Accounting in Poland: what is mandatory for a company and a sole proprietorship

One of the most frequent questions from Turkish entrepreneurs who set up a company in Poland is about accounting in Poland: "Which books do I have to keep, what do I have to file and when, and what will I pay the accountant?" The answer depends on the type of business, its VAT status and whether it has employees. This article maps the obligations; tax rates and the choice of tax form are in the taxes in Poland article, and the steps right after formation are in the first 90 days article.

Short answer: Under Polish accounting rules a limited liability company (Sp. z o.o.) keeps full books (pełna księgowość) whatever its turnover, and every year prepares a financial statement and files it with the KRS. A sole proprietorship (JDG), unless its net sales in the previous year reached the equivalent of €2,500,000, usually keeps a revenue and expense ledger (KPiR) or only a revenue record, depending on its tax form. On top of that come the monthly JPK VAT file, from 2026 the phased-in annual JPK ledger files, ZUS reporting if you have employees, and at least five years of record retention.

Who must keep full books (pełna księgowość)?

Full books are governed by the Accounting Act (ustawa o rachunkowości). Under Article 2 of the Act (consolidated text of March 2026):

• Commercial companies always keep full books. Capital companies such as a Sp. z o.o. or a joint-stock company, including a company in organisation (spółka w organizacji), are subject to the Act regardless of turnover.
• A sole proprietorship (JDG) moves to full books above a threshold. An individual entrepreneur whose net revenue from the sale of goods and products in the previous financial year reached the equivalent of €2,500,000 keeps full books. This threshold has applied since 1 January 2025.
• Voluntary switch below the threshold is possible. An entrepreneur below the threshold may opt for full books by notifying the tax office before the start of the new financial year.

The złoty equivalent of the threshold is recalculated every year. According to biznes.gov.pl, a sole proprietorship whose net sales in 2025 reached or exceeded PLN 10,646,500 must keep full books in 2026 (based on the NBP euro rate of 1 October 2025).

Sole proprietorship (JDG): KPiR or revenue record?

A reminder first: a JDG is open to Turkish citizens only with certain residence statuses. We explained this in the JDG or Sp. z o.o. article. If you have or can open a JDG, there are two basic forms of record below the full-books threshold:

• Revenue and expense ledger (KPiR, podatkowa księga przychodów i rozchodów). Kept under the general rules (progressive scale) or the flat-rate income tax. Net revenue in the previous year must not have exceeded €2,500,000.
• Revenue record (ewidencja przychodów). The simplest record, listing revenue only, kept by those who choose the lump-sum tax (ryczałt). According to biznes.gov.pl, the lump-sum tax requires previous-year revenue not exceeding €2 million.

Which tax form you choose is a tax decision, not an accounting one, and it determines the form of record. From 2026 entrepreneurs who file a monthly JPK VAT file keep these records only in software, in the prescribed electronic structure.

Annual financial statement (sprawozdanie finansowe): when and where?

Every business keeping full books prepares a financial statement at year end: balance sheet, profit and loss account and notes. For a Sp. z o.o. whose financial year matches the calendar year, the timeline is (Accounting Act Art. 52, 53, 69; biznes.gov.pl):

• Preparation: within 3 months of the balance sheet date, i.e. by 31 March.
• Approval: the shareholders' meeting approves it no later than 6 months after the balance sheet date, i.e. by 30 June.
• Filing with the KRS: within 15 days of approval, together with the approval resolution and the resolution on profit distribution or loss coverage, electronically.

The statement is prepared only electronically, in the structure set by the Ministry of Finance. It is signed by the management board members and the person keeping the books, using a qualified electronic signature, a trusted profile (profil zaufany) or an e-ID signature. According to biznes.gov.pl, a qualified signature issued inside or outside the EU is accepted if it meets a specific technical standard. Board members living in Turkey should prepare this signature early.

A practical detail: free filing with the KRS is done by a representative whose PESEL number appears in the KRS, or by a professional attorney. If there is no such person, the filing goes through the paid route (S24).

An income taxpayer who is not in the KRS but keeps full books (for example a JDG above the threshold) sends the statement not to the KRS but to the Head of the National Revenue Administration (Szef KAS) via e-Sprawozdania, within the deadline for the annual income tax return.

JPK files: monthly VAT and annual ledgers

JPK (Jednolity Plik Kontrolny) is the standard electronic file submitted to the tax administration. Two types matter for accounting:

• JPK VAT (JPK_V7M / JPK_V7K). Every VAT-registered business sends its records and return in one file, for the previous month, by the 25th. Those filing quarterly send only the records part for the first two months (podatki.gov.pl).
• JPK ledger files (JPK_PD). The books themselves are sent annually in an electronic structure. According to the podatki.gov.pl timeline: corporate and personal income taxpayers filing monthly JPK VAT, for the financial year starting after 31 December 2025; all other taxpayers, for the year starting after 31 December 2026. Since 1 July 2026 the deadline is the end of the seventh month after year end for corporate income taxpayers and 31 July for personal income taxpayers.

Two more systems come on top. The mandatory e-invoicing system KSeF changed how invoices reach accounting; details in our KSeF article. If you sell to consumers in the EU, OSS returns also enter the accounting calendar; we covered this in our OSS article.

