Mortgage refinancing in Poland 2026 – when it pays off (a calculation)

Refinancing a mortgage in 2026 pays off when the new bank gives you clearly lower interest and the one-off costs of the switch are recovered in a reasonable time – usually within a year or so. On a loan of 450 thousand zł over 25 years a cut from 7.0% to 6.0% reduces the instalment by about 281 zł, while the costs of the new mortgage, valuation and deleting the old one are about 2 thousand zł. Below we explain how refinancing works, what it costs, when the bank may charge compensation and when an annex at your current bank is better.

Key facts

• Refinancing is a new loan at another bank, from which you repay the old one – the bank again assesses borrowing capacity, values the flat and establishes a new mortgage.
• With a variable rate the bank may charge compensation for early repayment only within 36 months of concluding the agreement and at most 3% of the amount repaid (art. 40 of the Mortgage Loan Act).
• With a fixed rate compensation is possible during the fixed-rate period, but not higher than the bank's direct costs connected with the repayment.
• The fixed costs of changing banks: entry of the new mortgage 200 zł, deletion of the old one 100 zł, PCC on the mortgage 19 zł, the notarial fee (max ¼ of the rate), valuation of the flat.
• In our example (450 thousand zł, 25 years, 7.0% → 6.0%) the costs are recovered after about 7 months, and with 3% compensation – after about 55 months.

How does mortgage refinancing work?

Refinancing (often called moving the loan to another bank) means taking out a new mortgage whose purpose is to repay the existing one. The new bank transfers the money directly to the old one, the old bank consents to deletion of the mortgage, and a mortgage in favour of the new bank is entered in the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta). Formally you do not "transfer" the old agreement – you sign a completely new one, with new interest, term and rules.

Two important consequences follow. First, you go through the full credit procedure: an assessment of capacity with the buffer for a rise in rates required by Recommendation S, a BIK check, a valuation of the property and a check of the LTV ratio (the loan amount to the value of the flat). Second, you get all the rights of a new borrower: the ESIS information form before applying and 14 days to withdraw from the agreement without giving a reason. We describe the lending process itself in detail in the guide A mortgage in Poland step by step.

The stages of refinancing

1. A request to your current bank for information on the costs of early repayment – the bank must provide it on a durable medium within 7 working days (art. 38 sec. 2–3).
2. Comparing offers and applying at the new bank (a certificate of the outstanding balance, the old loan agreement, income documents).
3. Valuation of the flat and the credit decision.
4. Signing the agreement and establishing the mortgage at the notary.
5. Payout – the new bank repays the old loan, the old bank consents to deletion of the mortgage.
6. An application to delete the old mortgage and enter the new one in the land and mortgage register.

Until the new mortgage is entered the bank may add an extra charge (e.g. a higher margin). The Act allows it to be stipulated in the agreement, but after the mortgage is entered it is subject to refund or credit towards repayment of the loan (art. 29 sec. 5a–5b).

The costs of refinancing a mortgage

The costs divide into fixed ones (court fees, tax, notary, valuation) and variable ones, which depend on agreements and banks: the new bank's commission and possible compensation to the old one. The table below shows an example for a balance of 450 thousand zł. Court fees and PCC follow directly from statutes; we calculate the notarial fee at the maximum rate on a mortgage sum of 675 thousand zł (we assume 150% of the loan amount – the specific sum is set by the bank).

