The PIT-37 annual tax return is one of the most important tax documents in Poland and is filed by most Polish taxpayers. During the calendar year, individuals who do not run a business – like entrepreneurs – pay income tax advances, in their case through the employer. The final settlement with the tax office (urząd skarbowy), however, takes place only when the PIT-37 annual return (PIT is personal income tax) is filed by 30 April of the following year (the settlement for 2025 – in 2026, on the PIT-37(31) form). If you also run a business alongside your job, the settlement looks different — this is covered in our post on the annual PIT return for business and employment income.
Filling in PIT-37 may seem complicated, especially for people dealing with it for the first time. The form consists of many parts, each of which has to be completed precisely with the right data. Knowing the structure of the return and the rules for filling it in helps you avoid mistakes and settle your tax correctly.
The PIT-37 return is filed between 15 February and 30 April of the year following the tax year (Article 45(1) of the PIT Act). If the return shows tax to pay, it must also be paid by the same deadline. Missing the deadline means default interest is charged
The annual settlement is based on documents received from payers, such as PIT-11 or PIT-11A (pensioners for whom the pension authority did not prepare the PIT-40A annual tax calculation). These documents contain detailed information on revenue received, costs, ZUS (Social Insurance Institution) contributions and income tax advances withheld during the year. Transferring the data correctly from these documents to the right boxes of the return is key to a correct settlement.
Who files the PIT-37 annual return
PIT-37 is one of the most common annual returns in Poland, filed by a wide group of taxpayers. It must be filed by people who receive revenue from various sources taxed under the tax scale (12% and 32%).
The main group of PIT-37 filers are employees working under an employment contract. The return is also filed by people providing services under a contract of mandate (umowa zlecenia) and a contract for specific work (umowa o dzieło). This group also includes pensioners receiving benefits from the Social Insurance Institution and people receiving sickness benefit.
The PIT-37 return is used only to settle revenue taxed under the tax scale. Revenue taxed under the flat-rate tax on recorded revenue (ryczałt), the flat 19% tax (podatek liniowy) or the tax card requires other return forms
The tax scale under which revenue is settled in PIT-37 has rates of 12 per cent and 32 per cent on the excess over PLN 120,000 (since 2022, also for 2024, 2025 and 2026), with a tax-reducing amount of PLN 3,600, which corresponds to a tax-free amount of PLN 30,000 (Article 27(1) of the PIT Act). Under this system, taxpayers with lower income pay a lower rate, while those with higher revenue are subject to a progressive rate. The scale also applies to pensioners — when a pension can be free of tax is explained in our article on tax-free pensions in Poland.
Taxpayers with revenue from different sources taxed in different ways are a special case. For example, a person employed under an employment contract who also rents out a flat under the flat-rate tax on recorded revenue must file two separate returns: PIT-37 for employment income and PIT-28 for rental income.
PIT-37 is completed on the basis of documents received from payers. Employees receive PIT-11 from their employers, pensioners receive PIT-11A from ZUS, and where the pension authority settles the tax for the year itself – the PIT-40A annual tax calculation (Article 34(7) and (8) of the PIT Act). All these documents contain the necessary information on revenue, costs and advances withheld.
- Check that you have received all the necessary documents from payers
- Verify the personal data on the PIT forms you have received
- Compare the amounts on the documents with your own records
- If there are discrepancies, contact the payer before filling in the return
- Prepare documents confirming your right to tax reliefs
Types of source documents for PIT-37
To fill in PIT-37 you need the appropriate source documents, which payers are required to provide to taxpayers. The type of document depends on the source of revenue and the nature of the relationship between the taxpayer and the payer.
PIT-11 is the most common document, received by employees working under an employment contract (and also by contractors under contracts of mandate and contracts for specific work). It contains a detailed breakdown of all salaries, bonuses, awards and other cash and non-cash benefits paid in the tax year. In addition to revenue, PIT-11 shows tax-deductible costs, social security contributions withheld and income tax advances paid to the tax office.
Payers must provide PIT documents to taxpayers by the end of February of the year following the tax year (Article 34(7) and (8), Article 39(1), Article 42(2) of the PIT Act). The documents may be provided on paper or electronically
PIT-11A is received by people receiving old-age and disability pensions and similar benefits from ZUS or another pension authority, where that authority does not prepare an annual tax calculation. Its structure is similar to PIT-11 but reflects the specifics of pension benefits. It shows the amount of benefits received, the tax-deductible costs applied and the income tax advances withheld.
PIT-40A is the annual tax calculation prepared by a pension authority (e.g. ZUS) for pensioners (Article 34(7) of the PIT Act). If the pensioner had no other income and no reliefs to claim, the tax shown in PIT-40A is the tax due (Article 34(9)); otherwise the data from PIT-40A is transferred to PIT-37.
