Poland Payroll Information – Deel Global Payroll

Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:35 (UTC)

Overview

Poland, which officially is known as the Republic of Poland, is a country located in central Europe. The capital city of Poland is Warsaw (Warszawa). Poland is bordered to the west by Germany, to the southwest by the Czech Republic, to the south by Slovakia, to the southeast by Ukraine, to the east by Belarus, to the northeast by Lithuania, and to the north by the Kaliningrad Oblast, which is an exclave of Russia. The Baltic Sea also borders Poland to its north. Poland is a member of the European Union and consists of 16 first-order administrative divisions known as voivodeships and also known as provinces.

The voivodeships of Poland are Greater Poland (wielkopolskie), Holy Cross (Świetokrzyskie), Lesser Poland (małopolskie), Łódź (łódzkie), Lower Silesia (dolnoślaskie), Lublin (lubelskie), Lubusz (lubuskie), Kuyavia-Pomerania (kujawsko-pomorskie), Masovia (mazowieckie), Opole (opolskie), Podlaskie (podlaskie), Pomerania (pomorskie), Silesia (ślaskie), Subcarpathia (podkarpackie), Warmia-Masuria (warmińsko-mazurskie), and West Pomerania (zachodniopomorskie).

The primary written and spoken language used in Poland is the Polish language, which is Poland’s official language. The English language is somewhat commonly used in Poland. The Silesian language is used by about 1% of Poland’s population. The writing system for the Polish language is an alphabetic writing system with Latin script that includes 32 letters, the sum of 23 of the 26 letters of the English alphabet (all except q, v, and x), and nine additional letters that are created through combining one of the standard Latin letters with a diacritic. Two of the additional nine letters are the result of adding an ogonek to the bottom of the letters “a” and “e,” five of the letters are the result of adding an acute diacritic over the letters “c,” “n,” “o,” “s,” and “z,” one letter is the result of adding an overdot over the letter “z,” and lastly, the letter “ł” is formed by adding a stroke through the letter “l.” The directionality that is used for written Polish text, as is used for English writing, is progression along horizontal lines from left to right, with successive horizontal lines read from top to bottom. In the Polish language, Poland is known as Polska.

Poland’s currency is the Polish złoty.

Employers in Poland are responsible for withholding and remitting income taxes and social taxes from employees, and making additional social tax contributions on behalf of employees. There are no provincial payroll-related taxes.

In addition, employers are bound by the Labor Code, which mandates employers to abide by compensation and benefit requirements.

Foreign workers in Poland generally are covered by the same tax and labor laws as Polish nationals, but must obtain the proper visas.

Polish citizens working in the United States are covered by U.S. tax law with possible treaty and work status exclusions applying. Work within the U.S. states and territories is covered by various labor laws.

News articles regarding payroll in Poland are available in

CURRENCY DETAILS

The currency of Poland is the Polish złoty (zł), also known simply as the złoty. The word złoty, which is pronounced in Polish as “ZWAH-TEE,” often is transliterated in English as zloty despite this pronunciation. The internationally recognized three-letter currency code for the zloty is PLN, which is an abbreviation of Poland and which also is one of the currency’s commonly used currency symbols. The standard plural form of zloty in English is the same as the singular form, with the less commonly used English plural form of zlotys or the associated plural form złotys, and in Polish there are multiple plural forms, with the two most common złoty and złotych and with their usage depending on context.

When an amount of zloty is written using the currency symbol zł or one of its variants (zl, Zł, Zl, ZŁ, and ZL), the symbol follows the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol.

When an amount of zloty is written using the currency symbol PLN, the symbol precedes the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol.

One hundredth ( ¹ ⁄ ₁₀₀ ) of a zloty is referred to as a grosz, with the standard plural form of groszy, although the plural form of grosze is applicable in some contexts.

When amounts of zloty are written in Polish, the comma that in English separates the thousands place from the hundreds place instead usually is rendered as a space, although some government entities prefer to use a dot (.) instead of a space or to merely have the numbers in the thousands place and hundreds place adjacent to each other with no symbol or space between them, and the dot that in English separates the ones place from the tenths place instead is rendered as a comma.

