Buying a Flat Through a Company in 2026 – VAT, Depreciation, When It Makes Sense

Buying a flat through a company in 2026 gives far fewer tax benefits than old guides suggest. Residential premises cannot be depreciated, you can deduct the VAT on the developer's invoice only if the flat serves taxable sales (for example accommodation services), and the sale of a flat from a sole-trader business is taxed like a private sale. Below we explain when a company makes sense and compare three options – privately, a sole-trader business (JDG) and a limited liability company (spółka z o.o.) – using an example of a flat from our offer in Wroclaw.

Key facts

• Residential premises are not subject to depreciation – neither in personal income tax, PIT (Art. 22c(2)), nor in corporate income tax, CIT (Art. 16c(2a)). Flats bought before 2022 could be depreciated at the latest until 31.12.2022.
• Letting for residential purposes is exempt from VAT, so with such letting you cannot deduct the 8% VAT in the price of the flat. Accommodation services (short-term lets) are taxed at 8% – then deduction is possible.
• The sale of a flat used in a JDG is not business revenue – "private" rules apply: 19% on the income if sold within 5 years of the end of the year of purchase.
• A limited liability company pays CIT of 9% (small taxpayer) or 19%, and paying out profit means a further 19% dividend tax.
• Private letting can only be taxed at the flat rate: 8,5% up to 100 000 PLN of revenue and 12,5% on the excess – with no costs, but also no social security (ZUS).

Depreciation of a flat in 2026 – why it no longer exists

For years the main argument for buying a flat through a company was depreciation: write-offs on the value of the unit lowered the tax on rent. This option was abolished by the Polish Deal (Polski Ład) reform. From 1 January 2022, Art. 22c(2) of the PIT Act excludes from depreciation buildings and residential premises that serve a business or are let. An analogous ban in CIT is contained in Art. 16c(2a) – it applies to all residential premises, including those in companies.

The transitional provisions (Art. 71(2) of the Act of 29 October 2021) allowed write-offs on flats acquired before 1 January 2022 to be counted as costs, but only until 31 December 2022. From 2023 nobody depreciates flats for tax purposes, regardless of the purchase date. A residential unit also does not go into the register of fixed assets (Art. 22n(3) of the PIT Act), and the expense on its purchase is not a current cost.

The ban does not apply to non-residential (commercial) premises, for example an office or a service unit. Such a unit can be depreciated, but the developer taxes its sale at the standard rate of 23%, not 8%. The status of the unit follows from the building's documentation and the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta) – check it in the information prospectus before signing the agreement.

A flat through a company and VAT deduction

You buy a flat from a developer with 8% VAT (up to 150 m² of usable floor area) – we describe the details in the article VAT on a flat from a developer. An active VAT payer can deduct input tax only to the extent that the purchase serves taxable activities (Art. 86(1) of the VAT Act). What matters, then, is what you do with the flat:

• Long-term letting for residential purposes – exempt from VAT (Art. 43(1)(36)). No right to deduct VAT on the purchase, even if the invoice was issued to the company.
• Accommodation services (short-term lets) – services under PKWiU 55 are in Annex 3 to the VAT Act, so they are currently taxed at 8%. Here deducting VAT on the purchase is in principle possible. The rules on nightly letting itself are discussed in the article Short-term rental in 2026 – rules and taxes.
• Letting to a company for non-residential purposes (for example an office) – taxed at 23%, but the tax authorities examine what the unit is actually used for.

Deduction is not a decision "for ever". If after a few years you move from nightly letting to letting that is exempt from VAT, an obligation arises to adjust the deducted tax (Art. 91 of the VAT Act). For real estate the law provides for an adjustment spread over 10 years, 1/10 of the amount per year. How exactly to calculate it for a residential unit is worth confirming with an accountant before the purchase.

