This article is for those who are registering a JDG (jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza, the Polish sole proprietorship) or want to change their form of taxation from next year. If your costs are low and the ryczałt rate for your type of activity is 12% or lower, ryczałt usually leaves you more money; with high costs, a loss at the start or a wish to file a joint return with your spouse, the tax scale or liniowy is more favourable.
The three forms of taxation in brief
- Skala podatkowa (zasady ogólne), the tax scale. 12% on income up to 120 000 zł a year and 32% on the excess. Kwota wolna (the tax-free amount) is 30 000 zł: the tax is reduced by 3 600 zł. The tax is calculated on income, that is revenue minus costs. This form applies by default if you have not chosen anything.
- Podatek liniowy, the flat tax. 19% of income regardless of its size, with no kwota wolna. Costs are taken into account in the same way as on the tax scale.
- Ryczałt od przychodów ewidencjonowanych, the lump-sum tax on recorded revenue. A percentage of revenue (przychód); costs are not taken into account at all. The rate depends on the type of activity and ranges from 2% to 17%.
On the tax scale and on liniowy, an additional danina solidarnościowa (solidarity levy) of 4% is paid on income above 1 000 000 zł a year. This is rare for a small business, but it is worth knowing about.
Ryczałt rates in 2026
The full list is in art. 12 of the ustawa o zryczałtowanym podatku dochodowym (the Lump-Sum Income Tax Act); the rate is determined by the PKWiU code of the service. The most common ones are:
- 17%: wolne zawody (liberal professions), if you work in person: translators, advocates, radcy prawni (legal advisers), accountants, doradcy podatkowi (tax advisers) and others on the list.
- 15%: advertising, market research, intermediation in wholesale trade, services in culture, sport and entertainment.
- 14%: medical services, architecture and engineering, specialised design.
- 12%: some IT services: software development and maintenance, consultancy on software and hardware, management of networks and systems.
- 10%: buying and selling real estate on your own account.
- 8.5% and 12.5%: rental, accommodation and a number of other services: 8.5% up to 100 000 zł of revenue a year and 12.5% on the excess.
- 8.5%: other services that do not fall under the higher rates.
- 5.5%: manufacturing and construction work. 3%: trade and catering without alcohol. 2%: sale of your own agricultural produce.
A mistake in the PKWiU code means the wrong rate for the whole year, so the rate is worth checking before your first invoice. If in doubt, a tax interpretation is issued by KIS (the National Revenue Information Service), and a consultation by a doradca podatkowy.
Składka zdrowotna under each form
The health contribution often decides the choice more than the tax rate itself. In 2026:
- Tax scale: 9% of income, at least 432.54 zł a month, not deductible from tax or income.
- Liniowy: 4.9% of income, the same minimum; the contribution paid reduces income, but by no more than 14 100 zł for 2026.
- Ryczałt: a fixed amount based on revenue since the start of the year: 498.35 zł up to 60 000 zł, 830.58 zł up to 300 000 zł, 1 495.04 zł above that. Half of the contribution paid reduces revenue for tax purposes.
Details, the annual reconciliation and examples are in the article składka zdrowotna 2026. Social ZUS contributions do not depend on the form of taxation; their amounts are in the article ZUS for a JDG in 2026.
Costs, reliefs and losses
- On the tax scale and liniowy, costs include rent, equipment, bookkeeping, fuel and other business expenses. On ryczałt there are none, so the higher the share of costs in revenue, the less sense ryczałt makes.
- A loss can be carried forward to later years only on the tax scale and liniowy. On ryczałt there is no such thing as a loss: tax is paid on revenue.
- A joint return with your spouse and the ulga na dziecko (child relief) on JDG income are available only on the tax scale. On ryczałt, the child relief can be taken against other income taxed on the scale, for example a salary.
- Social ZUS contributions are deductible under all three forms.
Who cannot choose ryczałt or liniowy
Neither ryczałt nor liniowy is available if, through your JDG, you provide a former or current employer with the same services that you performed under an umowa o pracę (employment contract) in this or the previous year. Ryczałt is also closed to pharmacies, currency exchange, trade in car parts and accessories, production of excise goods (except energy from renewable sources) and when revenue for the previous year exceeded 2 000 000 euro. If you lose the right to ryczałt during the year, from that day you switch to the general rules and keep a KPiR (revenue and expense ledger).
When and how to change the form
- A new JDG chooses its form directly in the CEIDG-1 application.
- An existing JDG can change its form only from the new year: the application is filed through CEIDG or with the urząd skarbowy (tax office) by the 20th day of the month following the month of the first revenue in the year. If the first revenue was in January, the deadline is 20 February.
- If the first revenue in the year falls in December, the application can be filed by the end of the year.
- The choice also applies in the following years until you change it.
The Ministry of Finance is preparing changes to ryczałt from 2027; on the check date this is a draft. If you are deciding for 2027, check it closer to January.
Example: 15 000 zł a month with low costs
This is a teaching example, not a client case. A JDG in its second year, preferencyjny ZUS with sickness insurance of 456.18 zł a month (5 474.16 zł a year). Revenue of 15 000 zł a month, 180 000 zł a year. Costs of 1 000 zł a month, 12 000 zł a year. No VAT nuances, no spouse and no children. Amounts are rounded.
- Tax scale. Income after ZUS 162 526 zł. Tax 10 800 + 32% of 42 526 = about 24 408 zł. Składka zdrowotna at 9% = about 14 627 zł. Tax and contributions together about 44 510 zł.
- Liniowy. Składka zdrowotna at 4.9% = about 7 964 zł, deducted from income. Tax at 19% of 154 562 zł = about 29 367 zł. In total about 42 805 zł.
- Ryczałt 12%. Składka zdrowotna 830.58 zł a month, 9 967 zł a year, half of it deducted. Tax on 169 542 zł = about 20 345 zł. In total about 35 786 zł.
- Ryczałt 8.5% would give about 29 852 zł, ryczałt 15% about 40 872 zł.
With these figures, ryczałt 12% saves about 7 000 zł a year compared with liniowy. If costs were 6 000 zł a month, the picture would change: the tax scale and liniowy would take them into account, ryczałt would not. That is why you need to calculate on your own real costs, not on averages.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change my form of taxation in the middle of the year?
No, by your own choice only from the start of the following year, by the 20th day of the month after the first revenue. The exception: if you have lost the right to ryczałt, the general rules apply immediately.
What happens if I did not choose a form at registration?
The JDG is taxed on the tax scale. You can switch to ryczałt or liniowy from the following year.
Which form is best for IT on B2B?
Often ryczałt 12%, if costs are low and the services fit the list. But some IT services are taxed differently, and working for a former employer rules out ryczałt and liniowy. Check your PKWiU code and your contract.
Is VAT included in revenue for ryczałt?
No. If you are a VAT payer, the tax is calculated on the netto amount.
We calculate all three options on your figures before registration and before the new year, and then keep the books under the chosen form: accounting for a JDG. 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: biznes.gov.pl: jak wybrać formę opodatkowania, biznes.gov.pl: ryczałt od przychodów ewidencjonowanych, biznes.gov.pl: ile wynosi składka zdrowotna.