TAXES

Poland’s national government enacts laws relating to income taxes. Payroll related taxes includes income taxes and social security taxes. Taxes are levied on a calendar year basis and are paid in monthly installments. Employers must withhold both personal income taxes (PIT) and social security contributions from employees and remit them on a monthly basis, in addition to making social security contributions for each employee.

The tax year is the calendar year from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: Employers with less than 10 employees may request exemption from all social taxes due from March 1 to May 31, 2020, and employers with at least 10 and less than 50 employees may request exemption from half of the social taxes due during the same period.

An agreement between Poland and Germany, effective from March 11 to Dec. 31, 2020, allows days worked at home by cross-border commuters who live in one country and work in the other, but must work at home because of the coronavirus pandemic, to count as days worked in the normal work country. The agreement is to automatically extend after Dec. 31, 2020, until terminated by one side, and is then to be in effect until the end of the month following termination.

Effective starting Feb. 16, 2021, employers affected by the coronavirus may postpone payment of income tax withholding deposits garnered from employees in January 2021 until Aug. 20, 2021. To qualify, employers must be in the restaurant, entertainment, retail, tourism, and health sectors. Also, extensions for taxes collected in October 2020, November 2020, and December 2020, have been extended to May 20, 2021, June 20, 2021, and July 20, 2021, respectively.

Effective May 4, 2021, employers in certain sectors may apply for an exemption from paying social tax contributions from December 2020 through April 2021. When applying, employers should submit for up to two previous months. To qualify, employers must have experienced at least a 40% drop in revenue compared with one of several specified comparison months. The deadline to apply is June 30, 2021.

According to European Commission guidance, employees who normally work in one European Union member country and live in another are still considered to be insured by the social insurance system of the normal work country while working at home.

Income Taxes

Income tax (podatek dochodowy) provisions are administered by the Ministry of Finance (Ministerstwo Finansów, abbreviated as MF), and personal income taxation is mandated by the Income Tax on Individuals Act.

Coverage: Employers generally must calculate and withhold income taxes from all employees. Residents are taxed on their worldwide income, while nonresidents are taxed on their Polish sourced income. Polish tax residents are considered those who reside in Poland for more than 183 days in a calendar year or whose center of vital interests is determined to be in Poland.

Employees: Employees are considered to be individuals in a subordinated employment relationship.

Rates and Thresholds: Personal income taxes in Poland are progressively assessed, with one rate applying up to a threshold amount of income and another rate applying for income in excess of the threshold amount.

Effective starting Jan. 1, 2022, a personal income tax rate of 17% is assessed on annual income of up to 120,000 zł and a personal income tax rate of 32% is assessed on annual income of more than 120,000 zł. Effective from Oct. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2021, a personal income tax rate of 17% was assessed on annual income of up to 85,528 zł and a personal income tax rate of 32% was assessed on annual income of more than 85,528 zł.

Employees younger than 26 years of age, effective starting Jan. 1, 2020, and parents of at least four children, effective starting Jan. 1, 2022, are exempt from personal income tax on annual employment income of up to 85,528 zł, and both groups would be assessed the rate of 32% on employment income paid to them in excess of 85,528 zł during a year.

Effective starting Jan. 1, 2020, employers are to withhold at the 32% rate immediately when the employee’s income exceeds the income threshold between the two income tax brackets. Effective until Dec. 31, 2019, employers were to begin withholding at the 32% rate in the month after the month in which an employee’s income exceeded the income threshold between the two income tax brackets.

Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, in addition to the generally applicable personal income tax, a solidarity tax of 4% is assessed on annual personal income in excess of 1 million zł.

Lump sum payments are taxed at rates ranging from 2% to 20%.

Registration: All employers must register in the National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sadowy, abbreviated as KRS), if the employer is a legal person, or in the Central Register and Information on Business Activity (Centralna Ewidencja i Informacja o Działalnosci Gospodarczej, abbreviated as CEIDG), if the employer is a legal entity, in addition to applying for a tax identification number (numeru identyfikacji podatkowej, abbreviated as NIP) and registering with the Ministry of Finance. Employers must submit their applications prior to the date on which they must present their first tax statement or make their first tax remittance.

