How to file a tax return in Poland

This page is for people who are filing a tax return in Poland for the first time or who have income both here and in Ukraine. It covers the rules for the 2025 tax year, which was declared in 2026, and the 2026 deadlines that follow from the law.

# Which tax return form should you choose?

The form depends on the type of income. An employee whose income all came through Polish payers files PIT-37. Anyone with income from abroad or income without a payer files PIT-36.

If you have income for both PIT-37 and PIT-36, you file only one return, PIT-36. The PIT/ZG annex is filled in separately for each country, and spouses file separate annexes even if they declare their income jointly.

The Polish tax administration gives a separate answer to residents of Ukraine. If you worked under an employment contract with a Polish employer and had income only in Poland, you file PIT-37 and declare only your Polish income. We explain how to determine your residency on the page Taxes in Poland.

# When is the tax return filed?

The return is filed from 15 February to 30 April of the year after the tax year. A return filed earlier is treated as filed on 15 February. The deadline is the same for all the forms in the table above.

Your employer sends you the PIT-11 statement of your income by the end of February.

Some non-residents must file before they leave Poland. This applies if you received income in Poland without a payer, through a payer that does not make an annual tax calculation, or from the sale of securities or cryptocurrency, and you plan to leave Poland before 30 April. You file the return with the tax office responsible for taxing people from abroad.

# How do you file a return in Twój e-PIT?

From 15 February, the tax administration prepares a return for you in the e-Urząd Skarbowy online account, in the Twój e-PIT service. The service works for PIT-37, PIT-38, PIT-36, PIT-36L and PIT-28. You can accept the prepared return, change it (for example, choose joint filing, add tax reliefs or an organization to receive 1.5% of your tax) or reject it.

There are three ways to log in:

• via login.gov.pl: with the mObywatel app, an electronic identity card (e-dowód), through online banking or with a trusted profile (Profil Zaufany);
• with tax data: PESEL or NIP, date of birth, the amount of revenue (przychód) from the previous year’s return, the amount of revenue from one payer’s information (for example, PIT-11) and the amount of overpayment or tax due from last year’s return. If even one of these amounts is zero, you can log in only via login.gov.pl;
• through the e-US mobile app.

In the return you give your PESEL if during the year you did not run a business, were not registered for VAT and were not a payer (płatnik), that is, you did not withhold taxes or contributions for other people. In other cases you give your NIP.

# What is automatic acceptance?

If by 30 April you have neither accepted nor rejected the prepared PIT-37 and have not filed a return in another way, it is treated as filed automatically on 30 April. This applies only to people who had no income other than that shown by payers. Returns that contain only tax-exempt income without advance payments, for example with the youth relief, are not accepted automatically. If an automatically accepted return shows tax due, you must pay it.

You must declare income from Ukraine yourself, on form PIT-36 with the PIT/ZG annex: automatic acceptance covers only income shown by Polish payers. According to the Ministry of Finance, if you reject the prepared return and do not file another one on time, you risk liability for fiscal offenses (odpowiedzialność karna skarbowa).

# Can you file on paper?

Yes. You can also file the return on paper, including by post. Under the Tax Ordinance, the deadline is met if the return was sent before it expired at a Polish Poczta Polska post office or at a post office of an operator that provides the universal postal service in another EU country; in that case the date of the postmark counts. If the return was sent from a country outside the EU, the deadline is met only if Polish post received it before the deadline, or if it was filed at a Polish consulate. Proof of electronic filing is the official confirmation of receipt (UPO).

# How do you pay the tax?

You pay the tax by 30 April, that is, by the end of the filing period, to your individual tax micro-account (mikrorachunek podatkowy). In your bank you choose a “tax transfer” (przelew podatkowy) and give the micro-account number, the amount, the period and the form symbol, for example PIT-37. Twój e-PIT has a payment button, and you can also pay in cash at a post office.

# When will an overpayment be refunded?

An overpayment is refunded within 45 days if the return was filed electronically and within 3 months if it was filed on paper. For an automatically accepted return, the 45 days are counted from the day after the filing deadline.

You give the account for the refund in the return or on form ZAP-3. It must be an account that you own or co-own. If you live outside Poland, the refund is paid only to an account you have reported to the tax administration.

# How do you correct a return you have filed?

File a corrected return (korekta) in Twój e-PIT, electronically or on paper. Corrections for 2025 can be filed until the end of 2031. You usually do not have to explain the reason, but from 1 October 2026 a correction that results in an overpayment of more than 10,000 zł must be filed together with a written explanation of the reasons. If you agreed to changes to a return already filed in Twój e-PIT, this also counts as a correction. If a correction with an overpayment is filed before the end of the filing period, you do not need a separate application for a refund.

# How do you give 1.5% of your tax to a public benefit organization?

Name one public benefit organization (OPP) in your return: give its number in the court register KRS and an amount no larger than 1.5% of your tax. The return must be filed on time, and the tax must be paid in full no later than two months after the filing deadline. A separate PIT-OP statement is needed only by pensioners whose annual tax calculation was made by the pension authority and who do not file a return.

# What mistakes should you avoid?

• Filing PIT-37 when you have income from Ukraine: as a rule, you need PIT-36 with the PIT/ZG annex.
• Rejecting the prepared return and not filing another one by 30 April.
• Waiting for automatic acceptance when you have income that is not in the payers’ information.
• Not giving an account for the refund if you live outside Poland.
• Sending a paper return from a country outside the EU on the last day: the deadline counts as met only once Polish post has received it.