New commercial property tax in Poland

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

New commercial property tax in Poland

intl-updates

Besides general income tax, since January 1 2018, owners of commercial real estate have been additionally burdened with the obligation to pay the tax on commercial real estate (also called the minimum tax).

The tax rate is 0.035% per month of the initial value of the building determined in accordance with the regulations on tax depreciation (excluding the value of the land and separate structures), thus 0.42% per annum.

In 2018, this tax applies to commercial real estate with an initial value of more than PLN 10 million ($2.8 million). This includes buildings classified as office buildings and as commercial and service facilities, that is: shopping centres, department stores, and independent shops and boutiques. Office buildings are exempt from the tax, if they are exclusively or mainly used for the taxpayer's own purposes.

The minimum tax does not have to be paid if the advance payment on income tax is higher than the amount of this tax. Moreover, the paid and undeducted tax can be deducted from the income tax for a given year if the taxpayer pays income tax in an amount higher than the minimum tax.

According to the latest draft amendment to the tax law (possibly coming into force on January 1 2019), the minimum tax is to cover all real estate intended to be rented, excluding only residential buildings put into use under government or local government social housing schemes.

The tax will apply to buildings generating revenues from their rental or lease. If the building is only partially rented, then the tax will only be charged on the rented part. Another change relates to the specified value of PLN 10 million. It is planned that this value will include collectively all buildings owned by the given taxpayer, regardless of quantity and the individual value of each building.

In addition, the rules provide for the possibility to apply for a refund of the additional tax if the tax authority finds no irregularities in the settlement of this tax and confirms that the taxpayer's income tax has been settled appropriately. Transitional provisions regarding the possibility of applying for a refund assume that taxpayers will be able to apply for the refund for the period beginning January 1 2018.

bauta-szostak.jpg

Justyna Bauta-Szostak

Justyna Bauta-Szostak (justyna.bauta-szostak@mddp.pl)

MDDP

Tel: +48 (22) 322 68 88

Website: www.mddp.pl

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The arrival of a seven-strong team from Baker McKenzie will boost WTS Germany’s transfer pricing capabilities and help it become ‘a European champion’, the firm’s CEO said
Germany has forgotten to think about digital reporting requirements, a WTS partner claimed at ITR’s Indirect Tax Forum 2025
E-invoicing is currently characterised by dynamism, with fragmentation acting as a key catalyst for increasing interoperability, says Aida Cavalera of the International Observatory on eInvoicing
Pillar two and the US tax system ‘could work in harmony’, Scott Levine tells ITR in an exclusive interview to mark his arrival at Baker McKenzie
Peter White, who has a tax debt of A$2 million, has been banned for five years from seeking registration with Australia’s Tax Practitioners Board (TPB)
Wopke Hoekstra’s comments followed US measures aimed against ‘unfair foreign taxes’; in other news, Grant Thornton and Holland & Knight made key tax partner hires
An Administrative Review Tribunal ruling last month in Australia v Alcoa represents a 'concerning trend' for the tax authority, one expert tells ITR
A recent decision underlines that Indian courts are more willing to look beyond just legal compliance and examine whether foreign investment structures have real business substance
Following his Liberal Party’s election victory, one source expects Mark Carney to follow the international consensus on pillar two, as experts assess the new administration
A German economics professor was reportedly ‘irritated’ by how the Finnish ministry of finance used his data
Gift this article