To register in KRS, employers must send an application to a KRS office. To register in CEIDG, employers must file form CEIDG-1 online or with the municipality. To obtain a NIP and register with the Ministry of Finance, employers should apply with the Ministry of Finance.

Taxable Amounts: Taxable income is defined as income minus allowable deductions. Income includes salary, overtime pay, awards for unused leave, and other forms of remuneration. Allowable deductions include obligatory social security contributions and child relief. The following forms of income are exempt from personal income tax: severance pay, materials and equipment provided for the performance of work, and business travel expenses.

Tax deductions (koszty uzyskania przychodu) are available to employees on a monthly basis.

Effective starting Oct. 1, 2019, the monthly standard deduction generally in effect for employees is 250 zł.

Effective starting Oct. 1, 2019, the monthly standard deduction for employees with permanent or temporary residence outside the town of their workplace, provided they do not collect a separation allowance, is 300 zł.

Withholding Methods: Employers must calculate and withhold taxes from every paycheck and make monthly remittances.

Returns and Remittance: Employers must remit taxes at the local tax office by the 20th of each month for taxes withheld in the previous month. Additionally, employers must issue to employees and submit to the Ministry of Finance an annual tax declaration, Form PIT-11, Information on Revenue and Income Tax Withheld, summarizing income tax withheld and remitted for the previous year. The form must be electronically submitted to the Ministry of Finance by the end of January and must be issued to employees by the end of February.

The electronic Form PIT-11 is available from the Ministry of Finance’s Electronic Forms for Payers page.

Starting with 2019, employers are able to file Form PIT-11 electronically using the Universal Document Gateway (Uniwersalnej Bramki Dokumentów, abbreviated as UBD).

Recordkeeping: Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, reports of income taxes withheld from employment income must be electronically retained for at least 10 years following the end of the calendar year when the report was submitted. Effective until Dec. 31, 2018, records regarding reports of income taxes withheld from employment income generally needed to be retained for at least 50 years.

Penalties: Employers who fail to remit taxes on time are subject to an interest charge set by the Ministry of Finance on a monthly basis. Additional penalties may apply if employers are determined to have committed fraud and other serious offenses.

Social Taxes

Social security in Poland generally is administered by the Social Insurance Institute (Zakład Ubezpieczen Społecznych, abbreviated as ZUS) and includes a pension, health insurance, workers compensation, life insurance, maternity, and sickness funds. All contributions are payable to ZUS on a monthly basis.

Coverage: Employers must withhold social security contributions and make additional contributions for all dependent employees and trainees.

Rates and Thresholds: Employers must contribute from 20.71% to 23.91% of employee wages, depending on their assessed risk, while employees must contribute 22.71% of their wages.

The pension insurance contribution due for a year is equally shared between an employee and employer, with the total pension insurance rate for a year divided between them.

The total pension insurance contribution rate is 19.52%, and half of this rate is assessed on an employee and the other half is assessed on the employer. The total disability insurance contribution rate is 8%, consisting of an employer portion and an employee portion, in a ratio of 13:3 regarding the employer portion to the employee portion.

Employer social security contributions are assessed as follows:

Pension Insurance: 9.76%;
Disability Insurance: 6.5%;
Labor Fund: 2.45%;
Employee Benefit Fund: 0.1%;
Accident Insurance: 0.4% to 3.6%, with rates varying depending on the nature of business activities and the level of risk, although the rate often is 1.8% regardless of risk for employers with fewer than 10 employees; and
Bridging Pension Fund: 1.5%. Contribution applies to employees born after Dec. 31, 1948, who perform work in harmful conditions.

Employee social security contributions are assessed as follows:

Pension Insurance: 9.76%;
Disability Insurance: 1.5%;
Sickness Insurance: 2.45%; and
Health Insurance: 9%.

