Business Review Poland – October 2026
In October 2026, Polish businesses faced significant tax rulings, more targeted inspections and new anti-mobbing obligations.
The Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) confirmed that the 19% PIT on dividends under Estonian CIT is calculated on the full distributed profit.
The NSA ruled that the look-through approach cannot replace the 10% direct shareholding requirement for Poland’s dividend WHT exemption.
Under Polish VAT rules, mixed-use passenger cars and motorcycles generally qualify for a 50% deduction, while bicycles and typical e-scooters follow general VAT rules.
Between January and August 2026, the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) identified irregularities in 18,495 of 20,529 inspections, representing 90.1%.
From 5 November 2026, Poland’s amended anti-mobbing rules take effect, with employers of at least 10 staff given until 5 May 2027 to update workplace regulations.
Estonian CIT requires closer transaction reviews
Polish companies should reassess dividend PIT calculations, related-party financing and the origin of contributed assets.
Holding structures affect dividend tax exemptions
Multinational groups should reassess Polish WHT exemptions that depend on indirect shareholdings before distributing dividends.
Vehicle classification determines VAT treatment
Polish businesses must consider both the vehicle’s legal classification and the effectiveness of controls over its use.
Risk-based inspections increase the importance of data
Finance and HR teams in Poland need consistent records and evidence supporting the transactions reported to authorities.
October 2026 brought companies in Poland a dense mix of case law, enforcement statistics and new legislation. Fresh rulings from the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) are reshaping how Estonian CIT and withholding tax work in practice, while data from the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) and the National Revenue Administration (KAS) shows enforcement becoming sharper rather than broader. For management boards and finance teams, keeping track of these shifts is what separates a timely adjustment from a costly correction later on.
In this article:
Estonian CIT under the NSA’s lens – dividends, hidden profits and bond contributions
A series of autumn judgments from the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) sheds new light on three distinct stages of life under Estonian CIT: entering the regime, financing operations and distributing profits. In case II FSK 1274/23 of 29 September 2026 – following earlier rulings II FSK 992/23 (3 June 2026) and II FSK 993/23 (18 June 2026) – the court confirmed that the 19% PIT on dividends is calculated on the full distributed profit, with the company’s lump-sum tax recognised solely through the credit under Article 30a(19) of the PIT Act: 90% of the company tax at the 10% rate and 70% at the 20% rate. On a PLN 100,000 distribution, the combined CIT and PIT burden therefore comes to PLN 20,000 or PLN 25,000 respectively. Two judgments of 1 October 2026 then moved the debate to financing and capital. In II FSK 1291/23, the NSA held that bond interest paid to a related party may constitute hidden profits under Article 28m of the CIT Act, because the bonds served a function economically comparable to a loan. In II FSK 1300/23, by contrast, it ruled that contributing bonds held as shareholders’ private assets does not automatically trigger the temporary exclusion under Article 28k – even where the contribution exceeds EUR 10,000. In practice, this means companies should revisit past PIT calculations on dividends, test intra-group financing for hidden-profit exposure and examine the origin of any assets before making an in-kind contribution.
Read the article for more details: Estonian CIT rulings in Poland on dividends and hidden profits
Withholding tax on dividends – NSA rejects the look-through approach for multi-tier structures
Dividend payments to foreign shareholders remain one of the most litigated corners of Polish withholding tax, and the NSA’s 2025–2026 case law has settled some disputes while opening others. In judgments II FSK 960/25 of 3 June 2026 and II FSK 1143/23 of 9 June 2026, the court confirmed that Article 22(4)(4) of the CIT Act does not require the dividend itself to be effectively taxed – what matters is whether the recipient is exempt from tax on all of its income. Earlier rulings were similarly taxpayer-friendly: II FSK 1510/22 of 13 August 2025 found that beneficial ownership is not a separate condition under Article 22(4), and II FSK 1150/25 of 6 February 2026 held that a holding company’s limited staff or assets do not, on their own, make a structure artificial under Article 22c. The less welcome news arrived on 8 July 2026, when five judgments (II FSK 185/25, 818/25, 863/25, 79/26 and 80/26) ruled that the look-through approach cannot replace the requirement for the entity claiming the exemption to hold at least 10% of the shares directly. That position sits uneasily with the Ministry of Finance guidance of 3 July 2025 and with favourable KIS rulings issued on its basis, such as 0114-KDIP2-1.4010.729.2025.1.JF of 22 January 2026. Where payments to a related entity exceed PLN 2 million in the payer’s tax year, the pay-and-refund mechanism adds a further layer, although a WH-OSC statement or an opinion on WHT preferences can still secure preferential treatment. In practice, this means groups with multi-tier holding structures should reassess any exemption that relies on an indirect shareholder before the next dividend leaves Poland.
