Payroll in Poland 2026: ZUS contributions, PIT and minimum wage

From each salary in Poland the employer deducts the employee's ZUS contributions (13.71% of gross pay), the 9% health contribution and the PIT advance (12%, or 32% above PLN 120,000 a year). A small employer adds 20.48% in its own ZUS and fund contributions and pays everything to ZUS and the tax office by the 15th or 20th.

Payroll in Poland at a glance

Social security contributions

ZUS contributions are calculated on gross pay. The 2026 rates and the split between employee and employer are:

Ceiling. Pension and disability contributions stop once the year's pay reaches 30 times the forecast average monthly wage, which is PLN 9,420 for 2026, so PLN 282,600.

Accident rate. An employer that reports up to 9 insured people to accident insurance pays a flat 1.67%. Larger employers pay the rate for their group of activity, and ZUS sets the rate itself for payers that have filed the ZUS IWA information for the last three years.

Labour Fund and Solidarity Fund. The 2026 Budget Act set the Labour Fund contribution at 1.00% and the Solidarity Fund at 1.45%, together the familiar 2.45%, and the FGŚP at 0.10%.

Health contribution. The 9% is calculated on gross pay minus the employee's own pension, disability and sickness contributions, without the annual ceiling. Since the provision allowing a deduction was repealed, it no longer reduces the tax.

Income tax on salaries

Employees are taxed on the tax scale (skala podatkowa):

The PLN 3,600 reduction means the first PLN 30,000 of income is effectively tax-free.

Monthly advances. The employer, as payer, calculates the advance on each month's income: pay minus the employee's ZUS contributions and minus costs of earning income (koszty uzyskania przychodu) of PLN 250 a month, or PLN 300 if the employee lives in another town and receives no separation allowance (at most PLN 3,000 and PLN 3,600 a year). The advance is 12% of that income; in the month the employee's income from that employer passes PLN 120,000 the excess is taxed at 32%, and every later month at 32%.

PIT-2. If the employee files a PIT-2 statement with the employer, each advance is reduced by one twelfth of the tax-reducing amount, PLN 300. The tax base and the advance are rounded to whole złoty.

Minimum wage, working time and mandatory pay

Minimum wage. From 1 January 2026 the minimum wage is PLN 4,806 a month for full-time work and the minimum hourly rate PLN 31.40 (Council of Ministers regulation of 11 September 2025). A regulation of 14 September 2026 sets PLN 4,950 and PLN 32.30 from 1 January 2027.

Overtime. On top of normal pay, overtime carries a supplement of 100% for overtime at night, on Sundays and public holidays that are not working days for the employee, and on a day off given in exchange for Sunday or holiday work, and 50% for overtime on any other day. The 100% supplement also applies to hours that exceed the average weekly norm in the settlement period.

Paying wages. Pay is due at least once a month, on a fixed date set in advance. Monthly pay is paid in arrears, as soon as its full amount is known and no later than the first 10 days of the following month.

PPK. In an employee capital plan the basic contribution is 2% of pay from the employee (it can be lowered to as little as 0.5% for pay of up to 1.2 times the minimum wage) and 1.5% from the employer, which may add up to 2.5% more. Employees can opt out by a declaration to the employer. The employer's PPK payments are not included in the ZUS base.

Monthly payroll calendar and filings

1. 1Register with ZUS as a contribution payer and register each employee for social and health insurance (form ZUS ZUA for full insurance).
2. 2Pay salaries by the fixed pay date, at the latest by the 10th of the following month.
3. 3Send the ZUS settlement documents and pay the contributions by the 15th of the following month if the employer has legal personality (for example a limited company, cooperative or foundation), by the 20th for other employers such as sole traders and partnerships, and by the 5th for budget units. A deadline on a weekend or holiday moves to the next working day.
4. 4Pay the PIT advances withheld in a month to the tax office by the 20th of the following month.
5. 5File the annual returns: the PIT-4R declaration and the PIT-11 information for each employee to the tax office by the end of January, and the PIT-11 to the employee by the end of February. For 2026 pay that means the end of January 2027 and the end of February 2027.

Worked example: PLN 8,000 a month

An employee earns PLN 8,000 gross a month (PLN 96,000 a year, below the PLN 120,000 threshold), lives in the town where they work, has filed a PIT-2 and has opted out of PPK. The employer has fewer than 10 insured staff.

If the employee stayed in PPK, a further PLN 160 (2%) would be deducted and the employer would pay PLN 120 (1.5%), which also affects the PIT advance.

Common mistakes

1. 1Deducting the PLN 300 reduction without a PIT-2, or at more than one employer.
2. 2Using PLN 300 costs of earning income without the employee's statement that they live in another town.
3. 3Paying ZUS on the wrong day: companies with legal personality pay by the 15th, other employers by the 20th.
4. 4Continuing pension and disability contributions after pay reaches PLN 282,600, or capping the health contribution, which has no ceiling.
5. 5Paying below PLN 4,806 in 2026, or forgetting the rise to PLN 4,950 on 1 January 2027.
6. 6Using the 1.67% accident rate after the employer has 10 or more insured people.
7. 7Missing the PIT-11 deadlines at the end of January (tax office) and February (employee).

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly does not ship a built-in payroll profile for Poland. An administrator enters the Polish payroll rates once in the payroll tax settings: the income-tax bands, the personal allowance, the employee and employer contribution rates and the minimum wage. Clientlly then calculates gross to net and the employer contributions and produces payslips. Check the Polish specifics for each employee: the PIT-2 reduction, the costs of earning income, the health contribution base and the annual ZUS ceiling.

Alongside payroll, the human resources module handles leave requests and approvals with a leave calendar and keeps HR documents, and attendance and time tracking records working hours and overtime, including night and Sunday hours.