Short answer
If you run a sole proprietorship (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, JDG) in Poland, your annual return follows the form of taxation you use for the business:
- lump-sum tax (ryczałt): PIT-28;
- flat tax (19%): PIT-36L;
- tax scale: PIT-36.
All three are due between 15 February and 30 April of the year after the tax year. For 2026 that is 15 February to 30 April 2027. A return sent earlier is treated as filed on 15 February.
At the same time you settle the health contribution for the year with ZUS. If you paid too much, the refund is not automatic: you have to file the application ZUS prepares for you, within a month of the return deadline.
Who this applies to
This guide is for people who run a JDG in Poland and file their own annual return, including EU citizens who moved here, or left, during the year. It covers the business return only. What we cannot cover here is a treaty-by-treaty analysis for someone who is resident in two countries; that is a tax adviser's work.
Which return
| Your form of taxation | Return | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Lump-sum tax on recorded revenue | PIT-28 | Article 21(2)(2) of the Lump-Sum Tax Act |
| Flat tax under Article 30c | PIT-36L, a separate return for the business income | Article 45(1a)(2) of the PIT Act |
| Tax scale | PIT-36 | Article 45(1) of the PIT Act |
The return follows the form of taxation, not the other way round. If you are not sure which form you used in a given year, your accountant's monthly calculations or your tax advances will tell you. How the three forms compare is covered in ryczałt vs flat tax for IT contractors.
The deadline: 15 February to 30 April
The Lump-Sum Tax Act and the PIT Act use the same words for this: the return is filed "from 15 February to 30 April" of the year following the tax year, and a return filed before the start of that period is treated as filed on 15 February (Article 21(2)(2) of the Lump-Sum Tax Act; Article 45(1) of the PIT Act). The flat-tax return has the same deadline (Article 45(1a)).
Beware of older pages. Some English-language pages still give "the end of February" as the deadline for PIT-28. That is out of date: the statute gives 30 April.
Paying the balance. On the tax scale and flat tax, the difference between the tax due for the year and the advances you paid must be paid before the deadline for the return (Article 45(4) of the PIT Act).
A return waiting in e-Urząd Skarbowy
The law provides for returns to be made available in your e-Urząd Skarbowy account, the tax administration's online service, pre-filled with the data the National Revenue Administration holds, "to the extent and on the terms set out in separate provisions" (Article 45cd of the PIT Act and Article 21c of the Lump-Sum Tax Act, in the wording in force from 1 January 2027). Treat a pre-filled business return as a draft: what has to match is your own records for the year.
Suspended during the year? The return is still due
Suspending the business releases you from income tax advances for the suspended period (Article 44(10) of the PIT Act), but not from the annual return. A year in which the business ran for only part of the time still has a return. Suspension and closing are covered in Leaving Poland: how to suspend or close your JDG.
The health contribution is settled at the same time
You pay the health contribution monthly, but it is also settled for the year:
- The annual base. On the tax scale and flat tax, it is your business income for the calendar year (Article 81(2) of the Act on Healthcare Services Financed from Public Funds). With the lump-sum tax, it depends on your revenue band (Article 81(2e)).
- When. The annual settlement goes into the ZUS contribution declaration for the month in which the PIT return deadline falls (Article 81(2k)–(2ka)), that is the declaration for April, which a sole proprietor files by the 20th of the following month (Article 47(1)(4) of the Social Insurance System Act).
- If you paid too little, you pay the difference by the payment deadline for that same month (Article 81(2j) and (2l)).
- If you paid too much, you are entitled to a refund (Article 81(2i)). It is paid on an application that ZUS prepares on your PUE/eZUS profile after you file the annual settlement; you submit it electronically (Article 81(2m)). The application must be filed within a month of the PIT return deadline (Article 81(2n)); an application filed late is left unexamined (Article 81(2o)).
