Lump-sum tax on private rental: PIT-28 for 2023 step by step
Lump-sum tax on private rental is, for 2023, the only way to tax rent earned outside a business activity. There is no other. You calculate the tax on revenue, and the PIT-28 return for 2023 had to be filed between 15 February and 30 April 2024. Below I set out the order of steps for the owner of a single flat who is settling this way for the first time.
Can private rental for 2023 be settled any other way than the lump sum?
No. The settlement for 2023 is the first one in which private rental without the tax scale covers all landlords renting outside a business activity. The basis? Art. 6(1a), which you will find in the consolidated text of the lump-sum income tax act. This is the result of the changes introduced by the Polish Deal (Polski Ład), which took away landlords’ option to choose the general rules. But for the owner of a single property the situation is actually simpler: you do not file any declaration on the form of taxation, and you close the whole year with one annual return.
What counts as rental revenue, and what can you not deduct?
The tax is calculated on revenue, meaning the amounts received from the tenant. Without reducing them by costs. Before you sit down to the numbers, gather:
- the lease agreement and all annexes changing the rent,
- confirmations of incoming payments for each month of 2023,
- the arrangements on the charges borne by the tenant.
Renovation, furnishings and loan interest do not lower the tax base. Even if they swallowed a large part of the rent (it hurts, I know). The deposit and utilities settled with the tenant are harder, because their treatment depends on the wording of the agreement and on who actually pays the suppliers. Discuss such cases with a tax adviser, there is no point guessing. And putting the payments together will be easier with regular control of rental cash flows.
What is the lump-sum rate on rental?
The lump-sum rate on rental is 8.5% of revenue up to PLN 100,000 and 12.5% on the excess above that threshold. This follows from Art. 12(1)(4)(a) of the act on lump-sum tax on revenue. The higher rate applies only to the excess, not to the whole sum. So exceeding the limit does not change the tax on the amounts below it. How do you know whether the threshold concerns you at all? Add up all the rent payments received during the year. What counts is the total annual revenue, not the size of a single instalment.
PIT-28 for rental step by step
In general, the return comes down to three things: adding up the revenue for 2023, applying the rate, and showing the tax due and the tax already paid. The order looks like this:
- Add up the rental payments received for the whole year.
- Determine the rate and calculate the lump sum.
- List the tax payments made during the year.
- Fill in PIT-28 in the part concerning private rental.
- Send the return and keep the confirmation.
- Pay the difference, if there is one.
In a first settlement, the easiest mistake is assigning revenue to the wrong year. Check especially carefully any rent that arrived at the turn of December and January. And compare the totals with your bank statements before you copy them into the form. Because a discrepancy caught later means a correction.
The PIT-28 filing deadline and what a delay can cost you
PIT-28 for 2023 was filed between 15 February and 30 April 2024, in line with Art. 21(2)(2) of the act governing the lump-sum tax. A document sent before this window opens is not lost, but it is treated as filed only on the day the window opens. And waiting until the end of April? It gains you nothing. It only takes away time for a correction and for getting hold of missing transfer confirmations. A delay may result in liability under the fiscal penal code, and tax not paid on time becomes an arrear on which interest is charged. If the deadline has already passed or you have an underpayment from previous months, agree the next steps with a tax adviser.
Co-ownership and spouses: who files the return?
With a jointly owned flat, the way of settling depends on the type of co-ownership and the arrangements between the owners. So confirm it with a tax adviser. People who are not married to each other as a rule each report their revenue separately, in proportion to their share. Spouses covered by joint marital property have additional options, but these require formal conditions to be met. We describe this in more detail in our article on how tax on a co-owned flat works. For the conversation with the specialist, prepare the lease agreement, the document confirming title to the property and a summary of payments received.
Lump-sum tax on private rental in the coming months: how to make the next settlement easier
The simplest approach is to collect the data every month instead of reconstructing the whole year in February. Keep the agreement, annexes and handover reports in one place, and after each rent payment add it to a simple summary. In my opinion a good habit is a monthly rental income report, which shows the gaps straight away, not after a year. In Tenanto you can set an automatic e-mail reminder before the rent due date, and store documents in categories such as agreements, annexes and handover reports.
How do you settle the rental of a flat for 2023, in short? Lump-sum tax on private rental is the sum of the amounts received, the rate set by the act and PIT-28 filed by 30 April 2024. That’s it. Anyone with a full set of payment confirmations will fill in the return in one evening.
Frequently asked questions
No. The tax base is revenue, so spending on renovation, furniture or equipment does not reduce the amount on which you calculate the tax. Keep the invoices anyway (they will be useful as a record of the condition of the property).
Yes. The return covers revenue earned in a given year, regardless of the number of months in which the property was rented out. You report what actually came in from the tenant. And if you have doubts, for example when the agreement started or ended at the turn of the year, consult a tax adviser.
It depends. On what happened to it and what the agreement provides. A deposit returned after the lease ends is assessed differently from one that is kept or set off against amounts owed. Before you include it in the return or leave it out, confirm your situation with a tax adviser.