Pension insurance contributions and disability insurance contributions are subject to a maximum annual computable salary, which is the maximum amount of employment income paid to an employee during a year upon which a pension insurance contributions rate and a disability insurance contributions rate may be assessed on the employee and employer.

Effective for 2021, the maximum annual computable salary for pension insurance contributions and disability insurance contributions is 157,770 zł. Effective for 2020, the maximum annual computable salary for pension insurance contributions and disability insurance contributions was 156,810 zł.

Individual Pension Savings Accounts: Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, for each employee, employers must pay additional pension contributions to either an Employees’ Capital Pension Scheme (Pracowniczy Plan Kapitałowy, abbreviated as PPK) or an Employees’ Pension Retirement Scheme (Pracowniczy Program Emerytalny, abbreviated as PPE). The PPK and PPE both are types of individual pension savings accounts.

Employers that make contributions to a PPK must, for each employee, make a contribution equivalent to 1.5% of the employee’s salary. Employees with an employer that provides these contributions to a PPK instead of a PPE are assessed a contribution rate of 2% of their salary for the PPK.

Employers that make contributions to a PPE must, for each employee, make a contribution equivalent to 3.5% of the employee’s salary. Employees with an employer that provides these contributions to a PPE instead of a PPK are not required to pay a percentage of their salary for the PPE.

Employers that as of Dec. 31, 2018, employed at least 250 employees are required to provide the aforementioned employer PPK or PPE contributions starting July 1, 2019, and employee PPK contributions would be required as of this date if their employer chose to make the PPK contributions instead of the PPE contributions. The PPK and PPE coverage requirements apply starting Jan. 1, 2020, to employers that as of June 30, 2019, had at least 50 employees, and to the employees of such employers with regard to PPK contributions. The PPK and PPE coverage requirements apply starting July 1, 2020, to employers that as of Dec. 31, 2019, had at least 20 employees, and to the employees of such employers with regard to PPK contributions. Starting Jan. 1, 2021, all employers must make the PPK or PPE contributions, and all employees whose employer is required to make PPK contributions also must make PPK contributions.

Registration: Employers must register with ZUS by filing Form ZUS ZPA or Form ZUS ZFA at least seven days before the hire date of their first employee. In addition, employers must notify ZUS of the hire of new employees within seven days of the employees’ hire dates by filing form ZUS ZPA.

Taxable Amounts: Taxable income generally is defined as all remuneration, including salary, overtime pay and awards for unused leave. Income exempt from social security contributions includes severance pay, materials and equipment provided for the performance of work and business travel expenses, among other types of payments.

Returns and Remittance: Employers must file a statement of account and personal monthly report (form ZUS RCA), and pay Social Security contributions for all employees by the 15th of each month.

Employers must notify ZUS of employees who are on maternity leave, paternity leave, or parental leave.

Employers must provide all employees with a copy of an Annual Monthly Information form, which summarizes the previous year’s monthly reports filed by the employer, by Feb. 28 of each year.

Recordkeeping: Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, reports of social taxes paid based on employment income must be electronically retained for at least 10 years following the end of the calendar year when the report was submitted. Effective until Dec. 31, 2018, reports of social taxes paid based on employment income generally needed to be retained for at least 50 years.

Penalties: Failure to make social security contributions may result in a fine of up to 100% of unpaid contributions. Additionally, a fine of up to 5,000 zł may apply to employers who:

fail to make timely social security contributions;
fail to report those on leave financed by social security;
fail to file correct social security returns;
obstruct a social security investigation;
fail to file monthly statements on time; or
keeps improper records.

Other Taxes

Poland’s national government does not assess any taxes on employment income other than those covered in the Income Taxes and Social Taxes sections of this primer.

State/Jurisdiction Taxes

Taxes on employment income are not assessed by any of Poland’s voivodeships or local jurisdictions.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Mandatory compensation and benefit requirements generally are regulated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. The Ministry ensures that employers follow mandatory labor regulations and oversees the administration of the Social Security Institute. The Labor Code is the overarching labor legislation in Poland and it includes provisions relating to minimum wage, overtime, hours of work, mandatory paid holidays, leave, wage payment and termination pay.

