[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"advice-en-bad-debt-relief-ulga-na-zle-dlugi":3},{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"body":7,"datePublished":8,"dateModified":8},"bad-debt-relief-ulga-na-zle-dlugi","Bad debt relief 2026 — recovering VAT from an unpaid invoice","Bad debt relief in VAT and PIT: conditions, the 90-day deadline, 3-year limit, a JPK correction example, and obligations of the debtor who failed to pay.","\u003Cp>Bad debt relief lets a creditor recover the VAT paid on an invoice that a client never settled and, in income tax, reduce the taxable base by the unpaid revenue. The key figure is 90 days from the due date. The mechanism works both ways: a debtor who has not paid must return the VAT previously deducted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Ch2>What the relief is and why it is needed\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>Under standard VAT accounting, output tax is reported in the period when the tax point arises, usually regardless of whether the client has paid. An entrepreneur who issued an invoice for PLN 12,300 gross therefore pays PLN 2,300 of VAT out of their own pocket, even if they have not seen a single złoty. The relief under \u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.sejm.gov.pl\u002Feli\u002Facts\u002FDU\u002F2026\u002F1263\u002Ftext.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Article 89a of the VAT Act\u003C\u002Fa> allows this tax to be recovered through a correction, and once the money finally arrives — reported again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is a tax instrument, not a way to recover the receivable. The debt still exists and should be pursued in parallel — the steps are described in the article on \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Fdebt-collection-windykacja\">debt collection\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Ch2>Conditions for the VAT correction on the creditor's side\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The Act treats non-recoverability as made plausible when the receivable has not been paid or transferred in any form within 90 days of the due date set out in the contract or on the invoice. In addition, the formal conditions must be met:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>on the day preceding submission of the JPK file with the correction, the creditor is \u003Cstrong>registered as an active VAT payer\u003C\u002Fstrong>,\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>no more than \u003Cstrong>3 years\u003C\u002Fstrong> have passed since the end of the year the invoice was issued,\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>by the day the return for the given period is filed, the receivable has still not been settled or sold.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>If the buyer is not an active VAT payer (e.g. a consumer or an exempt business), the correction is possible only in specific situations: when the receivable is confirmed by a final court judgment and submitted for enforcement, entered into the national register of debts, or when consumer bankruptcy has been declared against the debtor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The correction is a right, not an obligation of the creditor. However, it can only be reported in the return for the period in which the 90th day passed — which is why payment deadlines should be kept under control in your accounting system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Ch2>How it looks in practice — an example with dates\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>A training company settles VAT monthly. It issues an invoice for PLN 10,000 net + PLN 2,300 VAT with a due date of 30 April 2026. The client does not pay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Col>\n\u003Cli>The 90-day count starts on 1 May 2026, so the 90th day falls on 29 July 2026.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>In the JPK_V7M file for July 2026, the company reduces the taxable base by PLN 10,000 and the output tax by PLN 2,300, provided that payment has not arrived by the filing day (25 August at the latest).\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>The file is marked to show that the correction concerns bad debt relief — in this way the creditor informs the tax office about the correction.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>If the client pays, say, in November 2026, the company increases the taxable base and output tax in the November return. With a partial payment, the increase applies only to that part.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Fol>\n\u003Cp>We discuss the structure of JPK files more broadly in the article about \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fadvice\u002Fjpk-files-what-they-are\">JPK files\u003C\u002Fa>.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Ch2>The other side of the coin: the debtor's obligation\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>An entrepreneur who has not paid an invoice within 90 days of its due date must correct the VAT deducted from it in the return for the period in which the 90th day passed (Article 89b of the VAT Act). The obligation does not arise if payment is made no later than the last day of that reporting period. Once the debt is settled later, the right to deduction is regained in the period of payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In practice, this means that delaying payments to suppliers does not provide a \"free loan\" — after 90 days the deducted VAT must be returned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Ch2>Bad debt relief in PIT\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>A similar mechanism operates in income tax (\u003Ca href=\"https:\u002F\u002Fapi.sejm.gov.pl\u002Feli\u002Facts\u002FDU\u002F2026\u002F592\u002Ftext.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Article 26i of the PIT Act\u003C\u002Fa>). The creditor may reduce the tax base by the amount of the unpaid receivable previously included in revenue, while the debtor must increase the base by the unpaid liability recognised in costs. The conditions, however, differ from VAT:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Ctable>\n\u003Cthead>\u003Ctr>\u003Cth>Element\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>VAT\u003C\u002Fth>\u003Cth>PIT\u003C\u002Fth>\u003C\u002Ftr>\u003C\u002Fthead>\n\u003Ctbody>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Time threshold\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>90 days from the due date\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>90 days from the due date\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Limit from invoice issue\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>3 years from the end of the year of issue\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>2 years from the end of the year the invoice was issued or the contract concluded\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Debtor status\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>irrelevant when the buyer is an active VAT payer\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>must not be in restructuring, bankruptcy or liquidation\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003Ctr>\u003Ctd>Where it is settled\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>JPK file for the period in which the 90th day passed\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003Ctd>annual return for the year in which the 90th day passed\u003C\u002Ftd>\u003C\u002Ftr>\n\u003C\u002Ftbody>\n\u003C\u002Ftable>\n\u003Cp>In PIT the transaction must be concluded within the business activity of both parties, and the income from it must be taxable in Poland. An analogous solution is provided by the CIT Act for companies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Ch2>Documents worth preparing\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>The Act does not require an application or attachments, but during an audit the tax office may ask about the basis for the correction. It is worth having at hand:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>the invoice and the contract or order with the due date,\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>a bank statement confirming the lack of payment as of the day the JPK is filed,\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>payment demands and correspondence with the debtor,\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>a printout of the buyer's VAT status on the transaction date and of your own status on the day preceding the correction.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\u003Cp>Good document discipline starts already when issuing the invoice: a clear due date on the document makes it easier later to determine when 90 days have passed. Our \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Finvoices\u002Ffaktura-vat\">VAT invoice handling\u003C\u002Fa> service helps with issuing and recording invoices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\n\u003Ch2>The most common mistakes\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cul>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Correction in the wrong period\u003C\u002Fstrong> — too early (before the 90th day) or too late, in later months.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Missing a payment before filing the JPK\u003C\u002Fstrong> — if the client paid after the 90th day but before the file was sent, the relief does not apply.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Forgotten increase\u003C\u002Fstrong> after a later payment, resulting in arrears with interest.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003Cli>\u003Cstrong>Loss of active VAT payer status\u003C\u002Fstrong> just before the correction, e.g. after removal from the VAT register.\u003C\u002Fli>\n\u003C\u002Ful>\n\n\u003Ch2>How Good Balance can help\u003C\u002Fh2>\n\u003Cp>As part of \u003Ca href=\"\u002Fen\u002Fservices\u002Faccounting\u002Ffull-accounting\">full accounting\u003C\u002Fa>, we monitor payment deadlines, flag invoices eligible for relief, and prepare the corrections in JPK and in the annual return. We also keep an eye on the debtor's obligations so that a deduction correction does not catch you off guard during an audit.\u003C\u002Fp>","2026-10-09"]