Privately, JDG or limited company – a comparison

Issue	Privately	Sole-trader business (JDG)	Limited liability company
Tax on rent	flat rate 8,5% / 12,5% of revenue	tax scale 12%/32%, flat 19% or flat rate 8,5%/12,5%	CIT 9% or 19% on income
Costs (interest, renovations, fees)	no	yes (except under the flat rate)	yes
Depreciation of the flat	no	no	no
Deduction of 8% VAT on the purchase	no	only for taxable activities (for example accommodation services)	as in a JDG
Sale of the flat	19% on income if within 5 years, afterwards no PIT	as privately (Art. 14(2c))	always CIT on profit
Paying money out to the owner	no additional tax	no additional tax	dividend – 19% PIT
ZUS and health contribution	no	yes	depends on the shareholder's role
Bookkeeping	no records	tax revenue and expense ledger (KPiR) or revenue register	full accounting books

A simple rule follows from the table: with ordinary long-term letting a company rarely gives an advantage. You tax private letting at a flat rate on revenue, with no ZUS and no bookkeeping – we describe the rules in the article Rental income tax 2026. In a JDG you can deduct costs, but you pay contributions, and you still cannot "put the purchase itself into costs". Letting within a business starts to be defensible with high costs (for example loan interest) or when the flat is part of an activity taxed with VAT, such as nightly letting.

Example: 2 rooms in Wroclaw for 662 405 PLN

According to TM Invest offer data as at 27.09.2026, the median price of a 2-room flat in Wroclaw is 662 405 PLN gross at a median floor area of 40,8 m² (738 available units). The price includes 8% VAT: 662 405 PLN ÷ 1,08 = 613 338 PLN net and 49 067 PLN VAT.

We take the rent from the NBP (National Bank of Poland): the average rental rate in 6 large cities (including Wroclaw) in the first quarter of 2026 is 67,5 PLN/m² excluding service charges. For 40,8 m² this gives about 2 754 PLN a month, that is 33 048 PLN a year. The purchase is for cash, and we put annual running costs (property tax, insurance, minor repairs) at 3 000 PLN.

Option (long-term letting)	Calculation	Tax per year
Privately, flat rate 8,5%	33 048 PLN × 8,5%	2 809 PLN
JDG, flat tax 19%	(33 048 − 3 000) × 19%	5 709 PLN + health contribution and ZUS
Limited company, CIT 9% + dividend	30 048 × 9% = 2 704 PLN; (30 048 − 2 704) × 19% = 5 195 PLN	7 899 PLN

In long-term letting the VAT of 49 067 PLN is a cost that cannot be recovered in any option. If the same flat served accommodation services in a company registered as an active VAT payer, that 49 067 PLN could in principle be deducted. In return, from every gross revenue you hand over 8/108 as output VAT, and on a change of use – assuming a 10-year adjustment period – you repay about 4 907 PLN for each year remaining to the end of that period. Example: moving to long-term letting after 4 full years means an adjustment of about 6 × 4 907 PLN ≈ 29 440 PLN.

Looking for a flat to let and want to compare several locations? We will select a flat on the primary market – for the buyer in most cases with no commission, because the developer usually pays our fee. You will also find current developments in the catalogue of new flats in Wroclaw.

A flat in a company and selling it – what tax?

Many people assume that selling a flat from a JDG is always business revenue, and that after withdrawing the unit to private assets you must wait 6 years. For residential premises it is different. Art. 14(2c) of the PIT Act excludes from business revenue the sale of buildings and residential premises used in the business, and Art. 10(3) directs it to the source "paid disposal of real estate". This means:

• a sale within 5 years of the end of the year of purchase – 19% tax on income (Art. 30e), with the possibility of using the housing relief;
• a sale after that date – no PIT, even where the flat was let within the business;
• the 6-year period after withdrawal from the business (Art. 10(2)(3)) applies to other assets, not residential premises – paragraph 3 of that article expressly excludes them;
• exception: if trading in flats is the subject of your business (you buy units to resell them), the revenue is business revenue (Art. 30e(6)) and the 5-year period does not matter.

