Every till receipt in Poland carries VAT, known locally as podatek od towarów i usług or PTU, and getting the rate or the direction of the sum wrong is one of the easier mistakes a small trader can make. Poland runs one of the higher standard rates in the European Union, so the gap between the net figure and what a customer actually pays is wide enough to matter. Here are the rates for 2026, the two rule changes landing this year, and the arithmetic for moving between a price with and without the tax.
What VAT does
VAT is charged on the value added at each link in a supply chain. A registered trader collects it on sales (output VAT) and deducts the VAT paid on business purchases (input VAT), handing the tax office only the gap between the two. The final buyer carries the cost while the businesses in between pass it along. Anyone using the small-business exemption, or working in an exempt activity, cannot deduct input VAT, so for them the tax is a straight cost.
You can settle any figure in seconds with the Poland VAT calculator, which adds or removes the tax at whatever rate you pick.
Poland’s VAT rates for 2026
The Ministry of Finance sets four rates:
- 23%, the standard rate. The default for most goods and services, from electronics and furniture to alcohol, clothing and professional services.
- 8%, a reduced rate. Restaurant and hotel services, passenger transport, listed medicines and medical devices, renovation and building work under the social housing scheme, plus fertilisers and animal feed.
- 5%, a reduced rate. Staple unprocessed food such as bread, dairy, meat, fruit and vegetables, books and specialist journals, and hygiene items including sanitary products and nappies.
- 0%, the zero rate. Exports outside the EU and intra-community supplies of goods.
Note the difference between zero rating and exemption: a zero-rated trader charges no VAT yet still deducts the VAT on purchases, while an exempt trader (financial or medical services, say) deducts nothing and swallows the tax. The rate also follows the product rather than the seller, so one receipt can list items at 23%, 8% and 5% together.
Quick reference: which rate applies
| Category | 2026 rate |
|---|---|
| Most goods and services, electronics, alcohol, clothing | 23% |
| Restaurants, hotels, passenger transport | 8% |
| Listed medicines and medical devices, fertiliser, feed | 8% |
| Staple food, books, specialist journals | 5% |
| Sanitary products, nappies | 5% |
| Exports outside the EU, intra-community supply | 0% |
The temporary 0% rate on basic groceries, brought in during the high-inflation years, ended on 31 March 2024. From 1 April 2024 those foods went back to 5%, and that is where they sit in 2026.
What changes in 2026: a higher exemption limit and KSeF
For the smallest firms, the headline change is the small-business exemption limit. From 1 January 2026 it rose from 200,000 zł to 240,000 zł of annual sales. Stay under it and you can skip charging VAT, though you then give up the right to reclaim VAT on your own purchases. A transitional rule covers traders whose 2025 sales landed between the old and new figures.
The second change is how invoices are issued. The National e-Invoicing System (KSeF) becomes compulsory: from 1 February 2026 for large taxpayers whose 2024 sales topped 200 million zł, and from 1 April 2026 for other businesses established in Poland. The KSeF portal also confirms a transitional relief for the smallest issuers: until the end of 2026, invoices can still be issued outside KSeF where the total monthly gross sales documented that way does not exceed 10,000 zł.
KSeF and VAT-exempt taxpayers
VAT exemption does not automatically exempt a business from KSeF. The Ministry of Finance explains that taxpayers using a subject or activity exemption generally enter mandatory KSeF from 1 April 2026 when they have to issue an invoice. That includes a business staying under the new 240,000 zł sales limit.
In practice there are two separate questions. The first is VAT status: whether the business charges VAT, deducts input VAT and files JPK_VAT as an active taxpayer. The second is the invoice channel: whether a particular invoice must pass through KSeF. An exempt trader still does not show VAT rates and VAT amounts in the same way as an active taxpayer, but the invoice can still be a structured KSeF document.
