Poland
Poland: 6 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Poland
The 6 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Poland is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Cigarettes, cigars and cigarillosCigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutesUS$5.1 bn · 21.1% of world exports of 169 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s2ndWorld-leading exports Batteries (electric accumulators)Electric accumulators, including separators therefor, whether or not rectangular (including square)US$8.6 bn · 5.7% of world exports of 200 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s3rdWorld-leading exports Poultry meat and offalMeat and edible offal, of the poultry of heading 0105, fresh, chilled or frozenUS$4.6 bn · 12.9% of world exports of 145 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Poland. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Poland.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Poland: where to register, file and check.
Business registerKrajowy Rejestr Sądowy (KRS), kept by the registry courts; applications through the Ministry of Justice portals PRS and S24ekrs.ms.gov.plTax authorityMinisterstwo Finansów / Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (Ministry of Finance / National Revenue Administration)podatki.gov.pl
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Poland belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- European Union: internal market and customs union
- Single market · since 2004
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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EU Member State since 2004, Schengen area member since 2007 and more about Poland’s participation in the EU.
- European Union: VAT territory
- Inside it
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‘Community’ and ‘territory of the Community’ mean the territories of the Member States as defined in point (2);
- Schengen area
- Free movement area · since 2007
Covers movement of people.
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EU Member State since 2004, Schengen area member since 2007 and more about Poland’s participation in the EU.
- European Economic Area
- Single market
Covers goods, movement of people, services, establishment, capital.
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which now covers the EU and its 27 Member States, and three of the four EFTA members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 19%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Not in our records
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- Not in our records
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Poland, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 23%Official European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database situation on 2026/07/01
- Other rates
- 8% Goods and services listed in Annex 3 to the VAT Act, including some processed foodstuffs, agricultural inputs, health care and culture, sport and recreation services, passenger transport, and catering services
- 8% Construction, renovation, modernisation, thermal modernisation or reconstruction of residential buildings covered by the social housing programme
- 5% Goods listed in Annex 10 to the VAT Act, including basic foodstuffs, printed books on paper and other physical media, and some hygiene articles
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W polskim systemie podatku VAT funkcjonują następujące stawki obniżone: stawka 7% - obecnie (od 1 stycznia 2011 r.) stawka ta wynosi 8% , stawka 5%.
- Registration threshold
- PLN 240,000 · about €55,002
value of sales excluding VAT (sprzedaż bez kwoty podatku); previous and current tax year combined
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Jeżeli posiadasz siedzibę działalności gospodarczej na terytorium kraju i wartość Twojej sprzedaży (bez kwoty podatku) nie przekroczyła łącznie w poprzednim ani w bieżącym roku podatkowym kwoty 240 000 zł
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
A business below the threshold may waive the subject exemption and account for VAT under the general rules.
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Możesz jednak zrezygnować ze zwolnienia podmiotowego i rozliczać VAT na zasadach ogólnych.
- A foreign company
- Registers from its first taxable supply; needs a local tax representative
The PLN 240,000 exemption is open only to businesses with their seat in Poland, so a foreign business registers before its first taxable activity in Poland whatever its turnover. A taxable person with no seat or fixed establishment in the EU must appoint a tax representative (art. 18a(1) of the VAT Act); businesses from the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland and Norway are exempt from that duty by ministerial regulation, and an EU-established business may but need not appoint one.
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Jeżeli posiadasz siedzibę działalności gospodarczej na terytorium kraju i wartość Twojej sprzedaży (bez kwoty podatku) nie przekroczyła łącznie w poprzednim ani w bieżącym roku podatkowym kwoty 240 000 zł
- Returns filed
- Monthly
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JPK_VAT składasz wyłącznie w wersji elektronicznej za okresy miesięczne, do 25. dnia miesiąca za miesiąc poprzedni
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Poland, tax year rok podatkowy 2025 (tax year 2025, declared 2026), as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 3 months after the end of the tax year · each year
PL: zeznanie roczne CIT-8 składasz w terminie do końca 3-go miesiąca roku następnego. EN: a corporate taxpayer files the annual CIT-8 return by the end of the third month following the end of the tax year — 31 March for a calendar tax year. The record takes the end of the third month after the tax year. The page states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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Zeznanie roczne CIT-8 składasz w terminie do końca 3-go miesiąca roku następnego .
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 3 months after the end of the tax year · each year
PL: podatek dochodowy od osób prawnych za rok podatkowy wpłaca się w tym samym terminie co złożenie zeznania CIT-8, tj. do końca 3-go miesiąca roku następnego (31 marca dla roku kalendarzowego). EN: the corporate income tax balance is paid by the same date as the annual CIT-8 return, the end of the third month after the tax year (31 March for a calendar year), after crediting the monthly or quarterly advance payments. The record takes the end of the third month after the tax year. The page states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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Zeznanie roczne CIT-8 składasz w terminie do końca 3-go miesiąca roku następnego .
