Capital Gains Tax in Poland: PIT-38 for Stocks, Shares and Crypto
Short answer: Capital gains from securities, derivatives, company shares, fund units and crypto disposals are taxed at 19% on the annual PIT-38, due 15 February to 30 April. Polish brokers feed it via PIT-8C with automatic acceptance; foreign gains convert at NBP rates, and crypto swaps between coins stay untaxed.
If you sold shares, fund units or crypto while tax-resident in Poland, one form decides whether the tax office is happy with you: PIT-38. It is the annual return for capital income - and unlike your salary, nothing is settled automatically unless your Polish broker did the paperwork. Here is how it works, as of October 2026, based on the Ministry of Finance's official guidance.
What goes on PIT-38
The form covers income from selling capital assets: securities (including short selling), derivative financial instruments and the exercise of rights from them, shares and stocks in companies, cooperative shares, redeemed or cancelled fund units - and disposals of virtual currency. The tax rate is a flat 19% on the gain: proceeds minus documented acquisition costs.
Your Polish brokerage makes this easier than it sounds. It issues a PIT-8C information form listing your transactions, and the Twój e-PIT service prepares a draft PIT-38 from it. If the PIT-8C data is in the system, you are an adult, and you neither reject the draft nor file yourself, the prepared return is automatically accepted on 30 April at 23:59. Automatic acceptance does not happen when the payer information is missing or wrong - so the draft still deserves a look.
Income from abroad belongs on the same form: the Ministry's guidance explicitly lists proceeds earned outside Poland, such as selling shares in a foreign company. Foreign-currency amounts convert to zloty at the National Bank of Poland's average rate from the last working day before the income arose. If you also paid tax abroad, the e-PIT service automatically attaches the PIT/ZG annex, and you can credit the foreign tax up to the Polish 19% on the same income.
Filing window and channels
PIT-38 for a given tax year is filed from 15 February to 30 April of the following year. File earlier and it counts as filed on 15 February. Electronic routes include Twój e-PIT in the e-Urzęd Skarbowy service, the e-Urząd Skarbowy mobile app (Documents > Declarations) and e-Deklaracje; paper filing goes to your tax office, posted with Poczta Polska before the deadline.
Costs, losses and the five-year rule
Deductible costs include what you documented spending to acquire the assets (unit price times quantity), brokerage commissions and account-related fees, and notary or registry fees for shares acquired outside a brokerage. If you inherited the securities, costs incurred by the deceased count; if they were a gift, the acquisition price is zero, though the portion of gain matching the gift tax you paid is exempt.
Losses on securities can be carried forward: within the next five consecutive tax years you may deduct up to 50% of the loss per year from the same source - or use a one-off deduction of up to 5 million zloty in one of those years, with any remainder spread under the 50% rule. Losses only offset gains from the same source; they never touch your salary or business income.
Crypto: same 19%, different traps
Virtual currency disposals go on PIT-38 too, in their own section - but the rules have sharp edges the Ministry spells out:
- Taxable events are selling crypto for legal tender, exchanging it for goods, services or a non-crypto property right, and settling obligations with crypto.
- Crypto-to-crypto swaps are not taxed, whether on an exchange or peer-to-peer.
- Report purchase costs even in years you sell nothing. Expenses for buying virtual currency are declared in the year they are incurred; any excess over that year's disposal proceeds rolls into the next year's costs, indefinitely. Because of this, a crypto "loss" never formally exists - there is no loss deduction, only carried-forward costs.
- No PIT-8C arrives. Exchanges and intermediaries have no statutory duty to issue information forms, so your own transaction records are the only evidence. Keep exchange statements and wallet histories.
- Mining hardware and electricity are not deductible, and neither are loan costs financing your purchases.
- Disposals inside a business licensed under anti-money-laundering rules are taxed as business income instead, outside PIT-38.
Practical notes for expats
- Tax residence decides. PIT-38 is for Polish tax residents (and, for the 19% rate, non-residents who document their residence with a certificate under a tax treaty). If you moved mid-year, the split year matters - see our tax-residence guides.
- Check the auto-accept draft anyway. It is built only from PIT-8C data the administration holds; foreign brokerage gains and crypto will not be in it.
- Foreign broker, same form. Selling through a non-Polish broker does not exempt the gain; it just means you compute it yourself, convert at NBP rates and add PIT/ZG when foreign tax was paid.
- Keep documents for five years. Cost documentation is the whole game in an audit, especially for crypto, where no third party reports for you.
* Photos: Adrian Grycuk (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL).
Frequently asked questions
What is the capital gains tax rate in Poland?
19% on the gain (proceeds minus documented acquisition costs) for sales of securities, derivatives, company shares, fund units and virtual currency, reported on the annual PIT-38 return.
When is PIT-38 due?
Between 15 February and 30 April of the year after the tax year. Filing earlier counts as filing on 15 February. If your broker's PIT-8C is in the system and you do not reject the draft, the e-PIT version is automatically accepted on 30 April.
Do I pay Polish tax on crypto-to-crypto trades?
No. Exchanging one virtual currency for another is not taxable in Poland. Tax arises when you sell for legal tender, pay for goods or services with crypto, or settle obligations with it. But you must still report crypto purchase expenses each year, even with no sales - unused costs carry forward.
I sold shares through a foreign broker - do I still file?
Yes. Foreign capital gains go on PIT-38 too, converted to zloty at the NBP average rate from the last working day before the income. If foreign tax was withheld, the PIT/ZG annex lets you credit it against the Polish 19%.
