Tax Residency and PIT for the Polish Diaspora: Where Do You Pay Taxes When Living Abroad (2026)

You live in Chicago, London, or Hamburg – but you have a rental apartment, a bank account, a ZUS pension from your parents, or a plot of land to sell in Poland. Do you have to file a Polish PIT? Where do you actually pay taxes? This is one of the most common and stressful questions for the Polish diaspora – and the answer depends on one concept: tax residency. This guide explains step by step how to determine whose tax resident you are, what a non-resident still needs to report in Poland, how to avoid double taxation with the USA, the UK, or Germany – and how to handle everything online without coming to Poland.

Tax Residency: This is Where Everything Begins

Poland – unlike the USA – taxes individuals based on place of residence (residency), not citizenship. A Polish passport does not, by itself, create any tax obligation. According to Article 3, paragraph 1a of the PIT Act, you are a Polish tax resident if you meet at least one of two conditions:

• You have a center of personal or economic interests (the so-called center of vital interests) in Poland – meaning your closest family, home, main source of income, assets, social activity are here; or
• You stay in Poland for more than 183 days in the tax year.

A Polish resident has an unlimited tax obligation – they report income from all over the world in Poland. A non-resident has a limited obligation – they only report income earned in Poland (Article 3, paragraphs 2a–2b). A detailed, official interpretation with examples is provided in the tax explanations from the Ministry of Finance dated April 29, 2021, regarding tax residency – this is the best primary document you can read on this matter.

What if Two Countries Consider You Their Resident?

This is common: Poland sees the center of vital interests, while the USA or the UK sees the place of residence. The conflict is resolved by tie-breaker rules from the double taxation agreement, applied in order until one provides a resolution:

Certificate of Residency – A Document Worth Having

A certificate of residency is an official document stating where you are a tax resident. It works both ways:

• Polish certificate (CFR-1) – needed when a Polish resident wants to benefit from a tax treaty abroad. The quickest way is through the e-Tax Office (electronically, free of charge); the paper version costs 17 PLN in stamp duty. The office has 7 days to issue it.
• Foreign certificate (e.g., American Form 6166 from the IRS) – you submit it to a Polish payer (bank, company paying dividends, ZUS) to apply the treaty rate instead of the domestic rate. Without the certificate, the payer must withhold the full Polish tax.

I Don't Live in Poland – What Do I Still Need to Report?

This is the most important table of this guide. A non-resident does not file a Polish PIT for foreign salary – but income from sources in Poland is still subject to Polish tax:

The annual tax return submission period is from February 15 to April 30 of the following year. Selling an inherited apartment? Tax details (including counting 5 years from the acquisition by the decedent) are described in a separate guide: selling an inherited apartment from abroad.

Double Taxation: Which Method Applies to Your Country

If you are a Polish resident with foreign income (e.g., you work abroad for part of the year, or your family stayed in Poland), the method of settlement depends on the method stated in the agreement with that country. Following the implementation of the MLI convention, most countries important for the diaspora have switched to a less favorable method of proportional deduction:

With the proportional deduction method, the abatement relief (Article 27g of the PIT Act) helps to balance the difference between methods, but since 2021 it is limited to 1,360 PLN per year. The limit does not apply only to income from work performed outside the territorial waters of the countries – this is the so-called exception for seafarers. Remember: the abatement relief applies only to Polish residents – a non-resident does not need it at all, as they do not report foreign income in Poland.

Parameters of Polish PIT in 2026

• Tax scale: 12% up to 120,000 PLN income, 32% on the excess; tax-free amount 30,000 PLN (amount reducing tax 3,600 PLN). Parameters have been frozen since 2022 – the promised tax-free amount of 60,000 PLN has not been passed.
• Flat-rate tax 19%: interest and dividends (the so-called Belka tax), stock and cryptocurrency gains (PIT-38), sale of property within 5 years (PIT-39).
• Flat rate for private rental: 8.5% / 12.5% – since 2023, this is the only form for private rental.
• Solidarity tax: 4% on income above 1,000,000 PLN per year (separate declaration DSF-1).

How to Settle with Poland Without Leaving Home

Everything can now be done online from abroad – through the e-Tax Office (urzadskarbowy.gov.pl) and the service Your e-PIT (handles PIT-28, PIT-36, PIT-36L, PIT-37, and PIT-38):

DAC8 and CRS: The Tax Office Sees More and More

Two things are worth knowing about the automatic exchange of information – especially if you think that “the office won’t find out”:

• CRS (since 2017): banks in about 100 countries identify non-resident accounts and report them to local administration, which forwards the data to the country of residence – balances, interest, dividends. The Polish tax office thus receives information about foreign accounts of Polish residents (and vice versa). The USA does not participate in CRS – they exchange data based on FATCA.
• DAC8 – new in 2026: the act of February 13, 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 poz. 347, effective from March 18, 2026) imposes an obligation on exchanges and cryptocurrency exchanges to report user data and transactions – covers transactions as of January 1, 2026. The data is subject to automatic exchange between EU countries. The cryptocurrency tax has not changed (19%, PIT-38) – what has changed is that administrations now see it.

Remote Work and “Workation”: Taxes and Contributions

An increasingly common scenario: you work remotely for a foreign company, but you are physically in Poland (or vice versa). The basic rule: income from work is taxed where the work is physically performed – the employer's location does not matter. A few months of “workation” with family in Poland may thus create a tax obligation in Poland.

• Within the EU/EFTA: since July 1, 2023, a framework agreement on cross-border remote work has been in effect – teleworking from the country of residence for 25% to less than 50% of working time allows you to remain insured in the employer's country. An application is submitted to ZUS (form US-36, then US-34 for A1 certificate).
• USA: the Polish-American social security agreement (in effect since March 1, 2009) protects against double contributions and allows for summing insurance periods. More in our guide on pensions from the USA and Poland.

Exit Tax: Who Does It Really Affect?

There has been a lot of fear surrounding the “exit tax,” so to be clear: the ordinary emigrant is not affected by the exit tax. The tax on income from unrealized gains (Article 30da of the PIT Act) when changing residency is only paid if the total market value of the assets covered exceeds 4,000,000 PLN – and for individuals outside of business activity, it mainly concerns shares, stocks, securities, and derivatives (not a house or apartment). An additional condition: you must have been a Polish resident for at least 5 of the 10 years before moving. The rate is 19% (3% if the tax value is not established).

Common Myths

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