PCC 2% or VAT — which taxes you pay when buying a flat

When buying a flat in Poland you will pay either 2% PCC tax (the secondary market) or VAT included in the price (the primary market) — never both at once, apart from one exception for bulk buyers. Specifically: a flat worth PLN 600,000 on the secondary market means PLN 12,000 of PCC, collected by the notary at the deed. Since 31 August 2023 buyers of a first flat or house on the secondary market are entirely exempt from PCC — with no price limit and no floor-area limit. On the primary market the tax is settled by the developer: 8% VAT for units up to 150 m2 is already sitting in the asking price, while 23% applies to the excess floor area and to parking spaces with a separate land and mortgage register. Since 1 January 2024 there is also a 6% PCC rate, but it covers only the purchase of the sixth and subsequent units in a single development. In practice the difference runs to a dozen or more thousand złoty. Below we break it down into its component parts — the legal position as of August 2026.

How much is PCC when buying a flat on the secondary market?

When you buy a flat from a private individual, you pay the tax on civil-law transactions. The rate is 2% and follows from art. 7 para. 1 point 1 letter a of the act of 9 September 2000 on the tax on civil-law transactions — unchanged in 2026. The same rate applies to a unit constituting a separate property, to a single-family house and to a cooperative ownership right to a unit.

The arithmetic is simple: on a flat worth PLN 600,000 the PCC will come to PLN 12,000, and on PLN 800,000 — PLN 16,000. The tax is collected by the notary at the deed and passed on to the tax office, so you do not file a separate return.

One nuance can come as a surprise: the taxable basis is the market value of the property, not whatever amount is written into the agreement. If the price in the deed differs significantly from the prices of similar flats in the area, the tax office may call for it to be brought into line and for the tax to be topped up — even after the transaction.

Is a first flat exempt from PCC?

Yes. Since 31 August 2023 art. 9 point 17 of the PCC act has been in force: a buyer of their first flat or house on the secondary market is exempt from the tax. No price limit, no floor-area limit, no separate application — a declaration made in the akt notarialny (notarial deed) is enough, and the notary simply does not collect the 2%.

The conditions are specific:

• you are buying as a natural person (on your own or together with another natural person);
• the subject of the purchase is a residential unit constituting a separate property, a single-family house or a cooperative ownership right to a unit;
• neither on the day of the purchase nor ever before have you held any of these rights or a share in them — and in a joint purchase all the buyers must meet the condition;
• exception: a share not exceeding 50% acquired by inheritance does not take away the right to the exemption.

On a flat worth PLN 600,000 that is a real saving of PLN 12,000. Watch out for the limits of the exemption: it does not cover building plots, commercial premises or a second and further properties — there the standard 2% returns.

Which tax do you pay at a developer — VAT or PCC?

When buying from a developer you do not, as a rule, pay PCC — the rule applies that the same transaction is not taxed with VAT and PCC at the same time. VAT is already included in the asking price and settled by the developer, and you receive an invoice with the gross price.

The rates in 2026 look like this:

• 8% — for residential units with a usable floor area of up to 150 m2 and houses of up to 300 m2 (within the so-called social housing programme); this is the standard for the vast majority of flats;
• 23% — for floor area in excess of these limits (on a 160 m2 flat the higher rate applies only to 10 m2, not to the whole) and for commercial premises;
• 23% — also for a parking space, a garage or a storage room, if they are sold as a separate property with their own księga wieczysta (land and mortgage register) rather than as part of the unit.

In practice this means that when you compare asking prices on the primary and secondary markets, on the developer’s side the tax is already “sitting” in the price, while on the secondary market side it has to be added — unless you use the first-home exemption.

When does the 6% PCC rate apply?

Since 1 January 2024 there has been a provision aimed at the bulk buying of flats. If a buyer acquires the sixth and each subsequent residential unit (or shares in them) in a single building or in buildings on one plot of land, in transactions covered by VAT — on those units they additionally pay 6% PCC, alongside the VAT in the price. Importantly, in a purchase into co-ownership the 6% rate covers the agreement when even one of the buyers meets this condition. For a typical buyer of a single flat the provision has no significance whatsoever — though it is worth knowing it exists.

PCC or VAT — a comparison on an example

Here is how it looks for a flat worth PLN 600,000 (as of August 2026):

Scenario	Tax	Amount payable on top of the price
Secondary market, a further property	PCC 2%	PLN 12,000
Secondary market, first flat	PCC exemption	PLN 0
Primary market, unit up to 150 m2	8% VAT in the price	PLN 0 extra
Primary market, 6th unit in the development	VAT in the price + PCC 6%	PLN 36,000

The practical conclusion: for a first-time buyer the tax difference between the markets disappears. For someone buying a further flat, the secondary market means a real extra 2% that has to be available in cash — a mortgage does not, as a rule, cover PCC.

What else should you add to the budget besides the tax?

The tax is not the end of the list. On both markets there are transaction-related costs on top:

1. The notary fee (taksa notarialna) — the maximum rates are set by the Regulation of the Minister of Justice of 28 June 2004; for values from PLN 60,000 to PLN 1 million it is PLN 1,010 + 0.4% of the excess over PLN 60,000, plus 23% VAT. At PLN 600,000 the maximum is PLN 3,170 net, and for a contract of sale of a residential unit half of that rate is often applied. The rates are maxima — they can be negotiated. We break down the detailed arithmetic in the article on the notarial costs of buying a flat.
2. Copies of the deed — PLN 6 + VAT for every page started; you usually need several copies (for the parties, the court, the bank).
3. Court fees — in 2026, PLN 200 for entering the ownership right into the księga wieczysta, PLN 100 for opening a new register (typical on the primary market), PLN 200 for the mortgage entry when there is a loan, and PLN 19 of PCC on establishing the mortgage.
4. Agency commission — with us it is 0% from the buyer on the primary market and 2% on the secondary market.

It is sensible to set aside about 2-3% of the price for transaction costs when buying on the secondary market without the exemption, and less than 1% on the primary market or with a first flat.

What should you remember before signing the agreement?

Before you sign the preliminary agreement, establish three things: whether you qualify for the first-home exemption (your entire ownership history decides, not just your current situation), whether the price does not depart glaringly from the market value, and how the garage or storage room is accounted for in the developer’s price. These are the three points on which buyers most often lose money or time on correspondence with the tax office. We described the whole transaction path — from reservation to collecting the keys — in the guide buying a flat step by step.

At allproperty we calculate the full cost of the transaction — the tax, the notary, the court fees — before you decide on a specific flat. This applies to both markets: when buying a new flat from a developer we charge no commission from the buyer (0%), and on the secondary market the rate is 2%. If you want to know how much you will really pay on a chosen offer in Warszawa, write or call: we will prepare a breakdown before you sign anything. A doubt about the PCC exemption often comes up right before signing — in the evening or at the weekend, when the notary is already waiting. We work 24/7, so you can check it straight away: +48 666 866 468 or +48 692 649 839.