Work / Claiming Income Taxes in Poland [12]

And if you want to start a business as an individual (not limited company), it's usually as simple as a short form or letter to the UK tax office and then either paying the UK's version of ZUS or getting exemption if earnings are low (a form needs to be completed to gain a certificate of exemption before being allowed exemption but it's no big deal).

Work / Claiming Income Taxes in Poland [12]

Thanks Monitor.

It's also quite hard to find an accountant who understands this stuff, and many contradict each other. I have been reliably informed that's because some accountants here are basically not accountants but bookkeepers or clerks.

But just for anyone else who views this thread, they should be made aware that the amount that can be earned tax-free in Poland is much, much, much lower than in the UK

In UK currency, it's about 600 quid or so (varies by exchange rate, obviously). The good news is that more is tax deductible than in the UK, but even so it's a shock.

Work / Claiming Income Taxes in Poland [12]


When you say paid less than 3000PLN in taxes, do you not mean earned less than 3000PLN (ie income, wages) ? Because I think that's the approximate annual limit before a person gets taxed in PL (in the UK it's GBP10 tys. approx.).

I'd be interested if anyone can answer this point I made above:
when all the Poles went to the UK and got legal jobs and paid tax on their UK employment, did they pay that tax to the UK tax office or the Poland tax office for the first 6 months of the tax year of their stay in the UK?

Thousands of Poles would surely have still been tax resident in Poland for many months when they arrived in the UK and started working, right? So did you hear of Poles paying their tax to the Poland tax office during that time until they became UK tax resident? Serious question - I've often wondered what happened with that.

And when those Poles return again from the UK to Poland to live, if they find work back home in Poland, do they then have to send the tax to the UK tax office for 6 months? If they left money in a UK bank earning interest, do they have to pay tax on that and send it to the Poland tax office for 6 months or however long they're still considered tax resident in the UK after returning back to Poland?

Work / Claiming Income Taxes in Poland [12]

By "claiming" surely you mean "paying"?

@Monitor, when all the Poles went to the UK and got legal jobs and paid tax on their UK employment, did they pay that tax to the UK tax office or the Poland tax office for the first 6 months of the tax year of their stay in the UK?

Thousands of Poles would surely have still been tax resident in Poland for many months when they arrived in the UK and started working, right? So did you hear of Poles paying their tax to the Poland tax office during that time until they became UK tax resident? Serious question - I've often wondered what happened with that.

And when those Poles return again from the UK to Poland to live, if they find work back home in Poland, do they then have to send the tax to the UK tax office for 6 months? If they left money in a UK bank earning interest, do they have to pay tax on that and send it to the Poland tax office for 6 months or however long they're still considered tax resident in the UK after returning back to Poland?

UK, Ireland / Transferring money from Poland to UK [23]


Sounds like an interesting solution! I think I'm right that in the UK the police can detain someone who carries more than a couple of grand in cash without proof of its origin. So that would need to be sorted at the UK end. Of course, some readers may not realise that here in Poland security guards seem to be allowed to overtly carry a firearm. In the UK of course, ordinary (probably all) security guards are not permitted to carry any weapon whatsoever. Your friend must be a very confident chap, I don't think I'd have the guts to carry a lot of cash! I think 2K when I bought a car in Herts was the most I ever had on my person!

UK, Ireland / Transferring money from Poland to UK [23]

All good points of course.

If I were sending over a large sum I'd do it in smaller pieces whichever service I used.
Alior Bank has a kantor account. [kantor.aliorbank.pl/?language=en] I am only guessing but I assume that they are covered by Poland's compensation scheme with their money transfer service. Their rates appear favorable. Even if covered by that scheme, one should still only send small chunks at a time IMHO.

As you speak fluent Polish, Jon, maybe you'd be kind enough to have a look there and see if they pay compo if they go t!ts while doing someone's forex transfer and what the limit is.

UK, Ireland / Transferring money from Poland to UK [23]


Being registered is not the same as being covered by the compensation pool. The firm that went bust was also registered and that's why some clients thought it meant they would get compensation if the firm failed. Whenever using such a company, ensure they are covered by the regulator's compensation scheme or are authorised and playing by the rules, not just registered with the regulator. So please remember: 'registered' does not equal compensation if it goes t!ts up - it just means registered.


theguardian/money/2010/oct/09/foreign-exchange-money-safe


All the companies are registered with the Financial Conduct Authority and maintain segregated accounts for client funds. No, not as far as I know, sorry. Registered is not the same as Authorised, and only Authorised ones are expected to segregate funds.

In any case, I think the OP means from Poland with a Poland based service. In which case, they need to check the compensation arrangements before sending from Poland.

Official page: fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/register/use/differences

Note these are only some of the differences, not all.


