This article is for those who are offered a choice between an employment contract and working on B2B through their own JDG (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, the Polish sole proprietorship). In short: with the same amount of 12 000 zł, take-home pay is roughly the same while the JDG is on preferencyjny ZUS, and with full ZUS the employment contract leaves more. B2B starts to win when the invoice rate is closer to what the employee costs the employer, and when you have allowed in advance for unpaid leave and sick leave.
Assumptions of the example
This is a teaching example, not a client case. All amounts are rounded, under the 2026 rules. A calculation for a real case is made on real figures: your costs, the ryczałt rate for your PKWiU code, reliefs and your family situation.
- Umowa o pracę (employment contract): 12 000 zł brutto a month, one employer, work in the same town (koszty uzyskania, standard employee costs, of 250 zł a month), PIT-2 filed, aged over 26, no PPK (employee capital plan), no children and no joint return.
- B2B: 12 000 zł netto on an invoice every month, 12 invoices a year, business costs of 500 zł a month (phone, equipment, bookkeeping). VAT is not included in the calculation: if you are a VAT payer, the 23% on top of the invoice is passed on to the tax office.
Umowa o pracę: what is withheld from 12 000 zł brutto
- The employee’s social contributions, 13.71%: emerytalne 9.76%, rentowe 1.5%, chorobowe 2.45% (pension, disability and sickness insurance). This is 1 645.20 zł.
- Składka zdrowotna (health contribution) 9% of the amount after social contributions (10 354.80 zł): 931.93 zł. It does not reduce the tax.
- PIT advance payment: the base is 12 000 minus 1 645.20 minus 250 zł koszty uzyskania, about 10 105 zł. 12% of it is 1 212.60 zł, minus 300 zł a month under PIT-2 (this is 1/12 of 3 600 zł, the tax on the kwota wolna, tax-free amount, of 30 000 zł). Payable: 913 zł.
- Take-home: about 8 510 zł a month from January to November. In December, income since the start of the year crosses the 120 000 zł threshold, part of the December base is taxed at 32%, and the payment falls to about 8 260 zł.
For the year this comes to about 101 870 zł take-home, on average 8 490 zł a month. On top of the brutto amount, the employer pays its own contributions: emerytalne 9.76%, rentowe 6.5%, wypadkowe (accident insurance, usually 1.67% in a small firm), Fundusz Pracy 2.45% and FGŚP 0.10%, 20.48% in total. The full cost of such an employee for the firm is about 14 458 zł a month.
JDG: 12 000 zł netto on an invoice
Preferencyjny ZUS with sickness insurance is 456.18 zł a month; full ZUS is 1 926.76 zł with sickness insurance and Fundusz Pracy. Składka zdrowotna on liniowy is 4.9% of income; on ryczałt with this revenue it is 830.58 zł a month. More in the articles ZUS for a JDG in 2026 and składka zdrowotna 2026. Revenue for the year is 144 000 zł, costs 6 000 zł.
- Liniowy 19%, preferencyjny ZUS. Składka zdrowotna about 6 494 zł a year, tax about 23 946 zł. Take-home about 102 090 zł, that is 8 510 zł a month.
- Ryczałt 12%, preferencyjny ZUS. Składka zdrowotna 9 967 zł a year; half of it reduces revenue for tax. Tax about 16 025 zł. Take-home about 106 530 zł, that is 8 880 zł a month.
- Liniowy 19%, full ZUS. Contributions 23 121 zł a year, składka zdrowotna about 5 629 zł, tax about 20 757 zł. Take-home about 88 490 zł, that is 7 370 zł a month.
- Ryczałt 12%, full ZUS. On ryczałt, Fundusz Pracy is not deducted from revenue. Tax about 14 107 zł. Take-home about 90 810 zł, that is 7 570 zł a month.
For the first 6 months after registering a JDG, ulga na start (the start-up relief) applies: social contributions are not paid, only składka zdrowotna. Then 24 months of preferencyjny ZUS, then full ZUS. The 12% rate applies only to services on the list, for example some IT services. How to choose the form of taxation is explained in the article ryczałt, liniowy or the tax scale.
The result of the example and the amount at which B2B wins
With the same 12 000 zł, the difference in the first years of a JDG is from zero to plus 400 zł a month in favour of B2B. After the move to full ZUS, B2B already loses to the employment contract by about 900 to 1 100 zł a month. So it is fairer to compare with the full cost of the employee for the firm.
If the invoice equals this cost, 14 458 zł netto a month, then on full ZUS and the same costs, take-home pay is about 9 270 zł on liniowy and 9 730 zł on ryczałt at 12%. This is 800 to 1 200 zł a month more than under the employment contract. But out of this difference you still have to pay for leave and possible sick leave.
What B2B does not give you
- Paid leave. An employee is entitled to 20 days a year, or 26 days with at least 10 years of service (art. 154 of the Kodeks pracy, the Labour Code). On B2B, a month of rest usually means a month without an invoice; in the example, minus 12 000 zł of revenue for the year. From 2026, periods of a JDG for which emerytalne and rentowe contributions were paid count towards length of service (with private employers from 1 May 2026).
- Sick leave. An employee receives 80% of salary from the first day of illness: for the first 33 days in a year the employer pays (14 days from the age of 50), after that a zasiłek (benefit) from ZUS. A JDG owner receives a zasiłek only with voluntary chorobowe, after 90 days of continuous insurance. It is 80% of the contribution base minus 13.71%: on preferencyjny ZUS about 995 zł for a full month of illness, on full ZUS about 3 900 zł.
- Notice period. Under art. 36 of the Kodeks pracy it is 2 weeks with less than 6 months of service with the employer, 1 month from 6 months and 3 months from 3 years. On B2B the termination period is whatever is written in the contract, and it can be much shorter.
The risk of requalification and the former employer
From 8 July 2026 the Państwowa Inspekcja Pracy (PIP, the National Labour Inspectorate) can by its own decision treat a B2B contract as an employment contract if the work is done under the client’s direction, at the client’s place and time. How this works is explained in the article PIP and B2B contracts from 2026.
There is a separate tax rule for those who move from an employment contract to B2B with the same employer. If through your JDG you do the same work for them as under an umowa o pracę in this or the previous year, liniowy and ryczałt are not available, and only the tax scale remains. The calculation then changes noticeably.
Frequently asked questions
What B2B rate should I ask for so as not to lose money?
A guide: the cost of the employee for the firm, that is brutto plus about 20.48% of employer contributions, and a margin for unpaid leave and sick leave. In the example this is more than 14 458 zł netto a month. The exact amount is calculated on your costs and form of taxation.
Can I switch to B2B with my own employer?
You can, but if the work is the same as under the employment contract in this or the previous year, the tax will be on the tax scale only. In addition, such an arrangement is more likely to come under a PIP inspection if nothing has changed in practice.
Does VAT affect take-home pay?
No. VAT is added on top of the invoice and goes to the tax office. With VAT exemption (the limit of 240 000 zł a year), the invoice is issued without it.
We calculate B2B and the employment contract on your figures, check the ryczałt rate for your services and then keep the books of your JDG: an accountant for IT and B2B. The cost of bookkeeping is shown by the calculator on this page.
Checked as of 5 October 2026. This is general information, not tax advice.
Sources: Kodeks pracy, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1245, ustawa o PIT, tekst jednolity Dz.U. 2026 poz. 592, zielonalinia.gov.pl: koszty zatrudnienia pracownika, zielonalinia.gov.pl: zasiłek chorobowy dla przedsiębiorcy.
