Tax changes as of July 1, 2022.

1 lipca 2022 roku zaczęły obowiązywać następne zmiany podatkowe. Polski Ład obowiązuje od stycznia, ale wciąż okazuje się, że jego przepisy są niedopracowane. Pojawiło się wiele luk w przepisach, które wymagają zmian i poprawek, tak więc dopiero od lipca obowiązuje Nowy Polski Ład 2.0. Co się zmieniło? Co warto wiedzieć o wprowadzonych zmianach? Kto zyska, a kto straci?

1. Reduction of the personal income tax (PIT) rate

Od 1 lipca stawka podatku dochodowego w pierwszym progu podatkowym wynosi 12%. Zachowana została kwota wolna od podatku w wysokości 30 000 złotych. Składka zdrowotna pozostanie jednak na poziomie 9%, więc podatki się specjalnie nie obniżą. Przed wejściem w życie Polskiego Ładu składki zdrowotne były odliczane od podatku, więc płaciło się 17% podatku i 1,25% składki zdrowotnej, bo odliczyć można było tylko 7,75% składki. Polski Ład zlikwidował jednak możliwość odliczenia składki, więc obciążenie podatkowe jest większe i to się nie zmieni.

2. No more tax relief for the middle class

Od 1 lipca nie ma już ulgi dla klasy średniej. Nie ma więc już obowiązku jej naliczania wobec dochodów z okresu od stycznia do czerwca 2022 roku. Płatnicy nie muszą jednak wykonywać korekt już naliczonej ulgi. Jeśli rozliczenie za rok 2022 z uwzględnieniem ulgi dla klasy średniej okaże się korzystniejsze dla podatnika, będzie można z niej skorzystać. W takiej sytuacji naczelnik urzędu skarbowego będzie miał obowiązek zwrotu podatnikowi tej różnicy.

3. Healthcare contribution included in costs for certain tax forms

• Linear taxpayers will be able to deduct health insurance contributions from their income costs, resulting in a reduction of the taxable base by the amount of paid contributions, up to a maximum of 8700 PLN per year.
• Flat-rate taxpayers will be able to reduce their taxable income base by 50% of the health insurance contribution amount. Since the maximum health insurance contribution for flat-rate taxpayers is 1007.81 PLN, the income can be reduced by no more than 503.91 PLN. Over the course of a year, flat-rate taxpayers will benefit from this change by amounts ranging from 60 to as much as 1028 PLN, making the change quite favorable.
• Taxpayers settling their taxes with a tax card will be able to reduce their taxable base by 19% of the paid health insurance contributions.

4. Changing the tax form during the tax year

Taxpayers who initially chose the linear tax or lump-sum tax on recorded income at the beginning of the tax year will be able to change their tax form during the tax year. However, it will only be possible to switch to the general tax system. Changes to the tax form can be made until April 30, 2023, for linear taxpayers and lump-sum taxpayers who settle their taxes for the entire tax year. However, lump-sum taxpayers who wanted to settle on general principles for only the second half of the year had to make the change quickly because they had until August 22, 2022, to do so. The change in the tax form applies only to the year 2022. In subsequent years, taxpayers will have to choose the tax form anew at the beginning of the year, as usual.

5. End of double calculation of PIT advances

Until now, it was necessary to calculate PIT advances double – according to the rules before the Polish Deal and the rules introduced from 2022. From July 1, this obligation no longer exists. Tax is calculated only based on the rules of the Polish Deal. This is a beneficial solution because double calculation of advances was burdensome for entrepreneurs and accountants

6. Changes for parents, caregivers, and children

As of July 1, several important tax changes have also come into effect for parents, caregivers, and children. The first one concerns single parents. They will be able to file taxes together with their child. Additionally, the tax relief of 1500 PLN will be eliminated. Furthermore, the threshold for the child’s earnings, up to which parents can maintain tax preferences, has been increased. Previously it was 3089 PLN, but now it is as high as 16,061.28 PLN. This is 12 times the amount of the social pension. Moreover, children’s family pensions will not be counted as parents’ income, as children will become separate taxpayers with their own tax-free allowance of 30,000 PLN. Additionally, health insurance contributions will no longer be deducted from children’s family pensions, and tax reliefs, such as the youth relief, the return relief, the relief for families with four or more children, or working seniors, will also cover maternity benefits granted to individuals who take children into care.

7. Unified deadline for filing tax returns

Polski Ład 2.0 also introduces a unified deadline for filing tax returns. All taxpayers, regardless of the chosen tax form, will have to submit their returns by April 30th. Therefore, not only taxpayers filing PIT-37 or PIT-36, but also flat-rate taxpayers and individuals settling taxes with a tax card will have to file their returns by this deadline.

Are the changes beneficial or unfavorable?

This tax reform brings about many changes, but it certainly is not the end of changes and a complete return to the state before the introduction of the Polish Deal. Are the changes beneficial? The reduction of the tax rate to 12% compared to the burdens introduced from 2022 may seem beneficial at first glance (the health insurance contribution, which is 9%, will be retained). However, the new PIT rate (12%) will be increased by the existing health insurance contribution. 

Certainly, not everyone will benefit from these changes – many entrepreneurs will undoubtedly feel the new tax in the form of the non-deductible 9% health insurance contribution. Some single parents will also lose out, as will taxpayers for whom the middle-class relief was a beneficial compensation for the non-deductible health insurance contribution. How it will truly unfold will likely be easiest to discern in the first quarter of 2023, right after filing tax returns. The tax changes in 2022 were supposed to bring order to the chaos that prevailed from the beginning of the year. Did it succeed? Specialists are skeptical.