum possible support from 12.3.2020 till the end of April 2020. If you are asking for a shorter support (i.e. your business was still good in March but you lost most of your business in April, you fill in the dates accordingly.
   12. "V" goes for the place where you have signed the document (i.e. "Praha", "Brno").
   13. "Dne" goes for the date when you signed the form (i.e. 10.4.2020 - again the CZECH way of DD.MM.YYYY).
3. Once the form is completed, print it out, sign it and either scan it or take a good photo of it. 
4. Send the form as an attachment to the e-mail address described in point 2.2. above. The subject of the e-mail must only contain the following "Žádost o kompenzační bonus pro OSVČ". The maximum size of the e-mail is 4MB. 
5. HOORAY - you have submitted your application now. There will be no confirmation from the side of the Tax Office. If the application was correct though, you will receive the bonus to the bank account stated in the form hopefully within the next couple of days.

Since this is fresh, we do not exactly know how long it will take for you to receive the bonus or if there are gonna be any problems or unexpected challenges in the process.

We are here for you, ready to help with everything though so please Contact us if you need help filling in the form or with anything else. We'll be thrilled to help! 😊

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