Costs and taxes of buying a new flat in Poland: questions and answers

Expect notary fees for the developer agreement and the transfer deed (plus VAT), court fees for land-register entries, the cost of notarial copies and the land-register filing, bank costs if you borrow, and the fit-out if the flat is sold in shell-and-core condition. Foreign buyers may add an interpreter and a power of attorney. There is normally no 2% transaction tax on a developer purchase. Once you own the flat, you pay an annual property tax.

A regulation sets a maximum fee scale based on the value of the transaction. For a value between 60,000 and 1,000,000 zł the base maximum is 1,010 zł plus 0.4% of the amount above 60,000 zł. For a developer agreement and for the deed transferring the flat, the maximum is half of that base. For a 600,000 zł flat, the base is 3,170 zł and each deed is capped at 1,585 zł net, or about 1,950 zł with 23% VAT.

Yes. The regulation sets maximum fees only, and a notary may agree a lower fee. It is reasonable to ask for a quote in advance, for both the developer agreement and the transfer deed. Copies of the deed, the land-register filing and out-of-office signings are charged separately, so ask for the full amount including VAT and court fees the notary will collect.

By law, the notary fees for all acts connected with signing the developer agreement, including copies issued at signing, and the court fees for the related land-register entry are split equally between you and the developer. The transfer deed signed after completion is not covered by that rule. Who pays for it depends on your contract, and in market practice it is usually the buyer.

Entering ownership costs 200 zł, and entering a mortgage, which is a limited property right, also costs 200 zł. Entering your claim under the developer agreement is generally charged at 150 zł, though how that rate applies should be confirmed with the notary. Opening a new land-register book costs 100 zł and is normally the developer's step. Deleting an entry costs half the fee for making it.

A regulation in force from 5 November 2026 raised the maximum charge for notarial copies from 6 zł per page to 12 zł for pages 1 to 10, 10 zł for pages 11 to 20 and 8 zł from page 21. It added a separate maximum of 300 zł for filing a land-register application and raised the cap for a power of attorney to 100 zł for one act or 200 zł for several. Brackets for very high values also changed.

No, not on a normal purchase from a developer, because the sale is taxed with VAT and is therefore outside the tax on civil-law transactions. The exception is a buyer acquiring a 6th or further VAT-taxed flat in the same building or on the same plot, who pays 6% on those purchases. The 2% PCC you may read about applies to purchases from private sellers on the second-hand market.

For flats of up to 150 m² of usable area, the reduced rate applies, currently 8% according to official guidance (a temporary rate kept in force; confirm with the developer). For larger flats, the reduced rate covers only the share of the price matching 150 m² and the rest is taxed at 23%. A parking space or garage sold as a separate commercial unit is likely taxed at 23%. The rate is already inside the developer's price; the buyer does not pay it on top.

The notarial deed creating a mortgage for a housing loan is capped at one quarter of the base notary rate, plus VAT, and the court charges 200 zł to enter the mortgage. Bank costs such as commission, the property valuation, insurance and any cover for a low own contribution are set by each bank, so compare the total cost of credit (RRSO) and the list of required extras, not only the margin.

It depends on the standard and on what the contract's finishing annex includes. Guides published in 2026 quote roughly 1,800 to 3,500 zł per square metre for finishing a shell-and-core flat to a turnkey standard. For a 50 m² flat that is roughly 90,000 to 175,000 zł. Treat this as a wide range for planning and get quotes based on the developer's finishing annex.

Each municipality sets its rate up to a national maximum: 1.25 zł per square metre of usable area for 2026 and 1.29 zł for 2027. For a 60 m² flat at the 2026 maximum that is 75 zł a year. A municipality may charge less. You file a form with the municipality within 14 days of becoming liable; whether that is the handover or the transfer deed should be checked locally.

We found no separate purchase tax for foreigners. Practical extras can include a sworn translator or interpreter at each notarial deed, whose fee is not part of the regulated notary fee, a notarial power of attorney if someone signs for you (up to 100 or 200 zł) and, from 19 November 2026, a 5 zł fee for each foreigner-related document the notary files in the central electronic repository.