Return relief (ulga na powrót) exempts from income tax revenue of up to PLN 85,528 a year for four consecutive years after moving the place of residence to Poland. It covers salary, mandate contracts, revenue from business activity and maternity benefit. The condition is, among other things, that for three full calendar years before the year of the move you did not have tax residence in Poland and are able to document this.
Legal basis and essence of the relief
The exemption follows from the PIT Act (art. 21(1)(152)). It is not a deduction in the annual return but a revenue exemption: part of the earnings is simply not subject to PIT. The relief does not change contributions — ZUS and the health contribution are paid on the full amount.
The limit of PLN 85,528 is shared between four exemptions: youth relief (ulga dla młodych), return relief, relief for families with at least four children and relief for working seniors. Those who meet the conditions of two of them do not double the limit.
Who meets the conditions — checklist
All the following conditions must be met jointly:
- Residence after the move. After moving the place of residence to Poland the taxpayer is subject to unlimited tax liability, i.e. is a Polish tax resident.
- Break in residence. They did not have their place of residence in Poland for three calendar years immediately preceding the year of the move and from 1 January of the year of the move to the day before arrival.
- Status or residence history. They have Polish citizenship, a Pole's Card or citizenship of another EU, EEA or Swiss state. Alternatively: during the break they lived in one of the states listed in the Act (including the EU, EEA, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile) or previously lived in Poland uninterruptedly for at least 5 calendar years.
- Proof of foreign residence. They have a certificate of tax residence or another document confirming the place of residence for tax purposes for the whole required period.
- First use. They have not used this relief before, even partially.
Practical conclusion from point 3: the relief may also be used by foreigners without Polish citizenship, e.g. a citizen of another EU state moving to Poland for the first time. The moment tax residence arises is explained in the article on tax residence in Poland.
Which revenue it covers
| Type of revenue | Covered by the relief? |
|---|---|
| Employment contract (umowa o pracę), service relationship, outwork, cooperative employment relationship | Yes |
| Mandate contract (umowa zlecenie) | Yes |
| Business activity under the tax scale, flat tax or ryczałt (lump-sum tax on recorded revenue) | Yes |
| Maternity benefit | Yes |
| Specific-task contract (umowa o dzieło), rental, dividends, capital gains | No |
Two rules are important for entrepreneurs. First, the exemption concerns revenue, but business costs can be deducted in full — they are not divided proportionally into exempt and taxed parts. Second, a loss from activity related to revenue covered by the relief may be settled in subsequent years. For employees and contractors, it is the opposite: deductible costs are taken into account only up to the amount of the taxed part.
Choosing the first year — an important decision
The four years of relief are counted from the beginning of the year of the move or from the beginning of the following year. The choice should be made consciously:
- With arrival in spring and full-time employment immediately, it is more worthwhile to start the relief in the year of arrival — the PLN 85,528 limit will be largely used.
- With arrival in November, when only one or two salaries will come in by year-end, it is better to start from the following year. Otherwise, the first of the four years will be "spent" on small earnings.
How to use the relief in practice
- Gathering evidence. Residence certificates from the country or countries of residence for each year of the break. When a certificate cannot be obtained — other documents: foreign tax returns, lease contracts, employer certificates.
- Declaration for the employer or principal. An employee may submit a declaration to the remitter about meeting the conditions, indicating the year of starting and ending the relief. The remitter then does not collect advance payments on revenue up to the limit. The declaration is submitted under criminal liability.
- Business activity. The entrepreneur applies the exemption on their own when calculating advance payments or ryczałt.
- Annual return. The exemption is shown in the return for each of the four years; with several sources of revenue, the total exempt amount is kept within the limit.
Example: a programmer returning from Ireland
Ms Kasia lived and paid taxes in Ireland from 2021. She returns to Poland in March 2026 and sets up a business on the flat tax. In 2023–2025 she was not a Polish resident and has Irish residence certificates for that period, so she meets the conditions.
She chooses to start the relief in 2026. In that year her business revenue will be PLN 180,000 and costs PLN 30,000. Revenue up to PLN 85,528 is exempt, and the flat tax is paid on the income from the surplus of revenue above the limit, with full deduction of costs. The relief will cover 2026–2029. ZUS contributions and the health contribution are paid like for any entrepreneur.
Frequent doubts and mistakes
- Lack of a certificate for one of the years — without proof of residence for the whole break, the office may challenge the relief.
- Formal de-registration is not everything — what counts is the place of residence for tax purposes, not the address registration (meldunek).
- Double counting of the limit — for a person under 26, the limit for youth relief and return relief is one.
- A second return — the relief is available once in a lifetime.
For unusual factual states, e.g. moves through several states or a stay on the edge of three years, certainty is given by an individual tax interpretation. Broader formalities related to the move are described in the article on relocation to Poland.
How Good Balance can help
We will check whether you meet the conditions of the relief, help select the proof of residence and choose the most favourable year of starting. In doubtful cases we will prepare an application for a tax interpretation, and for business activity we will include the relief in current settlements.