Just to say again: Registered is not the same as Authorised. Payment services providers are NOT covered by the FSCS (compensation scheme backed by the government in the UK) but are expected to segregate funds in some trading.

For the UK, the list of firms known can be checked here to see if they are Registered or Authorised. and note the Notice:

Life / Looking to immigrate to Europe. How is life in Poland? [116]

I don't think you can purchase farmland, not yet anyway. I think the law changes in a couple of years, but no doubt someone else will clarify.

Be prepared to pay tax even on small earnings. If your business makes more than about US$850 a year, you have to pay tax. And you have to pay social security contributions from day 1. Search ZUS in the forum.

Note I'm just getting the ball rolling for you, and others may know more or search the archives.

This might have all the official answers:

paiz.gov.pl/polish_law/purchase_of_real_estate_in_poland

UK, Ireland / Transferring money from Poland to UK [23]


However, banks don't fold too often and if they do then a government usually steps in to compensate customers up to a certain amount.

Let's not forget that many people lost every penny when this company went pop: theguardian.com/money/2010/oct/04/crown-currency-exchange-collapse

UK, Ireland / British products in Warsaw [32]


You're welcome, Doug! But phone the store if going especially to make sure they're in stock.


The biscuit section, check both sides of the aisle at eye level approx.

UK, Ireland / British products in Warsaw [32]

Ladies and gentlemen and Fido the dog, I am pleased to announce that McVities Digestives are available in selected branches of Tesco Polska stores, mainly the Extra outlets.

They are in small cardboard packs.
Prices:
200g digestive (traditional) 4.59
200g milk 4.99
200g dark 4.99
(in zł)

While stocks last, phone store before going if making a special journey!

Life / Are there any suicide hotlines to call in Poland? [8]

I'm not 100% sure, but try these numbers: 226 544 041 (depression help) tupalo.pl/warszawa/antydepresyjny-telefon-zaufania

or 116123 (various) tvp.pl/styl-zycia/magazyny-sniadaniowe/kawa-czy-herbata/wideo/klopoty-zadzwon-pod-116-123/1304238?start_rec=3392

Alternatively, to call The Samaritans in the UK, these 2 numbers might work from Poland: +44 1752 221666 or +44 115 941 1111 (international call charges apply)

UK, Ireland / The Poles in Britain - a history by BBC Magazine [25]


Pot meet kettle.



polishforums.com/off-topic-47/european-anti-semitism-growing-71719/23/#msg1451548

Real Estate / Where can I find a nice area to rent a studio or one-bedroom apartment in or near Katowice? [48]


Plus a gorgeous palm house like a scaled down Kew Gardens, just a couple of quid to get in, and don't miss the new aquariums too.

Food / Where to buy British mature Cheddar Cheese and salted butter in Poland? [289]

The longer matured Biedronka cheddar is often rather crunchy as it has crystals from the maturing process, similar to farmhouse cheddar. For anyone who wishes to avoid animal rennet it does have that instead of the synthetic version (unless now substituted). Animal rennet in Poland is known as podpuszczka. If you see mikro biologiczne or similar with the word podpuszczka then it is hopefully the vegetarian version of rennet. I think that animal rennet is needless in cheese or pesto etc etc and I object to it on several grounds.

My own local Biedronkeeeeeeee do not have this cheddar anyway, and it hasn't been seen here in yonks.

Work / Typical rate for 1-on-1 English lessons in Poland (Krakow)? [37]

Answers about teaching in Krakow (conversational stuff might not be the same, I don't know) were given on this thread previously.

Prices ranged from 1 zl per minute or 60 zl per hour to 125 zl per hour for an experienced teacher (a few years back, but prices probably came down).

Language / How do Poles feel about foreigners learning their language? [105]

In my experience, they appreciate the effort, and are usually very surprised (pleasantly so) at an attempt to speak what they almost always term "our difficult language". It's seldom met with anything other than appreciation and even a smile. The problem is if you get a few words right they may assume you can understand more and launch into a long sentence where you'd be lucky to pick out a few words that you recognise.

Food / Where to buy British mature Cheddar Cheese and salted butter in Poland? [289]

Unfortunately have noticed that the UK cheddar cheese does not stay that fresh once opened, and 'though it may simply be maturing some more at that point the cheese takes on an unfortunate smell and less of a good flavour. I don't recall having that problem with UK bought and consumed mature cheddar.

On a related note, the sernik/cheesecake at Lidl this time round is not as good as last time, IMHO. At the moment, for the price, Auchan's/Simply's is hard to beat.

Law / Debt - translation agency seeking to recover a cash advance paid to me, advice needed. [13]

I certainly agree with that.