For example, a sole trader selling services for 180,000 zł a year can remain under the subject exemption. They do not add VAT to prices and they do not deduct VAT on purchases. From 1 April 2026, if a customer requires an invoice covered by the mandate, that trader should be ready to issue it through KSeF unless the transaction fits the temporary outside-KSeF relief for up to 10,000 zł gross of such monthly invoices.
This changes administration more than VAT arithmetic. It is worth checking access rights, accountant permissions and the way purchase invoices will be received before the April start date, because cost-control workflows can change even for firms that are not active VAT payers.
Adding and removing VAT
The method holds at any rate. Adding the tax means multiplying the net figure by one plus the rate. Stripping it out means dividing the gross figure by one plus the rate.
- Take a 100 zł net price at 23%: 100 multiplied by 1.23 comes to 123.00 zł, and 23.00 zł of that is tax.
- Reverse it from a 123 zł gross price: 123 divided by 1.23 returns 100.00 zł net, leaving 23.00 zł of VAT.
- At 8% the same 100 zł net turns into 108.00 zł; at 5% it turns into 105.00 zł.
The frequent error is subtracting 23% from the gross to reach the net. It does not work: 23% of 123 zł is 28.29 zł, well short of the real 23 zł. Divide by 1.23 instead of subtracting.
Output and input VAT in practice
Picture a small shop that buys stock from a wholesaler at 100 zł net plus 23% VAT, so 123 zł all in, then resells it at 200 zł net plus VAT, a gross 246 zł.
- Output VAT charged on the sale: 46 zł.
- Input VAT deducted on the purchase: 23 zł.
- Paid to the tax office: 46 zł less 23 zł, so 23 zł.
Your own income is the 200 zł net less the 100 zł net cost, a 100 zł profit, and the VAT washes through without touching it. To see how that profit then meets income tax and social contributions, the Poland salary calculator runs the take-home side, and the income tax calculator works out the PIT advance on its own.
Frequently asked questions
What is the standard VAT rate in Poland in 2026?
It is 23%, unchanged for 2026, and applies to any good or service the law does not place on a reduced or zero rate.
How do I take VAT out of a price that already includes it?
Divide the gross price by one plus the rate: by 1.23 at 23%, 1.08 at 8%, or 1.05 at 5%. The VAT is the gap between the gross price and the net figure you get. Do not just subtract the percentage from the gross.
What is the VAT exemption threshold?
From 1 January 2026 the small-business exemption covers annual sales up to 240,000 zł, up from 200,000 zł. Cross that line and you must register as an active VAT payer.
How is zero-rated different from exempt?
Zero rating means you charge 0% but keep the right to deduct VAT on what you buy. Exemption means you charge no VAT and also lose that deduction, so the tax you paid stays with you as a cost.
Is basic food still zero-rated?
No. The temporary 0% rate on staple groceries ended on 31 March 2024, and from 1 April 2024 those foods returned to the 5% rate.
What is KSeF and when is it mandatory?
KSeF is the Ministry of Finance’s central platform for issuing and receiving structured e-invoices. It is compulsory for large taxpayers from 1 February 2026 and for other Poland-based businesses from 1 April 2026.
Does a VAT-exempt business have to use KSeF?
Yes, where it has to issue an invoice covered by the KSeF mandate. The 240,000 zł exemption concerns charging VAT, not the invoicing channel. Exempt taxpayers generally enter KSeF from 1 April 2026, with temporary relief for outside-system invoices up to 10,000 zł gross a month until the end of 2026.
Sources
- Ministry of Finance (Poland), VAT rates.
- Act of 11 March 2004 on the tax on goods and services (Polish VAT Act), ISAP.
- Ministry of Finance (Poland), National e-Invoicing System (KSeF).
- KSeF, Scope of mandatory KSeF.
- KSeF, KSeF rules and legal provisions.
This article is general information, not tax advice. Rates and rules are from the Ministry of Finance and the VAT Act; check the official sources before acting.