Coverage for mandatory retirement plans is provided under social taxes.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: Employers that suffered a decrease in sales of 15% over two consecutive months or 25% over one month compared to the same months of 2019 may apply for a wage-replacement subsidy for up to three months. These employers may reduce employees’ working hours by up to 20%, but the number of hours worked must be equivalent to at least half of a full-time position.

The amount of the subsidy if employees cannot work is 50% of the monthly minimum wage. The amount of the subsidy if employees’ working hours are reduced is 40% of the national average monthly wage from the previous quarter, determined from the date when the employer applies for the subsidy, and employers cannot receive the subsidy for employees who earn more than three times that national average monthly wage.

Minimum Wage

Effective for 2021, Poland’s monthly minimum wage is 2,800 zł and its hourly minimum wage is 18.30 zł. Effective for 2020, Poland’s monthly minimum wage is 2,600 zł and hourly minimum wage is 17 zł.

Overtime

Overtime work is considered any work performed in excess of eight hours in a day and 40 hours in a week, on a Sunday, or on a public holiday. Overtime work is only permitted in special cases and must be compensated 100% above normal if performed on Sundays or public holidays, or 50% above normal wages if performed on other days. Employers may forgo overtime payments for work performed on Sundays and public holidays by providing compensatory time off. Unless otherwise stipulated by an agreement, overtime cannot exceed 150 hours in any calendar year.

Night work must be compensated at 20% above the minimum hourly wage for every hour worked. According to the Labor Code, employees are considered to have performed night work when working three hours between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. in a 24 hour period.

Hours of Work

The maximum workday is eight hours and the maximum workweek is 40 hours. Employers must provide all workers with 11 hours of continuous rest every 24 hours and 35 hours each week.

Holidays

Poland’s Law on Nonworking Days specifies the mandatory public holidays for which paid leave must be granted to employees that otherwise would have normal work hours on those days. In special cases, normal work on Sundays and public holidays is permitted, but workers must be given compensatory time off in exchange for that work.

The mandatory public holidays are as follows:

Jan. 1: New Year’s Day (Nowy Rok).
Jan. 6: Epiphany (Świeto Trzech Króli).
Easter Sunday (pierwszy dzień Wielkiej Nocy).
Easter Monday (drugi dzień Wielkiej Nocy).
May 1: National Day (Świeto Państwowe), also known as Labor Day (Świeto Pracy).
May 3: May 3 Constitution Day (Świeto Konstytucji Trzeciego Maja), also known as May 3 National Day (Świeto Narodowe Trzeciego Maja).
Pentecost (pierwszy dzień Zielonych Światek), which occurs 49 days after Easter Sunday.
Corpus Christi (dzień Bozego Ciała), which occurs 60 days after Easter Sunday.
August 15: Assumption (Wniebowziecie Najświetszej Maryi Panny).
November 1: All Saints’ Day (Wszystkich Świetych).
November 11: National Independence Day (Narodowe Świeto Niepodległości).
Dec. 25: Christmas Day (pierwszy dzień Bozego Narodzenia).
Dec. 26: Boxing Day (drugi dzień Bozego Narodzenia).

Leave

Employers must grant all employees with a continuous paid vacation period of 20 days for employees employed less than 10 years, and 26 days for employees employed 10 years or more.

Sick leave: Employers generally must provide all employees with 33 days of paid sick leave per year. Employers must provide employees over 50 years old with 14 days of paid sick leave instead of the normal 33 days. Sick leave may be used in the case of illness, or work-related accidents. Employees are entitled to additional sick leave paid for by the Social Security Institute after having used the aforementioned 33 days.

Work accident leave: Employers must provide employees injured at work with 33 days of paid leave in cases of work-related accidents.

Pregnancy and related leave: Employees who are ill during pregnancy are entitled to 33 days of paid leave, paid by the Social Security Institute.

