PIT

PIT – Personal Income Tax – is a mandatory tax paid by individuals (i.e., natural persons, not companies) on their income. It is a direct tax, meaning that the person who earns the income is responsible for paying the tax themselves and cannot delegate this obligation to anyone else.

Individuals employed under an employment contract, commission contract, or specific-task contract by a Polish entity do not need to manage their own tax settlements. In such cases, the employer acts as the tax remitter, calculates the monthly advance payments, and transfers them to the relevant tax office. At the end of the tax year, the employer prepares a PIT-11 form, enabling the taxpayer to file their annual return with ease.

However, the situation is entirely different in the case of an expat, i.e., an employee hired by a foreign company (not operating in Poland) but physically working in Poland.

In such cases, because the employer is not registered in Poland as a tax remitter and does not pay Polish taxes, the employee (expat) must calculate and pay monthly PIT advances to the Polish tax office themselves.

It does not matter where the company is based or from where the salary is paid – the key factor is where the work is physically performed. According to the principle “pay where you work”, if the work is carried out in Poland, PIT must be paid in Poland.

Example:
A German company sends an employee to work in Poland. The employee works in Poland but receives a salary directly from Germany. In this case, the employee – as the taxpayer – is obligated to report and pay monthly PIT advances to the Polish tax office.

Advance payments must be made by the 20th day of the month following the month in which the salary was paid – e.g., for January, the payment deadline is February 20.

Taxes are not the only obligation – expats are also subject to Polish social security contributions (ZUS). If such an employee does not hold an A1 certificate, which confirms that they are still covered by their home country’s social insurance system (e.g., in Germany), they may be required to pay ZUS contributions (including health insurance) in Poland.

As you can see, this is a complex matter, and foreign workers are at high risk of making errors when handling these obligations themselves.

Accreo supports employers and posted workers with tax and insurance settlements, allowing assignees to focus on their work instead of administrative responsibilities.

Our services are especially intended for:

• Foreign companies assigning workers to Poland,
• Posted employees without local tax support,
• Polish HR departments managing employees paid directly from abroad.