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Posts by JZ33  

Joined: 10 Oct 2013 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 24 Aug 2014
Threads: 2
Posts: 6
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 8
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JZ33   
23 Aug 2014
Work / Obtaining a Certificate of coverage for Social Security Benefits from ZUS; US citizen working as self-employed [5]

Hello All,

I'm a US citizen working as self-employed in Poland and in order to prove my exemption from paying US social security taxes, I must obtain a 'certificate of coverage' from ZUS.

Has anyone in a similar situation had any experience with this? If so it would be great to hear some advice about the best way to proceed.

It would be great to know how long this would take and how much of a hassle it is. From what I understand I must write to ZUS, and the certificate must be in English.

Looking forward to hearing from anyone who can provide some insight into this.

Many thanks
JZ33   
17 May 2014
Law / Advice on declaring Freelance income from the UK in Poland [15]

Hi gquintela,

I hired an accountant for 150zl per month, but they are not in Krakow but in the Bieszczady region where I have some family connections. They do a decent job but I think they could be more professional. I am finding in Poland the communication is not always the best. Still kind of rough around the edges.

The accountant helped me set up the firm and it was actually more straight forward than I had expected. I'm a Polish citizen so this might be why (I'm not sure if you are)

From what I remember I just needed to get a REGON, NIP, and then sign up for ZUS, and register as a VAT tax payer. Its worth registering for a EU VAT number as well. When you buy things with your company the Tax office will refund some or all of the VAT you paid. Its a nice perk of having a company here as you can reduce your tax base and pay lower costs for things like computer equipment, smartphones etc. Stuff you would need for a business.

Hope that helps.
JZ33   
12 Oct 2013
Law / Advice on declaring Freelance income from the UK in Poland [15]

Thanks again Harry.

I guess my question is about which tax arrangement to chose as a sole trader. Since I will need to travel to the UK on business on occasion I'd like to be able to expense these trips against my income.

Apparently there are three options:

- The regular Personal Income arrangement where one pays 18% tax on earnings up to 85,528 zl and then 32% on everything above this amount. - NOT very attractive unless you can expense a lot of things. Otherwise I don't know why anyone would choose this option.

- The 19% flat tax rate. - Not sure what you can and cannot expense.
- And something called "ryczałt" where there an option to pay a flat tax of 20% for freelancers. - From what I understand no book keeping is required but also can't expense anything.

If anyone has any experience with this sort of thing I'd love to hear what they think.

Many thanks.
JZ33   
11 Oct 2013
Law / Advice on declaring Freelance income from the UK in Poland [15]

Thanks Harry. I appreciate the response.

It seems that things probably won't be as bad I initially thought.

My questions now are:

Do I declare the previous earnings under my sole trader company once it is set up, or do I have to do this separately, just as an individual filing a personal tax return at then of the year?

And, which type of sole trader company is best for a freelancer? It is likely that I would move into 32% tax territory next year and I would prefer to avoid that by setting up a company where I can enjoy the 19% flat tax. Ideally I would like to be able to expense certain costs, such as travel to the UK on business, mobile phone and perhaps even a company car. Does anyone know anything about this sort of stuff?

Many thanks
JZ33   
11 Oct 2013
Law / Advice on declaring Freelance income from the UK in Poland [15]

I'm resident in Poland so you pay tax where you live for more than 183 days or something like that... So being a freelancer in the UK is not really possible.

Found this on the Polish Ministry of Finance Website:

"The lump sum tax rates on registered revenue could be for example:"
 20 % for revenue from freelance professions"
 8,5 % for revenue from services, incl. catering connected with the sale of beverages containing over 1.5 % alcohol,
 5,5 % for revenue from production and construction works,
 3,0 % for catering services, with the exception of revenue from the sale of beverages containing over 1.5 % of alcohol.
(finanse.mf.gov.pl/en/pit1/basic-information)

Its not totally clear but it seems to me that you can pay tax in a lump sum if you are a freelancer... just not sure how it works if you started earning income before officially registering as a sole trader...
JZ33   
11 Oct 2013
Law / Advice on declaring Freelance income from the UK in Poland [15]

Hello all,

Last year I quit my job in the UK to move to Poland with my wife, who's from Poland. Initially I was living off of savings but after a few months managed to convince the firm I had been working for in the UK to allow me to work on a freelance basis. Although I haven't made that much money yet, the problem is I have not declared any of the income I have earned thus far. And now its looking like I will have continuous work so I want to get things set up properly.

The main reason I haven't got around to registering as self-employed was b/c I was not sure how long we'd be in Poland (this was initially a temporary move) and also I figured I could pay the taxes on completed work once a firm was set up or make a declaration at the end of the tax year. Then I learned that in Poland, unlike the UK, a self-employed person usually pays taxes on a monthly basis, rather than at the end of the year. But apparently this varies, according to the type of work you do and what type of tax you choose to pay (i.e. flat rate, progressive etc.)

I am not really comfortable about this and want to set things straight. However, I find the Polish system so complicated and confusing that it makes things really difficult to do so. The main thing I am worried about is getting a heavy fine for not yet declaring some of the work I've already done prior to registering as a sole trader.

Does anyone have any personal experience with this, or advice they can provide? How much would a fine be for this sort of thing, if any? Hopefully this can be resolved fairly painlessly.

Many thanks.