Our guide to Payroll in Poland

Doing Business in Poland

Investment in Poland

Poland is a great investment choice due to its sound public finances and the opportunity for long-term investment planning, thanks to the country’s economic stability and predictability. Poland was the only country in Europe to evade the financial crisis, and in terms of debt-to-GDP ratio, Poland’s public finances remain in a much better state than the EU’s average.

Polish law is rather favourable to foreign entrepreneurs. The government offers investors various forms of incentives, such as Special Economic Zones (among others: income tax exemption, real estate tax exemption, competitive land prices), several industrial and technology parks, the possibility to benefit from the EU funds, brownfield and greenfield locations, and tax preferences: CIT Tax at 19% and 9 % in the case of so-called ‘small taxpayers’ whose income doesn’t exceed EUR 2.000.000., exemptions on property tax, IP Box, to name a few.

According to published in January 2026, the net value of foreign direct investment in Poland rose to EUR 327,8 billion in 2024. This makes Poland the leader in Middle and Eastern Europe. 

Basic Facts about Poland

Common Phrases

• Hello: Cześć
• Good Morning: Dzień dobry
• Good Evening: Dobry wieczór
• Do you speak English?: Czy mówisz po angielsku?
• Goodbye: Do widzenia
• Thank you: Dziękuję
• See you later: Na razie

Registrations and Establishing an Entity

Foreign employers who have no presence in Poland must obtain NIP (Taxpayer Identification Number) by contacting the tax office to pay social security contributions. If the employer is already registered in Poland as an EU VAT taxpayer, the VAT identification NIP number can be used by removing the PL symbol.

Once NIP has been obtained, employers must register as a contribution payer by completing a ZUS ZPA form and submitting it to the Social Security Institution (ZUS).

The alternative to the company applying for this tax number in Poland is for the employee to take on the responsibility as a “self-payer”. All of the above requirements would still exist; however, it would be the employee who is responsible for calculating, withholding, reporting and remitting the appropriate income tax and social security liabilities in Poland. The company would fund the individual, who would then take care of all the obligations.

Banking

In Poland, an in-country bank account is mandatory to process payroll. It is possible to open either a Polish currency or a foreign currency bank account in Poland. To open an account in Poland, the foreign national will normally be required to show their passport and evidence of residence in Poland. Some banks require a minimum deposit.

Normal banking hours are from 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Friday. Banks are closed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Working Week

In Poland, the average working hours are 40 hours a week (8 hours a day - 5 days a week). Working hours are usually from 8:00 to 16:00.

Tax & Social Security

The tax year runs from 01 January to 31 December.

Income Tax

Employees are taxed on any income earned if they have lived in the country for at least 183 consecutive days during the tax year.
Please see below for detailed tax rates:

All employees start the tax year on the 12% tax rate and only move to 32% when the annual threshold is exceeded.

Employers are required to deduct personal income tax from their employees’ pay and submit those payments to the proper tax office by the 20th of the following month.

An income up to PLN 85,528 received from employment or revenue from contracts of mandate by a person under the age of 26 is tax-free. After exceeding this limit, the employer will withhold tax advance according to the tax scale.

Tax yearly personal income tax returns must be filed between 15 February and 30 April every year.

Social Security Contributions

Social security contributions are obligatory and payable by employers. They are financed by both employers and employees. Employers must deduct the appropriate amount from the employees’ salaries and pay the contributions to the Social Security Office (ZUS) by the 15th day of the following month.

Social security contributions are categorized into:

• Old-age pension

• Disability pension

• Sickness insurance

• Work accident insurance

Each social security contribution must be calculated and listed separately on employee payslips.

Types of monthly contributions:

After reaching an income of 30 times the average salary (PLN 282,600 PLN in 2026), the contributions (Pension & Disability insurance) cease until the end of the year.

Employee Capital Plans - Pracownicze Plany Kapitalowe (PPK)

This scheme is intended to provide employees with the option of voluntary saving for an additional pension and is mandatory for employers. They are financed by both employers and employees. It is also financed by the state in the form of a one-time welcome contribution from the state budget and an annual surcharge.

Employees over 18 and under 55 y.o. must automatically apply to the PPK program. For an employee who has reached 55 years of age, the employer is not obliged to report to the PPK, but they may submit an application for joining the program. In such a situation, the employer complies with the employee’s request. Employees who are 70 years of age cannot join the PPK.

Contributions are detailed below:

Employee contributions are taken from net pay and aren’t tax deductible or deemed as income. Employer contributions must be considered a benefit in kind and must be added to monthly tax calculations.

Employers must deduct the appropriate amount from the employees’ salaries and pay the contributions to the financial institution by the 15th day of the following month.

Reporting

Employees must complete an annual tax return which must be filed with the tax office by 30 April. Employers are required to deduct tax directly from salary payments.

New Employees

In Poland, the country’s extensive employment laws dictate that the employer must collect certain information from the employee. Employers aren’t required to follow a formal registration process for new employees with the tax office. Still, they are required to register a new hire for social security and health insurance at ZUS.

Leavers

Employers aren’t required to follow a formal resignation process for leavers with the tax office. Still, they should be deregistered from social security authorities and provided with a work certificate issued by an employer.

A work certificate must include the following:

• Period of employment.

• Position held.

• The number of holidays taken in the current calendar year.