UK, Ireland / The Poles in Britain - a history by BBC Magazine [25]


That I too have seen, but I do not concur that Poles in the UK are unfriendly to natives if that's what you were saying. The vibe I got was far more to do with shyness or to do with the fact they felt some native Brits were not genuine or not so friendly or not happy they're there (although Poles were perceived as hard working by most people I met in the UK).

Study / How to find a cooking class in Poland that has support for English speakers? [7]

It's very wise to learn cooking before relocating to Poland unless you've money for restaurants, because there's a woefully poor selection of TV dinners or ready meals compared to the UK and other countries (with the exception of Brazil, according to an ex girlfriend). So being able to cook, especially if single, is pretty much compulsory unless you like smoked sausages, dumplings and pizza (of which there are many frozen varieties, few being much good). The first thing I shall do when returning to the UK is buy an Admiral's Pie (portion size has probably shrunk due to inflation) and some Linda McCartney vegetarian meals.

The ready meals that are available here are costly and often have E621.

Life / Best / cheapest PAYG sim card for data and calls in Poland? [19]

Virgin, you probably still get 100MB (valid 30 days) data with a 10zl general (phone calls/SMSs) top up. Unless you need a lot of data, then it's more but still god value. If you're in most cities, it's good (it's a virtual network run by another Telco) virginmobile.pl/oferta

BUT if Play are indeed doing unmetered internet for 10zł then that's unbeatable probably. I can't spot it here, though: play.pl/oferta/play-karta/play-na-karte/formula-play/?tab=3w1

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]

Thanks for posting.
FWIW locally here the larger new flats (80m2 plus) seem to go first, and 4-roomers are of course more popular than 3. Some of the devs are letting unsold units and over the last 2 weeks these were snapped up (18 in one building). They had been unlet for months before. They didn't drop the advertised rent, and the furnishings are basic, not even an oven in the kitchens but washing machines were supplied. All18 have now let. The landlord is of course the dev, and maybe all the tenants are students. Anecdotally am hearing students are already reserving or taking rentals.

Real Estate / Poland's apartment prices continue to fall [1844]


There certainly are or were, from anecdotes I heard, foreign buyers coming in. One development, now only has 4 flats remaining from 40. It took over 2 years to sell them, however, perhaps longer.

Agents here tend to be disinterested however when they hear from me, which suggests they have sufficient buyers at the cheaper end of the market. If prices are falling, as they seem to be, maybe that pick up in trade is to be expected.

This is probably going to be my last post on this for some time, but prices seem to continue to be revised downwards. I am not tracking things scientifically but I come across a lot of ads which say 'nowa cena xZ£' and then if one also checks the price in the price field the price in the price field is even lower than the 'nowa cena' price, typically by a couple of %. It does also seem that lots has been for sale for a long time. Newer listings tend to generally have asking prices which seem fanciful. I was surprised to see one flat slashed in price by 20% over the space of 2 months, 10% of that over the last 2 weeks. It's still for sale. However, some new developments yet to be built are asking surprisingly high prices.

Life / Polish vs British vs American - Clash of cultures [390]

I'm pretty sure I've read much of that before somewhere, but maybe I'm wrong.

There are many truisms there but the tattoos thing isn't -- lots of young Wrocław women DO have tattoos or temporary tattoos. I don't like them and would never want one, least of all on the back of my neck or above my buttocks, thanks very much.

Work / I am a graphic designer. Is Poland a good country to come to and work? [16]

Depends on what the WD brings to the party in terms of skills for particular apps or platforms. Some native Polish IT folk don't want to work in Poland because they can get much bigger money abroad, such as in Ireland or the UK, and similar. So, to fill that gap some big and small names hire IT experts from other countries and, compared to their wage 'back home', they are very well paid. But that salary would be what anyone could earn working in a very ordinary job in the UK, for example, when such jobs are available (note that the UK jobs market is not robust at present, either). On the face of it, it doesn't sound like you can depend on finding any employment, so if you decided to visit you should bring plenty of money with you to see you through. If you don't have that resource, it would be quite unwise to assume you'll find a waiting job or something like that, like in the movies about living in New York or some such.

Work / I am a graphic designer. Is Poland a good country to come to and work? [16]

No, Kim. Such jobs are also not easy to find anyway, and the pay is low. People stacking shelves in a supermarket are sometimes on just 6 or 8 zł per hour, that's about US$2 per hour. Competition is fairly intense when students are in town too.

Work / I am a graphic designer. Is Poland a good country to come to and work? [16]


I wouldn't have thought so, but check perhaps these key words Grafika or Kreacja or Projecktant as a start: praca.pl/s-graphic,designer.html

Law / Registering an old, classic car with No Paperwork - How? [7]


Usually silly prices, absolutely. (Very hard to avoid that, a lot of patience needed.)