Poland: Requirement to submit declaration to use registered residence relief is unconstitutional (tribunal decision)
A Constitutional Tribunal decision concerning registered residence relief.
The Polish Constitutional Tribunal on July 9, 2025, ruled (case file SK 64/20) that the provisions of the Personal (individual) Income Tax (PIT) Act that were effective from January 1, 2007, to December 31, 2008, which conditioned the application of the PIT exemption on the submission of a permanent residence certificate, are contrary to the Polish Constitution.
In the tribunal's view, to achieve the purpose of the introduction of the registered residence relief, it was sufficient for the taxpayer to be registered as a permanent resident for at least 12 months. The condition relevant for utilizing the registered residence relief was the fact of staying in a specified building or premises for a minimum period, rather than merely submitting a registered residence declaration. Consequently, the registration relief became a fictitious institution, as taxpayers who acted in good faith were unable to clearly establish and correctly fulfil their obligation, which was of a purely formal nature.
Read a July 2025 report prepared by the KPMG member firm in Poland