Inherited an Apartment in Poland? Taxes, Deadlines, Pitfalls, and Legal Ways to Avoid Loss (2026)

You inherited an apartment in Poland and don’t know where to start? Most heirs go through these formalities once in a lifetime, and there are many half-truths circulating on the internet. The good news is that immediate family usually inherits the apartment without inheritance tax, and often can sell it immediately without PIT. However, you need to keep track of several deadlines. One of them, the 6 months to submit SD-Z2, can cost tens of thousands of zlotys. Below, step by step: inheritance formalities, taxes, costs, pitfalls, and legal ways to avoid overpaying. We separately describe the situation for heirs living abroad.

In Brief

Step by Step: What to Do After Inheriting an Apartment

1. Decide whether to accept the inheritance (6 months)

   From the day you learned about your inheritance, you have 6 months to make a declaration (Article 1015 of the Civil Code). If you do nothing, you accept the inheritance with the benefit of inventory, meaning you are only liable for the deceased's debts up to the value of the active estate determined in the inventory list (Article 1031 § 2 CC). The declaration is made before a court or notary. To meet the deadline, it is sufficient to submit a request to the court for the acceptance of the declaration before the deadline expires. If the apartment has a large mortgage, calculate whether the inheritance is worth it.

2. Formally confirm that you are the heir

   There are two ways. The first is a certificate of inheritance from a notary. This requires the participation of all individuals who may be heirs, but they do not have to come together: each can separately confirm the draft of the inheritance protocol before the same or another notary (Article 95ca of the Notarial Law). The registered act functions like a final court decision. The second way is a court declaration of inheritance acquisition, necessary, among other things, in the case of disputes, unknown heirs, or special wills. Without one of these documents, you cannot sell the apartment or register it in the land and mortgage register.

3. Submit SD-Z2 within 6 months, even if you do not pay tax

   The deadline counts from the court's decision becoming final or from the registration of the certificate of inheritance. This is the most commonly missed deadline in the entire process. Details below.

4. Register in the land and mortgage register

   The owner is obliged to promptly submit a request to disclose their right (Article 35 of the Act on Land and Mortgage Registers and Mortgages). The court fee for registration based on inheritance is 150 PLN regardless of the number of shares (Article 42 § 3 of the Act on Court Costs in Civil Matters). From March 17, 2026, with the certificate of inheritance, you can request that the notary submit the registration request on your behalf: they then prepare a separate protocol and send the request electronically (Articles 95ga and 95j § 2 of the Notarial Law).

5. Report to the municipality regarding property tax

   As the new owner, you submit information about the property (IN-1) to the municipality within 14 days from the tax obligation arising (Article 6 § 6 of the Act on Local Taxes and Fees). Also take over settlements with the community or cooperative and contracts for utilities. Fees continue to accrue even if no one lives in the apartment.

6. Decide what to do next: live in it, rent it out, or sell it

   Each option has different tax implications. We describe them below.

Quick Test: Inheritance Tax and Sale Tax

Answer a few questions to see which regulations apply to your situation and which part of the guide to refer to.

Inheritance and Donation Tax: Who Pays and How Much

The amount of tax depends on your relationship to the deceased. The groups arise from Article 14 § 3 of the Inheritance and Donation Tax Act, and the tax-free amounts are from the regulation of the Minister of Finance dated June 28, 2023, which is also valid in 2026.

Grandchildren and grandparents belong to group I, as the law includes all descendants and ancestors in this group. This allows them to benefit from full exemption after submitting SD-Z2. In each group, the first threshold of the scale is 10,278 PLN of excess, and the second is 20,556 PLN.

The basis is the market value of the apartment on the day the tax obligation arises, after deducting debts and burdens (Article 7). You can deduct, among other things, the mortgage, uncovered costs of the last illness and funeral, costs of inheritance proceedings, and paid forced heirship. Undervaluing the property makes no sense: the office may call for its increase, and then determine it with the help of an expert (Article 8 § 4).

