Training, courses and certifications are tax-deductible when they relate to what the business actually does — maintaining or deepening the skills its income depends on. Both Slovakia and Czechia share this principle, but they draw the line differently: Slovakia asks mainly whether the training relates to the employer’s activity, while Czechia sharply distinguishes deepening a qualification from raising it.
What is the shared starting point?
In both countries the test is substance, not the label on the invoice. Training that keeps or extends the expertise a person needs for their current work is deductible; a course bought purely for personal development, or a degree in an unrelated field, is not. For the accounting groundwork behind these decisions, see our overview of professional accounting in Slovakia.
The difference lies in how each country codifies that test and how it treats the value of the training in the employee’s hands.
How does Slovakia treat employee training?
Under the Slovak Income Tax Act (Section 19), an employer may deduct the cost of employee training that relates to the employer’s activity or business. For the employee, Section 5(7)(a) exempts the value of such training from income tax, provided the same link to the employer’s activity exists. A language course paid for a travel-agency guide who uses the language is exempt; the same course for someone who does not need it becomes taxable income.
One extra condition applies to raising the level of education to a university degree: the exemption holds only if the employment has lasted at least 24 months without interruption at the start of the academic year.
How does Czechia treat employee training?
Czech law turns on the difference between two labour-law concepts. Deepening a qualification (Section 230 of the Labour Code) — keeping skills current for the agreed work — is a deductible cost under Section 24(2)(j) of the Income Tax Act. Raising a qualification (Sections 231 and following), which leads to a higher level of education, is treated as an obstacle to work, and the employer’s non-cash contribution to it is non-deductible.
On the employee’s side, Section 6(9)(a) exempts non-cash professional development related to the employer’s activity without a cap, while Section 6(9)(d) exempts leisure-type education only up to half the average wage — CZK 24,483.50 for 2026 (average wage CZK 48,967).
What about the self-employed?
The logic mirrors employees in both countries. A Slovak sole trader deducts a course under the general rule that it must serve to earn, secure or maintain taxable income; a Czech OSVČ deducts it under Section 24 if it relates to their business. In each case, deepening or refreshing skills in one’s own field is fine, while acquiring a new, unrelated qualification generally is not.
For the wider tax context of running a company across both countries, our note on Slovak tax advisory is a useful reference.
How is VAT handled in each country?
Both countries exempt education provided by defined bodies — schools and accredited retraining providers — from VAT without the right to deduct (Section 31 of the Slovak VAT Act, Section 57 of the Czech one). No VAT appears on such invoices, so there is nothing to reclaim.
Commercial seminars sold on a for-profit basis, by contrast, carry VAT in both countries, and a registered payer can deduct it where the training serves its taxable supplies. Courses bought from a foreign provider are typically self-assessed under the reverse charge, with a matching deduction.
Which practical differences matter most?
The sharpest contrast is Czechia’s strict divide between deepening and raising a qualification, which can make an otherwise similar course non-deductible if it leads to a higher degree. Slovakia has no equivalent divide but ties the university-study exemption to the 24-month employment condition. And only Czechia caps leisure-type education with an explicit annual limit.
In both systems the safe approach is the same: document the purpose of every course and its link to the work, and keep the invoice, programme and a short justification. That paperwork is what carries the deduction — and the employee’s exemption — through a tax audit.
Operating in Slovakia, Czechia or both, and unsure whether a course qualifies as a deductible expense? Let’s review your training spend together.
FAQ
Is an employee’s university study tax-deductible?
In Slovakia it can be exempt for the employee if the study relates to the employer’s activity and the employment has lasted at least 24 months at the start of the academic year. In Czechia, raising a qualification such as a university degree is treated as non-deductible non-cash support and is not the exempt professional development under Section 6(9)(a).
How is training taxed in the employee’s hands?
In Slovakia, training linked to the employer’s activity is exempt from income tax under Section 5(7)(a). In Czechia, professional development related to the employer’s activity is exempt without a cap under Section 6(9)(a), while leisure-type education is exempt only up to CZK 24,483.50 in 2026.
Can I reclaim VAT on a course?
Only when the course carries VAT. Education from schools and accredited providers is VAT-exempt without deduction in both countries (Section 31 in Slovakia, Section 57 in Czechia), so no VAT is shown. Commercial seminars include VAT, which a registered payer can deduct if the training serves taxable supplies.