Read the article for more details: Withholding tax on dividends in Poland – latest NSA rulings
VAT on company vehicles – from passenger cars to e-scooters
Not every business vehicle is a car, and the Polish VAT Act treats them accordingly. Passenger cars and motorcycles fall under Article 86a, which caps the deduction at 50% for mixed use; recovering 100% requires a policy excluding private use, mileage records and a VAT-26 notification filed by the 25th day of the month following the first vehicle expense, and no later than the JPK_V7 for that month. A KIS ruling of 5 May 2026 (0114-KDIP4-2.4012.165.2026.5.WH) confirmed that the 50% limit applies equally to the purchase and running costs of a mixed-use motorcycle. Conventional bicycles, e-bikes meeting the statutory definition (pedal assistance, 250 W maximum continuous rated power, support cutting out above 25 km/h) and typical e-scooters sit outside Article 86a altogether, so the general rules of Article 86(1) apply – as the KIS ruling of 26 May 2026 (0112-KDIL1-1.4012.181.2026.2.EK) on a law firm’s electric cargo bike illustrates, while leaving private use for separate assessment. The most contested question remains company cars parked at employees’ homes: KIS refused a full deduction on 20 March 2026 (0114-KDIP4-2.4012.170.2026.1.KS) despite GPS tracking and mileage records, yet granted one on 10 August 2026 (0114-KDIP4-2.4012.489.2026.2.WH) for sales representatives whose arrangement rested on a clear business rationale and enforced controls. In practice, this means the deduction rate depends on the vehicle’s legal classification and the credibility of usage controls, not on the name printed on the invoice. Businesses that have capped deductions solely because cars stay overnight at employees’ homes may want to revisit that assumption – carefully, and case by case.
Read the article for more details: VAT deduction for company vehicles in Poland – 2026 rules
Fewer audits, sharper targeting – how ZUS and KAS select businesses for inspection in 2026
Polish inspection authorities are carrying out fewer formal checks – and finding considerably more. According to its announcement of 6 October 2026, ZUS conducted 20,529 inspections between January and August 2026 and identified irregularities in 18,495 of them, a detection rate of 90.1%, with financial findings totalling PLN 373.3 million (PLN 360.6 million of it in miscalculated contributions). Since 1 January 2026, ZUS has selected payers using a risk framework that weighs PKD codes, overlapping insurance titles, the ratio of benefits to contributions and previous findings, with low- and medium-risk payers facing scheduled inspections no more than once every five and three years respectively. KAS tells a similar story: in 2025 it carried out 27.4% fewer customs and fiscal audits (5,113) and 11.3% fewer tax audits (8,722), yet findings from customs and fiscal audits rose by 46.4% to PLN 6.52 billion. Preliminary verification activities grew by 9.6%, and 376,800 fictitious invoices worth over PLN 10.9 billion were detected – the highest number since 2017. With KSeF and JPK reporting feeding ever more structured data into analytical and AI-supported tools, inconsistencies between returns, ledgers and transaction documents are increasingly flagged before anyone sets foot on site. In practice, this means the first sign of scrutiny is more likely to be a request for explanations than a formal audit notice, so finance and HR teams need data that reconciles and evidence that transactions genuinely took place.
Read the article for more details: Business inspections in Poland 2026 – AI and risk analysis
New mobbing rules take effect on 5 November 2026 – what employers must change
The amendment to the Labour Code and the Code of Civil Procedure, adopted by the Sejm on 19 June 2026, enters into force on 5 November 2026 and brings the most substantial overhaul of Poland’s anti-mobbing rules in years. Mobbing is now defined more simply as persistent harassment of an employee, with the Act giving examples such as humiliation, intimidation, ridicule and unjustified criticism – while making clear that one-off incidents and justified performance assessments do not qualify. Compensation will be no lower than six times the minimum wage, and an employer that pays out may seek recourse from the person responsible, in proportion to that person’s degree of fault. The definition of discrimination is also widened to cover discrimination by assumption and by association, although differences in treatment that are objectively justified remain lawful. Employers with at least 10 employees must set out rules, procedures and the frequency of preventive actions covering dignity, equal treatment, discrimination and mobbing in their workplace regulations, unless these are already laid down in a collective labour agreement. The deadline for doing so is 5 May 2027, six months after the new provisions take effect. In practice, this means HR teams should begin auditing existing anti-mobbing policies, complaint procedures and workplace regulations now, rather than leaving the work until spring.
Read the article for more details: Amendment to mobbing regulations in Poland
October’s developments share a common thread: substance increasingly outweighs form. Courts look beyond the label on a bond or the shape of a holding chain, tax authorities weigh how a vehicle is actually used rather than whose name is on the invoice, and ZUS and KAS rely on data to decide where to look next. Employers, meanwhile, face firmer obligations around workplace dignity, with clear deadlines ahead. Reviewing transactions, structures and internal policies before the authorities do remains the most reliable way to stay ahead.
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This article was written by the getsix® Editorial Teamgetsix® provides accounting, tax advisory, HR and payroll, and business consulting services, supporting companies operating in Poland. The getsix® Editorial Team prepares practical information that makes Polish accounting, tax, and HR and payroll matters easier to understand.
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