PCC tax on buying property in Poland in 2026: 2%, the first-flat exemption and 6%

PCC tax (podatek od czynności cywilnoprawnych, the civil law transactions tax) on buying a flat on the secondary market in Poland is 2% of the property's market value. The buyer pays it, and the notary collects it when the notarial deed (akt notarialny) is signed. You will not pay it if you are buying your first flat or house and meet the conditions for the exemption, or if you buy from a developer, because that sale is subject to VAT. Below we explain the exemption conditions, the 6% rate for investors and PCC on a mortgage, and show how much the tax comes to at prices from PLN 500,000 to PLN 1.2 million.

Key facts

• The PCC rate on a contract of sale of a flat on the secondary market is 2% of its market value (Art. 7(1)(1)(a) of the PCC Act).
• Since 31 August 2023, a buyer of their first flat or single-family house has been exempt from PCC – provided that neither they nor any co-buyer has ever held such a right or a share in it (the exception: a share of up to 50% inherited).
• Buying from a developer is, as a rule, free of PCC, because the sale is subject to VAT. The exception: the sixth and every further unit in the same development bought by the same person – PCC at 6% (since 1 January 2024).
• PCC on a mortgage: PLN 19 for a claim of an unspecified amount, or 0.1% of the amount of an existing claim.
• When there is a notarial deed, the notary collects and remits the tax. If the transaction is not made as a notarial deed, you file the PCC-3 return yourself within 14 days.

How much is PCC tax when you buy a flat on the secondary market?

The Civil Law Transactions Tax Act sets a 2% rate on the sale of real property, including a residential unit that forms a separate property, and on the sale of a cooperative ownership right to a flat (spółdzielcze własnościowe prawo do lokalu). The tax is borne by the buyer (Art. 4(1)). If several people buy together, for example a married couple, they are jointly and severally liable for it.

The tax base is the flat's market value on the day the contract is signed, not any price you choose to put in it (Art. 6(1)(1) and 6(2)). In practice the price in the deed is used, but if the tax office considers it too low, it will ask you to correct it. If you do not, it will determine the value with the help of an expert valuer – and if the result differs by more than 33% from your valuation, you bear the cost of the valuation (Art. 6(3)–(4)).

Flat price (market value)	PCC 2% – secondary market	First flat with exemption	Bought from a developer (VAT included in the price)	PCC 6% – sixth unit in a development
PLN 500,000	PLN 10,000	no PCC	no PCC	PLN 30,000
PLN 700,000	PLN 14,000	no PCC	no PCC	PLN 42,000
PLN 900,000	PLN 18,000	no PCC	no PCC	PLN 54,000
PLN 1,200,000	PLN 24,000	no PCC	no PCC	PLN 72,000

PCC is not the only cost of the deed. On top of it comes the notary fee – we describe the rates and give examples in Notary fees when buying a flat in Poland – and the fees for entries in the land and mortgage register (księga wieczysta), which we cover in Court fees and the land and mortgage register when buying a flat (in Polish).

PCC exemption for your first flat – the conditions

The exemption was introduced by Art. 9(17) of the PCC Act, in force since 31 August 2023. It has no price or floor area limit and is not tied to any mortgage scheme – it applies to every buyer who meets the conditions. A sale is exempt from PCC if all of the following are true:

• you are buying ownership of a residential unit that forms a separate property, ownership of a single-family house, or a cooperative ownership right to a flat or single-family house;
• the buyer is a natural person (or several natural persons) – a company or business cannot use the exemption;
• neither on the day of the sale nor at any time before did any of the buyers hold any of these rights or a share in one;
• the only permitted exception is a share of no more than 50% acquired by inheritance (not by gift or purchase).

In the notarial deed you make a statement that you meet these conditions. The notary then does not collect the tax, but you are responsible for the statement being true – the tax office may check it.

What does and does not cost you the exemption

• You lose it with: a flat or house you sold years ago (the past counts too), a share received as a gift – even 10%, an inherited share above 50%, and, according to the tax authorities (interpretations of the Director of the National Tax Information, KIS), also a flat or house abroad.
• You keep it with (because the provision does not list them): a building plot, a commercial unit, a cooperative tenant's right to a flat (spółdzielcze lokatorskie prawo do lokalu), and a developer agreement (umowa deweloperska) on its own – until the contract transferring ownership you only have a claim, not ownership.

