Online Store in Poland 2026 — VAT, Taxes, and Legal Obligations

Choosing the Business Structure

An online store constitutes a business activity — registration is required:

• JDG (sole proprietorship) — the simplest option, ideal for beginners, with KPiR (tax book of revenue and expenses) or Ryczałt (lump-sum tax) at 3%
• Sp. z o.o. (limited liability company) — for larger operations, asset protection, CIT (corporate income tax) at 9%/19%
• Unregistered activity — only if revenue is below PLN 7,200/year (minimal activity)

Most mid-sized stores operate as JDG on KPiR, while larger ones (above PLN 500k in revenue) opt for Sp. z o.o.

VAT for Online Stores

VAT exemption up to PLN 200,000 per year — suitable for startups, but:

• You cannot deduct VAT on purchases
• You cannot issue VAT invoices (only basic receipts / VAT-exempt invoices)
• B2B clients may avoid you (they cannot deduct VAT)

Active VAT status (above PLN 200k or voluntarily):

• VAT at 23% / 8% / 5% depending on the product
• VAT deduction on purchases (goods, fuel, subscriptions)
• JPK_V7M (standard audit file for tax) filed monthly
• OSS (One Stop Shop) for EU sales exceeding EUR 10,000

Online Fiscal Cash Register (E-commerce)

Since 2024, e-commerce stores must have an online fiscal cash register if they:

• Sell to consumers (B2C)
• Exceed PLN 20,000/year in turnover (lower threshold from 2026)

Exceptions: exclusively B2B sales with invoices, or sales exclusively through platforms (Allegro, Amazon — which handle fiscalization themselves).

The online cash register integrates with the CSO system of the Ministry of Finance (MF) — every transaction is recorded in real time.

Store Terms and Conditions & GDPR

An online store requires:

• Terms and conditions — rules for purchases, returns (14 days), complaints, and delivery
• Privacy policy — GDPR Art. 13, data controller details, processing purposes, user rights
• Cookie policy — consent required before setting non-essential cookies
• Information on out-of-court dispute resolution — link to the ODR platform

Missing terms and conditions = automatic 14-day customer return right + UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) fines of up to 10% of revenue.

KSeF and E-invoices 2026

From April 2026, KSeF (National e-Invoice System) is mandatory:

• All B2B invoices — issued through KSeF
• B2C invoices — receipt or simplified invoice (may be issued outside KSeF)
• Purchase invoices from suppliers — received via KSeF
• Stores must have API integration with KSeF

Most e-commerce platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop) offer KSeF plugins — verify compatibility.

Frequently Asked Questions