An IT specialist who sets up a sole proprietorship (JDG) can legally pay low ZUS contributions for more than 2.5 years: first for 6 calendar months only the health contribution (start-up relief), then for 24 months social contributions from a preferential base — in 2026, PLN 456.18 per month with voluntary sickness insurance. One condition is that services are not provided to a former employer in the scope of former duties. Neither relief reduces the health contribution.
Three stages of low ZUS on JDG
| Stage | Duration | Social contributions in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Start-up relief | 6 calendar months | PLN 0 — only the health contribution is paid |
| Preferential base | 24 calendar months | on a base of PLN 1,441.80: PLN 456.18 with sickness insurance, excluding Labour Fund and Solidarity Fund |
| Mały ZUS Plus | subsequent years, with revenue up to PLN 120,000 in the previous year | base depends on income, from 30% of the minimum wage to 60% of the forecast average |
| Full contributions | once the reliefs end | on a base of PLN 5,652: PLN 1,926.76 excluding the health contribution |
The difference is significant. At 2026 amounts, over the first 30 months savings on social contributions compared with full ZUS are about PLN 46,850 (6 × PLN 1,926.76 + 24 × PLN 1,470.58) — the equivalent of over two years of full contributions.
Who is entitled to the reliefs
Start-up relief and the preferential base can be used by a person who:
- is starting a business for the first time or at least 60 calendar months after ending or suspending a previous one,
- does not perform in the firm, for a former employer, the same activities as those performed for them on an employment contract in the current or previous calendar year.
The second condition is the most common trap in IT. A developer who leaves an employment contract in June and from July issues invoices to the same employer for the same work pays full contributions from the start — until the end of the following calendar year. The relief, by contrast, is available for work with a new client, including where the former employer is a client in an entirely different scope (although this always requires a careful assessment).
How to count the 6 months of start-up relief — and why not to start on the 1st of the month
The relief lasts no more than 6 calendar months. ZUS explains that if the business starts on the first day of a month, that month is the first of the six. If, by contrast, the start falls in the middle of a month, the relief period is counted from the next calendar month, and the incomplete start month is also free of social contributions. In practice, starting on, say, the 2nd of a month extends the period without social contributions by several weeks.
Example in 2026:
- business from 1 December 2026 — December is the first month of relief, the last is May 2027; preferential contributions are paid from June 2027 for 24 months, until May 2029,
- business from 3 December 2026 — no social contributions for December, six months of relief fall on January–June 2027, and the preferential base applies from July 2027 to June 2029.
The business start date is given in the CEIDG application; it may be later than the day the application is filed. We cover the registration process in our guide on how to set up JDG.
The health contribution is not subject to the reliefs
The health contribution must be paid throughout. Its amount depends on the form of taxation, not on the relief stage:
- ryczałt (in IT usually 12% or 8.5%) — in 2026, monthly PLN 498.35 (annual revenue up to PLN 60,000), PLN 830.58 (from PLN 60,000 to PLN 300,000), PLN 1,495.04 (over PLN 300,000),
- flat tax (podatek liniowy) — 4.9% of income,
- tax scale — 9% of income,
- on the scale and the flat tax, the minimum is PLN 432.54 per month (from 1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027).
A developer on ryczałt with revenue of around PLN 15,000 per month (PLN 180,000 per year) will therefore pay PLN 830.58 of health contribution in 2026 regardless of whether they use start-up relief. The choice of ryczałt rate and PKD codes is discussed in our article ryczałt in IT: 12% and 8.5% rates.
What after 30 months
Mały ZUS Plus is available only if revenue from the business in the previous year did not exceed PLN 120,000 and the business was conducted for at least 60 days in that year. At typical IT rates (e.g. PLN 12,000 per month and above) this limit is exceeded, so after the preferential base ends most specialists move to full contributions. One more concession remains: ZUS holidays, i.e. the option not to pay social contributions for any one month in the calendar year, provided for micro-entrepreneurs (it does not combine with start-up relief).
Costs of low ZUS — what to remember
- No benefits during start-up relief — without social insurance there is no right to sickness or maternity benefit from the business. Those planning to grow a family in that time may skip start-up relief and pay preferential contributions with sickness insurance straight away.
- Lower pension — contributions from PLN 1,441.80 per month build little retirement capital.
- Voluntary sickness insurance requires timeliness — a late payment may lead to exclusion from sickness insurance.
- Overlap with an employment contract — a person who also works on an employment contract with at least the minimum wage may not have to pay social contributions from the business at all, only health.
The rules of the reliefs are set out in ZUS explanations on start-up relief and the preferential base and on Biznes.gov.pl. A broader overview of contributions is in our guide ZUS in Poland.
How Good Balance helps
We help choose the business start date, check that the former-employer exclusion does not apply and watch the transitions between successive relief stages and ZUS filings. We run JDG settlements as part of simplified accounting.