SD-Z2: A Form Worth Tens of Thousands of Zlotys

• You also submit SD-Z2 if the inheritance was confirmed by a notary. The certificate of inheritance does not replace the submission, as the exception from Article 4a § 4 point 2 applies to acquisition based on a contract in the form of a notarial deed, e.g., a donation.
• No submission is required if the value of the property from the same person, calculated for the current year and the previous 5 years, does not exceed 36,120 PLN.
• First rescue: if you learned about the inheritance later, the 6 months run from the day you learned. You must substantiate this, e.g., with a letter from the bank (Article 4a § 2).
• Second rescue, from January 7, 2026: a request for deadline restoration if you substantiate that you were late without your fault (Article 4c). You submit the request within 7 days of the cessation of the cause and immediately attach SD-Z2 (Article 162 § 2 of the Tax Ordinance).
• If SD-Z2 was not submitted on time, declaration SD-3 must be submitted within a month from the expiration of that deadline. If you submitted a request for deadline restoration and the office refused, you have a month from the day the refusal became final (Article 17a § 1a).
• Heirs outside the zero group submit SD-3 within a month from the tax obligation arising. From January 7, 2026, in inheritance cases, the obligation arises at the moment the court's decision becomes final, the certificate of inheritance is registered, or a European certificate of inheritance is issued (Article 6 § 1 point 1).

Citizenship or Residence Requirement

The exemption from Article 4a, as well as the 110 m² relief, applies only if at the time of acquisition you had Polish citizenship, citizenship of another EU country, or an EFTA country that is a party to the EEA agreement (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) or resided in Poland or one of those countries (Article 4 § 4). Switzerland is not mentioned in this provision. Example: a son who has only US citizenship and lives in the USA cannot benefit from the exemption from his parents, and the apartment in Poland is still subject to Polish tax. He will pay according to group I rules. If he retained Polish citizenship, he is entitled to the exemption.

Two Different “5 Years”

On the internet, two completely different regulations are often mixed:

• PIT on sale (PIT Act): selling before 5 years may mean a 19% income tax. In the case of inheritance, the countdown starts from the acquisition by the deceased, not by you.
• 110 m² relief in inheritance tax (Article 16 of the SD Act): does not include the value of up to 110 m² of usable area in the tax base. In return, you cannot have another apartment (or you must transfer it to descendants, the State Treasury, or the municipality within 6 months), you cannot be a tenant of another premises, and you must live in the inherited premises with permanent residence registration for 5 years without selling it. The relief applies to group I, in inheritance also group II, and group III only after at least 2 years of care for the deceased based on a written agreement with a notarized signature. An exception to the prohibition on sale is, among other things, the necessary change of residence if you buy another apartment with that money within 2 years.

If someone tells you that you cannot sell the inherited apartment for 5 years, check which regulation they are referring to. For a child or grandchild who submitted SD-Z2, there is no such prohibition.

Selling an Inherited Apartment

An inherited apartment can be sold immediately and often without tax. The five-year period in PIT counts from the end of the year in which the deceased purchased or built the apartment (Article 10 § 5 of the PIT Act).

Example 1: the father bought the apartment in 2010, died in 2025. The son can sell it immediately, without PIT and without a declaration, because 5 years passed while the father was still alive.

Example 2: the father bought the apartment in 2024, died in 2025. The countdown starts from the end of 2024, so selling without tax is possible from January 1, 2030. An earlier sale is reported in PIT-39 by April 30 of the following year. The tax is 19%, but it is calculated on income, which can be reduced:

• the cost includes documented purchase costs incurred by the deceased and your expenses that increased the value of the apartment (Article 22 § 6d). If the father bought for 500,000 PLN and you sell for 550,000 PLN, the income is about 50,000 PLN,
• the cost also includes paid inheritance debts and paid forced heirship, even if you pay them after the sale,
• the rest can be reduced by housing relief (Article 21 § 1 point 131): the income must be spent on your own housing purposes no later than 3 years from the end of the year in which you sold the apartment.

