Capital Gains Tax on Property in Poland: the 5-Year Rule Explained

In Poland the tax on selling a flat is part of personal income tax rather than a separate capital gains tax: if you sell before five full calendar years have passed, counted from the end of the year of purchase, you pay 19% PIT on the gain. The tax is charged on income, not on the sale price, and it can be reduced or avoided entirely if you spend the proceeds on your own housing needs within three years (ulga mieszkaniowa). Below: how to count the period, what reduces the gain and where the rules are disputed.

When the tax applies: counting the five years

The core rule sits in the ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych (Personal Income Tax Act): tax arises if the flat is sold before the end of five calendar years counted from the end of the year in which you bought it. The clock starts at the end of the purchase year, not on the date of the deal.

A worked example of the rule:

• you bought a flat in June 2021, so counting starts after the end of 2021;
• the five calendar years are 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026;
• a sale in December 2026 still falls under the rule, while a sale in January 2027 or later no longer does.

In a case like this, moving completion by a few weeks into the next calendar year can remove the tax entirely. If you bought in 2021 and are negotiating a sale now, check this before you agree a date.

Which date counts as the purchase date

For a purchase from a developer, tax offices usually treat the signing of the umowa przenosząca własność (the final notarial deed transferring ownership) as the purchase date, not the date of the umowa deweloperska (the developer agreement). For inherited or gifted flats, divorce settlements or a spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu (cooperative ownership right), the period may be counted differently; confirm the date with a doradca podatkowy (licensed tax adviser) first.

What the 19% is charged on: the gain, not the price

Put simply, the gain is the sale price minus the costs of buying and improving the flat. As a rule, it is taxed separately from your salary or B2B income. Which costs are accepted depends on your documents.

What, as a rule, reduces the taxable gain:

• the purchase price stated in the akt notarialny (notarial deed);
• taxes and fees paid on purchase, such as PCC on the secondary market, the taksa notarialna (notary fee) and court fees for entries in the księga wieczysta (land and mortgage register);
• documented spending on renovation and improvements that increased the value of the flat, supported by VAT invoices in your name;
• costs of the sale itself, such as the notary or an agency fee paid by the seller.

Often disputed: receipts without your details, your own labour, furniture and appliances, mortgage interest and bank fees, so do not count on them in advance. A deed price clearly below market value may also be questioned by the tax office.

Rates and fees around a sale and a purchase

You paid some of these when you bought the flat, and the receipts now work in your favour.

Source: statutory rates and fees, NAWROCKI summary as of 10.11.2026.

PCC is governed by the ustawa o podatku od czynności cywilnoprawnych (Tax on Civil-Law Transactions Act): it is not charged on a purchase from a developer, where VAT is already in the price. If you bought on the secondary market, the amounts below are part of your documented costs.

Source: NAWROCKI calculation examples at rates as of 10.11.2026.

For the buyer's side, see our full breakdown of buying costs and taxes in Poland.

Ulga mieszkaniowa: the housing relief

Ulga mieszkaniowa (housing relief) exempts the gain from tax if the sale proceeds are spent on your own housing needs within three years. The period is usually counted from the end of the year of the sale; confirm the exact deadline for your transaction with a doradca podatkowy.

How the relief generally works:

• the exemption is proportional: if only part of the proceeds goes into housing, only the matching part of the gain is exempt;
• the act lists, among other things, buying another home, building or renovating your own home, and repaying a mortgage taken out to buy a home (refinanced loans are a grey area); the full list is in the PIT act;
• the money must go into your own home: a flat bought purely to let may not pass scrutiny.

Where tax offices and courts do not take a single position:

• spending incurred before the sale, for example when you bought the new flat first and sold the old one later;
• a home you let out or do not live in;
• property outside the EU. As we understand it, the relief is tied to where the home is located (EU, EEA and Switzerland), so buying a flat in Ukraine, Belarus or Kazakhstan, for example, is unlikely to qualify. Check this before you commit.

If your situation is non-standard, you can request an interpretacja indywidualna (an individual tax ruling); the procedure is described on podatki.gov.pl. It gives you firm ground with the tax office if the facts are described accurately.

Warsaw prices: why a higher asking price is not a gain

Tax is calculated on the price in the deed, which is usually lower than the price in listings. According to NBP data for Q2 2026, the average asking price on Warsaw's secondary market was 19,059 PLN per m², while the average transaction price was 16,723 PLN per m². Over the year, secondary-market transaction prices rose by 1.3% and asking prices by 3.6%.

District medians from notarial deeds (RCN) show that a resold new-build competes with a secondary market where the price per m² can be lower or higher:

Source: RCN — Rejestr Cen Nieruchomości, transactions registered from 2024-11-10 to 2025-12-19, medians adjusted by the district price index, NAWROCKI analysis.

Before you list the flat, check RCN transaction prices in Bemowo or your own district and compare them with your purchase price and documented costs. For the citywide picture, see Warsaw property prices per m² by district.

Step by step: selling before the five years are up

1. Find the akt notarialny from your purchase and confirm the acquisition date; ownership details can be checked in the Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste (the online land register).
2. Work out the year the five-year period ends and whether waiting until the next calendar year makes sense.
3. Collect evidence of costs: the purchase deed, proof of PCC and fees, renovation invoices.
4. Estimate a realistic sale price from district transactions, not listings.
5. Decide in advance whether you will use ulga mieszkaniowa and where the money will go.
6. After the sale, file the return for that year, usually the PIT-39; check the deadline on podatki.gov.pl or with the urząd skarbowy (tax office).
7. If you claim the relief, keep the expense documents and track the three-year deadline; if the money is not spent, you will most likely need to correct the return and pay the tax with interest.
8. In non-standard cases, such as an inheritance or buying abroad, get advice or an individual ruling before the deal.

Expats, non-residents and investors

• Tax residence. Income from selling a flat located in Poland is, as a rule, taxed in Poland even if you have moved away; check the double tax treaty and how to report the income where you now live.
• B2B and JDG. If the flat is a private asset, its sale is, as a rule, taxed separately from your B2B contract income, and the tax form of your business does not matter here. If the flat was recorded in the business as a środek trwały (fixed asset), different rules apply; speak to your accountant before the deal.
• Buy-to-let investors. Rental income is taxed separately from the sale, and reinvesting into another rental is a disputed case for the relief, so model the deal with and without the exemption. See also our guide to buying property in Poland as a foreigner.

How NAWROCKI Real Estate helps

We are not tax advisers. But if you are selling to buy a new flat from a developer within ulga mieszkaniowa, we handle the buying side:

• we compare offers from many developers at once; browse our catalogue of new developments in Warsaw;
• we check the developer's price per m² against real notarial transactions (RCN) in the district;
• we read the umowa deweloperska and the prospekt informacyjny (information prospectus);
• we negotiate price and terms with the developer;
• we keep track of the payment schedule, which matters if the sale proceeds must be spent within the relief period;
• we help with the odbiór techniczny (technical acceptance of the flat).

In most developments we work with, the developer pays our fee, so for the buyer the service is usually free; if not, we say so before we start.

Want to know what you can buy with the proceeds, and when? Get in touch with us and we will shortlist options.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a notary, lawyer, tax adviser or mortgage broker before making a decision.

Sources

• Ustawa z 26 lipca 1991 r. o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych (ISAP)
• Ustawa z 9 września 2000 r. o podatku od czynności cywilnoprawnych (ISAP)
• Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa — podatki.gov.pl
• Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste — Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości