Commercial Unit from a Developer in Poland – An Investment for the Experienced (2026)

A commercial unit from a developer is an investment with different rules from a flat: you pay 23% VAT instead of 8%, the Developer Act does not (as a rule) protect you, and property tax can be almost 30 times higher. In return you can deduct VAT, depreciate the unit in your business and sign a lease with the tenant without tenant protection. Below we set out these differences and calculate whether a 60 m² ground-floor unit will earn more than two studio flats for a similar sum.

Key facts

• A sale of a commercial unit by a developer is taxed at 23% VAT – the reduced 8% rate applies only to residential construction, excluding commercial units (art. 41 para. 12a of the VAT Act). You do not pay PCC (civil law transactions tax).
• The Developer Act covers a commercial unit only if you buy it together with a flat or house in the same development project and as a consumer (art. 2 para. 2 and art. 5 point 5).
• Property tax in Warsaw and Wroclaw in 2026: PLN 35.53/m² for units used for business activity, PLN 12.00/m² for others, compared with PLN 1.25/m² for flats.
• A non-residential unit can be depreciated in a business – the rate from the schedule is 2.5% a year (KŚT 121, the Polish classification of fixed assets). Flats may not be depreciated.
• Private rental of a commercial unit is taxed at the flat rate of 8.5% up to PLN 100 000 and 12.5% on the excess. If rental income does not exceed PLN 240 000 a year, you can use the VAT exemption.

A commercial unit on the ground floor of a block versus a flat – how they differ

A commercial unit in a new block is usually several dozen square metres on the ground floor with a shop window – for a shop, a surgery or an office. Formally it is a unit with a purpose other than residential, and it is this purpose that determines taxes and legal protection.

Issue	Flat from a developer	Commercial unit from a developer
VAT in the price	8% (up to 150 m²)	23%
PCC 2%	no (sale with VAT)	no (sale with VAT)
Deduction of input VAT on purchase	with residential letting – no	yes, if you let with VAT as an active taxpayer
Developer Act (escrow account, Developer Guarantee Fund)	yes	only in a package with a flat, for a consumer
Notary fee (taksa notarialna)	½ of the maximum rate	full maximum rate
Depreciation in a business	prohibited	2.5% a year
Property tax 2026 (Warsaw, Wroclaw)	PLN 1.25/m²	PLN 12.00 or 35.53/m²
Tenant protection	Tenant Rights Protection Act	Civil Code only

Buying a commercial unit – 23% VAT and when you can deduct it

The developer sells a commercial unit at the standard rate of 23%. At a net price of PLN 840 000, VAT is PLN 193 200 and the gross price is PLN 1 033 200. Because the sale is subject to VAT, you do not pay tax on civil law transactions (art. 2 point 4 letter a of the PCC Act).

Whether that PLN 193 thousand is a cost or only a temporary freezing of cash depends on your VAT status. Letting a unit for non-residential purposes does not benefit from the exemption in art. 43 para. 1 point 36 (which applies only to lettings for residential purposes), so it is taxed at 23%. A person who lets out a unit – including a private individual, because letting is "using goods on a continuous basis for profit-making purposes" (art. 15 para. 2) – is a VAT taxpayer. You have two routes:

• Active VAT taxpayer – you register before the first transaction (art. 96 para. 1), add 23% to the rent and deduct VAT from the developer's invoice (art. 86 para. 1). Remember the 10-year adjustment period for real estate (art. 91): if during that time the unit starts to serve exempt sales, part of the deduction will have to be repaid.
• Small-business exemption – from 2026 it applies when sales do not exceed PLN 240 000 a year (art. 113 para. 1 as amended by the Act, Dz.U. 2025 item 896). You do not add VAT to the rent, but you also do not deduct VAT on the purchase – the 23% becomes your cost.

Business tenants usually deduct VAT, so an invoice with 23% does not raise their cost – which is why VAT registration is sometimes more advantageous. Take the decision with your accountant before buying. We write more broadly about buying property through a business in the article Buying a flat through a company – VAT, depreciation, when it makes sense.

Does the Developer Act protect the buyer of a commercial unit?

The Act on the protection of the rights of a purchaser of a flat or single-family house (consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880) by definition concerns flats and houses. It covers a commercial unit in only one case: when the contract for the commercial unit is concluded together with the contract for a flat or house and concerns the same development project (art. 2 para. 2). In addition, the purchaser within the meaning of the Act is only a natural person buying for a purpose not directly related to their business (art. 5 point 5).