Maternity Leave: New mothers with 20 weeks of paid maternity leave, paid for by the Social Security Institute. In the case of a multiple births, employers must grant new mothers with 31 weeks of paid maternity leave for the birth of two children, and two additional weeks of paid leave for each additional child. In the case that a new father is the newborn’s only caretaker, he is eligible for maternity leave. Additionally, new mothers may transfer up to 6 weeks of maternity leave to fathers.

New mothers may apply for six day additional days of leave, or eight additional days in the case of multiple births, after the expiration of their original maternity leave. This additional leave can be used by either new fathers or mothers. Applications for additional leave must be submitted 14 weeks before the expiration of the original leave provision to employers. Employers generally must approve the additional leave provisions, which are paid for by the Social Security Institute.

Paternity Leave: In addition to maternity leave, employers must provide male employees caring for a newborn child under the 12 months with two weeks of paid leave, paid by the Social Security Institute.

Parental Leave: Employers must grant both male and female employees 26 weeks of parental leave in addition to maternity and paternity leave, paid for by the Social Security Institute. This leave is shared between new mothers and fathers such that if both were to take the leave, it would amount to 13 weeks of leave for each parent. The leave does not have to be taken consecutively, but may be taken in two or three parts, although each part must be equal to at least eight consecutive weeks.

14 weeks prior to taking parental leave, employees must submit an application to take the leave to employers.

Organ donor leave: Employers must provide organ donors with up to 33 days of paid leave in order to receive medical examinations.

Family leave: Employees who need to care for a sick family member are entitled to up to 60 days of leave paid for by the Social Security Institute. The exact amount of leave depends on the age of the sick family member and the nature of the relationship to the employee, but total leave may not exceed 60 days in a calendar year.

Wage Payment

Employers must pay employees at least once per month at a predetermined time and place. If the agreed payday falls on a rest day, wages must be paid on the day before. Unless otherwise stipulated by an agreement, wages must be paid in cash directly to the employee. Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, wages must be paid directly to employees’ bank accounts. Cash payment will only be possible at the request of the employee. While employers are not always required to provide employees with payslips, they must maintain records of payments and deductions so as to provide them in the case of an investigation.

Bonuses and Special Benefits

Poland does not mandate employers to provide bonus payments to employees.

Termination Pay

When terminating an employment relationship without a justified reason, employers and employees should provide notice periods ranging from three days to three months, depending on the type of the employee’s contract and the length of service.

The following notice periods should be provided:

Type of Contract	Length of Service	Notice Period
Trial Basis	Less than two weeks	Three working days
Trial Basis	Between two weeks and three months	One week
Trial Basis	Three months or more	Two weeks
Indefinite Contract	Less than six months	Two weeks
Indefinite Contract	More than six months but less than three years	One month
Indefinite Contract	Three months or more	Three months
Replacement Contract	Any	Three business days
Fixed Term Contract	At least six months	Two weeks

Additionally, employers must provide workers with severance pay based on the employees’ length of service as follows:

employed less than two years; the equivalent of one month’s pay;
employed between two and eight years; the equivalent of two month’s pay; and
employed more than eight years; the equivalent of three month’s pay.

Workers’ Compensation

Employees are covered for work-related accidents by the Social Insurance Institute.

Recordkeeping

Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, records regarding compensation and benefits provided to an employee generally must be electronically retained for at least 10 years following the end of the calendar year when the employee separated from employment, although if the employee was hired before Jan. 1, 1999, these records must be retained for at least 50 years. Effective until Dec. 31, 2018, records regarding compensation and benefits provided to an employee generally needed to be retained for at least 50 years.

FOREIGN WORKERS

Foreign workers are entitled to the same rights as Polish citizens and are generally covered by the same tax and workplace laws.

Visas: Citizens of an European Economic Area country or country bordering Poland, must apply for a residence permit but do not need a work permit. Foreign workers from other countries generally must obtain the proper work permits and residence permits.

There are five different types of work permits (types A-E), which are valid for different types of employees. Work permits are valid for up to five years and are renewable for an additional 5 years. To obtain a work permit, employers should submit an application to the Voivodship office at least 30 days before the intended hire date.

