How to Report Crypto Taxes in Poland

Poland applies a 19% flat tax on cryptocurrency capital gains, making it one of the more straightforward European tax systems. The Polish tax authority (Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa - KAS) treats cryptocurrency as property rights subject to capital gains tax. Poland does not distinguish between short-term and long-term holdings—all gains are taxed at the same 19% rate.

Cryptocurrency capital gains are reported on Form PIT-38 (Tax on Capital Gains). This is a separate tax return from regular income (PIT-36/37). You must file PIT-38 by April 30 following the tax year if you had crypto disposals during the year, and also if you had crypto costs but no disposals (art. 30b ust. 6a of the PIT Act). The form has one crypto row with totals only: revenue, costs of the year, costs from earlier years, income, and costs carried forward; it does not list individual transactions.

All cryptocurrency capital gains are taxed at a flat rate of 19%, regardless of holding period or total income. This simplicity makes Polish crypto taxation relatively straightforward. The 19% rate applies to the net gain (sale proceeds minus acquisition cost and fees). There is no tax-free allowance for capital gains in Poland.

Poland does not match sales to purchase lots (FIFO, LIFO or average cost) for cryptocurrency. Documented acquisition costs and related costs such as exchange fees are deducted in the tax year in which they were incurred (art. 22 ust. 14-15 of the PIT Act), whether or not the units were sold. Costs that exceed the year's revenue are added to the costs of the next year (art. 22 ust. 16). Taxxy applies this annual cost rule when preparing PIT-38.

Exchanging one cryptocurrency for another (e.g., BTC for ETH) is not a taxable event in Poland, whether it happens on an exchange or individually. Tax arises when you exchange cryptocurrency for legal tender, goods, services or property rights other than virtual currency, or use it to settle other obligations (art. 17 ust. 1f of the PIT Act). Expenses related to a crypto-to-crypto exchange are not deductible costs (art. 23 ust. 1 pkt 38d).

Mining rewards and staking income are treated as other sources income (przychody z innych źródeł) and taxed at progressive income tax rates: 12% (up to 120,000 PLN) or 32% (above 120,000 PLN). This income is reported on Form PIT-36 or PIT-36L, NOT on PIT-38. The fair market value in PLN at the time of receipt is the taxable amount. This treatment has not been confirmed by an official source; verify it with a tax adviser.

Cryptocurrency received for free (airdrops, forks, promotional rewards) is treated as other sources income and taxed at 12% or 32% depending on your total income. When you later sell these tokens, the fair market value at receipt becomes your cost basis for capital gains calculations on PIT-38.

For cryptocurrency there is no loss as such: costs that exceed the year's revenue are added to the costs of the next year (art. 22 ust. 16) and shown in PIT-38 poz. 40. Crypto income is not combined with other income (art. 30b ust. 5d). For securities, a loss can reduce income from the same source in the next five tax years, by up to 50% of the loss in any one year, or by up to 5,000,000 PLN in one of those years with the rest spread over the period under the same 50% cap (art. 9 ust. 3).

Maintain detailed records for at least 5 years: transaction dates, PLN values at transaction time, exchange names, wallet addresses, transaction hashes, and acquisition costs. KAS can request full documentation during audits. Only documented expenses count as costs (art. 22 ust. 14), so you must be able to prove every acquisition and fee.

Taxxy automatically generates PIT-38 with the annual crypto cost calculation (poz. 36-40), categorizes capital gains vs. income for correct form placement, calculates PLN valuations using historical exchange rates from the National Bank of Poland, identifies loss optimization opportunities within the tax year, and fills the PIT-38 PDF form.