When you buy a commercial unit on its own – privately or through a business – you have no guarantee of an escrow account, the Developer Guarantee Fund, an information prospectus or a statutory handover procedure. You negotiate the contract like an ordinary civil contract, so make sure payments go to an escrow account or are otherwise secured, that your claim is entered in the land and mortgage register (the land and mortgage register), and that the contract has contractual penalties for delay and clear technical parameters (connection capacity, ventilation, height, shop window). A similar problem – buying outside the Act's umbrella – is discussed in Condo hotels and aparthotels – is it a good investment.

The notary fee also looks different. A notary may apply half of the maximum rate, among others, to a developer contract and a contract transferring ownership of a residential unit (§ 6 of the regulation on notary fees). For a commercial unit at PLN 1 033 200 gross, the maximum fee for a sale contract is PLN 4 770 + 0.2% of the excess over PLN 1 million, i.e. PLN 4 836 net (PLN 5 949 with VAT) – with no halving.

Letting a commercial unit – contract, flat-rate tax and depreciation

Letting a commercial unit is governed solely by the Civil Code (art. 659 et seq.). The Tenant Rights Protection Act applies to units serving residential needs (art. 2 para. 1 point 4), so there are no statutory limits on the deposit, no ban on winter evictions and no obligation to provide replacement premises. A fixed-term lease can be terminated only in the cases written into the contract (art. 673 § 3 of the Civil Code), and in the event of arrears for two full payment periods – after a written demand with an additional one-month deadline (art. 687 of the Civil Code). You set the deposit, indexation and cost split freely.

Income tax depends on the form of letting:

• Private letting (outside a business) – flat-rate tax of 8.5% up to PLN 100 000 of revenue and 12.5% on the excess (art. 12 para. 1 point 4 letter a of the Flat-Rate Tax Act). It also applies to commercial units. No costs and no depreciation.
• Letting within a business on the progressive scale or linear (flat) tax – you enter the unit in the fixed assets register and depreciate it. The prohibition in art. 22c point 2 of the PIT Act covers only residential buildings and units; non-residential units (KŚT 121) have a rate of 2.5% a year. At PLN 840 000 net (excluding the share in the land) this gives about PLN 21 000 of cost a year.

A commercial unit and property tax

This is where the difference is greatest. Warsaw and Wroclaw adopted for 2026 rates equal to the statutory upper limits: PLN 1.25/m² for residential buildings, PLN 12.00/m² for "other" buildings and PLN 35.53/m² for buildings connected with running a business. The Act treats as connected with business activity buildings held by a business owner (art. 1a para. 1 point 3 of the Local Taxes and Charges Act).

A 60 m² unit bought through a business therefore means PLN 2 132 of tax a year, while two studio flats with a combined area of 64.8 m² cost about PLN 81. If you buy the unit privately, the rate depends on how the municipality classifies the unit – when it is let to a business, the office may assess the matter differently than for an empty unit. Ask the tax department before buying. The rules for filing the IN-1 information form and the instalment deadlines are the same as for a flat – we describe them in the article Property tax – rates in Warsaw and Wroclaw.

Considering a commercial unit but not sure whether it would be better to buy a flat to let? We will help you compare specific flat offers from developers in Warsaw and Wroclaw – in most cases with no commission for the buyer, because the developer usually pays our fee.

Letting a commercial unit – yield in an example: a 60 m² unit or two studio flats

Let us compare two investments in Wroclaw for a similar budget. Two studio flats: the median price of a 1-bedroom flat in our offer in Wroclaw is PLN 595 638 for 32.4 m² (based on TM Invest offer data as of 27.09.2026), together PLN 1 191 276 gross. We calculate rent using the average NBP rate for the six large cities (including Wroclaw) from the first quarter of 2026 – PLN 67.5/m², i.e. PLN 2 187 a month per studio flat.

A 60 m² commercial unit – we adopt explicit assumptions: a price of PLN 14 000/m² net (PLN 840 000 net, PLN 1 033 200 gross) and rent of PLN 70/m² net a month. Average asking prices of commercial units in Wroclaw on portals in September 2026 were about PLN 12.7–14.6 thousand/m², and ground-floor unit rents from about PLN 45 to nearly PLN 100/m² net (indicative ranges from adverts). For the unit we assume 85% occupancy (longer search for a tenant), for the flats 95%. Running costs are paid by the tenant, and we calculate the unit's property tax conservatively at PLN 35.53/m².