To obtain a residence permit, foreign workers must either first have obtained a work permit, or must obtain a written declaration of employment from their future employer. The foreign worker must then submit an application to their local consul. Residence permits are valid for up to two years and are renewable.

Taxes: Foreign workers are taxed in the same manner as Polish nationals subject to treaty arrangements. Nonresidents are taxed only on their Polish sourced income. Polish tax residents are considered those who reside in Poland for more than 183 days in a calendar year or whose center of vital interests is determined to be in Poland.

Wages/Payments: Employers must pay employees with type A, D, or E work permits a salary that is no more than 30% less than the average remuneration of the voivodeship. Otherwise, foreign workers are bound by the same wage requirements as Polish nationals and may be paid in any legal currency.

WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES

Foreign workers from Poland must meet general visa requirements and be certified to be employed in the United States. General visa requirements for the U.S. are included in the separate

Polish workers are eligible to work in the U.S. under H-2B visas, which cover labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature in occupations other than agriculture or registered nursing. The number of H-2B visas issued each year is limited by U.S. law.

U.S. employers also must check the names of all new-hires and employees against the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Because OFAC prohibits financial transactions with individuals on the list, employers cannot employ them and may face fines for failing to comply.

For tax purposes, Polish citizens are subject to U.S. employment-based taxation on income earned in the U.S. unless they can claim an exemption under certain tax treaty provisions or they work under specific visa types that exempt earnings from taxes. Poland has both a tax treaty and a social tax totalization agreement with the U.S.

State and local taxation of Polish workers also can apply, although some states within the U.S. recognize international tax treaties that can eliminate that income tax liability for foreign workers.

The U.S. labor laws apply to all workers employed and providing services in the country.

Work eligibility as an employee is contingent upon Department of Homeland Security and Labor Department approval and the employee receiving a U.S. Social Security number from the Social Security Administration.

Tax Residency: In general, employees working in the U.S. on a temporary basis are considered nonresidents for tax purposes unless they qualify for resident status. Employees can be granted permanent resident status through the so-called green card test or if they meet the substantial presence test under the U.S. tax code. More information on these requirements is in the

Permanent residents are subject to U.S. tax requirements the same as U.S. citizens and are taxed under the U.S. system on their worldwide earnings.

Income Taxes:

Generally, nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Poland and are working in the U.S. are subject to U.S. taxes based on their U.S.-sourced income. Income is taxed differently based on whether it is categorized as wage income or nonwage income, which includes interest and dividends.

A Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, must be filed by each employee with their employer. All nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Poland and are working in the U.S. must claim “single” in Step 1c, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space under Step 4c of the form; and may not claim “exempt” in the space under Step 4c. Nonresident alien employees may adjust withholding using Step 2b or 2c of the Form W-4; certain employees also may be able to use Steps 3, 4a, or 4b. More information about Form W-4 requirements for nonresident alien employees is available in the

Although the versions of Form W-4 issued in 2020 or later significantly differ from the versions issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident employees that filed a valid version of Form W-4 from 2019 or earlier with their employer do not need to file another Form W-4 with the employer unless they need to implement a change for their withholding. On Forms W-4 issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident alien employees were required to check the “single” box on line 3, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” above the dotted line on line 6; and were not permitted to claim “exempt” on line 7 of the form.

An additional amount is added to a nonresident alien employee’s wages for calculating federal income tax withholding, with the amount based on pay period frequency and the date of the employee’s most recently filed Form W-4. The table of additional amounts applicable to Forms W-4 from 2020 or later and the table applicable to Forms W-4 issued before 2020 are available in the

Nonwage income and self-employed foreign workers can be subject to income tax withholding at a flat rate of 30%.

Additionally, foreign workers may be taxed differently based on the specific type of visa they hold.

Tax treaties: Poland and the U.S. have both a tax treaty with provisions addressing host country taxation of the nonresident workers and a social tax totalization agreement. To claim the tax treaty benefit, the nonresident must file Form 8233, Exemption From Withholding on Compensation for Independent (and Certain Dependent) Personal Services of a Nonresident Alien Individual, with the employer. Separate requirements apply under the totalization agreement.

