Tax scale
12% i 32% threshold 120,000 zł
- Tax-free amount of 30,000 zł a year
- Costs are deductible, so are reliefs
- Joint settlement with a spouse is possible
- Pays off with real costs and lower income
Sole trader · accounting and tax
For a sole trader, the tax form matters most
Keeping the ledger itself is simple. The expensive part is elsewhere: a tax form chosen blindly that you cannot change until next year, and a missed end of the social-security relief.
We calculate your case under three options before you sign anything.
Starting out
You are opening the business now
We calculate the options for your real income and costs, set up the social security and show what has to be filed each month.
See the comparison → Already tradingYou have a business and want to change firms
We take over the books in any month. First we check what the previous year left behind.
How it works →Three forms and how to choose between them
The gap can run to several thousand zloty a year on the same income. What decides is not fashion but how many costs you have and what exactly you do.
Flat tax
19% no threshold
- One rate whatever the income
- Costs are deductible, most reliefs are not
- No joint settlement with a spouse
- Starts to make sense above the scale threshold
Lump sum
from 2% to 17% depends on the trade
- Tax on revenue; costs are not deductible
- 12% software, 14% design and medicine
- 8.5% most services, 5.5% construction, 3% retail
- Pays off when there are almost no costs
The lump-sum rate follows the type of service in the statistical classification, not the name of the business. Two people with identical register entries can face different rates if what they actually do differs. That is why we ask about concrete activities.
Social security at the start: two reliefs, one after the other
Start-up relief, then reduced contributions
For the first six months you pay only the health contribution, with no social ones. After that a reduced base applies for two years. Only then do full contributions arrive, and that is where most businesses run out of breath.
Both reliefs come with conditions: not everyone opening a first business qualifies, and working for a former employer can rule them out. We check this before the registration, not after.
Current rates are in our guide: ZUS amounts for 2026.
Only just starting a business? We check the relief conditions before registration: setting up a company.
What the relief does not cover
- The health contribution: you pay it from month one
- Sick pay: during the start-up relief you cannot pay voluntary sickness insurance
- Contributions for employees once you hire anyone
We track the end dates of both reliefs and warn you a month ahead, so the larger contribution does not surprise your cash flow.
What happens every month
All you do is send us last month's documents by the fifth. Everything after that repeats itself without you.
Ledger or recordsWe record income and costs, check whether an invoice qualifies as a cost, and ask when something does not add up.
Social securityDeclaration and the amount due: by the 20th of the following month, also if you employ anyone.
Tax advanceWe calculate it and give you the amount by the 20th of the following month. Quarterly if you qualify and prefer it.
VATJPK_V7 (the monthly VAT return with the sales and purchase registers) by the 25th if you are VAT-registered. If you are not, we watch the threshold that forces registration.
Annual returnPIT by 30 April: PIT-28 under the lump sum, PIT-36 and PIT-36L under the scale and the flat tax.
Changing the formThe tax form is changed by the 20th of the month after the first income of the year. We remind you in January, because later is too late.
Four mistakes that cost the most
Lump sum “because the rate is lower”With costs at around half of revenue, the lump sum can cost more than the scale despite the lower percentage. What counts is the tax in zloty, not the rate.
Costs with no link to the businessAn expense becomes a cost when it serves the income. In an audit the trader has to explain it, not the accountant, so we ask up front.
Not watching the VAT thresholdOnce the threshold is crossed, registration is immediate. Being late means VAT due on sales you can no longer re-invoice.
Silence after a letter from the officeThe deadline runs from delivery, not from the day you read it. We collect the post and answer in time when you have given us authority.
Taking over a business already trading
The order is always the same, whichever month you come to us.
Conversation and quoteWe look at one month of documents and at the tax form. Then we give a price.
NoticeWe check the notice period at your previous firm and set the handover date.
Collecting the booksThe ledger from the start of the year, VAT registers, the fixed-asset register, social security papers.
Power of attorneyUPL-1 for e-filing and access to the ZUS e-services portal (PUE ZUS). Without it we file nothing for you.
Checking the yearWe recalculate the advances from January. An error found now can still be fixed by a correction.
The first month togetherWe show what to send and when. After the first month the questions usually stop.
The questions we hear most
I have a sole trader business and UKR status. Does anything change in the accounting?
The accounting itself looks the same. The difference is the basis of your stay: the right to run a business depends on it, not on bookkeeping. We check it together with the company-registration page before we start keeping the books.
Can I change the tax form during the year?
As a rule, no. The choice for a given year is made by the 20th of the month following the month of your first income. That is why we ask about expected income and costs at the start, not in December.
I have no income yet. Do I still have to file?
Yes. Social security and declarations are due even for a month with no income, and a VAT-registered trader files a nil JPK_V7. No sales does not mean no deadlines, and that is where new businesses stumble most often.
Do I need a cash register?
It depends on whom you sell to and what. Selling only to businesses usually not; selling to private individuals can require one from the first zloty in certain trades. We check it before you start, because the penalty is severe.
What does running a sole trader business cost?
It depends on the form, VAT and the number of documents. A lump sum with no VAT and a few invoices a month is the cheapest to service; a ledger with VAT and employees costs more. We give the figure after seeing one month.
I am suspending the business. What happens to the accounting?
While suspended you pay no social contributions and usually file no JPK, though there are exceptions, and the annual PIT is filed anyway. During suspension the service is cheaper, not free — we say exactly what remains.
Let us calculate your case
Write what you do and your monthly income and costs. We send back a comparison of all three forms at no charge.
Phone+48 574 679 797
E-mail[email protected]
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HoursMonday – Friday, 9:00 – 17:00
OfficeŻurawia 6/12 lok. 749, 00-503 Warsaw
Company accountingFull books and CIT