Example: in 2026 you buy a flat for 662 405 PLN and sell it in 2029 for 750 000 PLN, paying 15 000 PLN of commission. The income is 750 000 − 15 000 − 662 405 = 72 595 PLN, and the 19% tax is about 13 793 PLN (without indexing costs for inflation). With a sale in 2032 or later no PIT arises. We describe the details of the calculation in the article Tax on selling a flat within 5 years. If you depreciated the flat before 2023, the income is increased by the sum of the write-offs made (Art. 30e(2)).

For VAT, the sale of a unit more than 2 years after first occupation is in principle exempt (Art. 43(1)(10)). If you previously deducted VAT on the purchase, an exempt sale may require an adjustment of that deduction. In a limited company the profit from a sale always enters income taxed with CIT, regardless of how long the company held the flat.

Buying a flat through a company – when does it make sense?

A limited liability company has one advantage: the low 9% CIT for small taxpayers (revenue up to the equivalent of 2 million euro a year, Art. 19(1)(2) of the CIT Act). Profit left in the company and reinvested (for example in further units) is taxed lower than for an individual on the tax scale. The problem appears on payout: a dividend means a further 19% (Art. 30a(1)(4) of the PIT Act). Altogether, with CIT of 9% this gives about 26,3% on profit, and with CIT of 19% about 34,4%. On top of that come full accounting and no 5-year tax-free "window" on sale.

A company can be sensible for someone building a larger portfolio of units, financing it from profits and not planning to pay money out soon. With one or two flats for long-term letting, private letting usually wins. We write more about the profitability of investing in the article A flat as an investment in 2026, and about financing in A mortgage for a buy-to-let flat.

When does buying a flat through a company pay off?

• Short-term letting as a VAT activity – the option to deduct 8% VAT in the price and finishing costs, but with the risk of an adjustment if the letting model changes.
• High costs (loan interest, equipment, management) – in a JDG on general rules they reduce the tax base, which the private flat rate does not.
• You already run a business and pay contributions – additional rental income does not mean a second set of ZUS contributions, although it may raise the health contribution.
• A commercial unit instead of a residential one – if you need an office, a non-residential unit can be depreciated, and the 23% VAT deducted for a taxable business.

What does not pay off is buying a flat through a company "for depreciation" or to recover VAT with long-term letting – both benefits no longer exist.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Buying a flat through a company has stopped being a simple way to lower taxes. There is no depreciation of residential units, VAT deduction requires a taxable activity (in practice – nightly letting), and with a sale from a JDG the 5-year period still applies. In the example of a flat for 662 405 PLN in Wroclaw, private letting turned out cheapest tax-wise: about 2,8 thousand PLN a year against 5,7 thousand PLN in a JDG and 7,9 thousand PLN in a company. A company may pay off with short-term letting, high costs or a larger portfolio – each such plan is worth calculating with an accountant before signing the developer agreement (umowa deweloperska).

Do you already know in what form you will buy the flat? We will help you choose a flat to let from a developer – we will compare developments, floor areas and prices in Warsaw and Wroclaw. For the buyer in most cases with no commission, because the developer usually pays our fee.

Legal position as at September 2026. The calculations are indicative, and the article is not tax advice or an investment recommendation. Before buying a flat through a company, discuss your situation with an accountant or tax specialist.

Sources

• Personal Income Tax Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 592 (Art. 10(1)(8), (2)(3) and (3), Art. 14(2c), Art. 22c(2), Art. 22n(3), Art. 30a, Art. 30c, Art. 30e).
• Corporate Income Tax Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 554 (Art. 16c(2a), Art. 19(1)).
• Act of 29 October 2021 amending the PIT Act, the CIT Act and certain other acts – Dz.U. 2021 item 2105 (Art. 71(2) – transitional period for depreciation).
• Act on Goods and Services Tax (VAT) – consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 775 (Art. 43(1)(10) and (36), Art. 86(1), Art. 91, Art. 146ef, Annex 3 item 47).
• Act on the flat-rate income tax – consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 843 (Art. 12(1)(4)).
• NBP – Information on housing prices and the situation on the residential real estate market in the first quarter of 2026 (rental rates).
• Flat prices: TM Invest development catalogue, as at 27.09.2026.