DoubleTaxationTaxes on salary: Poland
How much tax and social security is paid on a salary in Poland, what is left as take-home pay, and which special tax regimes exist.
Calculation for a gross salary of €60,000 per year
| Gross salary | PLN 252,738 ≈ €60,000 |
|---|---|
| Income tax | |
| Podatek dochodowy od osób fizycznych | PLN 41,228 ≈ €9,788 |
| Employee contributions | |
| Składka na ubezpieczenie emerytalne | PLN 24,667 ≈ €5,856 |
| Składka na ubezpieczenia rentowe | PLN 3,791 ≈ €900 |
| Składka na ubezpieczenie chorobowe | PLN 6,192 ≈ €1,470 |
| Składka na ubezpieczenie zdrowotne | PLN 19,628 ≈ €4,660 |
| Take-home pay | PLN 157,232 ≈ €37,327 |
| Employer contributions and payroll taxes | |
| Składka na ubezpieczenie emerytalne | PLN 24,667 ≈ €5,856 |
| Składka na ubezpieczenia rentowe | PLN 16,428 ≈ €3,900 |
| Składka na ubezpieczenie wypadkowe | PLN 4,221 ≈ €1,002 |
| Składka na Fundusz Pracy i Fundusz Solidarnościowy | PLN 6,192 ≈ €1,470 |
| Składka na Fundusz Gwarantowanych Świadczeń Pracowniczych | PLN 253 ≈ €60 |
| Employer's labour cost | PLN 304,499 ≈ €72,288 |
Only some of the country's direct taxes and levies are counted: income tax on wages and compulsory contributions. Not counted: property and real-estate taxes; taxes on dividends, interest and other investment income; inheritance and gift taxes; indirect taxes such as VAT, excise and customs duties.
Official OECD figures for the average wage (Taxing Wages 2026, 2025 data): tax burden on the employee 24.4 %, including employer contributions 35.0 %. OECD
Special tax regimes
These regimes are not included in the calculation above: each has its own conditions.
Ryczałt od przychodów ewidencjonowanych
Who: Sole traders (JDG) and partners in partnerships whose revenue in the prior year did not exceed EUR 2,000,000 (no limit in the first year of business).
Tax on revenue with no deduction of costs at rates from 2% to 17% depending on activity: e.g. 12% — software and IT consulting, 14% — healthcare, architecture, engineering, 15% — consulting and other listed services, 17% — liberal professions, 8.5% — most other services (12.5% above PLN 100,000 for some), 3% — trade and catering; health contribution is a flat amount by revenue band.
Podatek liniowy 19%
Who: Sole traders who elect this method; the right is lost if services are provided to a current or former employer that the taxpayer performed for it under an employment contract in the same tax year.
19% of profit (revenue minus costs) regardless of amount, without the tax-reducing amount and most reliefs; health contribution 4.9% of profit (subject to a minimum), deductible from income up to an annual limit; above PLN 1,000,000 — 4% solidarity levy.
IP Box (preferencyjne opodatkowanie dochodów z kwalifikowanych praw własności intelektualnej)
Who: Entrepreneurs (including software developers running a JDG) who create, develop or improve qualifying IP rights within their own R&D activity: patents, utility models, industrial designs, copyright in computer software, etc.
5% on qualified income from qualifying IP rights (income × nexus ratio); other income is taxed under the chosen method (scale or 19%); separate records of income and costs per IP right are required.
Legal basis: Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych, art. 30ca–30cb (t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 592)
Ulga dla młodych (zerowy PIT dla osób do 26. roku życia)
Who: Persons under 26 with income from employment, mandate contracts (umowa zlecenia), graduate internships and apprenticeships, and maternity allowance.
PIT exemption for income up to PLN 85,528 a year (a joint limit shared with the return, 4+ family and working senior reliefs); ZUS and health contributions remain payable in full.
Legal basis: Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych, art. 21 ust. 1 pkt 148, ust. 44
Ulga na powrót
Who: People who move their residence to Poland and become Polish tax residents, if they had no residence in Poland for the 3 full calendar years before the move and hold Polish citizenship, the Pole’s Card or EU/EEA/Swiss citizenship, or lived before the move in the EU/EEA, Switzerland, Australia, the UK, Israel, Canada, South Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, the US, Chile or Japan, or earlier lived in Poland for at least 5 consecutive years; a residence certificate is required. Ukrainian citizens without the Pole’s Card moving straight from Ukraine who never lived in Poland for 5 years do not qualify.
PIT exemption for income from employment, mandate contracts and business (scale, 19%, IP Box or lump sum) up to PLN 85,528 a year for 4 consecutive years (from the year of the move or the next one); once in a lifetime; the limit is shared with other zero-PIT reliefs; contributions remain payable.
Legal basis: Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych, art. 21 ust. 1 pkt 152, ust. 43–44 (t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 592)
Ulga dla rodzin 4+
Who: Parents (legal guardians, foster families) who raised at least four children in the tax year.
PIT exemption for income from employment, mandate contracts and business (scale, 19%, IP Box or lump sum) up to PLN 85,528 a year (limit shared with other zero-PIT reliefs); contributions remain payable.
Legal basis: Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych, art. 21 ust. 1 pkt 153, ust. 44–48
Ulga dla pracujących seniorów
Who: Women aged 60+ and men aged 65+ who are entitled to a pension but do not draw it and are covered by social insurance on the income.
