[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"advice-en-accounting-for-it-industry":3},{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"body":7,"datePublished":8,"dateModified":8},"accounting-for-it-industry","Accounting for IT specialists — foreign clients, currencies and VAT UE","IT accounting: how to settle EU and non-EU clients, euro invoices at the NBP rate, VAT UE registration, ryczałt or IP Box, and the 2026 deadlines calendar.","\u003Cp>Accounting for an IT specialist running a sole proprietorship differs from a typical service firm mainly because of foreign clients, foreign-currency invoices and reliefs that require additional documentation. The bookkeeping itself is usually simple because invoices are few, but every one of them has consequences in VAT, PIT and exchange rates. Below we discuss what an accounting office pays attention to when settling programmers, testers, analysts or system administrators.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Where the client is: three VAT settlement models\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The first question with a new contract concerns the customer's place of establishment. For services provided to another business, the place of supply is, as a rule, the country where the recipient has its seat.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ctable>\u003Cthead>\u003Ctr>\u003Cth>Client\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>VAT on the invoice\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>Additional obligations\u003C\u002Fth>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Fthead>\u003Ctbody>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Company from Poland\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>23% (or no VAT under the turnover-based VAT exemption up to PLN 240,000 in 2026)\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>JPK_V7 (standard audit file for VAT), invoice in KSeF\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Company from another EU country\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>no Polish VAT, note \"reverse charge\"\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>registration as a VAT UE payer before the first service, VAT-UE recapitulative statement by the 25th day of the month\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Company from outside the EU\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>no Polish VAT, service taxed outside Poland\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>reporting the service in JPK_V7 by an active VAT payer\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Ftbody>\u003C\u002Ftable>\u003Cp>The trap applies in particular to persons exempt from VAT: VAT UE registration is also needed when the entrepreneur is not an active VAT payer but provides services to a company in another EU country. Failure to register before the first invoice is one of the most common mistakes at the start.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Invoices in euros and dollars: two different rates\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>To convert revenue in a foreign currency, you use the average NBP exchange rate announced on the last business day preceding the day on which the revenue is obtained. For VAT, the taxable base is converted at the rate from the last business day preceding the tax obligation. For services settled monthly, the two days often coincide, but not always, e.g. with advance payments.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>When payment comes later than the revenue arose, the exchange rate changes and an exchange-rate difference arises. Under the flat tax (podatek liniowy) and the tax scale, this must be recorded in the books as revenue or cost. That is why it is worth keeping a separate foreign-currency bank account and giving the accountant bank statements rather than just the invoices themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch3>Example\u003C\u002Fh3>\u003Cp>Ms Kinga, a programmer on the flat tax, issues an invoice on 30 September 2026 for EUR 8,000 to a client from Germany for services performed in September. Let us assume the NBP average rate from 29 September is PLN 4.25, so the revenue is PLN 34,000. The client pays on 14 October, and the rate from the day preceding the inflow is PLN 4.22, so the equivalent of PLN 33,760 arrives. The difference of PLN 240 is a negative exchange-rate difference, which lowers the income. There is no Polish VAT on the invoice, and the service must be reported in the VAT-UE recapitulative statement for September, submitted by 26 October, because 25 October 2026 falls on a Sunday.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Form of taxation and reliefs in the IT industry\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Most IT specialists choose between ryczałt (lump-sum tax on recorded revenue), the flat tax (podatek liniowy) and the tax scale combined with IP Box. Each option requires different documentation:\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>ryczałt\u003C\u002Fstrong>: the rate depends on the type of service, not on the job title; for software and IT consulting the 12% rate most often applies, for some services 8.5% or 15%; the classification rules are described in the article on \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Ftaxes-of-12-and-8-5-pkd-codes-for-it-professionals\">the 12% and 8.5% ryczałt rates in IT\u003C\u002Fa>;\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>flat tax or tax scale\u003C\u002Fstrong>: costs become important — hardware, software, training, trips to the client, as well as depreciation of more expensive equipment;\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>IP Box\u003C\u002Fstrong>: the 5% rate requires separate records of costs and revenues for each qualified right and documentation of creative work; the conditions are described in the article on \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Fip-box-what-is-it\">IP Box\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Cp>The form of taxation is chosen for the entire year. A change during the year is as a rule impossible, so the decision is worth making on the basis of calculations before the first invoice of the given year.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Monthly settlement calendar\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Col>\u003Cli>By the 20th: ZUS contributions and the income-tax advance (or ryczałt) for the previous month.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>By the 25th: JPK_V7M (or JPK_V7K) and the VAT-UE recapitulative statement if the previous month included a service for an EU company.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>On an ongoing basis: sales invoices in KSeF; from 1 April 2026 the obligation covers most companies, and from 1 January 2027 it will also cover the smallest entrepreneurs.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>Under IP Box: updating the records of revenues and costs at the end of each month.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Fol>\u003Ch2>Mistakes typical of the industry\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cul>\u003Cli>Converting currency invoices at the exchange rate from the issue date instead of the day before.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>An invoice for an EU client with Polish 23% VAT or without the \"reverse charge\" note.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>A ryczałt rate chosen based on the job title in the contract rather than on the activities actually performed.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>IP Box settled retrospectively, without records kept on an ongoing basis.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>A private laptop entered into the firm without a purchase document or valuation.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003Cli>No contract from which the transfer of copyright to the code results, where it is needed for IP Box.\u003C\u002Fli>\u003C\u002Ful>\u003Ch2>How Good Balance can help\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>We run \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Faccounting\u002Fsimplified-accounting\">simplified accounting\u003C\u002Fa> for IT specialists working with clients from Poland and abroad: we register for VAT UE, settle currency invoices and keep records for IP Box. If there is any doubt about the ryczałt rate or qualification for IP Box, we help obtain an \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Flegal\u002Ftax-interpretation\">individual tax interpretation\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-10-10"]