Budgeting App for Expats in Czechia

Czechia has been in the EU since 2004 but uses its own currency, the Czech koruna (CZK), and is preparing to adopt the euro¹. If you're legally resident in an EU country, you're entitled to open a basic payment account, which covers deposits, cash withdrawals, direct debits and card purchases². A koruna account for daily life alongside an account in your home currency keeps each side of your budget in its own currency.

Borderless Budget connects to major Czech banks including Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka, Raiffeisen Bank, Moneta Money Bank, and Air Bank through secure bank connections, and your accounts in the US, Canada, the EU, the UK, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein connect too.

Major banks for expats

• Česká spořitelna
• Komerční banka
• Raiffeisen Bank
• Moneta Money Bank
• Air Bank

Cash vs. card culture

The Czech National Bank reports that the trend towards cashless payments kept strengthening in the second half of 2025, with card payments up and cash use down³. Card payments passed 3.3 billion in 2025, about 95% of them by debit card, while the number of ATMs fell below 5,000³.

The average gross monthly wage in Czechia was 51,966 Kč in the second quarter of 2026, while consumer prices rose 2.0% on a year earlier⁸. Set against local pay, a Prague rent is a big line, so if you earn in dollars or euros, the koruna rate decides how far your income goes.

The Czech National Bank declares exchange rates for commonly traded currencies every working day at around 2.30 p.m.⁹ For anyone paid in USD or EUR, that means the home-currency cost of your koruna rent and groceries shifts from day to day even when your spending doesn't. Tracking it in one place shows you the real trend.

Transferring money to Czechia

• If you pay in koruna with a card issued in another EU country, your card provider may charge a currency conversion fee, but it has to tell you the amount before you agree to the purchase¹⁰. Check your card's fees before you rely on it for koruna spending.
• Rent, salaries and most bills in Czechia are in koruna, so convert enough CZK for the month in one go rather than paying conversion costs on every purchase.
• Compare the rate your bank or transfer service gives you with the Czech National Bank's daily rate, so you can see the markup you're paying⁹.
• If you're paid in koruna but still have bills at home, a fixed monthly transfer is easier to budget than ad hoc conversions.

Borderless Budget tracks all of your accounts, your home-country bank, your Czech bank, and services like Wise or Revolut, in a single dashboard. Exchange rates update daily, so your budget always reflects where things actually stand.

• Czech personal income tax is 15% on the part of the tax base up to 1,676,052 Kč and 23% on the part above it, for 2025 income¹¹. The threshold changes every year because it is set at 36 times the average wage¹¹.
• For the 2025 tax year, the deadline was 1 April 2026 for paper returns and 4 May 2026 for electronic returns¹¹.
• Employees pay 7.1% of their pay in social security (6.5% pension insurance and 0.6% sickness insurance)¹² on top of their third of the health insurance contribution⁷, so budget from your net pay, not your gross.
• The US taxes its citizens and resident aliens on worldwide income from all sources, wherever they live¹³. The US and the Czech Republic have an income tax treaty dating from 1993¹⁴.

1. Budget your Czech life in koruna. Rent, groceries and your transit pass are all in CZK, and converting each one in your head adds noise, not clarity.
2. Compare flats by price per square metre. Average rents range from 221 Kč per m² in Ústí nad Labem to 493 Kč per m² in Prague 7⁴, so the city and district you pick moves your budget more than anything else.
3. A yearly Prague transit pass costs 3,650 Kč against 550 Kč for a month⁶. If you're staying, the annual pass is the cheaper line in your budget.
4. Ask whether a flat's rent includes utilities and building charges, and budget them on their own line if not.
5. Keep your home-country bills, like subscriptions, loans and phone plans, in their own currency so you can see what Czechia actually costs you.

Connect your Czech and home-country banks

Link your Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka, Raiffeisen Bank, or other Czech bank alongside your home-country bank. Transactions from all accounts sync automatically into one dashboard.

Budget in CZK and your home currency

Your budget is set in your home currency, and Borderless Budget automatically converts every transaction, whether it's in Czech koruna or your home currency. You can toggle any transaction to see the original currency amount. Exchange rates update daily, so your budget always reflects reality.

Automatic categorization

Transactions from Czech merchants are automatically categorized. Categorization improves as you use the app, learning your patterns across both currencies, so you spend less time sorting transactions and more time living your life in Czechia.

See the impact of exchange rates

When exchange rates shift, your combined budget view updates automatically. You'll see exactly how currency movements affect your overall spending, no surprises, no guesswork.