Once you hire: payroll and ZUS reporting

With the first employee the accounting workload grows, because payroll and social insurance reporting are added:

• Registration: An employee or a person on a service contract is reported to ZUS within 7 days of starting work or cooperation (biznes.gov.pl).
• Monthly return and payment: The contribution return (ZUS DRA) and per-person reports are filed every month. According to ZUS, the deadline is the 15th of the following month for employers with legal personality (including a Sp. z o.o.) and the 20th for those without legal personality (including a JDG).
• Tax side: Income tax advances withheld from salaries and annual information returns are part of payroll.

If you hire a foreign employee, work permit and notification obligations apply separately.

How long must records be kept?

Under Article 74 of the Accounting Act (March 2026 text):

• Approved annual financial statements: at least 5 years from the beginning of the year following the year of approval.
• Books, accounting documents and inventory documents: 5 years from the beginning of the year following the financial year concerned.
• Payroll records: for as long as pension and tax rules require access, and no less than 5 years.
• Documents on ongoing matters such as loans, litigation and commercial contracts: 5 years from the beginning of the year following the year the matter was closed.

For a JDG keeping a KPiR, biznes.gov.pl states: the ledger and documents are kept for 5 years from the end of the year in which the payment deadline for the tax based on that ledger expired.

Who may be an accountant in Poland?

Under Article 76a of the Accounting Act, bookkeeping as a service is a business activity. The people performing it must have full legal capacity and must not have been convicted of offences against document integrity, property, economic transactions or of fiscal offences. The business providing the service must carry professional liability insurance (Art. 76h). The Act does not require a separate state certificate, so when choosing an accountant, look at experience, insurance and the scope of the written contract.

Two more important points:

• Responsibility cannot be delegated. Whoever keeps your books, the management board is responsible for the financial statement complying with the Act (Art. 4a). The accountant does the work; the signature and responsibility stay with management.
• Books kept elsewhere must be reported. If the books are kept outside the company's seat (for example at an accounting firm), this location is reported to the tax office.

What determines the cost of accounting in Poland?

We do not quote prices: the cost of accounting depends on the volume of work and is set by a written quote based on your situation. The main factors behind the quote:

• Type of books: full books, KPiR or a revenue record only.
• Monthly document volume: purchase and sales invoices, bank statements, expense documents.
• VAT status: whether you are VAT-registered and whether you file monthly or quarterly.
• Number of employees and contract types: payroll, ZUS reporting, leave.
• Foreign transactions: intra-EU purchases and sales, imports from Turkey, foreign currency accounts.
• OSS and marketplace sales: sales to several countries, returns, reconciliation of marketplace reports.
• Annual work: financial statement, KRS filing, JPK ledger files.
• Document discipline: documents arriving on time and complete directly affects the work and the cost.

Frequently asked

Can I keep the books of my Polish limited company myself?

The Act allows the company to keep its own books. But full books mean an accounting policy document written in Polish, electronic JPK files, a financial statement in the prescribed structure and timely returns every month. For a founder managing from Turkey this in practice means an accounting firm or an accountant. Whichever you choose, responsibility stays with the management board.

Does a company with no sales still have to file a financial statement?

Yes. A Sp. z o.o.'s duty to keep full books and file an annual financial statement does not depend on turnover; a dormant company also prepares, approves and files its statement with the KRS. If you are VAT-registered, JPK VAT files are also sent for months without transactions. The assumption "no sales, no obligations" is the most common cause of delays and penalty risk.

Can my accountant in Turkey keep the books of my Polish company?

Under the Act, a company may entrust its books only to an entrepreneur carrying out this activity in Poland or to an entrepreneur providing this service from another EU member state; Turkey is not within this scope. Your accountant in Turkey can keep handling your Turkish-side matters; the Polish books are kept with an accountant in Poland.

How we run it

Bookkeeping, returns and reporting sit with the accountant partner; follow-up and the Turkish summary sit with us. In the first meeting we map your company type, VAT status, sales channels and hiring plan, and prepare a written quote with the partner. Then we set up the document flow: which invoices, bank statements and marketplace reports go to whom, and when, each month. We keep the monthly and annual calendar in Turkish and remind the management board in advance of its own tasks, such as the financial statement, the KRS filing and signature dates. We summarise every letter from the accountant and the tax office in Turkish.

Sources

• Accounting Act (ustawa o rachunkowości) — ISAP, Sejm
• Who files financial statements and when — biznes.gov.pl
• How to keep a revenue and expense ledger (PKPiR) — biznes.gov.pl
• JPK_PD: JPK for income taxes — podatki.gov.pl
• JPK VAT with return — podatki.gov.pl
• Deadlines for documents and contributions — ZUS

Last checked: 26 September 2026. This article is general information; your own case needs assessment by a licensed partner.

Tell us your company type, sales channels and hiring plan; we will map your accounting workload and prepare a written quote with the partner. Tell us your situation or see the Start a Company page.

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This article is for information only; it is not legal or tax advice. Basis: the Accounting Act (consolidated text of 30 March 2026), official guidance from biznes.gov.pl, podatki.gov.pl and ZUS, as of September 2026. Thresholds and timelines change from year to year; for your own case the final word lies with the certified accountant partner.