The most important issues related to one-time depreciation

What is one-time depreciation?

This is a special way of recognizing depreciation charges as tax deductible costs. Both taxpayers of personal and corporate income tax have the right to one-off depreciation. A one-off write-off can be made on fixed assets significantly exceeding 3.5 thousand. zloty. A one-off depreciation charge constitutes state aid, the total value of which over a period of three years may not exceed PLN 200,000. euro, and for the road transport sector it may not exceed 100 thousand. euro. You should keep an eye on this limit, because if it is exceeded, you will have to return the part already received. The general principles of depreciation are contained in Art. 22 - 22o updof (articles 16a - 16m updop).

One-off depreciation in 2011

Even in 2010, there was an increased limit of one-off write-offs and amounted to PLN 100 thousand. euro (422 thousand PLN). However, this year there has been a return to the lower limit of one-time depreciation, i.e. to 50 thousand. euro (PLN 197 thousand). Please note that this is an annual limit, another one may apply for next year. Therefore, if the appropriate conditions are met, it can be used every year.

Who is entitled to a one-off write-off?

1. Taxpayers who start a business in a given year, regardless of their size. It becomes important here who purchases fixed assets, keeps their records and makes depreciation write-offs. Therefore, this does not apply to taxpayers of personal income tax who, in the year of commencement of business activity and in the period of two years from the year preceding the year of its commencement, conducted business activity independently or as partners of a company without legal personality, and when the taxpayer's spouse conducted it, and there was joint property between the spouses. . The one-off depreciation also does not apply to corporate income taxpayers who created their business as a result of a transformation, merger or division of taxpayers, as a result of the transformation of a company or companies without legal personality, and activities created by natural persons who brought capital to it from their previous enterprise with a value exceeding PLN 10,000 euro.
2. Small taxpayers for whom the value of sales income together with due VAT did not exceed the amount of EUR 1.2 million in the previous tax year (expressed in zlotys - i.e. in 2010 it did not exceed the amount of PLN 4.7 million).
3. Transport companies, because the one-off depreciation write-off, despite the fact that it is a public aid, does not constitute an aid for the purchase of a means of transport.

Rules for the implementation of write-offs

The essence of the one-time write-off tax preference consists in increasing the profit of revenues by a one-off amount of write-offs due to the consumption of fixed assets, which is associated with the reduction of the income tax base. In the first year of using the fixed asset, the taxpayer has the right to make a one-off depreciation write-off at any depreciation rate (100%, 60%, 30%, etc.). In the following years, the fixed asset must be depreciated according to general rules (straight-line, degressive method). A one-off write-off can be made not earlier than in the month in which the fixed assets were entered into the register of fixed assets and intangible assets. The sum of the depreciation made in the first tax year and not classified as tax deductible costs may not exceed the initial value of these fixed assets. The decision to use a one-off write-off already in the first year of using a fixed asset should be carefully thought over, as it may turn out that with large investments, when settling depreciation, the taxpayer will make a loss. In case of any doubts, it is worth asking the appropriate tax authorities for interpretation. The submitted application should comprehensively present the actual state of affairs or a future event. Questions should be asked precisely. The taxpayer is also obliged to present his or her position in a given case (to provide appropriate arguments to support the position, e.g. judgments of courts or the ECJ). The issued interpretation contains the legal assessment of the questioner's position. Application forms are available at the tax offices.