Value-added tax (VAT) rules shape how businesses price, sell, and stay compliant in Poland, the largest market in the newer wave of EU countries. Businesses operating across borders need to familiarize themselves with VAT rates and thresholds. They also need to understand their reporting obligations. Small differences in classification or timing can affect cash flow, pricing strategy, and audit risk.

Below, we’ll go over what the VAT rate in Poland is, when VAT registration is required, how refunds work, and what compliance looks like in practice.

What’s in this article?

• What is the Poland VAT rate?
  
• How do VAT rates differ in Poland?
  
• What is a Poland VAT number?
  
• Which businesses need to register for VAT in Poland?
  
• What are the VAT compliance requirements in Poland?
  
• How do VAT refunds work in Poland?
  
• How Stripe Tax can help
  

What is the Poland VAT rate?

The standard VAT rate in Poland is 23%, and it’s applied to most goods and services sold in the country, including consumer products and professional and B2B services. If a transaction doesn’t clearly qualify for a reduced rate or an exemption, the default 23% applies.

How do VAT rates differ in Poland?

While many transactions require the standard rate, several reduced and special treatments apply to specific categories. Here are the other VAT rates and when to apply them.

8% VAT rate

An 8% VAT rate covers certain goods and services related to daily living and public welfare, such as passenger transport, hotel stays, food and beverage services, medical devices, services related to cultural and sporting events, and construction or renovation work tied to social housing.

5% VAT rate

A 5% VAT rate applies to essential items, including basic food products (e.g., bread, meat, eggs, fruit, vegetables), books, regional or local periodicals, children’s products such as pacifiers and car seats, and hygiene and sanitary goods (e.g., diapers, tampons).

0% VAT rate

A 0% VAT rate is tied to exports outside the EU, intra-EU supplies of goods to other member states, and international transport services. Zero-rated transactions remain technically taxable, but allow businesses to deduct the VAT they paid on purchases directly related to the sale.

VAT-exempt

Some activities are VAT-exempt, including teaching foreign languages and renting residential property for housing. Exempt sales do not include VAT, and businesses generally cannot reclaim input VAT tied to these activities.

What is a Poland VAT number?

In Poland, a business’s VAT number is the same as its tax identification number (Numer Identyfikacji Podatkowej or NIP). Businesses receive a NIP when they register with the Polish tax authorities. To obtain a NIP, a business must submit a NIP-7 identification application. The number should appear on documents related to the performance of tax liabilities and nontax budgetary receivables. Trading partners can use this number to confirm that a business is properly registered for VAT in Poland.

Which businesses need to register for VAT in Poland?

VAT registration in Poland depends on where a business is based, what it sells, and how much it earns. Polish companies must register for VAT once their annual sales exceed 200,000 Polish złoty (PLN). Businesses below that threshold can use the small business VAT exemption. They can also choose to register for VAT voluntarily if it benefits them. For example, a business might want to recover VAT on costs, or it might work primarily with VAT-registered customers who expect the same.

Businesses that exclusively provide VAT-exempt services, such as certain healthcare, education, or financial services, do not register for VAT, regardless of sales. But B2C businesses established in another EU country and selling in Poland typically need to register for Polish VAT or use the EU One Stop Shop (OSS) system if they exceed the €10,000 EU-wide distance selling threshold. Holding stock or a fixed establishment in Poland can also trigger a local registration requirement.

Businesses based outside the EU generally need to register for VAT in Poland from their first taxable transaction. There’s no revenue threshold for VAT payers located outside of Poland, and if a payer’s registered office isn’t in Poland, then the VAT exemption cannot be used.

What are the VAT compliance requirements in Poland?

The system in Poland is digital-first and designed to give tax authorities visibility into transactions. Follow the practices below to comply with VAT requirements in Poland.

Charge and maintain VAT

Businesses must apply the correct VAT rate to each transaction and clearly show VAT in their digital records. They must keep detailed records of sales and purchases in an electronic format that supports VAT reporting. Those records include the type of sale and the taxable amount, contractors, and proof of sale and purchases.

