Tax deductibles for self-employed English teacher working in Poland

Thread attached on merging:
Self-employment and taxes

Cześć,

I'm planning to move back to Poland. I would be working from home as a freelance website developer. Is anyone here already doing that? I'm wondering about the taxes.

1. For example, if I sell a website package to client... would I have to collect sales tax, how much?

2. I see E.U. charges a VAT sales & service tax. Do I have to collect that as well? For my European clients only, or for my North-American clients as well? Or do I just pay a VAT on total profit? How does this all work...

3. If I'm self-employed/own business, I file my taxes every month/3 months/once a year?

4. Is there minimum income before paying taxes, or does everyone pay taxes? For examples, if you are single and live alone, and you earn 1000PLN a month or less, do you get taxed from that?

Dzięki

These questions really can be answered with two seconds on Google.

But if you want to start a business and don't even understand VAT, I would suggest that you need to go away and do your research properly.

I'm asking on a Polish forum because it's related to Poland. I don't understand why you resist allowing me to ask questions. It's not hurting anybody. And you don't have to reply. But your answer doesn't help if you do not offer even a link.


Is it even a business? It's freelancing.

You don't need to post endless threads - you've posted about 5 or 6 different threads in the last couple of hours when you could have simply included all the questions in one post - or bothered to use the search facility to find the answers required.

As I said - you can find out the answers via a quick Google search.


Yes, it's a business. Self employment, technically, but still a business conducting economic activity. Seeing as I feel generous, I'll tell you the rough details.

- Compulsory social insurance contribution of 350zl a month in the first two years.
- VAT is only applicable once you turn over more than 100,000zl a year (150,000zl from next year)
- Yes, you'll need an accountant.

I wasn't sure how I should post them since they fell into different categories. I was considering one post.

@delphiandomine Thank You :D

Hi,
I'm currently considering switching from standard contracts to being self-employed. I was wondering if anyone had a list (or any idea) of tax deductibles available to English teachers? I have heard that I can claim 1/3 (because married) of my flat rental and expenses (gas/electricity/Internet) even without having lessons there as I use it as my office, is this true? Thanks in advance for your help!

Eddie

I don't have an up to date list any more, however when I was last doing that, you could deduct anything that a small business could credibly deduct.

Remember the exact rules do change and this list is not only the few things I used to put through, but also things others told me they put through their own business so please don't hold me responsible if you're done for tax evasion.

-Office space and a proportion of bills (most teachers use their home, however you used to have to have a dedicated room to use as an office/workspace in case the tax office checked - no harm in sitting in it in your spare time though). If you choose to have a seperate office away from your home you can of course put the lot through - it isn't unusual for Poles to have their home in the countryside and rent a flat in town to be used as an office and discreetly sleep there during the week.

-Tea/coffee/milk/sugar (plus anything you'd use to make it with or serve it in)
-Certain travel (a few used to put trips home through on the basis that they'd visit an ELT bookshop when in the UK, however that I think would be very risky should you be inspected)

-Travel (inc. hotel and very modest meals) within PL that could be potentially and provably work related (a failed sales pitch involving a couple of days in Krakow - I never dared, however I know those who did)

-Office furniture (a nice sofa for your clients to wait for you on), curtains, carpets etc for the room that is your dedicated office and/or waiting room as well as naturally A/c equipment, fans, water coolers, fresh flowers and other fripperies (as far as I remember)

- IT/audiovisual equipment (a TV I suppose would be credible, I bought one but that was genuinely for work use),
-Certain books in English (I used to occasionally put novels through, since they may conceivably be used for training),
-Obviously any text books you may use
-Biros, paper, other stationery
-Magazines, decorations for your office - in essence, anything you might furnish the office or waiting room of a small business with including
-Limited business entertaining. Check the limit though

You can also get a makro card etc and lease a vehicle, as you can with any business.

Just be careful not to take the p*** or you may quite rightly attract attention for abusing the system.

The interpretation of the rules does change from time to time and a lot depends on how keen your local tax office is about checking self-employed people - where I lived they generally had bigger fish to fry. You can also get a makro card etc and lease a vehicle, as you can with any business. Don't forget to get an invoice for every penny you spend and keep those invoices.

The key is to get a good bookkeeper who is used to your sort of business, remember that he/she may not always be right (in PL they tend to err on the side of caution) and make sure that you have an up-to-date copy of the regulations - it depends how good your Polish is, however there's a mine of information on the internet.

Worth mentioning that when registering as a sole trader at the tax office you can choose not to have any deductions whatsoever - but instead pay a fairly low flat rate of tax on your business activity. It depends which is most advantageous for you. You have to specify which system you want when you register.