PIT
What is PIT?
PIT stands for Personal Income Tax. This is the annual tax return you have to file in Poland if you earned income there during the previous year. It’s a way of contributing to the Polish tax system based on your income.
This example shows
how to fill in and submit the PIT-37 form in English
, if you are working in Poland (for one company) on the basis of the employment contract, if you don't have any other source of income and haven't earned any income from abroad since 2016. If your case is different, you need to contact your tax office to ask for help (although the language barrier might be a serious problem), or you need to get an accountant.
Who needs to file a PIT?
You can submit PIT-37 form unless you:
Salaried employees: This covers full-time, part-time and temporary jobs, as well as internships;
Self-employed individuals: Freelancers, business owners and anyone who makes money from gigs or platforms;
Rental income recipients: If you rent out a property in Poland, you need to declare the income;
Tax refund or deduction seekers: Even if you didn’t earn much, filing a PIT lest you claim tax deductions (which lowers your tax bill) or get a refund if you overpaid taxes.
Types of PIT forms:
There are different PIT forms depending on your source of income. The most common one for employees is PIT-37. Your employer usually provides you with a pre-filled PIT-37, which makes the filing process a lot easier.
When to file a PIT? :
The deadline for filing a PIT is usually between February 15 and April 30 of the following year. But it’s always a good idea to check the official deadlines to avoid penalties for late filing. You can find the latest information on the website of the Polish Ministry of Finance: https://www.podatki.gov.pl/
The
PIT-11
form must be given to you by your employer by
28th February
PIT-37
must be submitted by
2nd May
It’s better to submit the form in March or in the beginning of April to avoid stressful queues later.
STEP 1 – PREPARE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS
You have to collect
PIT-11 forms from employers
who you were working for in the previous year. If you had only one employer, you need to submit only one PIT-11 form, if you had two employers, then you need two PIT-11s, and so on.
Next, you should check to which tax office you have to submit your documents. Normally, it is the tax office designated to the area of your residence until 31st December.
At this time you also need to consider the right to tax reliefs. The basic reliefs are from health and social insurance contributions.
Next, you should check to which tax office you have to submit your documents. Normally, it is the tax office designated to the area of your residence until 31st December.
At this time you also need to consider the right to tax reliefs. The basic reliefs are from health and social insurance contributions.
STEP 2 – OPTIONS OF FILLING OUT A FORM
There are several options to fill out a PIT-37 form. The first one is to
download an official program (e-Deklaracje)
, which is provided by the Ministry of Finance, and to copy all the data from your PIT-11 form.
The second one is to use
PFR (pre-filled tax return forms) from the Ministry of Finance.
The latter solution is much more convenient, because you don’t have to copy the numbers that your employer has already submitted in his/her PIT-11 form. The only problem is that PFR is not be available for the taxpayers until mid-March. It is a result of compulsory processing of the data included in the PIT-11 form - submitted by your employer - which has to take place earlier in the month. If you don’t want to wait until mid-March, you can fill out the form with e-Deklaracje program - you can do this at any time, as long as you receive a PIT-11 form from your employer.
In 2017, the Polish tax office introduced a new kind of service – they’re now filling out the PIT-37 forms for taxpayers. Now you can not only submit the form online, or use the PFR system, but you may also have your tax return prepared for you by the tax office.
The latter solution is much more convenient, because you don’t have to copy the numbers that your employer has already submitted in his/her PIT-11 form. The only problem is that PFR is not be available for the taxpayers until mid-March. It is a result of compulsory processing of the data included in the PIT-11 form - submitted by your employer - which has to take place earlier in the month. If you don’t want to wait until mid-March, you can fill out the form with e-Deklaracje program - you can do this at any time, as long as you receive a PIT-11 form from your employer.
In 2017, the Polish tax office introduced a new kind of service – they’re now filling out the PIT-37 forms for taxpayers. Now you can not only submit the form online, or use the PFR system, but you may also have your tax return prepared for you by the tax office.
STEP 3 – SUBMIT THE PAPERS
You can submit the papers
on-line
, or
print it out and submit them in the tax office.
The best way is to go to the tax office in person , especially when you expect to get a tax refund. Usually, the office would transfer the money to you via post office. In this case, the transfer fee would be deducted from your refund.
If you wish to receive a tax refund by a bank transfer, you should include your account number. If you provided your local tax office with this number once, you don’t have to repeat that step every year. Here's how it works when:
The best way is to go to the tax office in person , especially when you expect to get a tax refund. Usually, the office would transfer the money to you via post office. In this case, the transfer fee would be deducted from your refund.
If you wish to receive a tax refund by a bank transfer, you should include your account number. If you provided your local tax office with this number once, you don’t have to repeat that step every year. Here's how it works when:
1. YOU HAVE A PESEL NUMBER
It’s possible that the office doesn’t know your account number. In this case you should go to the office and submit the the ZAP-3 form to indicate your account number. The office can provide the form to you.If you have been receiving tax refunds in the previous years, your bank account will be recognized in the database of your local tax office, so you don’t need the ZAP-3 form and you can submit your PIT-37 form online.
2. YOU DON’T HAVE A PESEL, AND YOU USE A NIP INSTEAD
You should remember that when you applied for a NIP on a NIP-7 form, in the section D.1. you were asked to indicate your personal bank account number. It wasn’t necessary then, but if you have filled it out, then your account number should be in the database, and nothing stops you from submitting the form online. But if you left the section D.1. blank, you need to go to the tax office and fill out a NIP-7 form again - that way your bank account will be added to your data.3. YOU HAVE BEEN USING A NIP NUMBER UNTIL RECENTLY, AND THEN YOU’VE OBTAINED A PESEL NUMBER
You should submit a ZAP-3 form in order to notify the office that you have been included in the PESEL register recently. As soon as you do that, you no longer use a NIP number. You have to keep it around, though, because it will be needed if/when you’ll register as an entrepreneur in Poland.STEP 4 – TAX REFUND / ADDITIONAL PAYMENT
When the tax office confirms that you are eligible for obtaining a tax refund of an amount bigger than 8,80 zł, the money will be sent to you within 90 days. As for the additional payment, it should be made by you in March or April.
These four steps should cover most of your questions that you might have had about PIT form. We hope everything goes in your favor and your endeavors will pay off with huge tax returns!
These four steps should cover most of your questions that you might have had about PIT form. We hope everything goes in your favor and your endeavors will pay off with huge tax returns!