Students, trainees, teachers and researchers in particular must include a statement with Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty exemption from withholding of tax on compensation for dependent personal services. This statement affirms that the student, trainee, or teacher is temporarily in the U.S. for purposes of studying or has accepted an invitation by the U.S. government (or by a political subdivision or local authority) for the purpose of teaching or researching for a period not expected to exceed two years for teachers and five years for students by a university or other recognized educational institution in the U.S. It also must affirm that the individual will receive compensation for services performed in the U.S. The student exemption is not to exceed U.S. $2,000 a year; no limit is placed on the teacher compensation for Polish workers.

Examples of the statements necessary to claim a treaty exemption from U.S. taxes are included in Internal Revenue Service Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

Social Taxes: Most foreign workers are subject to paying into the U.S. Social Security system. Foreign nationals who are exempt from paying income tax and who do not have the eligibility to receive a social security number may not be required to pay social taxes. Foreign workers contributing to Social Security for a certain time period may be eligible to receive benefits.

Generally, foreign workers in the U.S. that have specific visas as exchange visitors or students or who are temporarily in the U.S. for agricultural work are not subject to social taxes on income that is obtained from the purpose in which they originally entered the U.S.

Totalization Agreements: Social Security totalization agreements can allow foreign workers and U.S. nationals working abroad to avoid paying into two social security systems while being subjected to losing benefits for their home country system. Under totalization agreements, generally, foreign workers will only pay into one of the social security systems, either the home or the foreign system, but not both. Foreign nationals, utilizing a totalization agreement, also can count years of contributions paid to different social security systems to all of the systems they have contributed to in order to be eligible for benefits in one country.

Poland and the U.S. have entered into a totalization agreement and a summary of those provisions is included in

Wage Payment: Under certain visas for certain types of employment, employers are required to pay foreign workers the higher of either the prevailing wage or the actual wage that is paid to U.S. workers that have similar skills and qualifications.

There are no particular requirements that employees be paid in U.S. dollars.

TREATY ARRANGEMENTS

Poland has entered into more than 80 income tax treaties, including an income tax treaty with the United States. Poland has 10 totalization agreements for social tax coverage purposes, including an agreement with the United States.

Poland’s tax treaties are available in

RESOURCES

All resources in English unless otherwise noted.

General

Polish Government: Business in Poland

Polish Investment and Trade Agency

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Poland.pl

U.S. State Department:

U.S. Relations With Poland
International Travel Information: Poland

U.S. Central Intelligence Agency:

The World Factbook: Poland
The World Factbook: Languages

U.S. Department of Commerce:

Export.gov: Poland - Market Overview
Export.gov: Poland - Business Travel

U.S. Library of Congress:

Guide to Law Online: Poland
Global Legal Monitor: Poland

Currency Details

Unicode Consortium: Currency Symbols

International Organization for Standardization: Currency Codes - ISO 4217

United Nations: United Nations Terminology Database: Poland

Taxes

Income Tax Act (Polish)

Ministry of Finance (Polish)

Social Insurance Institute (Polish)

Social Insurance Institute: Social Insurance in Poland

Ministry of Finance: Tax Portal (Polish)

Personal Income Tax Forms (Polish)

Poland Law of Feb. 13, 2018, Regarding Establishment of the 10-Year Standard for Storing Payroll-Related Records (Polish)

Poland Law of Oct. 4, 2018, Regarding Employees’ Capital Pension Schemes (Polish)

Poland Law of Oct. 23, 2018, Regarding the Solidaity Support Fund (Polish)

Poland Law of July 12, 2019, Regarding Personal Income Tax Exemption for Employees Younger Than 26 Years of Age (Polish)

Poland Law of Aug. 30, 2019, Regarding Income Tax Changes (Polish)

Germany/Poland Covid-19 Cross-Border Commuter Agreement

Extension of January 2021 Income Tax Withholding Deposit Deadline (Polish)

Compensation and Benefits

Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Policy (Polish)

Ministry of Family, Labour, and Social Policy: Parental Leave (Polish)