Cash social insurance benefits paid directly by ZUS (rather than by the employer) are reported by ZUS, acting as a pension authority, in the information it provides to the taxpayer (Article 34(1) and (8) of the PIT Act). The IFT-1R form is not used for PIT-37 – it is an information form on the revenue of people who do not live in Poland (non-residents).
| Document | Source of revenue | Payer | Deadline for providing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIT-11 | Employment contract | Employer | By the end of February |
| PIT-11A | Old-age and disability pensions, benefits | ZUS | By the end of February |
| PIT-40A | Annual tax calculation on old-age and disability pensions | ZUS or another pension authority | By the end of February |
| PIT-11 | Contracts of mandate, contracts for specific work (payers under Article 41) | Principal, ordering party | By the end of February |
Each of these documents contains key information needed to fill in the return correctly. In addition to the basic revenue data, they show the ZUS contributions withheld on the taxpayer's behalf, which directly affects the tax base and the tax due.
Joint filing with your spouse
One of the most important decisions when filling in PIT-37 is the choice of how to settle your tax. Married taxpayers can choose between filing individually and filing jointly with their spouse.
Joint filing can be particularly advantageous for couples whose incomes differ significantly. Because the tax scale is progressive, combining the spouses' income and dividing it by two can lower the average tax rate and thus reduce the family's total tax burden.
Joint filing is possible if the spouses were married and had joint marital property for the whole tax year or from the date of the wedding to the end of the year (Article 6(2) of the PIT Act). In addition, neither spouse may use the flat 19% tax or ryczałt (except ryczałt on private rental) – Article 6(8)
The conditions for joint filing are strictly defined by tax law. The spouses must be married for the whole tax year or – if they married during the year – from the date of the marriage to 31 December. People who divorced during the year cannot use this option. Joint marital property between the spouses is also required.
An important restriction on joint filing is Article 6(8) of the PIT Act. If one spouse runs a business taxed under the flat 19% tax, the flat-rate tax on recorded revenue or the tax card, joint filing is not possible (ryczałt on revenue from private rental does not exclude it). If the spouse runs a business taxed under the tax scale, joint filing is possible, but on the PIT-36 form, not PIT-37.
With joint filing, the tax is calculated as twice the tax on half of the spouses' combined income (Article 6(2)). In practice, this means the 12 per cent rate applies to the spouses' combined income of up to PLN 240,000 (twice the PLN 120,000 threshold), and the 32 per cent rate to the excess over this amount. This can bring significant tax savings, especially when one spouse earns much more than the other.
A married couple in which one spouse has an income of PLN 160,000 a year and the other PLN 20,000 may consider filing jointly. If they file individually, the first spouse will pay more tax because their income exceeds the PLN 120,000 threshold, whereas with joint filing the combined income of PLN 180,000 falls within the first tax bracket for married couples.
The request for joint filing is made in the return and may be made by one spouse – this is treated as a declaration that they are authorised by the other spouse, made under penalty of criminal liability for false statements (Article 6(2a)). The return contains the data of both spouses (parts C.1 and C.2, E.1 and E.2), but it can be filed by one of them, also electronically.
Filling in PIT-37 in detail - parts A to Q
The PIT-37(31) form, used to settle income for 2025, consists of seventeen parts marked with the letters A to Q. Each part has a specific purpose and must be completed with specific data. Filling in all parts systematically according to the instructions ensures a correct settlement.
Part A is where you indicate the competent tax office and the purpose of filing. The competent tax office is determined by the taxpayer's place of residence on the last day of the tax year. If the taxpayer moved during the year, the address on 31 December of the tax year is decisive. In this part you also state whether the return is an original filing or a correction of an earlier one.
Part B is where you indicate how you are settling your tax. You can choose individual filing, joint filing with your spouse, filing as a widow or widower, or filing as a single parent, and additionally – if you meet the conditions – tick filing as a non-resident in the manner set out in Article 29(4) of the Act. Each of these options has specific tax consequences and formal requirements.
Part C of the return must contain the taxpayer's current personal data and address as at the date of filing. If the data changed after the end of the tax year, give the current information, not the information as at the end of the tax year
Part D.1 concerns the type of relief: the relief for young people, the return relief, the relief for families with 4+ children and the relief for working seniors. The limit of PLN 85,528 a year is shared by all these reliefs – if you use several reliefs at the same time, the total exempt revenue cannot exceed this limit (Article 21(44) of the PIT Act). The limit applies separately to the taxpayer and the spouse and also covers business revenue covered by the return relief, the relief for families with 4+ children and the relief for working seniors.
Part D.2 is used to report revenue covered by the relief by type – including the revenue of taxpayers using the relief for young people who have not turned 26. The taxpayer finds the necessary information in the PIT-11 forms received, in which the payer reports separately the exempt revenue to which it applied the relief during the year and the revenue to which it did not.
