How a foreign resident of Poland reports rent and sale of property abroad: residency tests, first year in Poland, PIT-28, PIT-36, PIT-39, PIT/ZG and the certificate of residence.
If you live in Poland on a residence card, with UKR status, with permanent residence or with Polish citizenship and you own or buy a flat abroad, the Polish tax office treats you by one question: are you a Polish tax resident? This article adds the foreigner's angle to our general guide on tax on foreign rental income for Polish residents, which explains the rates and the two treaty methods, so we do not repeat them here. It is informational, not tax advice.
Step 1: are you a Polish tax resident?
Under the personal income tax act, a person has their place of residence in Poland if they have the centre of vital interests in Poland (personal or economic ties) or stay in Poland more than 183 days in the tax year. One test is enough. Polish tax portals add that a residence card and a registered address are only indications. Family, a home, a job, accounts and investments in Poland weigh more.
If you are a resident you are taxed in Poland on worldwide income, including foreign rent and the profit on a sale. If you are not, only Polish-source income is taxed in Poland. A person can be a resident of two countries at once, for example while moving from Ukraine, Belarus or Russia to Poland. The tie-breaker in the double-tax treaty between the two countries then decides, usually by the permanent home, the centre of vital interests and the habitual stay.
The first year in Poland
Foreigners often arrive mid-year. Polish sources do not say the same thing about how much of that year's earlier income becomes taxable in Poland. Some commentators read the rule as taxing the foreign income from the moment you became a resident, others as covering the whole tax year. We could not confirm one rule from an official source. If you came to Poland during the year and had rent or a sale of property abroad before the move, ask a Polish tax adviser, and keep dates: the arrival date, the lease, work contract, and the dates of every rent payment and sale.
Step 2: choose the right form
- PIT-28. Rent from property that is not part of a business is taxed by ryczałt on revenue: 8.5% up to PLN 100,000 a year and 12.5% above, per our earlier article. The return is filed by 30 April of the following year.
- PIT/ZG. An attachment for each country where you earned income, showing the income in zloty and the tax paid there.
- PIT-36. Used when you have other income taxed on the tax scale (for example employment with no standard return, or a business), and the foreign income must be shown for the exemption-with-progression method. If your only income is foreign rent under that method, our earlier article says no return may be needed.
- PIT-39. The sale of property within five years of the end of the year of purchase. Filed between 15 February and 30 April of the following year, tax 19%, according to the Ministry of Finance brochure. It has a line for tax paid abroad, which is deducted up to the part of the Polish tax that falls on the foreign income.
Which of these applies depends on the treaty method for the country of the property. The country list is in the earlier article; the Ministry's list of treaties is at podatki.gov.pl.
Step 3: your home country
Many readers own a flat in Ukraine, Belarus or Russia, bought before moving. As a Polish tax resident you are in principle taxed in Poland on rent and sales from it too, under the treaty between Poland and that country. We could not confirm the method each of these treaties uses for income from property, nor the current application of the treaties with Russia and Belarus. Do not assume the income is outside Poland's reach because the property is in your home country; ask an adviser.
Step 4: the certificate of residence
The country where the property stands may tax the rent and may want proof of where you are a tax resident before it applies a treaty rate. In Poland you ask your tax office for a certificate of residence (certyfikat rezydencji, form CFR-1). According to secondary sources it is issued within about seven days, carries a small fee, or none if filed electronically, and is valid for the period stated or about twelve months; confirm the details with your office.
Currency and documents
Foreign amounts are converted into zloty. The standard rule is the average NBP rate from the last working day before the day you received the income or incurred the cost; confirm with your adviser, because the rule for each type of income differs. Keep: the foreign tax return and proof of payment, the lease and rent receipts, the purchase deed, and bank statements. Without proof of foreign tax there is no credit.
A hypothetical example
A resident has lived in Poland for two years on a temporary card and is a Polish tax resident under the centre-of-interests test. They let a flat abroad in a country whose treaty with Poland uses the credit method. Illustration with round numbers, not market data: rent PLN 40,000 a year, Polish ryczałt 8.5% is PLN 3,400, foreign tax paid PLN 2,000, so about PLN 1,400 is due in Poland, shown on PIT-28 and PIT/ZG. If the treaty used exemption with progression, the Polish tax on that rent could be zero. The difference is the reason to check the method before buying.
If you missed a return
A return can be corrected under the Tax Ordinance (art. 81); if tax turns out to be due, interest on tax arrears runs from the day after the original deadline. Do not leave an undeclared foreign income to accumulate; correct it with your adviser.
FAQ
Does my residence card decide that I am a tax resident? No; the tests are centre of vital interests and the 183 days. If I lived in Poland only part of the year, am I a resident? Possibly; the 183-day test counts days in the tax year, and the first year is a point to check with an adviser. Which form do I file for foreign rent? Usually PIT-28 with PIT/ZG, by 30 April. Which form for a sale? PIT-39, from 15 February to 30 April, if the sale is within five years of the end of the year of purchase. Do I need a certificate of residence? Only if the foreign country asks for it to apply a treaty rate. Do I pay twice? The treaty avoids it through credit or exemption; under credit you pay at least the Polish rate in total.
How we help
We are a trilingual platform that finds properties abroad and coordinates independent local lawyers and tax advisers, and we model net returns including Polish tax. This text is informational and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Rates, forms and treaty methods change; verify the current position with a licensed Polish tax adviser. See also our guide to buying property abroad from Poland and tax residency for EU expats.