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Day 20 of the following month · each month
PL: podatnicy podatku dochodowego od osób prawnych są obowiązane wpłacać na rachunek urzędu skarbowego zaliczki miesięczne w terminie do dnia 20 każdego miesiąca za miesiąc poprzedni. EN: a corporate taxpayer pays the monthly income tax advance by the 20th day of the month following the month concerned (the final advance for December is paid by 20 January, or the tax is settled with the return). Small taxpayers may instead pay quarterly advances. The record takes the monthly 20th. The page states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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są obowiązane wpłacać na rachunek urzędu skarbowego zaliczki miesięczne w terminie do dnia 20 każdego miesiąca za miesiąc poprzedni
- Personal income-tax return
- 30 April · each year
PL: zeznanie złóż w terminie od 15 lutego do 30 kwietnia roku następującego po roku podatkowym. EN: an individual files the annual return between 15 February and 30 April of the year following the tax year; a return filed before 15 February is treated as filed on 15 February. The rule takes the closing date, 30 April. The page states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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Zeznanie złóż w terminie od 15 lutego do 30 kwietnia roku następującego po roku podatkowym.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 30 April · each year
PL: podatek wynikający z rocznego zeznania PIT należy wpłacić do 30 kwietnia roku następującego po roku podatkowym. EN: an individual pays the tax shown in the annual return by 30 April of the year following the tax year, after crediting the advances withheld by the employer and any advance paid directly. The rule takes 30 April. The page states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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Zeznanie złóż w terminie od 15 lutego do 30 kwietnia roku następującego po roku podatkowym.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- Day 20 of the following month · each month
PL: zaliczki miesięczne od dochodów z pozarolniczej działalności gospodarczej, z najmu lub dzierżawy uiszcza się w terminie do dnia 20 każdego miesiąca za miesiąc poprzedni. EN: an individual pays the monthly income tax advance on business, rental or lease income by the 20th day of the month following the month concerned; the final advance for December is paid by 20 January, or the tax is settled with the annual return. Small taxpayers may pay quarterly advances, due by the 20th of the month after the quarter. The record takes the monthly 20th. The page states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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zaliczki miesięczne od dochodów z pozarolniczej działalności gospodarczej, z najmu lub dzierżawy uiszcza się w terminie do dnia 20 każdego miesiąca za miesiąc poprzedni
- VAT return
- Day 25 of the following month · each month
PL: informacje o prowadzonej ewidencji w formie JPK_VAT składasz bez wezwania do 25. dnia po zakończeniu danego miesiąca; EN: a VAT taxpayer files the JPK_VAT with declaration by the 25th day of the month following the period, and pays the VAT due by the same date. Taxpayers on monthly settlement file JPK_V7M; those on quarterly settlement file JPK_V7K (the records monthly, the declaration after the quarter). Where the 25th falls on a Saturday or a public holiday the deadline moves to the next working day. The record takes the monthly 25th.
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Informacje o prowadzonej ewidencji w formie JPK_VAT składasz bez wezwania do 25. dnia po zakończeniu danego miesiąca
- Payroll withholding
- Day 20 of the following month · each month
an employer pays the income tax withheld from salaries to the revenue office monthly, to an individual tax micro-account, by the 20th day of the month following the month to which the amount withheld relates. The record takes the 20th. The page states no weekend shift, so the shift is unstated.
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You should do this by the 20th day of the month following the month to which the amount withheld relates
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Poland yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Poland exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Poland’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 HS 8708 | 4.7% | 5.3% | 5.6% | US$20.6 bn |
| Electric accumulators, including separators therefor, whether or not rectangular (including square) HS 8507 | 2.8% | 3.5% | 2.4% | US$8.6 bn |
| Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars HS 8703 | 1.7% | 2.4% | 2.2% | US$8.1 bn |
| Motor vehicles for the transport of goods HS 8704 | 1.3% | 1.8% | 2.0% | US$7.4 bn |
| Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether or not convertible into beds, and parts thereof HS 9401 | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.9% | US$6.9 bn |
| Other furniture and parts thereof HS 9403 | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.8% | US$6.8 bn |
| Automatic data-processing machines and units thereof; magnetic or optical readers, machines for transcribing data onto data media in coded form and machines for processing such data, not elsewhere specified or included HS 8471 | 2.1% | 1.8% | 1.8% | US$6.7 bn |
| Cigars, cheroots, cigarillos and cigarettes, of tobacco or of tobacco substitutes HS 2402 | 1.2% | 1.4% | 1.4% | US$5.1 bn |
| Turbojets, turbopropellers and other gas turbines HS 8411 | 1.0% | 1.1% | 1.4% | US$5.1 bn |
| Monitors and projectors, not incorporating television reception apparatus; reception apparatus for television, whether or not incorporating radio-broadcast receivers or sound or video recording or reproducing apparatus HS 8528 | 1.7% | 1.2% | 1.3% | US$4.8 bn |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$366.7 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.