Spouses and joint ownership

The condition applies to every buyer. If two of you are buying and one has already owned a flat, the exemption does not apply – and it is lost in full, not just for half. The tax authorities have ruled this way, among others, in an interpretation of 9 January 2025 (0111-KDIB2-2.4014.381.2025.1.KK). A separate property regime between spouses does not change this if both spouses appear in the deed as buyers. The same applies to buying with a parent as co-owners: if the parent owns a flat of their own, the whole transaction is taxed at 2%.

A parking space and a storage room in the same contract

The exemption covers only the rights listed in Art. 9(17). If, together with the flat, you buy, for example, a share in a multi-space garage that is a separate unit, that part of the price is not exempt. That is why it is worth stating the price of each component separately in the contract – if the values are not separated, the tax is charged at the highest rate on the whole amount (Art. 7(3)(1)).

Why do you not pay PCC when buying from a developer?

Art. 2(4)(a) of the PCC Act excludes from the tax transactions to the extent that they are subject to VAT. A developer sells the unit with VAT included in the price (8% for flats of up to 150 m²), so no second tax arises on the same transaction – whether it is your first flat or your third. You will find the details of VAT rates, including for parking spaces and storage rooms, in VAT on a flat bought from a developer (in Polish).

There are two exceptions. The first is the 6% rate for investors (described below). The second: if a company's sale of a unit is exempt from VAT – for example when more than 2 years have passed since first occupation (Art. 43(1)(10) of the VAT Act) – 2% PCC does apply after all, because Art. 2(4)(b) of the PCC Act expressly removes the sale of real property from that exclusion. This applies, among others, to flats resold by companies after years of renting them out. In that case you can use the first-flat exemption if you meet the conditions.

So the primary market means no PCC on every purchase, not just the first. If you are buying another flat – for example for yourself after selling your old one, or to rent out – that is a real difference of well over ten thousand zloty in favour of the new-build. We compare the costs of both markets in full in Primary or secondary market? (in Polish).

Looking for another flat and do not want to pay 2% PCC? We will help you choose a new-build apartment from a developer in Warsaw or Wrocław – usually no commission for the buyer, as our fee is normally paid by the developer.

How much you save on PCC by buying from a developer – data from our listings

According to TM Invest listing data as of 27.09.2026, the median price of an available apartment in new homes in Warsaw is PLN 853,000, and in new homes in Wrocław – PLN 759,682. If a flat of that value were bought on the secondary market without the right to the exemption, PCC would come to about PLN 17 thousand and PLN 15 thousand respectively.

Apartment (median price in our listings)	Price	PCC 2% if bought on the secondary market
Warsaw – all available apartments	PLN 853,000	PLN 17,060
Warsaw – 2 rooms	PLN 755,824	PLN 15,116
Warsaw, Białołęka – 2 rooms	PLN 553,358	PLN 11,067
Wrocław – all available apartments	PLN 759,682	PLN 15,194
Wrocław – 2 rooms	PLN 662,405	PLN 13,248
Wrocław, Fabryczna – 2 rooms	PLN 511,792	PLN 10,236

Example: you already own a studio and are looking for a 2-room apartment (living room + 1 bedroom) in Wrocław for about PLN 660 thousand. On the secondary market you will pay PLN 13,200 in PCC (the exemption does not apply because you already own a flat). If you buy an apartment at the same price from a developer, you do not pay this amount – you can spend it on, say, finishing work or a parking space. You will find the cheapest 2-room apartments, among others, in developments in Wrocław's Fabryczna district, where the median is about PLN 512 thousand.

PCC at 6% – when do you pay the higher rate?

Since 1 January 2024, Art. 7a of the PCC Act has introduced a 6% rate for people buying in bulk from a developer. You pay it when you buy at least six residential units (or shares in them) subject to VAT in one or more buildings on the same plot, or when you already own five such units and buy another one. The 6% applies to the sixth and every further unit – not to the first five. You pay this tax on top of the VAT included in the price.

