PCC Exemption for First-Time Buyers in Poland: Rules and Savings

If you are buying your first home in Poland on the resale market, you may not have to pay PCC, the 2% transfer tax on the market value of the flat: on a 500,000 PLN apartment that is 10,000 PLN, and on an 800,000 PLN one it is 16,000 PLN. Since 2023 the exemption applies to an individual who has never owned a flat or a house, or a share in one, and never held a cooperative ownership right to a flat. The notary applies it on the basis of your statement in the deed, so the conditions need checking before you sign the preliminary agreement.

What PCC is and when you pay it

PCC stands for podatek od czynności cywilnoprawnych (tax on civil-law transactions). When you buy a flat on the secondary market, it is 2% of the market value. The notary collects it when you sign the akt notarialny (notarial deed) and pays it to the urząd skarbowy (tax office). The rules, including the first-home exemption, are in the Polish Act on the tax on civil-law transactions.

When you buy from a developer, there is no PCC at all. VAT is already included in the price: 8% for usable floor area up to 150 m² and 23% on the part above that, while a parking space or storage unit sold as a separate unit is usually taxed at 23%. The details are in the Polish VAT Act. The PCC exemption therefore only matters when you buy from a private seller: an older flat, or a newer one that someone bought from a developer and is now reselling. For the full picture of fees, see our breakdown of buying costs and taxes in Poland.

Who qualifies for the PCC exemption on a first home

The exemption is not a refund claimed later: it works immediately, inside the notarial deed, and all of these conditions must be met:

• you buy as an individual — companies cannot use it; having a JDG (sole proprietorship) or working on a B2B contract does not matter if you buy the flat in your own name;
• it is a sale contract — an exchange of flats, for example, is not covered;
• you are buying a flat held as separate property, a spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu (cooperative ownership right to a flat) or a single-family house;
• before the purchase you never had ownership or a share in ownership of a flat or a single-family house, nor a cooperative ownership right to a flat or a share in such a right.

There is one important exception: a share acquired by inheritance that is not larger than one half does not take away the exemption. If you inherited a small part of your parents' home, you can still buy your first flat without PCC. A share above one half, or a share you bought or received as a gift, rules the exemption out.

There is no price cap, size limit or age limit, and no requirement of Polish citizenship, a residence card or zameldowanie (registered address). Renting, a spółdzielcze lokatorskie prawo (cooperative tenancy right) or co-signing a mortgage without owning a share do not disqualify you. Official guidance is published on the Polish tax administration portal podatki.gov.pl.

How much you save: costs with and without PCC

Typical resale price levels in Warsaw:

Source: statutory PCC rate and court fees, NAWROCKI Real Estate calculations, as of 2026-11-09.

The exemption covers only the tax on the sale contract. Other costs stay: the court fee for entering your ownership in the księga wieczysta (land and mortgage register) is 200 PLN, entering the mortgage costs another 200 PLN, and with a loan you also pay 19 PLN of PCC on the mortgage. These amounts come from the Act on court costs in civil matters.

Then there is the taksa notarialna (notary fee). The regulation on maximum notary fees sets only a ceiling, so the fee can be negotiated, and 23% VAT is added to it.

With a mortgage, the exemption mainly reduces the cash you need upfront. Example: a 675,000 PLN flat with a 20% down payment of 135,000 PLN means a 540,000 PLN loan; at about 6% (rates as of 2026-11-01) over 25 years, the equal monthly instalment is about 3,479 PLN. Transaction costs come from your own funds on top of the down payment, so no PCC means less cash to gather. You can model your own numbers in our mortgage and affordability calculator.

Owning property abroad: does it cancel the exemption?

The law refers to owning a flat or a house, or a share in one, and does not limit this condition to property located in Poland. The safe assumption is that a home abroad, even a partial share, may disqualify you.

Situations to check before you sign:

• you own a flat back home, for example in the UK, Ukraine or India, even if you rent it out or never use it;
• you inherited a share in your parents' house abroad — then its size, and the fact that it came by inheritance, both matter;
• you sold your home abroad before moving to Poland — a sale does not reset your history, because the law asks whether you ever held such a right before this purchase;
• your spouse holds a home abroad that legally belongs to both of you under your marital property regime.

Confirm how your foreign property is treated with the urząd skarbowy or through an interpretacja indywidualna (individual tax ruling). The notary does not check foreign registers and relies on your statement, so the risk sits with you. If you are buying from abroad, our guide on how to buy property in Poland remotely explains the practical steps.

Buying as a couple, shares and inheritance

When two people buy together, the conditions have to be checked for each buyer. If one of you already owned a home, the position is disputed. The tax authority (Dyrektor KIS) treats the exemption as applying to the transaction as a whole, so if one buyer does not qualify, PCC is charged on the whole purchase. In a judgment of 7 April 2026 (III FSK 281/25), the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA) held that the exemption can apply proportionally to the buyer who qualifies, but this is a single ruling and other panels may decide differently. In practice the notary may charge PCC on the full price; you can then claim a refund from the urząd skarbowy with a wniosek o stwierdzenie nadpłaty (overpayment request), citing that judgment. Agree the approach with the notary before the deed is drafted, including for married couples under wspólność majątkowa (joint marital property), and in complex cases get an interpretacja indywidualna or advice from a tax adviser.