• The number of sick days taken in the calendar year.

• The number of days and dates of maternity and parental leave taken. 

Payroll

It is legally acceptable in Poland to provide employees with online payslips.

Reports

By law, payroll documents such as personal files, salary files or other evidence on which base pension is determined must be kept by the employer for 50 years.  
If the employer decides to use a digital form of personal files, the time to keep the personal files will be 10 years (automatically 10 years for employees hired from 01 January 2019).

Hiring

Employers must:

• Draft a written employment contract before work begins
• Register the employee with ZUS no later than the day before work starts
• Provide health and safety training
• Conduct a pre-employment medical examination
• A medical certificate must be issued by an occupational health physician before employment begins
• New employees must submit the PIT-2 form to enable calculation of the tax-reducing amount

Termination

Employees may be terminated with:

• Notice (dependent on length of service: 2 weeks, 1 month, or 3 months)
• Just cause (with immediate effect)

Final payments must include outstanding wages, unused leave compensation, and benefits. A work certificate must be issued on the last day of employment.

Employment Law

As of 01 January 2026, the national minimum wage is as follows:

• minimum wage PLN 4,806.00 gross
• minimum wage for persons performing work under a contract for services PLN 31,40 gross per hour.

Holiday Accrual/Calculations

The duration of annual leave is dependent on an employee’s total length of employment:

• An employee with less than 10 years of service is entitled to 20 days of annual leave.

• An employee with 10 years or more service is entitled to 26 days of annual leave.

• An employee working part-time is entitled to annual leave proportionate to their working hours.

An employee’s total length of employment includes all periods of employment and education, including previous employers. It is not impacted by breaks of employment or terms of termination in employment.

New periods counted towards length of service

From 1 January 2026, for employees employed by an employer in the public finance sector and, correspondingly, from 1 May 2026 for employees of employers outside the public finance sector, the following will be included in the length of service which determines certain employment-related entitlements, among others:

• periods during which a person carried on non-agricultural business activity and paid pension, disability or accident insurance contributions for that period;

• periods during which a person performed work under a mandate contract or other contract for the provision of services, to which, under the Civil Code, the provisions on mandate apply, where that person was covered by pension and disability insurance;

• a documented period of gainful employment abroad on a basis other than an employment contract.

Maternity Leave

Employees are entitled to up to 37 weeks of maternity leave. The duration of maternity leave is dependent on the number of expected births, detailed below:

Employees can start maternity leave up to 6 weeks before the birth date.

Employees must take 14 weeks of maternity leave after the birth date.

Employees have the option to waive the outstanding 6 weeks of maternity leave on the basis it’s transferred to the father to raise the child.

Employees are entitled to up to 43 weeks of parental leave - 41 weeks for a single birth and 43 weeks for a twin birth or more. This leave can be split into no more than five parts (not shorter than eight weeks) and can also be taken by both parents at the same time. Parents are able to take parental leave later by the end of the calendar year in which the child becomes six years old. Each employee - the child’s parent - has exclusive rights up to 9 weeks of parental leave. This entitlement cannot be transferred to the other employee - the child’s parents. That means one parent can take 32 weeks and the other - 9 weeks.

The rate of payment for leave is:

• 100% of the employee’s salary during maternity leave and the first 6 weeks of parental leave

• 70% of salary during the rest of weeks of parental leave

• 81,5% of salary during all periods of maternity and parental leave if parental leave has been applied for more than 21 days after the birth date.

Paternity Leave

Employees are entitled to 2 weeks of paternity leave.

Male employees can take paternity leave all at once or in two parts - employees must take a minimum of 1 week’s leave at a time. Paternity leave must be taken within the first 12 months of the birth date or adoption ruling date.

Sick Leave

An employee under 50 y.o. is entitled to up to 33 days of sick leave per calendar year.

An employee who is 50 y.o. or older is entitled to up to 14 days of sick leave per calendar year.

Employers must pay employees for the first 33 or 14 days of sick leave, respectively, and anything after that is paid by the Social Security Institution (ZUS) through a sickness benefit.

The rate of sick leave payment is 80% of an employee’s salary. The rate of payment increases to 100% of an employee’s salary when they have:

• A work-related accident.

• An accident travelling to or from work.

• Sickness during pregnancy.

• Are undergoing medical examinations for organ donation.

National Service

There are no national service obligations in Poland. The Homeland Defense Act, introduced in 2022, aims to deter neighbouring aggressors and accelerate the development of the Armed Forces by encouraging enlistment. 

Employee Benefits

Non-Taxable Employer Benefits include:

• Travel meals and per diems

• Work-related training

• Insurances covering business trips, including the cost of visas

• Business mileage

• Long service award that is not cash.

• Medical examination 

Expenses

Expenses are not included in the payroll.  

Individuals who are citizens of a country within the European Union (EU), Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland do not require a work permit.

There are several work permits available for non-EU citizens listed below:

More information about Polish visas https://www.gov.pl/web/uae/visas-general-information 

Further Information

For more information, or assistance with Poland tax enquiries please contact: gi@activpayroll.com 

About This Payroll and Tax Overview

Please note that this document gives general guidance only and should not be regarded as an authoritative or complete statement of the law, regulations or tax position in any country.  You should always seek specific advice for each specific situation. This document should not be relied upon as professional advice, and activpayroll accepts no liability for reliance on its contents.