Postponement of the payment date of ZUS contributions

The ZUS contribution payer is obliged to pay the due insurance contributions within the time limits provided for in the System Act. An entrepreneur not employing employees must pay contributions by the 10th day of each month, and a payer hiring employees by the 15th day of each month. In the event of late payment of contributions, interest for late payment will be charged by ZUS, and it is also possible to charge an additional fee. A payer who, due to financial problems, is not able to pay insurance premiums on time, may apply to ZUS for a deferment of the payment of ZUS premiums.

What is the postponement of the payment date of ZUS contributions?

Deferring the payment deadline is a legal form of assistance provided by the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) with the repayment of due insurance premiums. The aid consists in agreeing with the Social Insurance Institution a longer period of time for the payment of due contributions. As a consequence, there will be no enforcement of receivables by way of enforcement, i.e. no action will be taken to compulsorily recover the receivables. In the event of postponing the payment of contributions, neither late payment interest nor additional fee will be charged. However, an extension fee will be charged. The fee is 50% of the default interest rate applicable on the date of signing the contract. It is calculated from the day following the statutory premium due date until the day of postponement.

How can you apply for a deferment of payment?

Any payer who has financial problems, as a result of which he is unable to pay ZUS contributions within the statutory deadline, may apply for the postponement of the payment date.

In order to postpone the payment date, an application must be submitted to ZUS, which must be fully justified and indicate the reasons justifying the application of the relief. It should be noted in the application that due to the public law nature of the receivables, the postponement of the payment deadline is an exceptional solution. In addition, the payer should indicate a new date for the payment of contributions, depending on his financial capacity.

An application for deferment of the payment deadline should be submitted to ZUS no later than on the day of expiry of the payment deadline for contributions, because the deferral may only apply to contributions whose statutory payment deadline has not expired. The mere fact of submitting the application does not guarantee that the tax relief will be granted. When considering the application, ZUS takes into account the entrepreneur's payment capabilities and the state of social security finances. Therefore, it depends on the decision of ZUS whether such a relief will be granted.

Which contributions are deferred?

Pursuant to Art. 30 of the System Act, it is possible to defer the payment date only for those receivables paid by the payer from his own funds, that is:

• social insurance contributions - with the exception of amounts corresponding to the amount of the pension insurance contribution for the employed employees,

• health insurance contributions - with the exception of amounts corresponding to the amount of the pension insurance premium for employed employees,

• contributions to the Labor Fund and the Guaranteed Employee Benefits Fund and the Bridging Pension Fund.

The deferral of the payment date of contributions to the Social Insurance Institution (ZUS) does not apply to contributions financed by the insured.

Therefore, in the case of persons running a business in which entrepreneurs do not employ employees and pay insurance premiums only for themselves, the deferral may be applied to the full amount of current premiums, including health insurance premiums.

What conditions must be met to obtain consent to defer the payment of contributions?

In order to obtain a positive decision on the postponement of the payment date of ZUS contributions, the payer must submit a reasoned application in this matter together with documentation enabling the assessment of the legitimacy of granting the relief. The list of required documents is available on the ZUS website. For the period to be deferred, the payer must, within the statutory payment period, pay contributions for retirement insurance, as well as for health insurance for employees and other insured persons.

The payment deadline is postponed in the form of an agreement specifying the detailed terms of the relief. Therefore, there is no right to appeal against it to the court.