Can I have a company in Czechia and live in Slovakia?

“Can I have a company in Czechia and live in Slovakia?” is one of the most common questions Slovak entrepreneurs ask before entering the Czech market. The answer is simple: yes, you can — and it is nothing unusual. Plenty of Czech limited companies (s.r.o.) have a director and owner who lives across the border and only travels to Prague occasionally.

Slovakia and Czechia are also very close administratively and linguistically, so getting a company started and running it remotely tends to be far easier for a Slovak than for an entrepreneur from a distant country. What really needs sorting out is not where you live, but two other things — where the company has its seat and where it is actually taxed.

Where the director lives does not limit the company

Czech law does not require a shareholder or director of an s.r.o. to have permanent residence in Czechia. You can own and legally run the company from any EU state — quite happily from your kitchen table in Slovakia. As an EU citizen you need no special residence or work permit to do business in Czechia.

What the company does need is its own Czech registered seat — an address recorded in the commercial register — and a data box (datová schránka), which every s.r.o. receives automatically once it is formed and which is used to communicate with the authorities. It is through the data box that you handle most formal dealings with the state without having to travel in person.

The company and you are two separate persons for tax

The key is not to mix up two levels. The company is a separate taxpayer: if it has its seat in Czechia and is managed from there, it is a Czech tax resident and taxes its profit in Czechia at the corporate income tax rate, which in 2026 is 21%. Where you live changes nothing about that.

You as an individual, by contrast, are usually a tax resident where you have your home and spend most of the year — so if you live in Slovakia, in Slovakia. That means you declare your personal income, including your share of the company's profit, at home, even though the company sits in Prague. Our article on tax residency and where you pay tax looks at these connections in more detail.

Mind where you actually run the company from

One thing deserves attention: the fact that the company is registered in Prague does not automatically mean its whole profit is taxed only in Czechia. What also matters is the so-called place of effective management — where the company is genuinely run and where the key decisions are made. If you were to run a Czech s.r.o. exclusively from Slovakia, the Slovak tax authority could argue it should be taxed there.

In practice, the point is that the company's link to Czechia should be real, not just a formal address. The same logic underlies the concept of a permanent establishment. How to run a company properly at a distance and what to watch for is covered in our piece on running a company from abroad.

How dividends and double taxation work

When you pay yourself a share of the profit — a dividend — the Czech company withholds tax on it. The standard rate is 15% and the company pays it directly in Czechia. As a Slovak resident you also report this income at home, but you do not pay it twice.

That is taken care of by the double taxation treaty between Czechia and Slovakia (No. 100/2003 Coll. of international treaties), which sets out precisely which state taxes what and how tax already paid is taken into account. Thanks to it, the same income is not taxed in full twice — which is the whole purpose of such intergovernmental treaties.

What you can handle remotely

You can manage the vast majority of routine matters without having to travel to Prague regularly. The business account, communication with the authorities via the data box and the accounting are all handled electronically today; a personal visit is needed at most when forming the company or at the bank, and not even always then.

What really pays to keep in order is a credible registered seat and tidy documents — that is exactly what makes a remotely run company easy to manage. Even at a carefully kept address in a house for just thirty companies, where someone genuinely watches the post and official mail.

Conclusion

Having a company in Czechia while living in Slovakia is entirely common and legal — Czech law does not concern itself with where the director lives. What matters is not where you sleep, but that the company has a genuine Czech seat, is actually run from there, and that you do not mix up the company's taxation with your own. The rest — including dividends and double taxation — is handled by the treaty between the two states. It is worth setting the initial decisions up correctly from the outset, and then you can run the company from anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need permanent residence in Czechia to own or run an s.r.o.?

No. Czech law does not require a shareholder or director of an s.r.o. to have permanent residence in Czechia. As an EU citizen you also need no special residence or work permit. The company only needs its own Czech registered seat and a data box, which it receives automatically once formed. You can therefore handle most matters from Slovakia.

Where will I pay tax if the company is in Czechia and I live in Slovakia?

You need to distinguish two levels. The company, as a Czech tax resident, taxes its profit in Czechia at the 21% corporate income tax rate. You as an individual are usually a tax resident where you live, that is in Slovakia, and you declare your personal income there. Double taxation is prevented by the treaty between Czechia and Slovakia.

How are dividends I pay myself from a Czech company taxed?

On the profit share paid out, the Czech company withholds tax at a standard rate of 15% and pays it in Czechia. As a Slovak resident you also report this income at home. Thanks to the double taxation treaty (No. 100/2003 Coll. of international treaties), the tax already paid is credited and the same income is not taxed in full twice.