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If you use general taxation, tax brackets strongly affect what you owe. In 2026, Poland still has two brackets and a solidarity levy for the highest earners. Learn the thresholds for business owners, who pays the levy and answers to common questions.
What are tax brackets?
Brackets are income levels determining income tax rates. The tax scale has two basic bands. Since 1 January 2019, Poland also has a solidarity levy for top earners, operating like a third bracket although officially it is not one. The “zero bracket” sometimes refers to the allowance: income up to PLN 30,000 is untaxed.
The mechanism is:
- Income up to the limit uses the lower rate.
- The excess uses the next bracket’s higher rate.
The higher rate therefore does not apply to all income.
2026 rates
The following table gives the main information in simplified form.
| Bracket | Annual income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| “Zero”: tax-free allowance | Up to PLN 30,000 | 0% |
| First | PLN 30,000–120,000 | 12% |
| Second | Above PLN 120,000 | 32% |
| Solidarity levy | Above PLN 1 million | 4% |
Changes have been discussed for years, but the government has not begun updating the scale. The 2026 brackets are consequently the same as since 2022.
How to calculate PIT in 2026
Multiply income after the allowance by the relevant rate. Above the second threshold, add the excess at 32%. Above the “third”, add 4% on income above PLN 1 million under the solidarity levy.
First bracket: 12% up to PLN 120,000
If annual business income does not exceed PLN 120,000, only 12% applies:
Tax = Income × 12% − PLN 3,600
PLN 3,600 is the reduction from the allowance, 12% × PLN 30,000. For PLN 100,000 income:
Tax = PLN 100,000 × 12% − PLN 3,600 = PLN 12,000 − PLN 3,600 = PLN 8,400.
Second bracket: 12% to PLN 120,000 and 32% on the excess
Annual income above PLN 120,000 means the excess is taxed at 32%:
Tax = PLN 10,800 + 32% × (Income − PLN 120,000)
PLN 10,800 is 12% of PLN 120,000 less PLN 3,600. Add only the tax on the excess. With PLN 150,000 income:
Tax = PLN 10,800 + PLN 30,000 × 32% = PLN 10,800 + PLN 9,600 = PLN 20,400.
The second bracket substantially increases the amount due.
The “third bracket”: solidarity levy
Top earners pay an extra 4% on the excess above PLN 1 million, with the final levy base always determined under PIT rules. For an owner earning PLN 1,200,000, an example total calculation is:
Tax = PLN 10,800 + PLN 1,080,000 × 32% + PLN 200,000 × 4% = PLN 10,800 + PLN 345,600 + PLN 8,000 = PLN 364,400.
The second bracket covers the full excess above PLN 120,000, while the levy is additional tax on the excess above PLN 1 million.
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Gross or net?
The PLN 120,000 threshold concerns income, so the answer is not simply gross or net. Employee income is gross pay less ZUS and deductible expenses. Business income is revenue less deductible costs. With PLN 150,000 revenue and PLN 40,000 costs, the base is PLN 110,000 and the second bracket is not reached.
What earnings cross the threshold?
No single earnings amount can be given: costs and reliefs affect the base. Simplified, PLN 120,000 equals PLN 10,000 monthly, but the actual take-home earnings at which the second bracket is reached depend on individual circumstances.
Lump-sum taxation
Recorded-revenue lump-sum taxation uses different rules: activity-based rates remain fixed regardless of revenue, and the 12% and 32% brackets do not apply. It taxes revenue, not income, allowing simpler accounting and mainly benefiting low-cost businesses.
Flat-rate income tax
The brackets also do not apply to flat-rate income tax. The 19% rate applies to all income regardless of amount, with deductible costs still reducing the base.
Spouses
Joint settlement is a popular legal way to avoid higher taxation. Add incomes and divide by two to calculate scale tax. If one spouse earns PLN 140,000 and the other PLN 60,000, their PLN 200,000 total gives PLN 100,000 each, so neither exceeds the second bracket. Separately, the first would pay 12% on PLN 120,000 and 32% on PLN 20,000.
Joint settlement is usually advantageous with a large earnings difference, but each case needs individual analysis.
How to reduce PIT
Besides joint settlement, other methods can reduce PIT and exposure to the second bracket.
Tax reliefs
General taxation offers reliefs reducing the base, including:
- R&D relief.
- Robotisation relief.
- Prototype relief.
- Bad debt relief.
- Internet relief.
- Sponsorship relief.
Donations can also be deducted, up to 6% of income in total. These deductions may avoid the second bracket. Other reliefs directly reduce tax, such as child relief and abolition relief. Ensure your accounting firm identifies and settles those fitting your business.
Changing tax arrangements
Some owners benefit from switching to lump-sum taxation, 2–17% depending on activity, or 19% flat-rate income tax. Both remove brackets, with a fixed rate regardless of income, but introduce restrictions such as no joint spousal settlement.
Lump-sum taxation also prevents cost deductions or reliefs, while reliefs under flat-rate income tax are limited. The solidarity levy still applies above PLN 1 million under flat-rate income tax.
Crossing the second bracket does not automatically make switching beneficial. Compare health contributions, available reliefs and deductible costs alongside the scale, flat-rate and lump-sum options.
Interested in this article? Explore our tax advisory services and see how we can help:
Pamiętaj: to, czy opłaca Ci się zmienić formę opodatkowania, trzeba sprawdzić indywidualnie na podstawie analizy przychodów, kosztów, wykorzystywanych ulg itp. Jeżeli potrzebujesz fachowej porady w tym zakresie – skontaktuj się z nami.
Summary
Progressive taxation applies higher rates only to the excess, while the solidarity levy is an additional calculation for high income. Costs, reliefs and joint settlement affect the comparison. Switching arrangements requires considering the whole burden, including health contributions and lost preferences.
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