PIT 2026 for entrepreneurs: tax-reducing amount, thresholds, lump-sum tax

Choosing the form of taxation is one of the key financial decisions for the owner of a sole trader business. In 2026 three main forms are active: the tax scale, the flat tax and registered lump-sum tax on recorded revenue. The tax card remains available only to a narrow group of taxpayers continuing it from 2021.

A limited partnership is a separate topic. It has been a CIT taxpayer since 2021. The partners’ profits are taxed like a dividend at a flat 19% (the general partner with a deduction), collected by the partnership as the withholding agent, not in the PIT-36. That is why we do not compare it here with the forms of taxation for individuals.

Tax scale (12% / 32%)

The default form for individuals. In 2026:

• 12% on income up to PLN 120,000 a year
• 32% on the excess above PLN 120,000
• Tax-reducing amount: PLN 3,600 (corresponds to PLN 30,000 of tax-free income). The 32% threshold is PLN 120,000 of the base regardless of the tax-free amount. The reducing amount (PLN 3,600) lowers the tax, it does not move the threshold.

The scale takes into account family reliefs (for a child, for a single parent), joint taxation with a spouse, the rehabilitation relief and the thermal modernisation relief. The health insurance contribution on the scale is 9% of income (minimum PLN 432.54 a month; in January 2026 PLN 314.96).

Who it is for: people with low to medium income who use family reliefs and plan to file jointly with a spouse.

Flat tax (19%)

A uniform rate of 19% on every zloty of income, with no tax-free amount and no threshold. There are no family reliefs and no joint taxation. The health insurance contribution is 4.9% of income (minimum PLN 432.54 a month; in January 2026 PLN 314.96), and up to PLN 14,100 a year can be deducted from income.

The break-even point depends on your costs, reliefs and health insurance contribution. We will calculate it on your numbers.

Who it is for: people with high incomes and no family reliefs, running a strictly service or trading business.

Registered lump-sum tax on recorded revenue

The rate is applied to revenue (not income), so costs are not deducted. Rates are assigned to the type of service under the PKWiU classification (Polish Classification of Products and Services), not to the business’s PKD code. Below are selected examples from Article 12(1) of the Act on lump-sum tax (consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025, item 843):

| Rate | Type of revenue (examples) | |--------|-------------------------------| | 3% | Trade (trade services) and catering, except the sale of drinks with an alcohol content above 1.5% | | 5.5% | Construction work, manufacturing, carriage of goods by motor vehicles with a load capacity above 2 tonnes | | 8.5% | Other services (if there is no higher or lower rate), the sale of drinks with an alcohol content above 1.5% in catering, education, libraries and museums | | 8.5% / 12.5% | Private rental, accommodation, rental of real estate and vehicles, scientific research and development work: 8.5% up to PLN 100,000 of revenue, 12.5% on the excess | | 10% | Buying and selling real estate on one’s own account | | 12% | Software-related services (programming, advice on software and hardware, management of IT networks and systems) | | 14% | Health care (medical services), architectural and engineering services, specialist design | | 15% | For example advertising and market research services, legal, accounting and tax advisory services (outside the liberal professions), management consulting, translation, financial services, data processing, sport and recreation | | 17% | Liberal professions practised personally, without employing people for tasks related to the essence of the profession, for example translators, advocates, legal advisers, notaries, accountants, tax advisers, statutory auditors |

The health insurance contribution under lump-sum tax is fixed monthly amounts depending on revenue since the start of the year:

• Revenue up to PLN 60,000: PLN 498.35 / month
• Revenue PLN 60,000–300,000: PLN 830.58 / month
• Revenue > PLN 300,000: PLN 1,495.04 / month

50% of the health insurance contributions paid is deducted from revenue.

Who it is for: businesses with low costs (for example IT services without major equipment) and high margins, where deducting costs would be inefficient.

Tax card: only for a few

Since 2022 the tax card has been available only to people who already used it in 2021 and have not interrupted it. New taxpayers, and those who changed form in the meantime, cannot return to it.

The choice: a fixed monthly amount of tax depending on the industry, location and number of employees (from a few dozen to a few thousand zloty). It is not possible to deduct any costs. The health insurance contribution under the tax card in 2026 is PLN 432.54 a month.

Decision matrix: which form is for me

| Situation | Usually the best form | |----------|------------------------------| | Low income (< PLN 50,000), family reliefs | Scale (with the tax-free amount and reliefs) | | Medium income, no reliefs | Scale or flat tax: a specific calculation | | High income, no reliefs | Flat tax of 19% | | IT, services with small costs (a programmer) | Lump-sum tax of 12% (software-related services; the rate is set by the type of service under the PKWiU) | | High costs (equipment, materials) | Scale or flat tax (deducting costs) | | Private rental | Lump-sum tax of 8.5% / 12.5% |

What to do in January

You report a change of the form of taxation by the 20th day of the month following the month in which you earn your first revenue of the year. With revenue in January, that means by 20 February (Article 9a(2) of the PIT Act, Article 9(1) of the Act on lump-sum tax). After that date you are bound by the form until the end of the year. At Profais we analyse the profitability for each client in January. We compare all three active forms using specific numbers from 2025. Contact us if you would like an individual calculation.