Item	Basis	Amount in the example
Entry of the new bank's mortgage	art. 42 of the Act on Court Costs	200
Deletion of the old bank's mortgage	art. 46 – half the fee for entry	100
PCC on establishing the mortgage	art. 7 sec. 1 pt 7 lit. b of the PCC Act	19
The notarial fee for the mortgage	¼ of the rate from § 3, on a mortgage sum of 675 thousand, + 23% VAT	1,067
Copies of the deed	6 net per page – we assume	150
Valuation of the flat (operat)	the bank's or valuer's price list – we assume	500
Total fixed costs		approx. 2,036
The new bank's commission (a variant)	e.g. 1% of the loan amount	4,500
Compensation to the old bank (a variant)	max 3% of the amount repaid with a variable rate within 36 months	13,500

PCC on a mortgage is 19 zł when the mortgage secures a claim of undetermined amount; for an existing claim the rate is 0.1% of its amount. How the notarial fee is calculated we explain in the article The notarial fee 2026, and about the cost of valuation in the text Operat szacunkowy – the price of a valuation (in Polish). In banks' fee tables a valuation of a unit usually costs about 460–470 zł, with independent valuers from about 500 zł. Also check in the old bank's fee table what a certificate of the outstanding balance costs.

Compensation for early repayment – when may the old bank charge it?

You have the right to repay a mortgage early at any moment (art. 38 of the Mortgage Loan Act). The agreement may, however, provide for compensation to the bank. The Act limits it strongly and distinguishes two cases:

• A variable rate – compensation only if you repay within 36 months of concluding the agreement. It may not exceed 3% of the amount repaid or the interest that would be charged on it for a year (art. 40 sec. 2–3). After three years the bank may charge nothing.
• A fixed rate – compensation is possible during the period the fixed rate applies (art. 40 sec. 6). The Act gives no percentage limit here, but the amount may not be higher than the bank's costs directly connected with the early repayment (art. 40 sec. 7).

A practical conclusion: the cheapest moment to refinance a loan with a fixed rate is the end of the fixed-rate period. Then the fixed-rate period has already ended and at least 5 years have passed since the agreement was concluded, so compensation is due in no variant. With a variable-rate loan such a moment is the passing of 36 months from signing the agreement.

Does it pay to refinance a mortgage? A calculation

Take a loan with a balance of 450,000 zł that has 25 years left to repay (300 equal instalments). The current interest is 7.0%, the new bank proposes 6.0% for the same term. For comparison: the average interest on new home loans in zloty in July 2026 was 6.07% (NBP, MIR interest rate statistics). A balance of 450 thousand zł corresponds roughly to a loan for a 2-room flat in Wrocław – the median price of such a unit is 662,405 zł according to data from the TM Invest offer, as of 27 September 2026 (new flats in Wrocław).

• the instalment at 7.0%: 3,181 zł,
• the instalment at 6.0%: 2,899 zł,
• the saving: 281 zł a month, about 16.9 thousand zł over 5 years and about 84.3 thousand zł of interest over the whole term (if the interest at both banks does not change).

The payback period is the cost of refinancing divided by the monthly saving. This is how it looks in four variants:

Variant	The cost of refinancing	Payback with a 1 pt cut (281 a month)	Payback with a 0.5 pt cut (142 a month)
Fixed costs only	2,036	approx. 7 months	approx. 14 months
Fixed costs + a 1% commission	6,536	approx. 23 months	approx. 46 months
Fixed costs + 3% compensation	15,536	approx. 55 months	approx. 109 months
Fixed costs + a 1% commission + 3% compensation	20,036	approx. 71 months	approx. 141 months

Conclusions from the table: without compensation refinancing pays off quickly even with a 0.5 percentage point cut. A 3% compensation lengthens the payback to almost 5 years, and with a smaller cut to about 9 years, which with a variable-rate loan rarely makes sense. Then it is usually better to wait until 36 months have passed since the agreement was concluded. We do not include here costs that may burden both banks similarly (property insurance with assignment, the account) – compare them in the ESIS forms.

Want to calculate this on your own numbers? Book a consultation with a mortgage expert – we will compare offers from several banks and check whether refinancing pays off after taking into account compensation, commission and the costs of the mortgage.

When does refinancing pay off, and when is an annex better?

