Because freelancers are not our employees and we don't pay taxes on payouts, they must declare any income received via Solar Staff by themselves.
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To carry on tax accounting in Poland for your Solar Staff income, you need to:

Polish residents are taxed on their worldwide income. Non-residents are taxed on their Polish-sourced income only.

An individual shall qualify as a tax resident of Poland if such individual:

Poland has double taxation agreements with a number of countries (full list), the provisions of which may override the applicable tax residency rules and other provisions of national legislation.

The following identification numbers are used in Poland:

If the conditions listed below are met, the freelancer may earn income as a natural person and file income tax reporting under the tax scale regime (otherwise registration as an individual entrepreneur is mandatory):

To set up as an individual entrepreneur in Poland, one needs to register as such with the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG, Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej). This can be done either in person or online by filling out an application.

Poland has the following tax regimes for individual entrepreneurs:

The tax scale is selected automatically once the individual entrepreneur is set up and registered with the tax authorities. If the individual entrepreneur wishes to switch to a different tax regime, they shall submit a relevant application to the tax authorities in person or online before the 20th day of the month following the month in which they received their first income from entrepreneurial activity, or by December 31 if the first income was received in December.

These tax regimes vary only by the amount of applicable income tax and the tax base calculation method. An individual entrepreneur applying any of the above regimes may also be a VAT payer and have an obligation to pay social contributions.

Read on for more details.

The tax scale (skala podatkowa) is a tax regime that requires individual entrepreneurs and natural persons to pay income tax at a progressive rate. As of 2023, the tax scale rates are as follows:

Individual entrepreneurs can also reduce their income base by claiming deductions for documented expenses (according to Article 23 of Poland's Act on Personal Income Tax).

Tax reporting and payment. Taxpayers are required to file their tax returns using the PIT-36S form by May 2 of the year following the reporting year, and pay their taxes within the same timeframe. The tax return can be submitted either online through the website of Poland's Ministry of Finance (Ministerstwo Finansów), or by using specialized software.

The flat tax (podatek liniowy) is a tax regime where tax is calculated at a fixed rate of 19%. It applies to the income earned by individual entrepreneurs during the year, taking into account deductions for documented expenses (similar to the tax scale regime).

Tax reporting and payment. Taxpayers are required to file their tax returns using the PIT-36L form by May 2 of the year following the reporting year, and pay their taxes within the same timeframe. The ways in which tax returns can be filed are the same as those described for the tax scale regime.

The lump-sum tax (ryczałt ewidencjonowany) is a tax regime that involves paying a fixed amount of tax on all income earned by an individual entrepreneur during a year (without the possibility of reducing the tax base by deducting expenses). The tax rate is set in the range from 2% to 17% and depends on the type of activity carried out (a complete list of activity types and corresponding tax rates can be found in Article 12 of the Act on Flat-Rate Income Tax on Certain Income Earned by Natural Persons).

Tax reporting and payment. Under the lump-sum tax regime, individual entrepreneurs are required to calculate their tax payments and can choose to file their tax returns either on a monthly or quarterly basis: both tax returns and payments are due before the 20th day of the month or quarter following the reported month or quarter, with the exception of December and Q4, for which they are due before May 2. Tax returns shall be filed using the PIT-28/PIT-28S form (more information on filing tax returns).

The tax card (karta podatkowa) is a tax regime that can be applied after you agree it with the head of the local tax authorities and involves paying a fixed advance tax rate and no obligation to keep records of income and expenses.

Typically, the amount of tax depends on:

Tax reporting and payment. Taxpayers are not required to file tax returns under this regime. They must only pay the required amount of tax based on the payment details provided to them by the tax authorities after their application (PIT-16) has been approved. Tax payments are due by the 7th day of the month following the month of the tax card issuance, or by December 28 for taxes due in December. Taxpayers must also provide receipts (rachunków) and/or invoices (faktur) to customers upon request for goods sold or services rendered and are required to keep these documents for five years following the transaction.

The standard VAT (podatek od wartości dodanej) rate is 23%. Certain categories of goods and services, such as imported vital goods, are subject to reduced rates. To pay VAT, taxpayers must register by submitting a VAT-R form to the tax authorities. More details on the procedures and requirements for VAT registration are available here.

VAT exemptions:

Tax reporting and payment. The standard reporting period for VAT is the calendar month. However, if the total value of goods sold and services provided in the previous year did not exceed EUR 1.2 million, taxpayers may opt for a quarterly reporting period by submitting a written notice no later than the 25th day of the second month of the quarter for which the first return is to be filed. In case of monthly filings, VAT returns and payments are due before the 25th day of the month following the reporting month (for example, for May – before June 25). In case of quarterly filings, VAT returns and payments are due before the 25th day of the month following the end of each quarter (April 25, July 25, October 25, and January 25). Taxpayers shall submit their VAT returns along with JPK_V7 or JPK_V7K files for monthly or quarterly filings, respectively, depending on the chosen reporting period. Learn more about tax returns and due dates here.

Useful links: List of VAT payers (biała lista podatników VAT).

The Social Insurance Institution (Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych (ZUS)) is the organization responsible for managing social contributions in Poland. After registering with the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity (CEIDG, Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalności Gospodarczej), the information about the individual entrepreneur is automatically transmitted to ZUS for the purposes of opening a personal account for making contributions. The letter containing information about the registration with ZUS and account number is sent to the individual entrepreneur by mail within two weeks after the registration with the CEIDG. All information about the individual entrepreneur as a ZUS contribution payer can be found on the organization's website.

Types of contributions payable by individual entrepreneurs:

Useful links: How to calculate the accident insurance contribution and check the contributions reconciliation status.

Relief. The following types of contribution relief are available: for new businesses (ulga na start) – exemption from contributions for six months; reduced contribution rates for 24 months; reduced contribution rates for individual entrepreneurs (Mały ZUS Plus) whose annual income does not exceed PLN 120,000.

Declaring and paying contributions. Payers of contributions are required to file monthly declarations (ZUS DRA) and pay contributions on a monthly basis before the 20th day of the month following the reporting month (e.g., for January – before February 20). Payments shall be made via a single transfer to the payer’s individual contributions account. Learn more about declaring and paying contributions.

These are fixed tax rates that apply to certain types of civil law transactions and vary depending on the agreement type. Learn more about the tax on civil law transactions.

The exit tax is charged when a natural person loses their status as a tax resident of Poland. It applies to the value of their assets (financial instruments, foreign company shares, and so on) that exceeds PLN 4 million. Two rates, 3% or 19%, apply for the exit tax depending on the circumstances. Learn more about the exit tax.

If you have any questions, get in touch via the chat in your Solar Staff account or email us at [email protected].