Revenue from short-term apartment rental is settled in Poland under ryczałt (lump-sum tax on recorded revenue): 8.5% of revenue up to PLN 100,000 a year and 12.5% on the excess. The same rates apply to private rental and to accommodation services under a business activity, but the two paths differ in contributions, VAT and formalities. The key question is therefore not "how much" but "is this still private rental".
Private rental or business activity
The regulations do not set a fixed boundary. Tax authorities assess whether rental is for profit, organised and continuous — like a typical business. Pointers to business activity are, in particular:
- several or a dozen flats bought with rental in mind,
- additional services typical of a hotel: daily cleaning, change of linen during the stay, breakfasts, transfers,
- hiring staff or a firm handling bookings and check-ins,
- active marketing and price management as in an accommodation facility.
By contrast, one or two flats from your own assets, rented with basic equipment and without extensive services, usually fit within private rental. Where the situation is borderline, an individual tax interpretation is the way out — it protects a taxpayer who follows it.
Comparison of the two paths
| Issue | Private rental | Business activity |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax | ryczałt 8.5% / 12.5% (mandatory) | a choice: ryczałt 8.5% / 12.5%, scale or flat tax (podatek liniowy) |
| Costs | do not reduce tax | on scale and flat tax, costs and depreciation may be deducted |
| ZUS contributions | none | social and health contributions as for any business |
| Registration | no CEIDG | entry in CEIDG (Central Register and Information on Economic Activity) or KRS (National Court Register) |
| Records | simple, no books | revenue records or the KPiR (tax book of revenue and expenditure) |
How ryczałt works in practice
The base is the revenue, i.e. the amount due from guests. The booking platform's commission does not reduce the tax under ryczałt. If guests pay separately for utilities under the contract, how this is treated depends on the contract design — in case of doubt it is worth clarifying before the season.
Ryczałt is paid monthly by the 20th day of the following month (for December by 20 January) or quarterly, and after the year ends the annual PIT-28 return is filed. The PLN 100,000 threshold is counted over the whole year: only revenue above that amount is taxed at 12.5%.
Example calculation
The owner of two apartments in Kraków rents them out as private rental. In 2026, revenue will be PLN 130,000.
- on the first PLN 100,000: 8.5% = PLN 8,500,
- on the PLN 30,000 excess: 12.5% = PLN 3,750,
- total ryczałt for the year: PLN 12,250, paid in monthly instalments.
If the same person ran a business on the tax scale and had PLN 60,000 of costs (rents, utilities, cleaning, equipment depreciation), tax could be lower, but ZUS contributions would come on top. Such a comparison is worth running with an accountant, over a full year.
VAT on short-term rental
Rental of a flat for residential purposes in the long term is VAT-exempt, while short-term accommodation of guests is treated as an accommodation service, which does not enjoy that exemption. As long as the total taxable sales do not exceed PLN 240,000 in 2026, the turnover-based VAT exemption may be used. Once the threshold is passed, you must register as a VAT taxpayer and add the tax at the rate proper for accommodation services. With a larger number of flats, the threshold may be reached faster than it seems.
Platforms pass data to the tax office
Operators of booking platforms are required to report to the tax administration data on hosts and their revenue. Only the largest players are excluded from reporting — entities for which the platform enabled more than 2,000 bookings within a group of properties. This means revenue from a typical daily-rental flat is visible to the office, and leaving it out of the return is easy to detect.
Formalities easy to forget
- Local or spa fee — in localities where the commune council has introduced it, the host collects it from guests and remits it to the commune.
- Entry of the facility in the commune register — properties providing accommodation services may be subject to entry in the register kept by the mayor.
- Housing community — the rules or resolutions may contain provisions on short-term rental, and nuisance to neighbours may lead to disputes.
- Insurance — a standard housing policy often does not cover damage caused by guests under daily rental.
The most common host mistakes
- Deducting platform commission or cleaning costs from revenue under ryczałt — under this form, tax is calculated on the full amount due.
- Two spouses settling without agreeing who reports revenue from a flat that is joint property.
- Missing the VAT threshold with several flats and crossing it during the summer season.
- Gradually expanding additional services without checking whether the rental has already become business activity.
How Good Balance can help
We help assess whether rental is still private rental and prepare an application for an individual tax interpretation when the matter is borderline. We keep records and settle ryczałt and VAT under simplified accounting, and as the portfolio grows we compare the profitability of business activity. The rules of ryczałt itself are discussed in the article Ryczałt in 2026.