Settlement of Taxes
If you are planning to work or set up a business in Poland, you will probably have queries regarding taxes getsix® is here to help. In general, all residents in Poland are obligated to pay income tax in the country. Expatriates having their personal and economic interest in Poland or who have been living there for more than 183 days during the year are considered to be a tax resident.
On the other hand, expatriates who are not residents in Poland will have to pay tax only according to revenue received in the country.
getsix® as part of our extensive service offering provide you with all the necessary experience and expertise to advise and settle your taxation requirements to the Polish government.
Entrepreneurs, for their part, have to settle their tax payment themselves in the form of monthly or quarterly advances. As regards small enterprises and start-ups, they are required to pay tax each trimester.
The ‘Tax Return’ has to be submitted by the 30th April at the latest. Payment can be made either in cash at the tax centre or by bank transfer.
Tax Year
Payments or a payment deferral mechanism may be applied. The tax year generally consists of 12 consecutive months and usually corresponds to the calendar year. At start-up, a company may choose to extend its first year up to 18 months if it was established in the second half of the calendar year and chose the calendar year as its tax year. A company is free to charge its tax year by choosing a different 12-month period.
Any such change has to be notified to the relevant tax office. When a company changes its tax year, the first tax year after the change cannot be shorter than 12 or longer than 23 consecutive months.
Groups of Companies
Tax Consolidation
A ‘tax capital group’ may be formed for CIT purposes. Taxable income for the group is calculated by combining the incomes and losses of all the companies forming the group.
A tax capital group may be formed only be limited liability or joint-stock companies based in Poland and under certain conditions specified in the CIT Act. These requirements have to be met continuously throughout the period of the group’s existence. Breach of any requirement will lead to termination of the group’s capacity of taxpayer and in potential tax arrears at the level of group members.
As the tax authorities have up to 6 years to inspect taxpayers, they could challenge the tax position of the companies forming the group retrospectively.
Group Losses
A tax capital group cannot utilise tax losses generated by group members prior to formation of the group. Any tax loss generated by the group cannot be offset by its members against their tax profits after the group ceases to exist.
Returns and Payments
An annual tax return must be filed and any tax due paid by the end of the third month of the following tax year. Monthly advance payments are required in most cases; however, there is no monthly tax return filing obligation. In certain circumstances, a company may benefit from a simplified advance payment procedure.
