IC&Partners Poland S.A. - News 01-2022

Average annual inflation in 2021

The average annual index of prices of consumer goods and services in 2021 was 5.1%, as published in the note from the GUS, the Polish Central Statistical Office. In 2020, the average annual inflation recorded was 3.4%.

Changes in the filing of financial statements

Starting from January 1, 2022, the financial statements, in the case of a board of directors consisting of several members, may be signed by only one member of the board of directors after the other members of that body have issued the declarations that the financial statements meet. the requirements established by law. In the event that a member of the Board of Directors refuses to file such a declaration, this will amount to a refusal to sign and will require a written justification attached to the financial statements. The refusal to sign the declaration, as well as the declaration that the financial statements meet the legal requirements, as well as the refusal of such a declaration must be prepared:

- in electronic form and equipped with a qualified electronic signature, ePUAP trust signature,

- or in paper form and accompanied by a handwritten signature.

If the aforementioned documents have been drawn up in paper form with handwritten signature, the member of the management body who signs the financial statements on behalf of the Board of Directors will be obliged to ensure the preparation of electronic copies of these documents.

New contribution to health

From the new year, there will be changes in the way health contributions are calculated. From January 1, 2022, health contributions cannot be deducted from taxes, which will increase the tax burden for taxpayers. In addition, people who carry out an economic activity will pay a contribution whose amount will depend on the income received.

Only two groups of entrepreneurs will pay the flat-rate health contribution in 2022. The first of them are the people who settle taxes on the basis of the so-called tax card, in the case of which the health contribution will amount to 270.90 PLN per month. The second group includes people who pay lump sums from registered income (the amount of the contribution will be known later).

The changes in the way health contributions are calculated will only take effect from the contribution for the month of February (payable in March). This means that the health contribution for January 2022 will still be paid in the flat rate, but as the assessment basis of the contribution changes starting in January, the contribution for January will be higher than that for December (the contribution amount will be known afterwards).

Mandatory declarations for ZUS

The change in the method of calculating the health contribution will result in the need to inform the ZUS on the income achieved on a monthly basis. Therefore, starting from March 2022, persons carrying on an economic activity will be obliged to submit monthly ZUS DRA and ZUS RCA declarations and an annual report. People who carry out an economic activity will pay the contributions by the 20th of each month. The new payment deadline applies starting from the contributions for the month of January 2022.

Personal Income Tax: Highest tax-free amount

From 2022, the tax-free amount will be 30 thousand PLN. The tax threshold has also been raised from the current PLN 85,000 to PLN 120,000. This means that when taxes are settled under the ordinary tax regime (tax scale), the lower rate of 17% will apply to the income amounting to PLN 120 thousand. On the other hand, the higher rate, i.e. 32%, will only apply to the surplus over the aforementioned 120 thousand PLN.

Personal income tax: tax break for the middle class

From 2022, the so-called facilitation for the middle class is introduced. The relief, which must compensate for the loss suffered by the prohibition of deduction of health insurance contributions by taxpayers, will concern only two categories of income: employment contracts and economic activities taxed on the basis of the tax scale.

Personal income tax: tax exemption

The new concession introduces an income tax exemption of up to PLN 85,528 for the following taxpayers:

- people under 26 years of age,

- repatriated workers,

- professionally active retirees and

- families with at least four childrens.

In the latter case, the tax exemption will be applied separately for each parent. Thus, the total exemption per family will amount to PLN 171 thousand.

Contributions paid late

Beginning in January 2022, the late paid sickness contribution will not take anyone away from the right to cover.

New billing rules

From 1 January 2022, the national electronic invoicing system was launched. In the initial period, the solution is voluntary, but it is expected that after obtaining the waiver decision from the European Commission, the national electronic invoicing system will become a mandatory solution in 2023. The structured invoice will adopt the xml format consistent with the logical structure of the FA (1) electronic invoice published in the Central Repository of Electronic Document Templates (CRWDE) on the ePUAP platform. Invoices can be issued using free tools made available by the Ministry of Finance and using commercial programs. At the moment, the platform is operating in a trial mode, mainly for software entities, in order to adapt the IT systems to the implementation of the National Electronic Invoice System.

Prohibition of depreciation of residential premises

Persons who carry out economic activity and who use private premises for their commercial activities can record the depreciation of these premises as a deductible cost only up to and including December 2022. The ban on depreciation of private premises will come into effect from January 2023.

New JPK file and obligation to send accounting records

From January of next year, people who carry out commercial activities will be obliged to send monthly the income and expenses book, plus the fixed assets register.

Changes to withholding tax starting in 2022

On January 1, 2022, the amended regulations on the new procedure for the collection and settlement of the withholding tax (WHT) - i.e. the tax levied by the payer (Polish entrepreneur) on the salary paid abroad, came into force. In their final form, they were introduced as part of the Nowy Ład package.

From this year, if the total amount of payments made to the same taxpayer exceeds PLN 2 million in a fiscal year, the so-called "Pay and Refund" mechanism will need to be applied. Thus, the payer will be obliged to withhold the full amount of withholding tax (regardless of the exemptions provided by the double taxation treaties) from the excess over the amount of PLN 2 million at the date of payment, and only after that will it be possible request a refund of the tax withheld and paid.

Procedura „Pay and Refund” będzie miała jednak zastosowanie wyłącznie do płatności o tzw. charakterze biernym, takich jak dywidendy, odsetki czy opłaty licencyjne, wypłacanych na rzecz podmiotów powiązanych. Z katalogu płatności skutkujących obowiązkiem pobrania podatku u źródła według nowej procedury wyłączono więc płatności za usługi niematerialne. Zmianie uległa również, między innymi, definicja rzeczywistego właściciela należności (beneficial owner). Rozszerzono także możliwość posługiwania się kopią certyfikatu rezydencji bez względu na wartość transakcji, o ile kopia nie wzbudza uzasadnionych wątpliwości co do jej zgodności ze stanem faktycznym.

IC&Partners Poland S.A. 
Plac Powstańców Warszawy 2a
00-030 Warszawa
T:  +48 22 828 39 49     
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info@icpartnerspoland.pl