Vitaliy Kolomiets is an experienced lawyer specializing in assisting with obtaining residence permits and residence cards in Poland. He has in-depth knowledge of Polish law and many years of experience in migration matters. He has over 5 years of experience.
How to open an IT company in Poland?
Foreign software companies, startups, and freelancers seek to operate in the European Union. Poland, with its jurisdiction, is quite promising and attractive for them. The IT business in Poland enjoys fairly favorable conditions for entrepreneurship.
Features of IT in Poland: trends and opportunities
Companies mainly want to register a business in the EU due to the convenience of working with foreign contractors, especially for B2B projects. Freelancers aim to move to the EU for a higher standard of living and better prospects, as their home country's jurisdiction may be imperfect.
Main taxes for IT in Poland:
- Income tax is 9% if turnover does not exceed 2 million euros per year. If the turnover is higher, the tax rate increases to 19%.
- The company must become a local VAT payer. The rate is 23%. However, if you export services to other countries, the rate is 0%.
- Tax burden on wages is about 40%.
At the same time, the Polish government offers benefits for the IT sector. For example, IP-BOX allows using preferential income tax rates of 5%. This is possible if a separate intellectual property object is created in the project, the company receives income from copyright implementation, etc.
There is also the B+R approach (ulga badawczo-rozwojowa). This benefit allows certain types of expenses (for equipment and wages) to be included in tax expenses in double the amount. Thus, the tax base and income tax are reduced. This benefit applies to businesses engaged in continuous scientific, research, or development activities.
Business registration process
Start the business by choosing the form of organization. Usually, you choose between two options:
- Jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza — the equivalent of a sole proprietorship in Ukraine.
- Spółka Sp. z o.o — the equivalent of a limited liability company in Ukraine.
The requirements for a spółka are very similar to the conditions for opening a limited liability company in Ukraine. Thus, it will be easier for you to understand the features of business organization.
Conditions for creating a limited liability company:
- the number of shareholders can be one or more;
- the share capital must be at least 5,000 zlotys;
- the name must include the company's name and legal form;
- one of the shareholders can be the director.
You can submit documents for business registration online on the website of the National Court Register of Poland. However, you need a Polish e-signature and an account in a bank or other public service.
In the application, you should specify:
- the name of the company, location;
- activity goals;
- share capital amount;
- the number of shares of one shareholder;
- data about board members;
- type of governing body;
- company creation term (it can be unlimited).
Attach forms regarding branches, partner information, the statute, the document appointing members of company bodies, etc., to the application. Note: you fill out all documents exclusively in Polish. To avoid problems, contact a professional translator specializing in law.
During business registration, you also need to choose activity codes — codes for entrepreneurship. For IT, codes can be found in the Information and Communication section (Dział 58-63).
Like any other company, this one must open an account in a Polish bank and hire an accountant. Sometimes, accounting services are outsourced.
Pay special attention to employees. They must have a basis for legal residence in Poland. Legal stay conditions include:
- a biometric passport — allows staying for 90 days within six months;
- a national work visa — from 6 to 12 months;
- a temporary residence card — for a period from 1 to 3 years.
Professional activities can be carried out on the basis of a short-term permit, a long-term permit, or a decision on issuing a residence card.
Opening a branch
In addition, you can open a branch office or representative office in Poland. This option is for IT companies operating in Ukraine but wanting to relocate some personnel abroad or simply scale the company.
A branch is essentially a permanent establishment. Thus, accounting and tax payments will be the same as for a limited liability company. In some cases, a simplified tax system is possible.
The representative office must also be registered in the National Court Register. But there are some differences from the parent company:
- the representative office is not a separate economic entity and does not receive the status of a separate legal entity;
- the branch cannot independently engage in economic relations with other market participants, sign contracts, etc.;
- all actions are carried out on behalf of the parent company.
The branch does not have its own management bodies, share capital, etc. However, the representative office of a foreign company must keep accounting records in accordance with the Polish Accounting Act, prepare and submit annual financial reports, etc.
Before opening an IT company in Poland, study all the nuances of future work here in detail. It is better to seek help from lawyers at consultant.net.pl. They will help you quickly prepare the necessary documents for registering a business in another jurisdiction. This delegation of tasks will speed up the registration process and minimize the risk of errors.
