Property sale tax in Poland – when you owe no PIT

Selling a flat can trigger a 19 per cent income tax. It can – because there are clearly defined conditions under which no tax is due at all. The problem is that many people learn about them too late: after the sale, while filling in their PIT-39 return. Here is how it works, so you can make an informed decision before you sell.

The five-year rule

Income tax on a property sale (19% of the gain) applies only if you sell the property within five years of the end of the calendar year in which you acquired it. Not from the date of the deed – from the end of the year. If you bought a flat on 15 March 2021, the five years run from 31 December 2021. You can sell tax-free from 1 January 2027.

If five years have passed, you do not need to report anything, you do not file PIT-39, and you pay no tax. The matter is closed.

What if you sell before five years

The tax is 19% of the gain – that is, the difference between the sale price and the acquisition cost plus documented improvements. Acquisition costs include: the purchase price, transfer tax (PCC) or VAT, the notary fee, court fees. Improvements are documented renovation expenses (invoices). The higher your documented costs, the lower the taxable gain.

Example: you bought a flat for 600,000 zł (total acquisition costs including PCC and notary: 618,000 zł), spent 80,000 zł on renovation (with invoices). You sell for 750,000 zł. Gain: 750,000 − 618,000 − 80,000 = 52,000 zł. Tax: 52,000 × 19% = 9,880 zł.

The housing relief – how to avoid the tax

Even if you sell within five years, you can avoid the tax using the so-called housing relief. The condition: you must spend the sale proceeds (or part of them) on your own housing needs within three years of the end of the year in which you sold.

Own housing needs in practice mean:

• buying another flat or house (primary or secondary market),
• buying a building plot,
• building or extending a house,
• renovating or remodelling your own residential property,
• repaying a mortgage taken out for your own housing (subject to conditions on when the mortgage was taken).

If you spend an amount equal to or greater than the sale proceeds on housing needs, the tax is zero. If you spend only part, the tax is calculated proportionally on the unused amount.

Example: you sell for 750,000 zł and within three years buy a new flat for 800,000 zł. The entire proceeds spent on housing – no tax. If you bought for 500,000 zł, the relief covers 500/750 of the proceeds, and the remaining part (250,000 zł) is taxed proportionally.

Inheritance and gifts – different rules

If you inherited the flat, the five-year period runs from the end of the year in which the deceased acquired it – not from the date of your inheritance. If your grandmother bought the flat in 2005 and you inherited it in 2025, you can sell immediately with no tax, because the five years passed long ago.

For a gift from a close family member (zero group: spouse, parents, children, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, stepchild, stepfather, stepmother) the situation is the same – the clock starts when the donor acquired the property. For a gift from someone outside the zero group, the five years run from the date of the gift.

For both inheritance and gifts, the acquisition cost is the market value on the date of acquisition (from the inheritance deed or gift agreement), which is often lower than the current price, increasing the taxable gain.

PIT-39 – deadlines and formalities

If you sold a property within five years, you must file PIT-39 by 30 April of the year following the sale – regardless of whether you are claiming the relief. In the return you declare the proceeds, costs and your intention to use the housing relief. If you declare the relief, you have three years to spend the funds. If you do not spend the full amount in time, you must file a corrected return and pay the tax with interest.

Before you sell – do the maths

For every property we take on for sale, we check the owner's tax situation: when they acquired it, how (purchase, inheritance, gift), and what documented costs can be offset. We do not replace a tax adviser, but we can tell you whether selling now triggers a tax, roughly how much it would be, and whether it is worth waiting a few months for the five-year period to pass. Costs on the buyer's side are described in a separate article.

Planning to sell and unsure about your tax position? Get in touch – we will help you break it down.