Parts E.1 and E.2 are the heart of the PIT-37 return, where all revenue taxed under the tax scale is reported. The data is transferred from the PIT-11, PIT-11A and PIT-40A documents received and other source documents. For each source of revenue, the appropriate tax-deductible costs are applied, income or loss is calculated and the advances withheld by payers are shown. Part E.2 is completed additionally in the case of joint filing with a spouse.
- Revenue from employment contracts is reported in the relevant rows of part E
- Tax-deductible costs are applied in accordance with the applicable rules
- Deductible ZUS contributions are taken into account when calculating the tax base
- Advances withheld during the year reduce the tax due to be paid
Part F covers various deductions from income, including social security contributions paid by the taxpayer, deductions shown in the PIT/O attachment and the interest relief from the PIT/D attachment. The interest relief concerns taxpayers who, under acquired rights, deduct from income the interest paid on a housing loan taken out in 2002-2006.
Part G contains the calculation of tax under the tax scale. The tax base is the income from part E less the deductions from part F. In the case of joint filing with a spouse, the tax is calculated on half of the combined income and multiplied by two, which in practice gives a threshold of PLN 240,000 instead of the standard threshold of PLN 120,000. The next part H is used for deductions from tax (e.g. the child relief).
Reliefs and deductions in PIT-37
The system of reliefs and deductions in the PIT-37 return lets taxpayers legally reduce their tax burden. Reliefs and deductions differ in how they work and at which stage of calculating the tax due they are applied.
Tax reliefs are applied to revenue, thereby reducing the tax base already at the stage of determining income. The most popular reliefs are the relief for young people under 26, the return relief, the relief for families with 4+ children and the relief for working seniors. Each of these reliefs has specific conditions and limits.
The relief for young people under 26 exempts from income tax revenue of up to PLN 85,528 a year. It covers, among others, revenue from employment contracts and contracts of mandate (it does not cover contracts for specific work), provided the revenue was received before the age of 26 (Article 21(1)(148) of the PIT Act)
The relief for young people is one of the most widely used tax reliefs. Taxpayers can use it until they turn 26 – up to and including the day of their 26th birthday (individual tax ruling (KIS) issued by the Director of KIS on 10 July 2025, 0113-KDIPT2-3.4011.463.2025.2.AK), not until the end of the year in which they turn 26. The relief covers revenue from employment and similar relationships, from contracts of mandate, from graduate internships, student traineeships and maternity benefit, but it most often concerns salaries under employment contracts and contracts of mandate. Employers apply the relief already when calculating monthly advances, which means young employees receive higher net pay.
Deductions from income are applied after income has been determined but before the tax due is calculated. The most important deductions include social security contributions paid by the taxpayer themselves, donations to charitable causes, the rehabilitation relief and the internet relief (Article 26(1)(6) and (6a) of the PIT Act) and – under acquired rights – interest on a housing loan. Since 2022, health insurance contributions cannot be deducted under the tax scale.
ZUS contributions are the most common deduction from income. Old-age pension, disability pension, sickness and accident insurance contributions paid by the taxpayer can be deducted, provided they have not already been included in tax-deductible costs. Most often these are contributions withheld by the payer from a salary or a contract of mandate and shown in PIT-11.
| Type of relief/deduction | Maximum amount | Conditions | Documents required |
|---|---|---|---|
| Relief for young people | PLN 85,528 | Under 26 | PIT-11 information |
| ZUS contributions | No limit | Paid by the taxpayer | ZUS certificate |
| Donations | 6% of income | For statutory purposes | Donation documents |
| Interest relief | As provided by law | Loans from 2002-2006 | Bank certificate |
The interest relief is a specific deduction available to taxpayers who took out housing loans in 2002-2006. Interest on loans used for the taxpayer's own housing needs can be deducted. The relief works under acquired rights, which means it can only be used by people who met the conditions when the rules were introduced.
A taxpayer with an income of PLN 60,000 a year who pays ZUS contributions of PLN 12,000 and donated PLN 2,000 to charity can deduct a total of PLN 14,000 from income, reducing the tax base to PLN 46,000.
Using reliefs and deductions requires proper documentation. Taxpayers must have documents confirming their right to the relief and the amounts deducted. Without proper documentation, the tax office may challenge the relief and require you to pay the tax with interest.
Calculating the tax due and overpayment
The final stage of filling in PIT-37 is calculating the tax due and determining whether the taxpayer has tax to pay or is entitled to a refund of an overpayment. This requires precise calculations that take into account all the elements affecting the tax liability.
