HEALTH insurance companies have recently sent annual clearings for people who are self employed and have a license to run their own business, and report a huge increase in unpaid health insurance contributions because of a change in payroll tax accounting.
“Yes, the arrears from the annual health insurance clearings for 2013 are higher than those for 2012,” Dôvera health insurance company spokesman Branislav Cehlárik told the Sme daily on August 14.
In 2013, the government increased the maximum assessment base for payroll taxes from a 36 multiple of the average wage to a 60 multiple of the average wage, and those who earned more have to pay higher payroll taxes, Cehlárik said.
Arrears notices were also sent to those who had a single income and had to pay health insurance payroll tax from it, such as the selling of real estate or income from shares or dividends in 2013, insurance agent Roman Konrád told Sme.
Higher arrears affected even the self-employed who did not save their receipts to prove their real expenses for the tax return, and applied only for flat-rate expenses. This is because 40-percent flat-rate deductible expenses for the self-employed were replaced by a fixed sum of €420 per month, or €5,040 a year. This means that self-employed who earned the same amount of money in 2013 as in 2012 have to pay more for the previous year, according to Konrád.
Health insurance companies have until September 30 to calculate annual accounts of payroll taxes for their clients. Insured people have to pay their bills within 45 days from the date they received the arrear notice.