There are various types of taxes among which following may concern you:
- Personal income tax
The Act of 26 July of 1991; on Personal Tax Income – (Journal of Laws no 80, item 350). (Dz.U. Nr 80, poz. 350)
The Act of 20 July of 1998; on Personal Income Tax (Journal of Laws no 144, item 930) (Dz. U. z 1998 r. nr 144, poz. 930) - Value added tax (VAT) and excise tax
The Act of 23 January of 2004; on Excise tax (Journal of Laws no 28, item 257) (Dz. U. z 2004 r. nr 29, poz. 257)
The Act of 11 March of 2004; on Value Added Tax (Journal of Laws no 54, item 535) (Dz. U. z 2004 r. nr 54, poz. 535) - Corporate Income Tax
The Act of 15 February of 1992; on Corporate Income Tax and the change of some acts regulating the principles of taxation (Journal of Laws no 21, item 86), (Dz. U. z 1992 r. nr 21, poz. 86) - Inheritance and Gift Tax
The Act of 28 July of 1983; on Inheritance and Gift Tax (Journal of Laws no 45, item 207), (Dz. U. z 1983 r. nr 45, poz. 207) - Gambling Tax
The Act of 29 July of 1992; on Games and Mutual Wangering (Journal of Laws no 68, item 341), (Dz. U. z 1992 r. nr 68, poz. 341)
Calculation of the tax amount concerns only certain types of taxes. When you pay in a shop, it is not necessary for you to calculate the tax amount (Value Added Tax and excise tax). All the tax rates are already calculated.
The VAT rates in Poland are the following:
- 22% - basic rate
- 7% - preferential rate
- 0% - tax free rate
The amount of Value Added Tax varies and depends on the goods. VAT is included in the commodity price, e.g. telephone top-up vouchers or building materials, chocolate.
However, personal income tax should be calculated on your own account and depending on the situation - it can be calculated by your employer or by the employee in certain cases.
In the case when the employer was authorized by his worker to pay taxes by filling the PIT-2, then the employer (the payee) calculates and pays the tax advances to the tax office every month. Then he sends the worker PIT-11 form:
The employer can fill in the annual tax settlement form only in the case when the worker submits a special declaration (PIT-12) and then sends PIT-40 instead of PIT-37.
In cases when the worker received any additional income or wishes to file jointly with their spouse, or single parents of a child - alone, can be accounted for the PIT:
In particular, such an obligation rests with the persons employed by the person(s) from the private sector. Approximately, it is possible to calculate the remuneration tax on the basis of tax calculators available on the Internet.
Progressive tax has been put into practice since the introduction of personal income taxation in the 1990s. It means that the amount of taxes due increases faster in proportion to the taxable base amount. Then the more you earn the more you hand over to the treasury not only nominally but also proportionally. In Poland the following tax scale is in force (2009):
- in the case of tax base up to 85 528 zlotys the tax amounts to 18% of the tax base minus tax credit minus 556 zlotys 02 gr (that is monthly the sum of 46,34 zlotys)
- in the case of tax base over 85 528 zlotys the tax amounts to 14 839 zlotys 02gr + 32% surplus over 85 528 zlotys
However, since 2004, the linear tax can be paid by persons who run non-agricultural business activities.
Foreigners who receive remuneration under a contract of employment with limited tax obligation in Poland can be subject to lump sum tax in the amount of 20% of generated income. However, if the tax residency in Poland concerns them – then the same remuneration will be taxed according to progressive scale (18% and 32%).
The issue of tax calculation also concerns other forms of taxes that are for instance inheritance taxes, dog taxes and real property gains tax.
If you are behind on your tax payments, then you are also subject to the legal interest rate on the owed amount. They can be calculated by means of tax arrears interest calculator
In Poland apart from taxes one can encounter; stamp taxes are imposed on persons who enter the administrative conduct, for example temporary residence card application. Fees may be related to among many others submissions of declarations and notices of appeal, contracts conclusion, power of attorney establishment, etc.
The Act of 9 September of 2000; on Stamp Duty (Journal of Laws no 86, item 960) (Dz. U. z 2000 r. nr 86, poz. 960)