PIT exemption for income from employment, mandate contracts and business (scale, 19%, IP Box or lump sum) up to PLN 85,528 a year (limit shared with other zero-PIT reliefs); contributions remain payable.
Legal basis: Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych, art. 21 ust. 1 pkt 154, ust. 44
Karta podatkowa
Who: Only entrepreneurs who used the tax card as of 31.12.2021 and have not since opted out or lost the right; closed to new taxpayers since 2022.
Fixed tax set by the tax office by type of activity (small services, crafts, retail), number of employees and town size; not available to people relocating to Poland.
Legal basis: Ustawa o zryczałtowanym podatku dochodowym, art. 23, art. 25 ust. 1 pkt 1 (t.j. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 843)
Ryczałt od przychodów zagranicznych osób przenoszących miejsce zamieszkania na terytorium Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
Who: People who move their residence to Poland and become Polish tax residents, if they had no residence in Poland for at least 5 of the 6 years before the year of the move; their family members on reduced terms.
Instead of PIT on all foreign income — a flat PLN 200,000 a year (prorated by months of residence in the year of the move; PLN 100,000 for a family member). From the year after the move you must spend at least PLN 100,000 a year on specified purposes (economy, science, education, culture, sport). Polish-source income is taxed under the normal rules.
Legal basis: Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych, art. 30j–30p (t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 592)
Ulga na start
Who: Individuals starting a business for the first time or restarting it at least 60 months after it was last suspended or closed, who do not work for a former employer for whom they did the same work under an employment contract in the current or previous year.
For the first 6 months of business — no compulsory ZUS social insurance (pension, disability, sickness and accident contributions). PIT and the health contribution are paid as usual.
Legal basis: Ustawa z 6.03.2018 – Prawo przedsiębiorców, art. 18 (t.j. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1480)
Tax residence
When Poland treats you as a tax resident
- Your centre of vital interests is in Poland — under art. 3 ust. 1a of the PIT Act you are a Polish tax resident, taxable on worldwide income.
- Your centre of economic interests is in Poland — under Polish law this alone is enough, even if your family lives in Pakistan: you are a Polish tax resident.
- You stayed in Poland for more than 183 days in the tax year — under art. 3 ust. 1a pkt 2 of the PIT Act you are a Polish tax resident; your visa or residence permit type does not matter.
Assumptions
- Calculated with the OECD Taxing Wages methodology: income tax including local taxes plus employee social security; single person without children, tax year 2026, ECB rate of 2 January 2026.
- Employment contract (umowa o pracę), one workplace in the town of residence: work expenses PLN 250 a month (PLN 3,000 a year); PIT-2 filed (tax-reducing amount PLN 3,600 a year); aged 26+, no youth, 4+ family or senior reliefs; PPK excluded (voluntary). Gross is the annual amount including bonuses and 13th-month pay (taxed as ordinary wages).
- PIT base — gross minus all employee ZUS contributions (pension, disability, sickness) and work expenses; health contribution 9% of gross minus those contributions, not deductible from tax; OECD classifies it as an employee contribution.
- The pension (emerytalne) contribution is included in full — 9.76% from the employee and 9.76% from the employer, as actually withheld from pay. The OECD excludes the part paid to OFE or the ZUS sub-account (3.65 pp on each side) from taxes, so our figure for Poland is higher than the OECD's.
- Pension, disability, Labour/Solidarity Fund and FGŚP contributions capped at 30 times the projected average wage (PLN 282,600 for 2026); sickness, accident and health contributions uncapped. Accident insurance at 1.67% (rate for payers with up to 9 insured; OECD uses an average of 1.14%).
- Annual calculation without rounding monthly PIT advances to whole zloty (difference of a few zloty a year).
- Local taxes — location: Poland (national rates; no local income tax)
- Tax period: 2026-01-01 – 2026-12-31
- Exchange rate: 1 EUR = 4.2123 PLN (ECB euro foreign exchange reference rate (PLN), 02/01/2026)
Sources
- Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych (t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 592): art. 22 ust. 2 (KUP), art. 26 ust. 1 pkt 2 (odliczenie składek), art. 27 ust. 1 (skala 12 % / 32 %, kwota zmniejszająca 3 600 zł), art. 30h (danina solidarnościowa)
- Ustawa o systemie ubezpieczeń społecznych (t.j. Dz.U. 2026 poz. 199): art. 16 (podział składek), art. 19 ust. 1 (limit 30-krotności), art. 20 ust. 2, art. 22 (stopy, część OFE/subkonto 2,92 % + 4,38 %)
- ZUS: kwota rocznego ograniczenia podstawy wymiaru składek w 2026 r. — 282 600 zł (M.P. 2025 poz. 1206)
- ZUS: wysokość składek 2026 (emerytalne 19,52 %, rentowe 8 %, chorobowe 2,45 %, wypadkowe 1,67 %, FP i FS 2,45 %)
- Ustawa o świadczeniach opieki zdrowotnej finansowanych ze środków publicznych (t.j. Dz.U. 2025 poz. 1461): art. 79 ust. 1 (9 %), art. 81 ust. 1, 5, 6
- Podatnik.info: całkowity koszt zatrudnienia pracownika w 2026 r. (FGŚP 0,10 %)
- OECD Taxing Wages 2026, Poland (NTCP part of the składka emerytalna, 3.65 pp; classification of the składka zdrowotna)
Data checked: 01/11/2026. An indicative calculation for a typical case. Not tax advice.