Investing in and renting out a new flat in Poland: questions and answers

Otodom Analytics data for June 2026, published in August 2026, put yields for flats in the largest cities at roughly 4.7% to 6.4% a year, depending on city and size. Łódź and Gdynia showed the highest figures for small flats and Kraków the lowest. These figures use asking prices and rents and do not deduct tax, costs or empty months, so treat them as gross. Yields fell year on year in most cities.

Since 2023, private rental outside a business is taxed only by the flat-rate tax on recorded revenue (ryczałt): 8.5% of rent up to 100,000 zł a year and 12.5% above that. Costs such as repairs, interest or depreciation cannot be deducted. You pay monthly or quarterly by the 20th of the following month and file a PIT-28 return between 15 February and 30 April of the next year.

Spouses in a community of property normally each report half of the rent. If one spouse files a written declaration, that spouse reports all of it, and the 12.5% rate then applies only above 200,000 zł. The declaration is due by the 20th of the month after the first rent of the year, or by year-end if the first rent comes in December, and remains valid until withdrawn. Couples with separate property cannot use the higher threshold.

Utilities and building charges that the lease makes the tenant pay are not your rental revenue. A deposit is not revenue either, unless you keep all or part of it to cover unpaid rent; the part kept becomes rental revenue. Write clearly in the lease what the tenant pays and on what basis, so that your tax records match the money you actually receive as rent.

You can, but the tax side needs advice first. Rent from a flat in Poland is Polish-source income, taxable in Poland even if you live abroad. Whether a non-resident can use the 8.5% and 12.5% flat-rate tax, and which tax office is competent, is not clearly settled in the sources we checked. A tax adviser or a written tax ruling (interpretacja indywidualna) is the safe route before the first tenant moves in.

There are three forms: ordinary lease, occasional lease (najem okazjonalny) and institutional lease. The occasional lease is available to private persons not renting as a business, runs for a fixed term of up to 10 years, includes the tenant's notarial statement of submission to eviction and an address to move to, and must be reported to the tax office. Sources differ on some formal details, so have the contract checked by a lawyer.

Possibly, but the rules are changing. An EU regulation on short-term rental data applies from 20 May 2026, and a Polish act passed by the Sejm in October 2026 creates a central register with an ID number for listings and fines of up to 50,000 zł. From 2028 it would let housing communities ban short stays and municipalities set suspension zones. Check whether the act has been signed and published, and read the building's rules.

Yes, from the sixth flat. A normal developer purchase carries no PCC because it is a VAT sale, but a buyer who acquires a 6th or further VAT-taxed flat in the same building or on the same plot pays 6% PCC on those purchases. If you plan a portfolio in one development, check with a tax adviser how and from when the rule applies to you.

Not if the company is controlled by foreigners. Under the act on acquiring real estate by foreigners, a company registered in Poland in which foreigners hold more than half of the votes is itself treated as a foreigner. For a self-contained flat this rarely matters, because no permit is needed, but it does for plots, houses or the border zone. A company also changes how rent and sales are taxed, so take advice first.

From 1 January of the sixth year after the year you acquired the flat. For a developer flat, the prevailing view counts from the year of the transfer deed, not the developer agreement. A sale before that is taxed at 19% of the gain on PIT-39, unless you spend the proceeds on your own housing within three years, which exempts a matching share of the gain. Confirm your dates with a tax adviser.

It changes the return on your own cash, not the yield of the flat. If the net rental yield is higher than the interest rate on the loan, borrowing raises your return on the money you put in; if it is lower, it reduces it. With mortgage costs in late 2026 around 5.4% to 7.0% RRSO in a sample ranking, and net yields often well below gross figures, run both scenarios carefully before borrowing.