Housing Relief for Those Living Abroad

The PIT Act does not currently condition this relief on the seller's place of residence. Restrictions concern what you spend the money on (Article 21 § 25–27):

• the purchased, built, or renovated house or apartment must be located in the EU, another EEA country, or Switzerland,
• the housing loan must come from a bank or credit union based in one of those countries and must be taken out before the sale,
• for expenses outside Poland, there must be a legal basis for exchanging tax information with that country, e.g., in a double taxation avoidance agreement,
• recreational properties do not count.

In practice: if you live in the USA or Canada and use the money from the sale to buy a house there, you are not entitled to the relief. Buying an apartment in Poland or another EU country qualifies.

Full settlement rules are described in a separate guide: Selling an Apartment Before 5 Years.

Certificate from the Tax Office: Simpler Rules from 2025

Forced Heirship and Apartment from Inheritance

If the deceased bequeathed the apartment to someone else in a will, their children, spouse, and parents, who would inherit by law, can claim forced heirship. It amounts to half of the share that would have been theirs by law, and two-thirds if the entitled person is a minor or permanently unable to work (Article 991 CC). The claim for forced heirship becomes time-barred after 5 years from the announcement of the will (Article 1007 § 1 CC).

• The heir who pays the forced heirship deducts it from the inheritance tax base, and when selling the apartment within 5 years, also from income in PIT.
• The person receiving the forced heirship acquires it in the sense of the SD Act. The tax obligation arises at the moment of satisfying the claim (Article 6 § 1 point 2a), so the immediate family submits SD-Z2 within 6 months of receiving the money.

How to calculate and recover forced heirship is explained in the guide Forced Heirship Step by Step.

Apartment with Debt, Mortgage, or Tenant

Mortgage

The mortgage does not disappear with the owner's death; it passes to the heirs along with the apartment. The benefit of inventory limits your liability to the value of the estate, but the bank can seek repayment from the property itself. Check the mortgage balance, any life insurance of the borrower, and whether taking over the apartment is worthwhile. The mortgage debt is deducted from the apartment's value for inheritance tax.

Inventory List and Inventory Record

If you do not know what debts the deceased left, you can submit an inventory list or request the court for an inventory record (fee 100 PLN). This establishes the amount for which you are liable.

Tenant in the Apartment

The lease does not terminate upon the death of the landlord. You enter into it as the new owner. Income from private rental is settled on a lump-sum basis: 8.5% up to 100,000 PLN of income per year and 12.5% on the excess.

Multiple Heirs: Co-ownership and Division of Inheritance

Until you make a division of inheritance, the apartment is jointly owned, and its sale requires the consent of all. You have the following options:

• Consensual division of inheritance at a notary or in court. The court fee is 500 PLN, and 300 PLN if the request includes a consensual division project. If the division is combined with the dissolution of co-ownership, it is 1,000 PLN or 600 PLN.
• Division without payments, e.g., one sibling takes the apartment, and the other takes other assets. In PIT, the division up to the value of the share is neither acquisition nor disposal (Article 10 § 7 of the PIT Act).
• Division with payment: the person who takes the apartment and pays off the others pays 2% PCC on the market value of what they receive beyond their share. This excess also matters for later sales.
• Joint sale: each settles their part. For an apartment purchased by a parent long ago, usually, no one pays PIT.

Heir Living Abroad

• The declaration of acceptance or rejection of the inheritance can be signed at the Polish consulate. However, the consul only certifies your signature. For the declaration to be effective, you must also submit it to the inheritance court in Poland before the 6-month deadline. Another way is to have a representative in Poland with a written power of attorney with a notarized signature (Article 1018 § 3 CC).
• Rejecting the inheritance on behalf of a minor child who was called to inherit after being rejected by a parent does not require court approval from November 15, 2023, if the parents act together, and the inheritance is also rejected by other descendants of the child's parents (Article 101 § 4 of the Family and Guardianship Code). In other cases, court approval is needed.
• An inheritance case in Poland can be handled by a representative. A document signed abroad usually requires signature certification, often also an apostille and sworn translation. Check the requirements with a notary or in the court where the case is pending.
• In inheritance matters in the EU, Regulation No. 650/2012 applies. As a rule, the law of the last habitual residence of the deceased is applicable, but in the will, one can choose the law of their citizenship, e.g., Polish law.
• The deadlines for SD-Z2, SD-3, and PIT apply regardless of where the heir lives. Income from the sale of an apartment located in Poland is considered income earned in Poland (Article 3 § 2b point 4 of the PIT Act). Also, check the regulations of the country where you live.

