What does it cost to run a sp. z o.o. in Poland each month and each year?

A one-person sp. z o.o. (Polish limited company) costs at least about 3,400 PLN a month in 2026. That is roughly 2,757 PLN in contributions to ZUS, the social insurance institution, for the sole shareholder, plus 620–650 PLN net for full accounting at an online office. With two or more shareholders the ZUS part can drop to zero, and the accountant becomes the main fixed cost. Setting one up online costs under 300 PLN in fees.

All amounts below are for 2026.

Setting up

You sign the articles of association (umowa spółki) either online in S24, the Ministry of Justice system, using a fixed template, or at a notary. The guide to the sp. z o.o. explains both routes.

The share capital is not a fee. It goes into the company’s own bank account and stays the company’s money. In S24 you pay it in at the latest 7 days after the entry in the KRS, the court register. At a notary you pay it before registration.

The cap covers the deed only. What notaries charge in total, for example for articles that are not a template, varies, and we found no reliable survey.

Watch out: older guides, and the government’s own S24 page, still add 100 PLN for an announcement in the court gazette (MSiG). That fee ended on 29 November 2025, so the court fees are 250 PLN in S24 and 500 PLN at a notary.

For foreigners: signing in S24 needs a trusted profile (profil zaufany, the free government login), a Polish e-ID or a qualified electronic signature. The trusted profile needs a PESEL, the Polish personal ID number. Without one you usually buy a qualified signature, which one Polish law firm puts at about 300–600 PLN a year, or you go to a notary.

Every month

These do not stop in a quiet month.

ZUS. The only shareholder is treated like a self-employed person, even with no work for the company and no money taken out. The social part is 1,788.29 PLN without sickness cover. There is no start-up relief and no preferential rate. You pay it yourself by the 20th of the next month; the company pays for its employees by the 15th. If the day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day. ZUS for a sp. z o.o. owner covers two-shareholder companies, board pay and dividends.

Accounting. Every sp. z o.o. must keep full double-entry books (księgi rachunkowe), whatever its revenue. The law lets the company keep them itself, but most small companies use an office. The online prices are list prices seen on 24 September 2026; the survey ranges are not official data. Prices depend on how many documents you have, whether you have staff, and whether the year-end statements are included. What an accountant costs compares offers and what to put in the contract.

Other fixed costs. Budget for:

• a company bank account: payments above 15,000 PLN to other businesses must go through one, taxes must be paid by transfer, and the capital and ZUS normally are too;
• a registered address, either your own premises or a virtual office;
• a qualified signature, if no board member has a trusted profile.

Prices vary too much to give one figure.

Taxes, only when there is something to pay. CIT (corporate income tax) advances are due by the 20th of the next month, or quarterly if a small taxpayer or a new company chooses it. VAT, for an active VAT payer, is due by the 25th with the JPK_V7M return, the monthly VAT file. Neither is a fixed cost. With no profit there is no CIT, and a company with sales up to 240,000 PLN a year can stay VAT-exempt unless its activity is excluded.

Example: a one-person company with an online office pays about 2,757 PLN in ZUS plus 620–650 PLN for accounting. That is about 3,380–3,410 PLN a month, or roughly 40,500–40,900 PLN over 2026, before bank fees, an address, taxes or any pay for yourself.

Every year

For a calendar year, the 2026 accounts are closed in 2027:

JPK_CIT is the company’s accounting books in electronic form. Its deadline moved on 1 July 2026 from the CIT-8 date to the end of the 7th month after the tax year. Because 31 July 2027 is a Saturday, the weekend rule should move it to Monday 2 August 2027; sending it by Friday 30 July is the safe choice. Companies that do not file monthly VAT returns send their first books for 2027.

Filing the statements. It is free in the court’s online repository when a board member or proxy whose PESEL is shown in the KRS signs. A company whose only board member is a foreigner without a PESEL files on form KRS-Z30 for 40 PLN, or through a lawyer. The government page still says 140 PLN, which included the abolished MSiG fee, so check the amount the portal asks for.

Audit. Small companies usually qualify as micro entities and can use simplified statements. An audit is needed only when a company reached at least two of three thresholds in the previous year (50 full-time staff, 3,125,000 EUR of assets, 6,250,000 EUR of revenue). Most freelancer companies never do.

One-off costs. A change in the KRS (new board member, new address, amended articles) costs 250 PLN, or 200 PLN with an S24 template resolution, and must be filed within 7 days. Reporting beneficial owners to CRBR, the register of beneficial owners, is free. It is due within 14 days (not counting Saturdays and public holidays) of the KRS entry and of any change, and missing it can cost up to 1,000,000 PLN.

Costs people forget

• Taking money out is taxed twice. Profit paid as a dividend carries 19% PIT (personal income tax) after CIT: 26.29% in total on the 9% CIT rate, 34.39% on 19%. Estonian CIT taxes profit only when it is paid out, at a lower combined rate, but still at both levels.
• Paperwork has a price. In a one-person company every declaration the sole shareholder makes to the company must be in writing, or it is void. A contract between the company and a sole shareholder who is also the only board member, such as a loan, needs a notarial deed unless it is done with an S24 template.
• Board members can pay personally. If enforcement against the company fails, board members answer with their own assets for its debts, taxes and ZUS, unless they can show, for example, that they filed for bankruptcy in time (within 30 days of insolvency). In a one-person company you are usually the board.
• Missed filings. Not filing the statements is an offence. If they are missing for 2 years in a row despite a court summons, the court can dissolve the company.
• Closing takes time and money. A solvent company is liquidated over at least 6 months. You pay 250 PLN to enter the liquidation, 300 PLN to strike the company off, a notary for the dissolution resolution (capped at 750 PLN net; an S24 company can use the template instead), and a court-gazette announcement at 0.70 PLN per character, at least 60 PLN and at most 961.20 PLN in 2026.

When a JDG is cheaper

For one person who takes all the profit home, a JDG (sole trader) usually costs less. It is free to open. If you qualify, it can start with 6 months without social contributions and then 24 months on a reduced base (1,441.80 PLN in 2026). It keeps simpler tax records and closes with one form.

A company earns its extra cost when you leave profit in it at 9% CIT, share the business with partners, or cannot open a JDG as a foreigner. JDG or sp. z o.o. walks through the comparison.

From 1 January 2027 the minimum wage rises to 4,950 PLN, so a JDG’s reduced base goes up to 1,485 PLN. The sole shareholder’s 2027 ZUS base and health contribution depend on average-wage figures not yet published on 24 September 2026. Do not budget the 2026 amounts for 2027 without checking.

What to do next

1. Count your fixed costs for 2026: ZUS if you are the sole shareholder, the accountant, the bank and the address.
2. Ask your accountant in writing what the monthly price covers: how many documents, payroll, the year-end statements, JPK_CIT.
3. Put 31 March, 30 June, 15 July and the end of July in your calendar for the 2026 year-end.
4. Hand over documents and bank statements on time: late documents can cost extra (ifirma charges a company from 160 PLN). Komplet, our free Mac app, builds each month into a folder your accountant can open, with every document, the statements and a summary.