The basis for calculating the tax due is the tax base, determined as the difference between income and deductions from income. The tax scale rates are applied to the tax base: 12 per cent up to PLN 120,000 (minus the tax-reducing amount of PLN 3,600) and 32 per cent on the excess over this threshold. With joint filing, the thresholds are effectively doubled. The second tax threshold is discussed in detail in a separate guide.
The tax due is the tax calculated under the tax scale, less the deductions from tax to which the taxpayer is entitled. The advances withheld during the year are then subtracted from the tax due to determine the tax to pay or the overpayment
After calculating the tax under the tax scale, deductions from tax are applied (part H). The most common is the child relief (Article 27f of the PIT Act), reported in the PIT/O attachment. Since 2022, health insurance contributions are not deducted from tax (Article 27b of the PIT Act has been repealed).
The next step is to subtract the income tax advances withheld by payers during the tax year. Information on the advances withheld is in the PIT-11, PIT-11A and PIT-40A documents received from employers and other payers. The total of all advances withheld is the amount already paid to the tax office on the taxpayer's behalf.
The difference between the tax due and the advances withheld determines the final settlement with the tax office. If the tax due is higher than the advances withheld, there is tax to pay, which must be paid by 30 April. Otherwise there is a tax overpayment, which the tax office refunds to the taxpayer without any additional application.
- Calculate the tax base by subtracting all deductions from income
- Apply the appropriate tax scale rates to the tax base
- Deduct the reliefs you are entitled to from the tax (e.g. the child relief)
- Subtract all advances withheld by payers during the year
- Determine whether there is tax to pay or an overpayment to be refunded
Taxpayers using the child relief who could not use the full relief because their income was too low are a special case. They can apply for a refund of the unused part of the relief, but the refund cannot exceed the total deductible social security and health insurance contributions (Article 27f(8)-(9) of the PIT Act).
Part I of the return contains the final settlement with the tax office. Taxpayers show here the tax due, the tax to pay or the overpayment to be refunded. Part J concerns the refund of the unused child relief, and part N is used to indicate the bank account to which the overpayment is to be transferred. For business owners who use our accounting services, we also prepare annual tax returns.
Deadlines and ways of filing the return
Filing the PIT-37 annual return is subject to strict deadlines and can be done in various ways suited to taxpayers' needs and circumstances. Knowing the available options and the deadlines is key to avoiding the consequences of a late settlement.
The basic deadline for filing PIT-37 is 30 April of the year following the tax year. It applies both to filing the return and to paying any tax due. If 30 April falls on a Saturday or a public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day (Article 12 § 5 of the Tax Ordinance Act (Ordynacja podatkowa)).
Missing the 30 April deadline means default interest is charged on the tax to pay. In addition, filing the return late is a fiscal petty offence (Article 56 § 4 of the Fiscal Penal Code (KKS)), regardless of whether the return shows tax to pay; you can avoid liability by filing a voluntary disclosure (czynny żal, Article 16 KKS)
Filing electronically has become the most popular way of settling taxes. Taxpayers can use dedicated software, online platforms and mobile apps to fill in and send the return electronically. Filing electronically requires a Trusted Profile (Profil Zaufany), an electronic signature or another form of authorisation accepted by the tax administration.
The Twój e-PIT service, introduced in 2019, changed the way taxes are settled (Article 45cd of the PIT Act). The tax office prepares a pre-filled return based on data received from payers and information held in the tax systems. The taxpayer can accept the prepared return, make changes to it or reject it and file their own.
Traditional ways of filing include delivering the return in person to the tax office and sending it by post. When sending by post, what matters is the date the item is posted at a Polish post office of the designated operator (Article 12 § 6(2) of the Tax Ordinance Act), which must be no later than 30 April. It is advisable to send it by registered post with acknowledgement of receipt, so you can prove that it was filed on time.
- Filing electronically using dedicated software and online platforms
- Using the Twój e-PIT service prepared by the tax office
- Delivering the return in person to the competent tax office
- Sending the return by post, posted by 30 April
- Filing through a proxy with the appropriate authorisation
The competent tax office is determined by the taxpayer's place of residence on the last day of the tax year. A change of residence during the following year does not affect which office is competent for the previous year's settlement. Taxpayers filing jointly with their spouse file the return with the office competent for the place of residence of one of the spouses.
A return is corrected by filing a correcting return (Article 81 § 2 of the Tax Ordinance Act) – as a rule until the limitation period expires; the right to correct is suspended during tax proceedings or a tax audit to the extent they cover (Article 81b). Giving reasons for the correction is not mandatory. A correction may mean paying additional tax with interest or being entitled to an additional refund.
A taxpayer who filed the return on 25 April but then received an additional PIT-11 from the employer can file a correction reflecting the new data. The correction can also be filed after 30 April, but if it shows tax to pay, interest will be charged from 1 May.
