Taxes in Poland for foreigners: residency, PIT and what to choose

Residency first, rates second

Before counting percentages you need to know where you pay. You're a Polish tax resident if either holds:

• You spent more than 183 days in Poland in the calendar year
• Your "centre of vital interests" is here — family, home, main economic ties

A resident pays Polish tax on worldwide income; a non-resident only on Polish income.

The scale: 12% and 32%

The default form is the progressive scale (skala podatkowa):

• Below the threshold — 12%
• Above it — 32%
• There's a kwota wolna — a tax-free amount that works as a credit, reducing the tax itself

Employees (umowa o pracę) and entrepreneurs who choose it are taxed on the scale.

Contract or JDG

This is where the audience's real question lives. In short:

• Umowa o pracę — maximum protection (leave, sick pay, pension record), maximum deductions
• JDG on the scale — same rates, but you can deduct costs
• JDG linear 19% — a flat rate with no kwota wolna; pays off at higher incomes
• JDG ryczałt — tax on revenue at a low rate (12% for IT), but no cost deductions