Free tools / Capital gains tax calculator
Capital gains tax calculator (19 percent)
Work out the tax on capital gains in Poland: how much of a gain on shares, a deposit or a dividend you actually keep, and how loss relief works.
The calculator covers the PIT-38 return. On deposits and domestic dividends, the tax is withheld by the payer.
"Podatek Belki" is the colloquial name for Poland's flat-rate tax on investment income. The rate is 19 percent and it covers, among other things, interest on bank deposits, gains on the sale of shares, bonds and fund units, and dividends.
The calculator shows the tax due and the amount you take home, and it also lets you deduct losses you have incurred, because with stock market investments it is your income that is taxed, that is, gains less losses and costs, rather than each profitable trade on its own.
When the tax is paid for you, and when you file it yourself
On bank deposits and dividends from Polish companies, the tax is withheld by the payer, that is, the bank or brokerage house, and the net amount is what reaches your account. You do not have to report anything in your annual return.
On the sale of shares, ETFs and bonds you file yourself. The brokerage house issues a PIT-8C, and you submit a PIT-38 and pay tax on your income for the whole year. This is an important difference, because under this regime gains and losses across different trades are added together.
Losses reduce your tax, but within set limits
You can offset a loss on capital investments over the following five tax years, and in any single year you can deduct at most half of the loss from a given year. Alternatively, you may deduct it in full in one of those five years, up to 5 million złoty, which in practice means an individual investor can offset the entire loss at once.
Losses and gains are combined within the same source of income. You can reduce a gain on the sale of shares with a loss on another sale of shares, but you cannot use it against the tax on deposit interest, because there the bank has already withheld the tax.
What else affects the result
Brokerage commissions on both purchases and sales are deductible costs, so the actual taxable income is lower than the price difference alone. It is worth entering them, because with active trading they make a noticeable difference.
Gains on an IKE or IKZE account are exempt from the capital gains tax once the statutory conditions are met. It is the only widely available way to avoid this levy entirely and legally over the long term.
Frequently asked questions
How much is the capital gains tax?
The rate is 19 percent on income from capital investments. It is a flat-rate tax, so it is not combined with employment income and does not affect your tax bracket under the general progressive scale.
Do I pay tax if I don't sell my shares?
No. With shares, the tax arises only when the gain is realised, meaning when you sell. A rise in the share price on your account does not by itself create a tax liability, which is a significant advantage of holding a position long term.
How do I report foreign dividends?
A foreign payer usually withholds tax at source at its own country's rate. In Poland you pay the difference up to 19 percent, provided the double taxation treaty allows for this, and you settle it yourself in your annual return. With US companies, filing form W-8BEN with your broker is essential, because without it the withholding tax is considerably higher.
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