Common situations where buyers get it wrong:

• A parent on the deed. If your parents already own a home and you add them as co-owners, PCC is due at least on their share, and in the tax office's view on the whole price. If they only need to support the mortgage application, they can be co-borrowers without a share in ownership — whether the bank accepts that is a question for your mortgage broker before the preliminary agreement.
• A share bought earlier. Anyone who once bought a sibling's part of a flat is no longer a first-time buyer, even if the share was small.
• Cooperative rights. The własnościowe (ownership) type disqualifies you; the lokatorskie (tenancy) type does not.
• A second purchase. The exemption works only once. On your next resale flat you pay the full 2%.

Resale flat with the exemption or a new-build from a developer?

With the tax gap closed, prices decide. Notarial deed data show that in many Warsaw districts the resale median per m² was higher than the primary one:

Source: RCN — Rejestr Cen Nieruchomości (register of prices from notarial deeds), transactions registered from 2024-11-09 to 2025-12-19, medians adjusted by the district price index, NAWROCKI analysis.

City-wide averages from the NBP housing price database for Q2 2026 are closer together: transaction prices were 16,783 PLN/m² on the primary market and 16,723 PLN/m² on the resale market. A city average smooths out district differences, so always compare a specific location. The exemption alone does not guarantee that a resale flat ends up cheaper.

Resale usually means moving in sooner; a new-build means fit-out costs and waiting for completion. To compare locations, check the RCN transaction prices in Bemowo and our overview of the best districts in Warsaw for expats.

How to use the PCC exemption, step by step

1. List your ownership history. Flats, houses, shares and cooperative rights — in Poland and abroad, including ones sold or given away long ago.
2. Check inherited shares. Confirm the size of the share and the legal basis: a court inheritance order or, in Poland, an akt poświadczenia dziedziczenia (notarial certificate of inheritance).
3. Decide who will be on the deed. Agree whether you will both be owners and check the conditions for each person separately.
4. Resolve doubts before the preliminary agreement. With property abroad or an unusual share, ask the urząd skarbowy or apply for an interpretacja indywidualna; in complex cases, consult a tax adviser.
5. Check the flat's land register. In the Electronic Land and Mortgage Registers you can verify the owner, mortgages and encumbrances before you commit.
6. Tell the notary early. Say you intend to use the exemption so it is reflected in the draft deed and the cost estimate. If you do not speak Polish well, a tłumacz przysięgły (sworn translator) must attend.
7. Make the statement in the deed. You declare that you meet the conditions. Read the wording before signing and make sure it is true.
8. Keep your documents. The tax office can verify the exemption later, so keep the papers that prove your situation.

Common mistakes and risks

A mistake costs the full tax — 2% of the flat's value — plus late-payment interest if the tax office challenges the exemption later. The most common errors are forgetting an inherited share, ignoring a home abroad, putting a parent who already owns a home on the deed, and expecting the exemption to cover court and notary fees too.

Think ahead as well. If you sell the flat before 5 calendar years have passed, counted from the end of the year of purchase, you pay 19% PIT on the income, unless you spend the proceeds on your own housing needs within 3 years (ulga mieszkaniowa). The rules are in the Personal Income Tax Act. If you plan to let the flat, private rental income is taxed under ryczałt (flat-rate tax): 8.5% of revenue up to 100,000 PLN a year and 12.5% above that.

How NAWROCKI Real Estate helps

We work as a buyer's agent for new-build flats from developers in Warsaw, so we are most useful when you weigh a resale flat with the exemption against a new-build and want to know whether the developer's offer is worth its price:

• we compare offers from many developers at once;
• we check the developer's price per m² against real notarial transactions (RCN) in the district;
• we read the umowa deweloperska (developer agreement) and the prospekt informacyjny (information prospectus);
• we negotiate price and terms with the developer;
• we keep track of the payment schedule and 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. Always confirm tax questions, including your right to the PCC exemption, with a notary or tax adviser. Current projects are in our catalogue of new developments in Warsaw: 285 investments and 14,875 units on sale according to developers' price lists from 2026-11-07.

If you are deciding between a resale flat with the PCC exemption and a new apartment from a developer, contact NAWROCKI Real Estate — we will go through your budget and compare specific options in the districts you are considering.

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 9 września 2000 r. o podatku od czynności cywilnoprawnych (ISAP)
• Ustawa z 11 marca 2004 r. o podatku od towarów i usług (ISAP)
• Ustawa z 28 lipca 2005 r. o kosztach sądowych w sprawach cywilnych (ISAP)
• Rozporządzenie w sprawie maksymalnych stawek taksy notarialnej (ISAP)
• Ustawa z 26 lipca 1991 r. o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych (ISAP)
• NBP — Baza cen nieruchomości mieszkaniowych (ceny ofertowe i transakcyjne, kwartalnie)
• Elektroniczne Księgi Wieczyste — Ministerstwo Sprawiedliwości
• Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa — podatki.gov.pl