Zero PIT for Under-26s in Poland: How the Relief Works (2026)
Short answer: If you are under 26 and earn from an employment contract, umowa zlecenia, a graduate or student internship, or maternity benefit, up to 85,528 zł of revenue a year is exempt from Polish income tax. Employers apply it automatically; the limit is shared with the family 4+ and return reliefs.
What the relief is
Poland's "ulga dla młodych" - usually called zero PIT for the young - exempts work income earned by people under 26 from personal income tax, up to a yearly revenue limit of 85,528 zł. No application, no certificate: the right to the relief follows from your age and the type of income, per the Ministry of Finance's tax portal (page published 15 December 2025; rules as of October 2026).
For a young expat on a Polish employment contract or umowa zlecenia, this is one of the most valuable provisions in the system: within the limit, the tax rate on your pay is simply 0%. Social and health insurance contributions are still deducted as usual - the relief covers income tax only.
Who qualifies and what income counts
You qualify if you are under 26 and your revenue comes from one of these sources:
- employment - umowa o pracę, a service relationship, outwork or a cooperative work relationship,
- umowa zlecenia (mandate contracts) with a business, with the owner or manager of a property where you perform services for that property, or with an inherited enterprise,
- graduate internships (praktyki absolwenckie),
- student internships (staż uczniowski),
- maternity benefit (zasiłek macierzyński).
Two points worth noting. Revenue from management contracts and similar arrangements is explicitly excluded. And the relief works regardless of how many contracts or payers you have - several part-time zlecenia with different companies all feed the same limit.
The official conditions mention only age and income type; citizenship is not among them. The relief operates inside the Polish PIT system, so it concerns income taxed under Polish rules.
The 85,528 zł limit, and what happens above it
The cap applies to revenue (gross, before contributions), counted across the whole tax year. One caveat many people miss: 85,528 zł is a shared ceiling for three reliefs - ulga dla młodych, the relief for families with four or more children, and the return relief (ulga na powrót). If you use more than one of them in the same year, their combined exempt revenue cannot exceed 85,528 zł.
Cross the limit and only the excess is taxed, on the standard scale. At that point the regular 30,000 zł tax-free amount also comes into play, so a person under 26 taxed on the scale can effectively receive up to 115,528 zł of revenue free of PIT in a year. The relief is applied chronologically: income earned from January onwards is exempted first, and tax starts only once the limit runs out.
How it works during the year
If your income comes through a payer - an employer, or a company paying your zlecenie - the payer applies the relief automatically when calculating advances. You do not file any request. (You can opt out in writing if you prefer advances calculated without the relief; the payer applies that from the following month at the latest.)
Two exceptions to the automatic route:
- Maternity benefit paid directly by ZUS is not covered automatically - you must file a request, and ZUS applies the relief by the second month after receiving it at the latest.
- If you calculate your own advances (for example on income from work abroad or a zlecenie with a foreign company), you apply the relief yourself, excluding the covered revenue when computing each advance.
If the relief was not applied during the year - because a request never went to ZUS, or the payer skipped it - you can still claim it in your annual return. Missing it in-year does not cost you the relief.
The 26th birthday and the annual return
The exemption follows the calendar of your life, not the tax year: revenue earned up to and including your 26th birthday is exempt, revenue earned from the next day is not. The Ministry's own example: if you turn 26 on 15 June, income received by 15 June is exempt; income from 16 June is not.
On filing: if your entire income for the year falls under the relief, you are not obliged to file an annual return at all. A return becomes necessary when, for example, you also have other income taxed on the scale, you are claiming a refund of overpaid tax, you want the "additional refund" of the child relief up to the amount of social and health contributions paid on exempt income, or you have to claw back earlier deductions. When you do file, exempt income is shown in part D of the PIT-37 or PIT-36. Joint filing with a spouse remains possible under the normal PIT conditions.
Traps worth knowing
- Contributions are not a deduction here. Social insurance contributions whose base is exempt income cannot be deducted from income. The Ministry's worked example: with 60,000 zł of revenue of which 20,000 zł is exempt, you reduce your deductible contributions by the part calculated on the exempt slice (20,000 zł x 13.71%).
- Child relief can still pay out. If you are entitled to the child relief but have no tax to deduct it from, you can receive the additional refund, capped at the social and health contributions paid on your exempt income.
- The limit is shared. Planning around ulga dla młodych together with the family 4+ or return relief? All three draw on the same 85,528 zł.
Frequently asked questions
Does zero PIT for under-26s apply to foreigners working in Poland?
The official eligibility conditions name only age (under 26) and covered types of income - employment, mandate contracts, internships and maternity benefit. Citizenship is not a condition. The relief works within the Polish PIT system, so it covers income taxed under Polish rules, such as pay from a Polish employer.
Do I have to file a tax return if all my income is exempt?
No. Income fully covered by the relief creates no obligation to file an annual return. You file only if another reason applies - other taxable income, a refund claim, the child-relief additional refund, or deduction clawbacks.
What happens in the year I turn 26?
Revenue earned up to and including your 26th birthday stays exempt (within the 85,528 zł limit); revenue earned after that date is taxed normally. Your employer applies this automatically during the year.
Is the 85,528 zł limit per contract?
No. It is a single annual limit on all covered revenue, regardless of how many contracts or payers you have - and it is shared with the family 4+ and return reliefs if you use those too.