Submit a JPK_VAT

Poland requires that sales and purchase records be sent to the revenue office in a standardized electronic format known as JPK_VAT. This combines records with returns and is submitted monthly or quarterly.

Pay VAT on time

VAT-registered businesses in Poland can report and pay VAT on either a monthly or quarterly basis. There are variants of JPK_VAT depending on which route a business takes.

Here’s when each is due:

• Monthly filing: VAT records are filed monthly, due by the 25th of the following month. The filing is done electronically with the JPK_V7M form.

• Quarterly filing: To file VAT returns quarterly instead of monthly, records for the first two months of each quarter are due by the 25th day of the following month. The rest of the quarter’s records are due along with the returns section of the JPK_VAT for the entire quarter (i.e., by the 25th day of the month following each successive quarter).

Use the split payment mechanism

To help combat tax fraud, Poland now requires that certain entrepreneurs have two bank accounts: a standard settlement account and a special VAT account. When a customer pays an invoice covered by the split payment mechanism, the bank automatically divides the payment between the two accounts.

Verify counterparties

The head of the National Revenue Administration (NRA) maintains a list of entities registered for VAT. Businesses can use this list to verify any companies they’re sending money to. Restrictions apply to payments exceeding 15,000 PLN to recipients not on the list.

Keep registration up to date

Changes to business information, such as address, bank account, or legal structure, must be reported promptly to the tax authorities to keep VAT registration accurate.

How do VAT refunds work in Poland?

When a VAT-registered business in Poland pays more VAT on its costs than it collects from customers during a specific filing period, it can file for a VAT refund directly on its VAT return. The refund is paid to the business’s bank account after the return is reviewed.

Eligibility for a VAT refund in Poland depends on where a business is established and how it interacts with the Polish VAT system, and it extends beyond VAT-registered Polish businesses.

Here are the other cases eligible for refunds:

• EU-based businesses not registered in Poland: Businesses established in another EU country can reclaim Polish VAT paid on business expenses through the EU VAT refund system, as long as they were not required to register for VAT in Poland during the refund period.

• Non-EU businesses not registered in Poland: Non-EU companies can reclaim Polish VAT on eligible expenses if their home country offers reciprocal VAT refunds to Polish businesses and if they had no VAT registration obligation in Poland.

• Non-EU travelers: Individuals residing outside the EU can receive VAT refunds on goods purchased in Poland and exported in their personal luggage, provided minimum purchase thresholds and export requirements are met.

How Stripe Tax can help

Stripe Tax reduces the complexity of tax compliance so you can focus on growing your business. Stripe Tax helps you monitor your obligations and alerts you when you exceed a sales tax registration threshold based on your Stripe transactions. In addition, it automatically calculates and collects sales tax, VAT, and GST on both physical and digital goods and services—in all US states and in more than 100 countries.

Start collecting taxes globally by adding a single line of code to your existing integration, clicking a button in the Dashboard, or using our powerful API.

Stripe Tax can help you:

• Understand where to register and collect taxes: See where you need to collect taxes based on your Stripe transactions. After you register, switch on tax collection in a new state or country in seconds. You can start collecting taxes by adding one line of code to your existing Stripe integration or add tax collection with the click of a button in the Stripe Dashboard.

• Register to pay tax: Let Stripe manage your global tax registrations and benefit from a simplified process that prefills application details—saving you time and simplifying compliance with local regulations.

• Automatically collect tax: Stripe Tax calculates and collects the right amount of tax owed, no matter what or where you sell. It supports hundreds of products and services and is up-to-date on tax rules and rate changes.

• Simplify filing: Stripe Tax seamlessly integrates with filing partners, so your global filings are accurate and timely. Let our partners manage your filings so you can focus on growing your business.

Learn more about Stripe Tax, or get started today.