Poland Corporate Tax (CIT) Calculator

Poland’s CIT Rates in 2026

Corporate income tax in Poland (podatek dochodowy od osób prawnych) has two headline rates¹:

The banking sector is the exception. An amendment signed on November 27, 2025 and in force since January 1, 2026 raised CIT for commercial banks to 30% in 2026, falling to 26% in 2027 and 23% from 2028; cooperative banks pay 27%, 23%, then 21%, and banks with small-taxpayer status pay 17% in 2026 and 13% in 2027². If your company is not a bank, none of this applies to you.

The 9% Rate: Two Limits, Two Consequences

To pay 9% CIT in 2026 you must clear two separate bars. First, your 2025 sales revenue including VAT cannot have exceeded 8,517,000 zł. That makes you a small taxpayer (mały podatnik). Second, your 2026 revenue excluding VAT must stay under 8,431,000 zł through the year. The two limits use different VAT treatments and different exchange-rate dates, which is why they don’t match. Breach the first and you never had the 9% rate this year; breach the second mid-year and you lose it for all of 2026, recalculating at 19% with a top-up.

Both figures come from the CIT Act’s rounding rule: the EUR 2 million thresholds round to the nearest 1,000 zł³.

New companies usually get the 9% rate automatically in their first tax year, but not all of them. A company created through transformation, merger, or division (except converting one company into another company), or by a contribution of an existing enterprise, is shut out of the 9% rate for its first two tax years. This is the most common trap for a sole trader converting a JDG into a sp. z o.o.

Who Pays CIT?

CIT is paid by legal entities: a spółka z o.o. (sp. z o.o.), spółka akcyjna (S.A.), spółka komandytowa (since 2021), foundations, and associations. Sole traders (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, JDG) do not pay CIT. They pay personal income tax (PIT). To check whether a Polish contractor is a registered company, look up its number with the NIP Checker or search the business registry by NIP.

Worked Examples

Two quick cases you can reproduce in the calculator above, plus what happens when you cross the cap mid-year.

A small company at 9%. Revenue of 800,000 zł and costs of 300,000 zł leave taxable income of 500,000 zł. Revenue is well under both 2026 limits, so the 9% rate applies: CIT is 45,000 zł and profit after tax is 455,000 zł.

The same profit at 19%. Revenue of 9,200,000 zł and costs of 8,700,000 zł leave the same 500,000 zł of taxable income, but revenue is over the limits, so the standard rate applies: CIT is 95,000 zł and profit after tax is 405,000 zł. Same profit, 50,000 zł more tax. The rate follows revenue, not profit.

Crossing the cap in September. A company on the 9% rate invoices its way past 8,431,000 zł (net) in September 2026. It loses the 9% rate for the whole of 2026, not just the remaining months: the year’s CIT is recalculated at 19%, the advances already paid at 9% need a top-up, and interest may apply.

How Poland Compares in the EU

Poland’s 9% rate is one of the most competitive in the European Union for smaller companies:

Rates verified June 2026. For comparison, the United States charges 21% federal corporate tax plus state taxes. Multinational groups with global revenue above €750 million are additionally subject to the 15% global minimum top-up tax, in force in Poland since 2025. It does not change the headline rates for anyone else.

What About Estonian CIT?

Poland also offers a deferred-taxation model, the ryczałt od dochodów spółek (“Estonian CIT”), where tax is due only when profits are distributed: 10% for small taxpayers or 20% otherwise. It is not covered by this calculator.

The Minimum CIT

Since 2024, a company reporting a tax loss or profitability of 2% or less may owe a minimum CIT instead². The rate is exactly 10%, applied to a special tax base; a company can elect a simplified base of 3% of its revenues. Small taxpayers and companies in their first three tax years are exempt, along with several other categories. Where it applies, you pay the minimum CIT only when it exceeds your regular liability, and you can credit it against regular CIT over the following three years.

Filing and Deadlines

The annual return is the CIT-8 form, due by the end of the third month after the tax year ends (end of March for calendar-year taxpayers). Advance payments run monthly (by the 20th of the following month) or quarterly for small taxpayers. From 2026, CIT payers already obligated to file JPK_VAT must also keep their accounting books electronically and submit them after year-end (JPK_CIT). CIT is paid to your individual tax account, the mikrorachunek. Generate yours with the Mikrorachunek Generator, and verify an account number before paying with the Mikrorachunek Validator.

A Short History of Poland’s CIT Rate

FAQ

What is the corporate tax rate in Poland?

The standard CIT rate is 19% in 2026 and applies to most companies. Small taxpayers and most companies in their first tax year pay a reduced 9% rate on operating income. Banks pay more from 2026: commercial banks start at 30%.

Who qualifies for the 9% CIT rate?

Companies that clear two limits: 2025 sales revenue including VAT of no more than 8,517,000 zł (small-taxpayer status), and 2026 revenue excluding VAT under 8,431,000 zł. Most newly formed companies also qualify in their first tax year. The 9% rate covers operating income only, never capital gains.

Can a new company use the 9% rate?

Usually yes, in its first tax year. The exceptions: a company created through transformation, merger, or division, or by a contribution of an existing enterprise, waits two tax years. Converting one company into another company (say, a sp. z o.o. into an S.A.) keeps the rate; converting a JDG into a sp. z o.o. does not.

What happens if I exceed the limit during the year?

You lose the 9% rate for the whole of the current year, not the following one. Once 2026 revenue (excluding VAT) passes 8,431,000 zł, CIT for the entire year is recalculated at 19%, which usually means a top-up payment and possible interest on the advances already paid at 9%.

Is CIT the same as corporation tax?

Yes. CIT (podatek dochodowy od osób prawnych) is Poland’s corporate income tax, the same tax the UK calls corporation tax and the US calls corporate income tax.

What is the tax year in Poland?

The calendar year by default, but a company may choose any other 12-month period in its articles of association. The CIT-8 return and final payment are due by the end of the third month after the chosen year ends.

Why do banks pay 30% CIT in 2026?

An amendment signed in November 2025 raised CIT for the banking sector: commercial banks pay 30% in 2026, 26% in 2027, and 23% from 2028; cooperative banks pay 27%, 23%, then 21%. It applies only to banks. Every other company keeps the 19% and 9% rates.

What is CIT-8?

The annual corporate income tax return, filed electronically by the end of the third month after the tax year ends (end of March for calendar-year companies). It reconciles the advances paid during the year with the final liability.

What are the CIT advance payment rules?

Advances are due monthly by the 20th of the following month; small taxpayers and companies in their first year may pay quarterly instead. The calculator above shows the monthly advance for your numbers. A simplified scheme based on a prior year’s tax is also available.

Do foreign companies pay Polish CIT?

Polish tax residents pay CIT on their worldwide income. Foreign companies pay it only on income earned in Poland, typically through a permanent establishment. See the guides for setting up and running a business in Poland.

What is the 60% trap?

It refers to the combined burden of CIT plus the 19% personal income tax on dividends. A sp. z o.o. pays CIT on its profit, then the owner pays dividend tax on what is distributed, giving an effective rate of roughly 34% (not literally 60%). The phrase is shorthand for “tax is paid twice” on distributed profit.

Is there a 23% tax in Poland?

That is VAT (value-added tax), not corporate tax. See the VAT Calculator for net-to-gross conversion.

Do sole traders pay CIT?

No. Sole traders (JDG) pay personal income tax (PIT): the 12%/32% scale or the 19% flat rate¹. CIT applies only to legal entities such as a sp. z o.o.