Turnover limit for cash register - rules of setting

The obligation to keep records of sales by means of a cash register applies to taxpayers who, in accordance with art. 111 sec. 1 of the VAT Act, they sell to natural persons who do not conduct business activity and to flat-rate farmers. The moment of commencing sales recording with the use of the cash register is not for everyone the same as the day of commencement of operations or the first sale. Some taxpayers are subject to exemptions specified by the legislator in the regulation on exemptions from cash registers. These provisions provide for exemptions both in terms of the achieved turnover from sales to natural persons not conducting business activity and flat-rate farmers, and in terms of the type of activities performed. Read the article and learn how to set a turnover limit for a cash register.

Who is affected by the exemption due to the turnover limit for the cash register?

Pursuant to the applicable regulations, a taxpayer who starts selling to private individuals and flat-rate farmers, and continues such activities, may benefit from the exemption from the obligation to record sales with a cash register until the statutory turnover limit of PLN 20,000 is exceeded.

In the case of persons continuing sales to private persons, the exemption from the obligation to use a cash register is due if the amount of turnover for persons who do not conduct business activity and lump-sum farmers in the previous tax year did not exceed the aforementioned turnover limit for the cash register, i.e. PLN 20,000.

After exceeding the limit entitling to the exemption, the entrepreneur has two months (counting from the end of the month in which he lost this right) to buy a cash register.

Turnover limit for cash register - rules of setting

Turnover, in accordance with art. 29a paragraph. 1 of the VAT Act, is everything that constitutes the payment that the supplier of goods or service provider has received or is to receive from the buyer, recipient or a third party, including received subsidies, subsidies and other payments of a similar nature having a direct impact on the price of the goods or services provided by the taxpayer.

As a rule, when determining the amount of the turnover entitling to the exemption from the obligation to use a cash register, the total turnover to natural persons who do not conduct business activity and flat-rate farmers should be summed up. It should be remembered that even if the entrepreneur conducts parallel sales to natural persons conducting business activity, the turnover on this account is not included in the determination of the amount entitling to the exemption.

When setting the turnover limit for the cash register, one cannot ignore various types of activity (e.g. only take into account services provided to private persons, ignoring the goods sold to them), if this activity is carried out within one company. Value-added tax payers, when setting the turnover limit for the cash register, should assume the net turnover, i.e. excluding VAT. For non-taxable persons, the total value of sales to non-business natural persons and flat-rate farmers should be taken into account.

Turnover limit for the cash register and the taxpayer who continues to sell to private individuals

Taxpayers who in the previous tax year did not exceed the limit of PLN 20,000 for sales to private individuals and flat-rate farmers, do not have to recalculate the limit proportionally, regardless of whether the sales to private individuals will be made throughout the year or, for example, from half of the year. year. The turnover limit for the cash register is the full amount of PLN 20,000. Start a free 30-day trial period with no strings attached!

Turnover limit for the cash register and the commencement of sales to private persons in a given tax year

A taxpayer who starts selling to private individuals in a given tax year, the limit of the exemption for the use of a cash register should be determined on the basis of the expected sales turnover for the above-mentioned persons in proportion to the period of performing these activities in a given tax year (§ 3 (1) (2) of the Regulation on exemptions from the cash register).

Start of sale to private persons during the previous tax year and the turnover limit for the cash register

In a situation where the taxpayer started selling to natural persons not conducting business activity and flat-rate farmers during the previous tax year, he does not make any conversion in the following year. The amount of the turnover limit for the cash register is PLN 20,000.

Example 1.

The taxpayer started selling to people who do not conduct business activity on June 1, 2021. In this situation, the limit of the exemption from accounting will be determined as follows:

20,000 x 214 (number of days of sales in 2021): 365 (number of days in a year) = PLN 11,726.03.

If the taxpayer does not exceed the above limit in 2021, he will be able to benefit from the exemption from the cash register in 2021. The applicable limit in 2022 is PLN 20,000.

Exceeding the turnover limit for a cash register - when should you start using the cash register?

In the case of persons continuing to sell to natural persons not conducting business activity and flat-rate farmers, as well as starting such activity, the exemption resulting from the turnover achieved will expire after two months following the month in which the turnover for the above-mentioned persons will exceed PLN 20,000 in a given tax year.

Example 2.

In December 2021, the taxpayer from example 1 exceeded the limit entitling him to be exempted from the cash register because the value of sales to private individuals amounted to PLN 12,000. Will the taxpayer lose the right to be exempt from the cash register?

Yes, exceeding the limit entitling to the exemption obliges the taxpayer to purchase a cash register. At the latest, he must purchase a cash register by March 1, 2021 and record sales to private individuals and flat-rate farmers on it. Entrepreneurs who purchase a cash register online can take advantage of the discount for its purchase. More information on the conditions entitling you to take advantage of the discount can be found in the article: Tax relief for the purchase of a cash register - when can it be used?