Item (annual)	2 studio flats	Unit – active VAT	Unit – no VAT
Purchase cost	1 191 276 PLN	840 000 PLN (VAT deducted)	1 033 200 PLN
Rent at full occupancy	52 488 PLN	50 400 PLN net	50 400 PLN
Revenue after vacancy	49 864 PLN	42 840 PLN	42 840 PLN
Flat-rate tax 8.5%	−4 238 PLN	−3 641 PLN	−3 641 PLN
Property tax	−81 PLN	−2 132 PLN	−2 132 PLN
Net income	45 544 PLN	37 067 PLN	37 067 PLN
Net rate of return	3.8%	4.4%	3.6%

Conclusion: the unit wins only if you deduct VAT and hold the assumed rent rate. At PLN 50/m² the unit's net income (active VAT) falls to PLN 25 867, i.e. 3.1%; at PLN 90/m² it rises to PLN 48 266, i.e. 5.7%. The spread is greater than with flats, and with a single tenant vacancy means losing all the revenue. Studio flats give a lower but more stable result; more on choosing the size in the article Studio or 2 rooms to let.

A commercial unit bought with a loan – what to prepare for

The Mortgage Loan Act protects consumers, and a loan for a unit bought through a business is a business loan – with a different creditworthiness assessment (company income, projected rent) and terms set by the bank individually. If you buy privately, first check whether the chosen bank finances commercial units for letting at all and what deposit it requires – each bank sets its own requirements. Remember also that you pay the developer the gross price: even if you recover VAT, you must finance it until the tax office refunds it, so ask the bank how that amount can be financed.

Risks: vacancy, location, chain or local tenant

• Vacancy – a unit in a new estate often waits for a tenant until the buildings are occupied. Keep a reserve for several months of charges and instalments.
• Location – what matters is foot traffic, shop window visibility, access and parking. A unit facing the inner courtyard of a gated estate has completely different potential from a shop window by a stop.
• Chain tenant – usually a long contract and punctual payments, but tough negotiations, rent-free periods and technical requirements. A local tenant (café, surgery) will pay more per m², but the risk of insolvency is higher.
• Building restrictions – the owners' association rules, the local plan and technical parameters (ventilation, capacity) may rule out catering. Check this before buying.

In our offer: according to TM Invest offer data as of 27.09.2026, the catalogue includes only residential units – we do not intermediate in the sale of commercial units. If you are looking for flats to let, see new flats in Wroclaw.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

A commercial unit from a developer is a product for the experienced: 23% VAT, usually no Developer Act protection, the full notary fee and high property tax – in return, VAT deduction, depreciation and a freely negotiated lease. It pays off when you know the local commercial rental market and have a reserve for vacancy. A broader picture of property investing is in the guide A flat as an investment – is it worth it, how much will you earn, risks.

If after this comparison you prefer predictable residential letting, use our help with buying a flat from a developer – we will select units with rental potential in Warsaw or Wroclaw and take you through the purchase, in most cases with no commission for the buyer, because the developer usually pays our fee.

Legal position as of September 2026. The calculations are indicative and based on explicit assumptions (unit price and rent, occupancy). The article is not tax or legal advice or an investment recommendation – before buying a commercial unit, consult your accountant or lawyer about your situation.

Sources

• Value Added Tax Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 775 (art. 15 para. 2, art. 41 para. 12–12b, art. 43 para. 1 point 36, art. 86 para. 1, art. 91, art. 96 para. 1, art. 113 para. 1).
• Act of 4 June 2025 amending the Value Added Tax Act – Dz.U. 2025 item 896 (exemption limit PLN 240 000 from 1.01.2026).
• Tax on Civil Law Transactions Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 191 (art. 2 point 4).
• Act on the protection of the rights of a purchaser of a flat or single-family house and on the Developer Guarantee Fund – consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 880 (art. 2, art. 5 points 2 and 5).
• Regulation on maximum notary fee rates – consolidated text Dz.U. 2024 item 1566 (§ 3, § 6).
• Personal Income Tax Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 592 (art. 22c point 2, annex no. 1 – schedule of depreciation rates).
• Flat-Rate Income Tax Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 843 (art. 12 para. 1 point 4).
• Local Taxes and Charges Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 707 (art. 1a para. 1 point 3, art. 5 para. 1 point 2).
• Announcement of the Minister of Finance on the upper limits of fixed-amount rates of local taxes and charges for 2026 – M.P. 2025 item 726.
• Resolution of the Council of the Capital City of Warsaw no. XXIX/1066/2025 on property tax rates – Dz. Urz. Woj. Maz. 2025 item 9838.
• Resolution of the Wroclaw City Council no. XXV/500/25 on property tax rates – Dz. Urz. Woj. Doln. 2025 item 4981.
• Civil Code – consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 item 795 (art. 659, 673, 680, 687).
• Tenant Rights Protection Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2023 item 725 (art. 2 para. 1 point 4).
• Mortgage Loan Act – consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 item 720 (art. 3 para. 1, art. 4 point 7).
• NBP – Information on housing prices and the residential property market in the first quarter of 2026 (flat rental rates).
• Flat prices: TM Invest investment catalogue, as of 27.09.2026.