Accounting for limited liability companies (LLCs) in Poland is a multifaceted activity requiring specialized knowledge and experience.

Maintaining accounting for a Polish LLC requires full accounting, which involves setting up and continuously maintaining accounting books. This means that entries in the accounting books must be continued despite changes in the accounting service (for example, a new accounting office or accountant continues the entries in the original books established at the inception of the Polish LLC). The accounting books must be maintained in accordance with the Polish Accounting Act of September 29, 1994 (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2023, item 120, as amended).

Each Polish LLC must have documentation prepared in Polish, regardless of whether its shareholders are Polish citizens or not, and regardless of the nationality of the company’s managers. This documentation should describe the adopted accounting principles (accounting policy), including: a) Defining the financial year and its reporting periods; b) Methods for valuing assets and liabilities and determining the financial result; c) The method of maintaining accounting books, including at least: – A chart of accounts, establishing a list of general ledger accounts, the adopted classification principles, principles for maintaining subsidiary ledgers, and their links to the general ledger accounts, – A list of accounting books, and when using a computer for accounting, a list of data files constituting accounting books on electronic data carriers, defining their structure, interrelations, and functions within the entire accounting system and data processing processes, – A description of the data processing system, and when using a computer for accounting, a description of the IT system, including a list of programs, procedures, or functions, depending on the software structure, along with descriptions of algorithms and parameters, and software data protection rules, particularly methods for securing data access and the data processing system, as well as the software version and the date of its implementation; – A system for protecting data and their collections, including accounting evidence, accounting books, and other documents forming the basis for entries.

Accounting books include collections of accounting entries, turnovers (sums of entries), and balances, which form: a) The journal; b) The general ledger; c) Subsidiary ledgers; d) Summaries: turnovers and balances of the general ledger accounts and balances of the subsidiary ledger accounts; e) A list of assets and liabilities (inventory).

Entries in a Polish LLC are made based on accounting evidence, which should include at least: a) The type of evidence and its identification number; b) Identification of the parties (names, addresses) involved in the business transaction; c) Description of the transaction and its value, if possible, also stated in natural units; d) The date of the transaction, and if the evidence was prepared on a different date, also the date of preparation; e) The signature of the issuer of the evidence and the person to whom the assets were issued or from whom they were received; f) Confirmation of verification and qualification of the evidence for inclusion in the accounting books by indicating the month and method of inclusion (declaration), and the signature of the person responsible for these indications.

Each LLC in Poland is required to prepare an annual financial statement at the end of each financial year, which should include:

1. Balance sheet,
2. Profit and loss account,
3. Additional information comprising an introduction to the financial statement and additional notes and explanations.

The annual financial statement of a Polish LLC must be prepared within 3 months and approved by the General Meeting of Shareholders within 6 months from the balance sheet date and then submitted to the Polish National Court Register (within 15 days of its approval by the General Meeting of Shareholders).

The financial statement of a Polish LLC must be audited by a certified auditor if in the preceding financial year, for which the financial statement was prepared, it met at least two of the following three conditions: a) The average annual employment, calculated as full-time equivalents, was at least 50 people, b) The total assets at the end of the financial year were equivalent to at least 2,500,000 euros in Polish currency, c) Net revenue from the sale of goods and products and financial operations for the financial year was equivalent to at least 5,000,000 euros in Polish currency.

Polish LLCs are subject to Polish corporate income tax (CIT) at a rate of 19% (in certain cases, a preferential rate of 9% may apply).

An LLC in Poland may be a payer of Polish VAT, and must be if the previous year’s sales value exceeded 200,000 PLN (the sales value does not include the amount of Polish VAT). A Polish LLC must also be a payer of Polish VAT regardless of the value of income if performing activities listed in Art. 113, sec. 13 of the Polish Act of March 11, 2004, on goods and services tax (consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2024, item 361, as amended), such as supplying tobacco products, new means of transport, computers and electronic products, wholesale and retail parts and accessories for cars and motorcycles, providing legal services, advisory services, jewelry services, or debt collection services, etc.

Polish LLCs are subject to excise tax if they conduct activities subject to this tax (Polish Act of December 6, 2008, on excise tax, consolidated text: Journal of Laws of 2023, item 1542, as amended).

Tax issues for LLCs in Poland are conditioned by the type of activity conducted by such companies, their size, the assets they possess (depreciation affecting tax liabilities), and many other factors.

For those interested in this topic—tax and accounting issues concerning Polish limited liability companies (LLCs)—as well as those interested in the range of services provided by our accounting office in Poland, we invite you to contact us personally, by phone, or by email.

Accounting in Poland, Kraków:

TEL. +48 12 345 21 06
EMAIL: biuro.krakow@prwt.pl

Accounting in Poland, Warsaw:

TEL. +48 22 292 47 21
EMAIL: biuro.warszawa@prwt.pl