Two different procedures that are often confused. Suspension is a pause: the business stays, but no contributions are paid. Closure is the end: the entry is removed from CEIDG. The choice depends on whether you will come back to the business or not.
When it is better to suspend
If there is no income for a while but you plan to come back: a seasonal lull, a period abroad, illness, maternity leave, a move into employment when you are not sure how long it will last.
- Filed through CEIDG for free and online, for at least 30 days, with no upper time limit.
- No ZUS social contributions are paid during the suspension.
- No VAT returns are filed for that period.
- Resuming is also done through CEIDG, with one application, on any day.
Restrictions people find out about too late: you cannot carry on day-to-day business or issue invoices for new services. You can, however, receive payment under old contracts, sell business assets and pay costs that arose before the suspension.
An important point about insurance: during a suspension you lose health insurance through ZUS after 30 days. If you have no other basis for it, it has to be arranged separately.
When to close
If you do not plan to come back: you are leaving Poland, moving into employment for good, or opening an sp. z o.o. instead of a JDG.
- An application in CEIDG, also free and online.
- Deregistration from ZUS happens automatically using the data from CEIDG.
- If you are a VAT payer, a VAT-Z is filed to deregister.
- A closing inventory of assets is prepared for VAT, if there were any assets.
- The final annual tax return is filed by the usual deadline the following year.
What remains after closure
This is why closure should not be done in a rush. The duty to keep records stays with you: books and invoices for at least 5 years from the end of the year in which the tax payment deadline passed. Debts to the tax office (US) and ZUS do not disappear and can be collected after closure as well. And if you close the JDG on which your residence card was based, that basis is gone.
What we do
- We check which works better in your case: a pause or closure.
- We prepare and file the CEIDG application and deal with ZUS and VAT-Z.
- We tie up loose ends: unrecorded invoices, outstanding contributions, unclaimed costs.
- We check for any arrears so they do not surface a year later.
- We hand you the document archive in a clear form so it can be kept for the required years.
If you are suspending rather than closing, our service can be paused for that time too: there is no point paying for bookkeeping when there are no transactions.
Where to start
Message us and describe your situation in two sentences. We will tell you what to do next and what it will cost. If it turns out you do not need our help, we will say so.
We are the Polish practice of the MK Audit international audit and accounting group, in audit and accounting since 2000. We work online across Poland and meet in person in Warsaw.
Tell us whether you plan to return to the business, and we will explain how to prepare a suspension or a closure.