A practical guide for families abroad: Matters in Poland After the Death of a Loved One.

How Much Do Formalities Cost

Notary fees are maximum rates, to which the notary adds VAT. From November 5, 2026, new amounts will apply (Regulation of the Minister of Justice dated October 13, 2026, Journal of Laws No. 1370).

From November 5, 2026, the regulation also provides a separate maximum fee of 300 PLN for the notary's submission of the registration request in the land and mortgage register (new § 15c). In addition, there is a fee for entering the act into the Inheritance Register, and in cases involving foreign elements, also for translations and powers of attorney. The final amount at the notary depends on the number of heirs and copies.

Legal Ways to Avoid Overpaying

Pitfalls Where People Lose Money

• Missed SD-Z2. This is the most expensive mistake. Do not count on the statute of limitations: if you refer to an unreported inheritance before the office, e.g., when selling, the tax obligation arises anew (Article 6 § 4 of the SD Act).
• Lack of Polish or EU citizenship and residence outside the EU and EEA. Then the exemption from Article 4a does not apply. Check this before assuming there will be no tax.
• Confusing the two “5 years”. The prohibition on sale from Article 16 of the SD Act applies only to those benefiting from the 110 m² relief.
• Simple acceptance of inheritance with debts. Accepting the inheritance directly means liability for debts without limitation.
• Rejecting the inheritance by a parent without considering the children. When a parent rejects the inheritance, their children inherit. Their declaration must also be submitted on time.
• Undervaluing in SD-Z2 or SD-3. If the expert's valuation differs by more than 33% from what you provided, you bear the costs of the opinion (Article 8 § 4). In PIT when selling, the costs are the deceased's expenses, not the value from the submission.
• Rushed sale without a certificate from the office when you are not entitled to the exemption from Article 4a. This ends with a postponed deadline for the act and sometimes a canceled transaction.
• Lack of registration in the land and mortgage register. This blocks the sale and credit against the apartment. The court may also penalize the negligent owner with a fine.
• Forgetting about the municipality and community. Outstanding property tax and rent grow with interest.

Frequently Asked Questions

I inherited an apartment from my parents. Will I pay inheritance tax?

Usually not. Children can benefit from full exemption regardless of the apartment's value if they submit SD-Z2 within 6 months from the court's decision becoming final or from the registration of the certificate of inheritance. The condition is also Polish, EU, or EEA citizenship or residence in Poland, the EU, or the EEA.

Are grandchildren or grandparents also exempt from tax?

Yes. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren are descendants, and grandparents and great-grandparents are ancestors. They belong to group I and can benefit from full exemption after submitting SD-Z2 on time.

I did not submit SD-Z2 on time. What now?

If you learned about the inheritance later, you have 6 months from the day you learned. If you were late without your fault, submit a request for deadline restoration within 7 days of the obstacle's cessation along with SD-Z2. Otherwise, you will pay tax according to group I and must submit SD-3 within a month after the deadline expires.

Can I sell the apartment immediately after inheriting it?

Yes, after confirming the inheritance. The family exempted under SD-Z2 does not need a certificate from the tax office, while other heirs do. If the deceased bought the apartment more than 5 years ago, counting from the end of the year of purchase, you can sell without PIT and without a declaration.

Do I have to live in the inherited apartment for 5 years?

No, if you benefited from the exemption through SD-Z2. This condition only applies to the 110 m² relief from Article 16 of the SD Act, which mainly benefits in-laws, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and distant relatives.

I live in the USA. Am I entitled to housing relief after the sale?

Only if you spend the money on your own housing purposes in the EU, EEA, or Switzerland, e.g., on an apartment in Poland. Buying a house in the USA does not entitle you to relief.

Sources

Status as of October 23, 2026. This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Regulations and their interpretations may change. In specific cases, consult a notary, lawyer, legal advisor, tax advisor, or the National Tax Information.