Donation - who has to pay tax?

Everyone receiving a donation should know that it is them who bear the tax obligation on this account. However, the recipient is not always obliged to pay tribute. The Act on inheritance and donation tax provides for a specific value of the donation on which the tax is due, and in some cases it gives the possibility to take advantage of the exemption.

Donation Tax - Tax Obligation

Pursuant to Art. 6 sec. 1 point 4 of the Act on Inheritance and Donation Tax, the tax obligation on the acquisition of a donation arises upon "submitting a declaration by the donor in the form of a notarial deed, and in the event of concluding an agreement without maintaining the prescribed form - upon the performance of the promised benefit; if, due to the subject of the donation, the regulations require a special form for the declarations of both parties, the tax obligation arises at the moment of submitting such declarations ”.

Donation tax - amount of tax

The amount of tax paid depends on which tax group the buyer belongs to. According to Art. 14 sec. 3 of the Act, three tax groups can be distinguished:

Tax group	People included in a given tax group
1st tax group	spouse, descendants, ascendants, stepson, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, siblings, stepfather, stepmother and in-laws
Tax group II	descendants of siblings, siblings of parents, descendants and spouses of stepchildren, spouses of siblings and siblings of spouses, spouses of siblings of spouses, spouses of other descendants
Tax group III	other buyers

The tax is calculated on the excess of the tax base over the tax-free amount, according to the following scale:

The amount of the surplus in PLN		The tax is
Above	Down
From buyers included in tax group I
	10.278	3%
10.278	20.556	PLN 308.30 and a 5% surplus over PLN 10,278
20.556		PLN 822.20 and a 7% surplus over PLN 20,556
From buyers included in tax group II
	10.278	7%
10.278	20.556	PLN 719.50 and a 9% surplus over PLN 10,278
20.556		PLN 1,644.50 and a 12% surplus over PLN 20,556
From buyers included in tax group III
	10.278	12%
10.278	20.556	PLN 1,233.40 and a 16% surplus over PLN 10,278
20.556		PLN 2,877.90 and a 20% surplus over PLN 20,556

Donation tax - exemption

The tax does not apply to the acquisition of property by inheritance with a pure value not exceeding the exempt amount, which is:

• PLN 9,637 - for persons belonging to tax group I,
• PLN 7,276 - for persons belonging to tax group II,
• PLN 4,902 - for persons belonging to tax group III.

Importantly, if the acquisition of property and property rights from the same person takes place more than once, the value of the property and property rights acquired recently from that person or the same person during the 5 years preceding the year is added to the value of the property and property rights acquired recently. where the last acquisition took place. From the tax calculated on the total value of purchased goods and property rights, tax is deducted from tax on previously acquired goods and property rights. The excess tax resulting from the calculation is neither set off against other taxes nor refunded. In the tax return, buyers are obliged to mention things and property rights acquired in the above-mentioned period.

Donation tax - immediate family exemption

Pursuant to Art. 4a paragraph. 1 of the Act on inheritance and donation tax, the acquisition of property or property rights by a spouse, descendants, ascendants, stepson, siblings, stepfather and stepmother is exempt from tax if:

• report the acquisition of property or property rights to the competent head of the tax office within 6 months from the date the tax obligation arises (SD-Z2 declaration),

• the subject of purchase as a donation or donor order is cash, and the value of property acquired jointly from the same person in the period of 5 years preceding the year in which the last acquisition took place, added to the value of recently acquired property and property rights, exceeds the amount of PLN 9,637 - they will document them receipt of a proof of transfer to the buyer's payment account, to his account other than the payment account, at a bank or cooperative savings and credit union or by postal order.

Donation tax - declaration

Within one month of receiving the donation, the taxpayer is required to submit the SD-3 declaration to the tax office competent for the place of residence. Tax must be paid within 14 days.