OSVČ are furious! Even though they are not obliged to pay TV and radio fees, they face a nonsensical fine. Fortunately, the remedy is easy

From May 2025, new conditions for paying concessionary fees apply. In addition to the price increase for both television and radio fees, another change has occurred that will affect entrepreneurs. The method of calculating the payment amount based on the number of employees is changing. However, the changes also include another novelty that many have underestimated. You need to register for payment, even if you don’t have to pay anything. The deadline is only until the end of this month.

It would seem clear. I am an OSVČ and have no employees, so I don’t deal with fees. But it’s not that simple. Even if you have no employees, even if you only have an IČO for a secondary work activity, you must register for payment. You enter the number of employees as 0, and the payment amount will be 0 Kč. But it must be reported.

Explanation of terms

OSVČ is an abbreviation for „osoba samostatně výdělečně činná“, which translates to „self-employed person“. It means a person works „for themselves“ – typically freelancers, sole traders, or small entrepreneurs.

IČO is „identifikační číslo osoby“, which translates to „identification number of a person“. It is a unique number used to identify entrepreneurs (including OSVČ) and companies in various registers and documents – similar to a birth number for individuals.

Koncesionářský poplatek is a monthly fee for Czech Television and Radio. It is paid by every household and entrepreneurs who own, for example, a television, mobile phone, or computer with internet.

How to register

Probably the easiest way is to create a new account on the websites of Czech Television and Czech Radio. You simply enter your email address, to which a confirmation link will be sent. You click on it and complete the registration. After entering my IČO, Czech Television pre-filled all the data for me; I just entered the number of employees. For Czech Radio, I had to fill everything in manually, but fortunately, it’s just contact details and again, the number of employees.

With this simple registration, statutory obligations are fulfilled, and if your company does not exceed 24 employees, you don’t need to worry about anything further.

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Fees based on the number of employees

The fee amount for entrepreneurs is calculated as a multiple of the fee based on the number of employees. It is not paid per employee; on the other hand, an entrepreneur who hires, for example, their hundredth employee, will double their fees.

Fines

Reporting is important. If you fail to comply with the legal obligation, you expose yourself to the risk of a fine of 10 000 Kč from Czech Television and 5 000 Kč from Czech Radio. Although some interpretations of the law question the necessity of reporting if you don’t have to pay, most lawyers, according to an article on the Podnikatel server, agree on a stricter interpretation.

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Have you reported the payment of fees?

Source: CT, Radio, Podnikatel