Czech Payroll Year-End Checklist 2025 | CzechPayroll.com
Payroll • Year-End

Czech Payroll Year-End Checklist 2025

Practical steps to reconcile payroll, finalize statutory filings, prepare employee documents, and tighten GDPR/data security before rolling into 2026.

Czech Payroll Year-End Checklist — Prague payroll illustration showing HR and Finance finalizing filings, controls, GDPR and handover
Category: Payroll Reading time: 7–9 min Updated: 26 Sep 2025

Why this Czech Payroll Year-End Checklist matters

Czech Payroll Year-End Checklist is your simple, auditable path to close the year with confidence. Use it to align Payroll, HR, Finance, and your vendor on owners, due dates, and evidence. The result: a clean audit trail and a calm January.

Quick win: Copy the sections below into your tracker (Notion/Confluence/Excel) and add an “Evidence link” column for every task.

1) Statutory filings & deadlines

Start with what authorities will expect and by when. Confirm prior submissions, map pending items, and bring Finance into the cash-flow picture.

  • Annual income tax reconciliation (roční zúčtování daně): verify declarations, tax credits, allowances, and YTD bases; document exceptions and late submissions.
  • Health insurance & social security: reconcile monthly submissions against the payroll ledger; verify VS/KS/SS references and bank proofs for every payment.
  • Certificates & confirmations: prepare Potvrzení o zdanitelných příjmech and other confirmations; keep a register of issued docs (who/what/when/how delivered).
  • Under/overpayments: calculate residuals; prepare a settlement plan with approvals filed next to payment evidence.
  • Vendor year-end pack: request a complete list of reports (name, format, owner, due date, SLA) and tie it to your internal checklist.
Compliance tip: Publish a one-page calendar: task, statutory due date, internal due date (3–5 business days earlier), owner, status.

2) Internal payroll controls

Controls prove completeness, accuracy, and authorization. Focus on a small set that catches 80% of issues and maintain signed evidence.

  • Gross-to-net bridge: month-by-month variance by component; explain one-offs (bonuses, retros, corrections); keep reviewer sign-off.
  • Benefits & allowances: map taxable vs. non-taxable items; check limits, supporting documents, and cost center mapping.
  • Time & leave: validate vacation carry-over rules, parental overlaps, and unpaid leave impact on insurance and tax bases.
  • Accounting integrity: GL mapping, journals, cost splits; tie-out to trial balance; evidence of reviewer approval.
  • Access & segregation: who enters, who approves, who pays; rotate reviewers for year-end sign-off; remove stale access immediately.

Recommended evidence

  • Signed monthly control sheet (control, performer, reviewer, date, exceptions, resolution, link to files).
  • Variance explanations with drill-downs for outliers and one-off components.
  • Payment proofs, reconciled authority lists, and read-only archives.

3) Employee-facing documents & communications

Clear, proactive documents reduce January tickets and improve employee trust. Keep terminology consistent with payslip wording.

  • Year-end pack: payslip + YTD summary + benefits overview; add a short explainer answering frequent questions.
  • Certificates on request: define SLA, secure channel, and identity checks; pre-fill templates to reduce typos.
  • Knowledge base: short FAQ about tax credits, timing of certificates, and where to request confirmations; link from the payslip portal.
  • Contacts & escalation: publish one contact and a simple escalation path for peak weeks.
Messaging tip: Announce deadlines and what is automatic vs. on-request. Pin the post in your internal comms tool.

4) GDPR & payroll data security

Payroll files tend to multiply across inboxes and shared folders. A brief clean-up now prevents later exposure and speeds up audits.

  • Data hygiene: delete/archive old exports; avoid personal data in email; use encrypted channels for file exchange.
  • Role-based access: review permissions for Payroll, HR, Finance, and vendors; document least-privilege decisions.
  • Vendor oversight: re-check DPA, sub-processors, and incident contacts; verify logging and audit trails are enabled.
  • Retention map: align retention with Czech legal periods; list locations, owners, and deletion schedules.

Minimum security baseline

  • MFA on payroll systems, encrypted storage and transfer, no personal data in public chat channels.
  • Quarterly access reviews and tested emergency revocation procedure.

5) Handover to 2026

A structured transition prevents repeat mistakes and makes January predictable. Treat it as a mini-project with weekly status until closed.

  • Open items log: track issues with owners and due dates; review weekly; share progress with Finance and HR.
  • Gold copy: freeze a read-only snapshot of 2025 payroll parameters, contribution rates, and vendor configuration for audit purposes.
  • Q1 2026 plan: schedule statutory parameter updates, internal training, and vendor review; set calendar reminders now.
Audit tip: Keep sign-offs, bridges, and the gold copy in a single folder with a naming convention (YYYY-MM Task – Owner – Status).

Czech Payroll Guide

Go deeper with explanations, examples, and ready-to-use checklists. Perfect companion to your year-end close.

FAQs

Do we need to reissue all certificates?
Only when required by the employee or authority. Maintain a register with dates, delivery method, and who approved the release.
What evidence should we keep?
Gross-to-net reconciliations, variance notes, approvals, payment proofs, monthly reports, and the frozen “gold copy” of settings and parameters.
How do we prove controls were performed?
Use a monthly sign-off sheet: control name, performer, reviewer, date, exceptions, resolution, and an evidence link. Store it with your year-end pack.

Disclaimer: This guide is general information and not legal/tax advice. Always verify current obligations, deadlines, and GDPR requirements.