What you can deduct, by form of taxation
| Tax scale (PIT-36) | Flat tax (PIT-36L) | Lump-sum tax (PIT-28) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social insurance contributions paid in the year | deducted from income (Article 26(1)(2)) | deducted from income (Article 30c(2)(1)) | deducted from revenue (Article 11(1) of the Lump-Sum Tax Act) |
| Compulsory social insurance paid in another EU/EEA state or Switzerland | deducted from income (Article 26(1)(2a)) | deducted from income (Article 30c(2)(1)) | deducted from revenue (Article 11(1)) |
| Health contribution | not deductible: it is not a tax-deductible cost (Article 23(1)(58)), and the former deduction from tax (Article 27b) has been repealed | deductible, as a cost or from income, up to an annual cap (Article 30c(2)(2), Article 23(1)(58)) | 50% deducted from revenue (Article 11(1a) of the Lump-Sum Tax Act) |
| Child relief | deducted from tax calculated on the scale (Article 27f(1)) | cannot be deducted from flat tax: the relief reduces only tax calculated on the scale | cannot be deducted from lump-sum tax, for the same reason |
| Joint filing with a spouse | possible if the conditions are met (Article 6(2)) | not available (Article 6(8)(1)(a)) | not available (Article 6(8)(1)(b)) |
The cap on the flat-tax health deduction is set in the Act and raised every year; the Minister of Finance announces the amount before the tax year begins (Article 30c(2b)–(2c)). Use the figure announced for the year you are filing for.
Joint filing is closed to the whole couple if either spouse uses the flat tax or the lump-sum tax for the year; the one exception is private rental income taxed at the lump-sum rate (Article 6(8)(1)). It is not closed just because one of you lives in another EU country. Where one or both spouses are resident for tax purposes in another EU or EEA state or Switzerland, they can file jointly if their combined revenue taxable in Poland is at least 75% of their total revenue and they document their residence with a certificate of residence (Article 6(3a) of the PIT Act).
Resident, non-resident, or moved during the year
A Polish tax resident declares income from anywhere in the world; a non-resident is taxed in Poland only on income earned here, which always includes a business carried on in Poland (Article 3(1), (2a) and (2b)(3) of the PIT Act). If you moved to or from Poland during the tax year, work out your residence before you file, not after. Our guide to Polish tax residency for self-employed EU citizens explains the two tests and when a tax adviser is the right person to ask.
What to have ready in January
Each item follows from a rule above:
- Your records for the year: the revenue and expense ledger (KPiR) or, on the lump-sum tax, your revenue records.
- Proof of the contributions you paid in the year, social and health. Deductions are based on documents confirming payment (Article 30c(2a) of the PIT Act; Article 11(1b) of the Lump-Sum Tax Act).
- Proof of compulsory social insurance paid in another EU/EEA state or Switzerland, if any.
- If you are a Polish tax resident: details of income from outside Poland, for example a job, rent or investments abroad.
- If you want to file jointly with a spouse who lives in another EU country: a certificate of residence and a document showing your total income for the year (Article 6(3a) and (13)).
- The dates you arrived in or left Poland, if either happened during the year.
If your figures are with an accountant, the return and the health contribution settlement come from the same records and are best prepared together. If you are thinking of changing accountant, the return is a natural point to do it; see changing accounting office mid-year in Poland. You can write to us about your return in English.
Legal basis
- Act of 26 July 1991 on Personal Income Tax (Journal of Laws 2026, item 592, as amended), Articles 3(1), (2a) and (2b)(3), 6(2), (3a), (8) and (13), 23(1)(58), 26(1)(2)–(2a), 27f(1), 30c(2)–(2c), 44(10), 45(1), (1a)(2) and (4), and 45cd (as amended by the Act of 3 July 2026, Journal of Laws 2026, item 1098)
- Act of 20 November 1998 on Lump-Sum Income Tax (Journal of Laws 2025, item 843, as amended), Articles 11(1)–(1b), 21(2)(2) and 21c (as amended by Journal of Laws 2026, item 1098)
- Act of 27 August 2004 on Healthcare Services Financed from Public Funds (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1461, as amended), Article 81(2), (2e), (2i)–(2o)
- Act of 13 October 1998 on the Social Insurance System (Journal of Laws 2026, item 199, as amended), Article 47(1)(4)
This article is for information only and does not constitute tax or legal advice. Legal status as of 29 September 2026; it applies to returns for the 2026 tax year, filed in 2027.