When buying as co-owners, it is enough for one of the co-buyers to meet the six-unit condition for the 6% rate to cover the whole contract; only the buyers to whom this condition applies are jointly and severally liable for it (Art. 7a(2), Art. 5(3)). Under the transitional provision (Art. 13(2) of the amending act of 26 May 2023), the 6% rate does not apply to contracts of sale concluded to perform developer agreements or preliminary agreements (umowa przedwstępna) signed before the new rules came into force. Note: this is not a tax "on your sixth flat in general" – what counts are the units in the same development on one plot.

PCC on a mortgage and on a loan from family

If you are buying with a mortgage, you will pay PCC on establishing the mortgage – regardless of the market and of whether you use the first-flat exemption (the exemption covers only the contract of sale). The rate is PLN 19 when securing a claim of an unspecified amount, or 0.1% for an existing claim – for example PLN 600 on an amount of PLN 600 thousand (Art. 7(1)(7)). The taxpayer is the person making the declaration establishing the mortgage, and if the mortgage is not entered in the register, the tax is refunded (Art. 11(1)(5)). We explain how to prepare for a mortgage in our guide Mortgage in Poland step by step.

A common case with the down payment is a loan from your parents. A loan agreement is subject to 0.5% PCC, but a cash loan from your closest family (among others your spouse, parents, grandparents and siblings) is exempt if the money is transferred to your bank account and – where the amount exceeds the limit set in the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act – you report it on a PCC-3 return within 14 days (Art. 9(10)(b)). We write more about sources of the down payment in Mortgage down payment in Poland.

Buying with a mortgage? Book a consultation with a mortgage expert – we will compare offers from several banks and calculate all the costs of the purchase, including taxes and fees at the deed.

Who pays PCC and by when?

A contract of sale of a flat always takes the form of a notarial deed, and for transactions in this form the notary collects and remits PCC (Art. 10(2)). The notary collects the tax from the buyer on the day of the deed and cannot draw up the deed until it has been paid (Art. 10(3)). The notary then pays it to the tax office by the 7th day of the following month. In that case you do not file any PCC return.

You file the PCC-3 return yourself and pay the tax within 14 days only when a transaction subject to PCC is not made as a notarial deed – for example with the family loan mentioned above. The tax liability on the sale of a flat arises when the contract transferring ownership is signed, even if you signed a preliminary agreement earlier (Art. 3(2)). Whether you also need to report the purchase to the tax office is covered in Do you have to report buying a flat to the tax office? (in Polish).

Read also:

• Taxes when buying property in Poland as a foreigner

Frequently asked questions

Summary

On the secondary market PCC is 2% of the flat's value – from PLN 10 thousand for a flat costing PLN 500 thousand to PLN 24 thousand at PLN 1.2 million. You can use the exemption only for your first flat or house, and only if no co-buyer has owned such a property before. When buying from a developer you do not pay PCC, whichever flat it is – except for investors buying six or more units in one development. We have gathered the other transaction costs in our guide Costs of buying an apartment in Poland.

Want to buy a flat without PCC? We will find you a new-build apartment from a developer in Warsaw or Wrocław and guide you through the whole purchase. We have been on the market since 2016; usually no commission for the buyer – our fee is normally paid by the developer.

Legal status as of September 2026. The calculations are indicative and do not constitute tax advice. In unusual situations (shares, inheritance, property abroad) it is worth checking your case with a notary or applying for an individual tax interpretation.

Sources

• Civil Law Transactions Tax Act (ustawa o podatku od czynności cywilnoprawnych) – consolidated text, Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2026 item 191 (Art. 2(4), Arts. 3–7a, Art. 9(10) and (17), Art. 10, Art. 11).
• Act of 26 May 2023 amending the Municipal Self-Government Act, (…) the Civil Law Transactions Tax Act and certain other acts – Dz.U. 2023 item 1463 (introduction of the exemption and the 6% rate).
• Buying a flat or house on the secondary market without PCC tax – gov.pl, in Polish (entry-into-force dates, transitional provisions).
• Goods and Services Tax (VAT) Act – consolidated text, Dz.U. 2025 item 775 (Art. 43(1)(10)).
• Individual interpretations of the Director of KIS – among others 0111-KDIB2-2.4014.381.2025.1.KK of 9.01.2025 and 0111-KDIB2-2.4014.203.2023.1.PB of 21.09.2023 (purchase by spouses).
• Apartment prices: TM Invest catalogue of developments, as of 27.09.2026.