The Tax Ordinance from 1 October 2026: Key Changes for Taxpayers

Article 75 §§ 3 and 3a of the Tax Ordinance, which required taxpayers to submit an overpayment application together with an amended return, have been repealed. From 1 October 2026, where an overpayment results from an amended return submitted after its filing deadline, the taxpayer does not need to submit a separate application. Under Article 165 § 8a of the Tax Ordinance, proceedings are deemed to begin on the date the amendment is filed.

An overpayment resulting from such an amendment is generally refundable within two months of filing. The refund cannot be made earlier than three months after filing the annual return, excise return or return of profit payments for the financial year referred to in Article 73 § 2 of the Tax Ordinance, or earlier than 45 days after an electronically filed PIT return.

The new Article 81 § 2b requires a written explanation of the reasons for an amendmentresulting in an overpayment exceeding PLN 10,000.

The tax authority retains the right to verify whether the amendment is justified. If it finds it wholly or partly unjustified, it refuses to recognise the overpayment to the corresponding extent and the amended return has no legal effect.

During verification activities under Article 274 of the Tax Ordinance, the authority may correct a return itself in the event of calculation errors, other obvious mistakes or non-compliance with prescribed requirements, provided that the resulting change in value does not exceed PLN 10,000.

The authority notifies the taxpayer of the correction, explaining its reasons and scope and informing them of their right to object. The taxpayer may object within 14 days of service of the notice; an objection cancels the correction. If no objection is lodged within the statutory period, the correction has the same effect as one made by the taxpayer.

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Under the revised Article 86a § 2 point 13 of the Tax Ordinance, a “tax arrangement” means a reportable cross-border arrangement with a generic or specific hallmark concerning more than one EU Member State, or a Member State and a third country.

An arrangement is cross-border if at least one of the following circumstances applies:

• not all participants are resident, registered or managed in the same country,
• at least one participant conducts business in another country through a permanent establishment, or without residence, a registered office or a permanent establishment there; in the former case, the arrangement forms all or part of the establishment’s business,
• the arrangement may affect the automatic exchange of tax information or identification of the beneficial owner.

This means that domestic tax arrangements are no longer subject to MDR obligations. Taxpayers operating exclusively in Poland may be significantly relieved of the need to identify and report domestic arrangements. The amendment also excludes arrangements concerning value added tax, including VAT, and excise duty from MDR.

This does not abolish all obligations. The involvement of a foreign trading partner alone does not determine whether reporting is required. Each arrangement with a cross-border element must be checked against the statutory criteria for a reportable tax arrangement.

The amendment repeals Article 86d of the Tax Ordinance, which previously regulated the separate category of service provider. Supporting activities remain relevant, however, and are addressed in the new rules on promoters’ obligations, particularly where one promoter or the relevant taxpayer instructs another promoter to perform such activities.

If, exercising the required diligence, a promoter knows or should know that an arrangement may be reportable and has neither confirmation of its arrangement number nor confirmation that it has been reported, the promoter may ask the instructing party for a written statement that it is not a reportable arrangement.

The statement must be provided within seven days of service of the request. Pending receipt, the promoter may suspend the activities without civil liability to the instructing party or disciplinary liability. Failure to provide the statement on time creates a statutory presumption that the promoter knew the arrangement was reportable. This presumption may be rebutted under the rules in the Act.

From 1 October 2026, the limit in Article 62b § 1 point 3 of the Tax Ordinance has increased. A person other than the taxpayer may pay the tax if its amount does not exceed PLN 5,000 — the previous limit was PLN 1,000.

The rules for payment by the taxpayer’s spouse and immediate family members specified in the Act, and by the current owner of an asset subject to a compulsory mortgage or fiscal pledge in the cases covered by Article 62b, remain unchanged.

Under Article 86j § 1 of the Tax Ordinance, a relevant taxpayer who, in a given reporting period, carried out activities forming part of a tax arrangement or obtained a tax benefit from it must report its use to the Head of the National Revenue Administration.

The deadline is the end of the fourth month following the end of the tax year for relevant taxpayers subject to PIT or CIT. Where the relevant taxpayer is a company in a tax capital group, the period runs from the end of that group’s tax year. For other relevant taxpayers not subject to PIT or CIT, it runs from the end of the calendar year.

A separate report is submitted for each arrangement on form MDR-3. Under Article 86j § 1a, it must include the tax arrangement number (NSP) and the amount of the tax benefit obtained during the year, or an estimate if the amount cannot be determined.

Benefits denominated in foreign currency are converted into PLN using the National Bank of Poland’s average exchange rate on the last working day before the report is submitted (Article 86j § 1b).

From 1 October 2026, where justified by an important interest of the taxpayer or the public interest, the tax authority may, on the taxpayer’s application, remit all or part not only of tax arrears but also of the tax itself. Relief is therefore no longer limited to situations where tax has already become overdue.

At the same time, the revised Article 67d excludes remission of the tax itself on the authority’s own initiative.

The introduction of remote interviews of parties and witnesses is a significant procedural convenience. Under Article 199b § 1 of the Tax Ordinance, the authority may conduct such an interview using equipment providing simultaneous, direct transmission of sound and images if it has the appropriate technical resources.

Article 199b § 2 also permits interviews, whether remote or conducted in person, to be recorded with audiovisual equipment or audio-only equipment where the authority has the appropriate technical resources.

From 1 October 2026, Article 86l of the Tax Ordinance has been repealed. It required certain entities acting as promoters, employing promoters or actually paying them remuneration to maintain an internal MDR procedurewhere their revenue or costs in the previous financial year exceeded the equivalent of PLN 8,000,000.

Article 86m, which provided for financial penalties for failure to comply with internal MDR procedure obligations, has also been repealed.

This information does not constitute a legal opinion. For further information or legal assistance, please contact our firm: 42 207 66 66, kancelaria@krs-adwokaci.pl.

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