Tax on private rental — the 8.5% and 12.5% ryczałt explained

Since 1 January 2023 the tax on private rental has been exclusively the ryczałt od przychodów ewidencjonowanych (lump-sum tax on recorded income): 8.5% on income up to 100,000 PLN per year and 12.5% on the surplus above that amount. The tax scale with deductible costs is gone. You pay the ryczałt yourself by the 20th day of the following month into your tax micro-account (symbol PPE), and after the end of the year you file a PIT-28 — for 2026 no later than 30 April 2027. On private rental you pay no ZUS contributions and no health contribution. Spouses with joint marital property may, after filing a declaration, settle everything through one of them — then the 8.5% rate applies all the way up to 200,000 PLN. Quarterly payments are available to those starting a rental and to those whose income for 2025 did not exceed 851,720 PLN. How much you actually pay is decided by three things: the 100,000 PLN limit, the separation of utilities in the lease agreement and keeping an eye on the deadlines. Below we put in order everything you need to know as a landlord — as of August 2026.

Is the ryczałt the only form of taxation of private rental?

Yes. The change was introduced by the Polski Ład: since 2023 income from rental, sublease and lease outside business activity is subject exclusively to the ryczałt under the Act of 20 November 1998 on the lump-sum income tax on certain income earned by natural persons. You do not report your choice of the form of taxation to the tax office — it follows directly from the regulations.

You pay the ryczałt during the year, and after its end you file a PIT-28 return. You will not add rental income to PIT-36 or PIT-37 — even if you work under a contract of employment, you settle the rental on a separate form. On private rental you also pay no ZUS contributions and no health contribution — the ryczałt is the only public-law charge on this account.

How does the 100,000 PLN limit work with the 8.5% and 12.5% rates?

The structure is threshold-based, but exceeding the limit does not “spoil” the whole year — the higher rate applies only to the surplus:

Annual income	Ryczałt rate
up to 100,000 PLN	8.5%
surplus above 100,000 PLN	12.5%
spouses with a declaration — up to 200,000 PLN	8.5%

You count the limit cumulatively from the beginning of the year, according to the amounts actually received or made available — not according to the payment dates in the agreement. If a single rent payment crosses the threshold, you split it: the part within the limit is taxed at 8.5%, the rest at 12.5%, already in the same month.

Example: you rent out a flat in Mokotów for 3,500 PLN per month (we compare market rates in our review of rental prices in Warszawa in 2026). The annual income is 42,000 PLN, so you close the whole year at the 8.5% rate — the ryczałt will amount to 3,570 PLN (about 298 PLN per month). With two or three flats and income of 130,000 PLN you will pay 8,500 PLN on the first 100,000 PLN and 3,750 PLN on the surplus of 30,000 PLN — 12,250 PLN in total. The limit covers the sum of income from all your properties and agreements of this kind.

What do you pay the ryczałt on — are utilities included in income?

You pay the ryczałt on income, without deducting costs. That makes it all the more important what counts as income in the first place. The tax authorities consistently confirm in individual interpretations (e.g. the interpretation of the Director of the KIS of 29 January 2021, no. 0115-KDIT1.4011.905.2020.1.MT) that operating charges and utilities — the czynsz administracyjny (building maintenance fee) paid to the housing community or cooperative, electricity, gas, water, waste — are not your income if the lease agreement clearly separates them from the rent and transfers the obligation to bear them onto the tenant. Our guide lease agreement — what to watch out for explains how to construct such a clause.

The difference is noticeable. With rent of 3,000 PLN and fees of 800 PLN per month: with the correct wording in the agreement you pay 8.5% on 3,000 PLN, that is 255 PLN. Without the separation — on the full 3,800 PLN, that is 323 PLN per month. Over a year that is a difference of 816 PLN on a single flat. A refundable deposit is also not income, as long as it is subject to return to the tenant.

How do spouses use the 200,000 PLN limit?

If there is joint marital property between you, you can file a declaration with the head of the tax office on the taxation of all rental income by one of you. Then the 8.5% rate applies up to 200,000 PLN of income, and 12.5% only on the surplus. Without the declaration, each spouse settles their own share with their own limit of 100,000 PLN.

The deadlines are strict: you file the declaration by the 20th day of the month following the month of the first rental income in the given year, and if the first income fell in December — by the end of the tax year. With separate marital property the preference is not available.

When to pay the ryczałt and by when to file PIT-28?

You pay the ryczałt yourself, without any summons from the office:

• monthly — by the 20th day of the following month (for October by 20 November), and for December by 20 January of the following year;
• quarterly — by the 20th day of the month following the quarter (20 April, 20 July, 20 October), and for the fourth quarter by 20 January; this option is available to those starting a rental and to taxpayers whose income in the previous year did not exceed the equivalent of 200,000 euro — in 2026 that is 851,720 PLN of income for 2025 (NBP exchange rate of 4.2586 PLN from 1 October 2025);
• you do not report the choice of quarterly payments in advance — you inform the office about it only in the PIT-28 filed for the year in which you paid that way;
• you make the transfer to your own tax micro-account with the form symbol PPE;
• you file the annual PIT-28 return between 15 February and 30 April — for 2026 no later than 30 April 2027, and by the same deadline you pay any remaining difference.

If the 20th day falls on a weekend or a public holiday, the deadline moves to the nearest business day.

What does the ryczałt not allow you to deduct?

The ryczałt buys simplicity, but closes the door to costs. You will not deduct depreciation, renovations, furnishings or mortgage interest. With a flat bought on credit and requiring expenditure, the effective burden can therefore be higher than the low rate suggests.

The alternative remains renting within a business activity, where costs can be settled, but contributions and other obligations come with it — this decision is worth consulting with a tax adviser.

A short landlord’s checklist

1. Check the lease agreement: are the fees and utilities separated from the rent and assigned to the tenant.
2. Add up income cumulatively from all properties and keep an eye on the 100,000 PLN threshold.
3. Spouses: consider the declaration on settling everything through one of you and mind the deadline.
4. Pay the ryczałt by the 20th day of the month into the micro-account with the symbol PPE.
5. File the PIT-28 by 30 April of the following year.
6. Keep confirmations of transfers from the tenant — with two rates and limits, documentation comes in very handy.

This article is informational in nature and does not replace tax advice. If you rent out a flat in Warszawa and prefer to have the rental sorted out from A to Z — from drafting the agreement with a correct separation of rent and fees to finding and verifying the tenant — the allproperty team will be happy to help. You will find details on the for owners page: rental service costs 50% of the monthly rent with us, and we always start with a conversation about your property. An agreement with a tenant is often signed in the evening or at the weekend, whenever it suits both sides — if a doubt about the wording on utilities or the rate comes up at that moment, you do not have to wait until Monday: we work 24/7, just call +48 666 866 468 or +48 692 649 839.