Refinancing is worth considering when:

• Your margin or fixed rate is clearly higher than in current offers – e.g. a loan taken when rates were high or with a low deposit (a higher LTV usually means a higher margin, and after years of repayment and rising prices the LTV may have fallen).
• The fixed-rate period is ending – the bank presents a new interest proposal. It may not charge a fee for setting it (art. 29 sec. 4), and if you do not reach agreement, the mechanism from the agreement applies – usually a move to a variable rate. This is a good moment to compare your bank's proposal with the market. We write more about choosing the type of rate in the article A fixed or variable mortgage rate.
• You want to change the type of interest, and your bank does not offer an attractive fixed rate.

Before you apply at another bank, ask your current bank about an annex: a reduction of the margin or a move to a periodically fixed rate. Recommendation S expects banks to allow a change from a variable to a fixed rate, including in agreements concluded earlier. An annex needs no new mortgage or valuation, but the bank has no duty to cut the margin – a competitor's offer is sometimes the best argument in that conversation. Refinancing may also fail or make no sense when your borrowing capacity has fallen, when the LTV exceeds the permitted level or when few years of repayment and a small balance remain, because the saving on interest will be small. How to compare the margin, APR and commission we show in the text Which bank for a mortgage.

Refinancing, WIBOR and POLSTR

Many borrowers ask whether the benchmark reform forces refinancing. It does not. According to the GPW Benchmark announcement of 18 May 2026, WIBOR 1M, 3M and 6M will be published until 31 December 2036, and under the update of the reform roadmap there is no need to designate an official replacement – existing agreements with WIBOR may continue. What is changing is the market for new loans: the KNF expects that from 2027 banks will not conclude new agreements based on WIBOR. So if you refinance a variable-rate loan in 2027 or later, the new agreement will usually be based on POLSTR or on a fixed rate. We describe the details of the reform in the article WIBOR, WIRON and POLSTR.

When comparing offers on different benchmarks look at the total interest (benchmark + margin) and at the APR, not at the margin alone. On 25 September 2026 WIBOR 3M was 3.86% and POLSTR 3.593% (24 September 2026) – with the same margin a POLSTR loan would today have lower interest, but banks may set margins for the two benchmarks differently. How a change in interest translates into the instalment at different amounts we show in the tables in the article Mortgage instalment on 500, 600, 700, 800 thousand zł.

Frequently asked questions

Summary

Refinancing a mortgage in 2026 pays off when the cut in interest is noticeable and the costs of the change – above all compensation and commission – do not eat up the saving. The fixed costs (mortgage, notary, valuation) are usually about 2 thousand zł and with a 1 percentage point cut on a balance of 450 thousand zł are recovered in about 7 months. The best moment is the end of the fixed-rate period or the passing of 36 months from the agreement with a variable rate. Before you change banks, ask your current one for an annex and for information on the costs of early repayment, and compare offers on the basis of ESIS forms.

Not sure whether changing banks makes sense in your situation? Book a consultation with a mortgage expert – we will compare offers from several banks and check whether refinancing pays off, taking into account your balance, repayment term and the terms of your current agreement.

Legal status as of September 2026. The calculations are indicative and are not an offer or legal advice; the credit decision is taken by the bank.

Sources

• Mortgage Loan Act and the Act on Supervision of Mortgage Credit Intermediaries and Agents – consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 720 (art. 29, art. 38–40, art. 42).
• Act on Court Costs in Civil Cases – consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2025 item 1228 (art. 42, art. 46).
• Act on Tax on Civil-Law Transactions – consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2026 item 191 (art. 7 sec. 1 pt 7).
• Regulation on the maximum rates of the notarial fee schedule – consolidated text, Journal of Laws 2024 item 1566 (§ 3, § 7 sec. 1, § 12).
• KNF – Recommendation S (the interest rate buffer, change of interest during the agreement).
• NBP – interest on loans and deposits (MIR), new agreements, July 2026.
• GPW Benchmark – announcement of 18 May 2026 on the cessation of WIBOR; WIBOR and POLSTR quotations.
• KNF – update of the Roadmap for reform of reference benchmarks (30 June 2026).
• Flat prices: the TM Invest catalogue of developments, as of 27 September 2026.