PIT
Every taxpayer needs to fill out a tax return form and submit it to the tax office anually, this happens around March-April. Although it is possible to hire an accountant to do all the paperwork for you, this usually costs a lot. This is why we prepared a handy step-by-step guide on how to do it yourself, without unnecessary expenses.
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.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
You can submit PIT-37 form unless you:
receive income from abroad in the tax year that you submit your tax return form for
lead a business activity
rent someone a property
First, you have to obtain a PIT-11 form from your employer, who is also responsible for submission of the form to the tax office. Then you need to submit the PIT-37 form. After the submission of your form the tax office may either accept your tax return calculations, or ask you to correct some data. As a result of this you may either get a tax refund, or you will need to pay extra money.
With all of that said, it is essential to remember about the following deadlines:
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!