Company structure in Poland
Share capital | The minimum share capital of this type of companies in Poland is 1,200 € and must be fully paid up upon incorporation. The lowest permitted value of an individual share is 50 PLN (approx. € 12) |
Classes of shares available for the creation of a Polish company: | The shares of a limited liability company are rights and not securities, so share certificates are not issued |
Bearer shares: | Prohibited |
Headquarters required: | A z oo sp must have a registered office and a resident agent. The registered office must be a physical address in Poland as this is where documents can be legally served on the company |
Shareholders / Members: | Only one shareholder of any nationality is required. They can be natural or legal persons. Foreign ownership to 100% is permitted. A register of shareholders must be kept at the registered office. |
Board of directors | Companies in Poland must have a Management Board, which can consist of one or more members. Under Polish law, only natural persons and not legal persons can be members of the board of directors. There is no restriction on the nationality or the domicile of the Management Board |
Directors: | The minimum number is one. Can be of any nationality and does not have to reside in Poland. Directors of companies are not permitted. |
Language of your company: | Polish. |
Your business name must be completed: | The name of your Polish company should contain the suffix spólka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia or the abbreviation spólka z oo or sp. z oo to denote limited liability. |
Key Figures of Companies in Poland
Official name | Republic of Poland |
Proper noun | Rzeczpospolita Polska (pl) |
Continent | Europe |
Subcontinent | European Union |
Population | 38,386,158 inhabitants (2019) |
Population growth | -0.07 % / year |
Area | 312,679 km² |
Density | 122.77 inhabitants / km² |
GDP | 585.783 billion $USD (2018) |
GDP / capita | 15,424 $USD (2018) |
GDP growth | 5.10 % / year (2018) |
Life expectancy | 78.50 years (2018) |
Birth-rate | 8.90 ‰ (2019) |
Fertility rate | 1.45 children / woman (2017) |
Mortality rate | 9.70 ‰ (2019) |
Child mortality rate | 4.40 ‰ (2019) |
Literacy rate | 99,80 % (2019) |
Official languages | Polish |
Change | Złoty (zł PLN) |
HDI | 0,872 / 1 (2018) |
IPE | 64,11 (2018) |
Nature of State | parliamentary republic |
Head of state | President Andrzej Duda |
National Holiday | May 3 (constitution of 1791) |
Codes ISO | PL, POL |
Nice | Polish, Polish |
Tourists | 18,257,800 people (2017) |
Entry into the European Union has been beneficial
The Poland is a central European state, bordering Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and Lithuania to the north. It is bordered to the north by the Baltic Sea.
Entry into the European Union on 1er January 2004 was particularly beneficial for Poland and the Poles.
Indeed, since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break-up of the Eastern European bloc, the country had followed its neighbors in a sort of economic descent into hell. Unemployment had risen a lot, many businesses had closed.
However, the 38.4 million consumers that the Poles represent is one of the biggest and most promising markets in the European Union. It is also a buffer country between the Union and nearby Russia.

This is why a lot of western companies have rushed into this market. Telecommunications, mass distribution, electricity and energy, services, banks, IT, infrastructure, etc.
And opening up to the European Union has accelerated change, in particular thanks to European funds poured into the country, which is now one of the most agricultural in the Union (along with France).

The overall situation is improving, thanks in particular to good economic performance. The infrastructure is being modernized at high speed, motorways are being built and brought up to European standards, and many other facilities follow. But a whole segment of the population still lives below the poverty line. The urban population is only 66 %, behind the big industrial countries, and it is in the countryside that the situation is particularly worrying.
Population figures change little, and after peaking in 1996, Poland has since lost around 300,000 inhabitants. And the big cities have not seen a significant increase or decrease in their population. Demographics remain sluggish, and accelerated aging is causing the population to decline slightly year after year.
Many Poles, especially young people, have indeed gone abroad in order to find work (1.7 million in 25 years). However, since 2007 there has been a tendency for them to return in number. The Brexit voted by the United Kingdom, a country in which a large number of Poles have gone to settle, should encourage a certain number of returns.
Corporate Taxation in Poland
Corporate tax rate (IS) |
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Global CIT rate (%) | 19 (9% for companies with a turnover of up to EUR 1,200,000) |
Corporate tax (IS) due dates |
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CIT return deadline | Within three months of the end of the tax year. |
CIT final payment due date | Within three months of the end of the tax year. |
Estimated due dates for CIT payments | The IS advances must be paid for each month by the 20th of the following month at the latest. |
Personal income tax rate (PPI) |
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Global PIT rate (%) | 32, plus 4% solidarity tax on income over PLN 1 million |
Personal income tax (PIT) due dates |
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PIT return due date | April 30 |
IRP final payment due date | April 30 |
Estimated PIT Payment Due Dates | 20th day of the month following the month in which the income was received. |
Value added tax (VAT) rate |
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Standard VAT rate (%) | 23 |
Withholding tax rate (WHT) |
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WHT rate (%) (Div / Int / Roy) | Resident: 19 / NA / NA;
Non-resident: 19/20/20 |
Capital gains tax rate (CGT) |
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Corporate capital gains tax rate (%) | Capital gains are subject to the normal corporate tax rate. |
Tax rate for individual capital gains (%) | Transfer of real estate: subject to the normal rate of IRPP.
Transfer of shares: 19. |
Wealth / Equity Tax Rate |
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Global wealth / equity tax rate (%) | N / A |
Rate of inheritance and gift tax |
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Rate of inheritance tax (%) | NP |
Gift tax rate (%) | NP |