Preferential ZUS: how to count the 24 months

Preferential ZUS runs for 24 full calendar months. If the preferential period starts on the first day of a month, that month is month one. If it starts later, the partial month comes before the 24 full months. Suspending your JDG does not pause this period. First establish whether you started preferential contributions immediately, after the full ulga na start relief, or after opting out of that relief early.

This guide helps a sole trader in Poland identify the final preferential month, with examples ending in 2026. It assumes you qualify for the scheme. We checked the rules and sources on 10 November 2026. The calculation concerns the period of entitlement, not contribution amounts or the number of bank transfers made to ZUS.

What is preferential ZUS and who can use it?

Preferential contributions let an eligible entrepreneur use a lower social insurance contribution base, no lower than 30% of the minimum wage. They do not exempt you from every contribution. Health insurance is calculated separately, and social contribution amounts can change during the preferential period when the minimum wage changes.

Article 18a of the Social Insurance System Act sets the eligibility conditions. In particular, check whether you carried on non-agricultural business activity in the 60 calendar months before starting the business, and whether you perform work for a former employer that matches duties carried out as an employee in the current or preceding calendar year before starting the business.

Working out an end date does not establish eligibility. If you also have employment, previous business activity or another insurance status, resolve the applicable rules with ZUS first. Do not apply these examples automatically to a shareholder of a sp. z o.o. Our JDG and sp. z o.o. comparison explains the distinction between the business forms.

How do you identify the first and last months?

Collect the business start date recorded in CEIDG, your insurance registration and the dates of any ulga na start relief. Your first invoice, first revenue or first payment to ZUS does not replace these records.

1. Establish when the preferential period starts. After the full ulga na start period, this follows the end of that relief and the move into social insurance. For an early opt-out, check the effective coverage date.
2. Identify the first full month. For a start on 1 November, it is November. For a start on 10 November, it is December.
3. Number consecutive full months from 1 to 24. The preferential period finishes on the final day of month 24.
4. Check the following month separately. Paying the last preferential month's contributions later does not extend the entitlement.

This follows ZUS guidance on full calendar months, available in Polish. If you use a spreadsheet or date calculator, record the assumptions alongside the result: the coverage date, whether you used ulga na start, and the eligibility check. A result labelled simply “24 months” is not enough without a supported starting date.

How do the 24 months follow the full ulga na start period?

Ulga na start and preferential contributions are separate stages. Article 18 of the Entrepreneurs Law provides a six-month social insurance relief for eligible individuals. ZUS explains that starting on the first day includes that month in the six; starting later makes the next month the first full month.

These examples assume use of the full ulga na start period, correct insurance registration after it ends and continued eligibility for preferential contributions.

In the second example, the remaining part of May 2024 is also covered by ulga na start, but it is not the first of the six full months. December 2024 is then preferential month 1, November 2025 is month 12 and November 2026 is month 24. These checkpoints help catch an end date that is one month too early or too late.

Do not simply add 30 months to any business start date. Establish the end of ulga na start first, then the start and end of the preferential period. Keeping the stages separate matters particularly when the business began partway through a month.

What changes if you leave ulga na start early?

You do not have to use all six months of ulga na start. If you opt out early, Article 18aa of the Social Insurance System Act ties the 24-month period to social insurance coverage. The date specified in the application cannot be earlier than the date the application was submitted.

Illustrative example: an entrepreneur starts a JDG on 1 September 2024 with ulga na start, then validly registers for social insurance on preferential terms from 10 November 2024. The preferential scheme covers the remaining part of November, followed by 24 full months from December 2024 to November 2026. It ends on 30 November 2026.

Do not move the start to March 2025 just because the original six-month relief would otherwise have ended then. ZUS demonstrates the rule in its official examples of moving to a preferential base, whose content is in Polish. If the recorded date needs correction, return to the registration documents rather than reconstructing it solely from bank payments.

Does suspending the business stop the clock?

No. ZUS states that a suspension falls within the six-month ulga na start period and the 24-month preferential period. Contributions due during a suspension are a separate calculation from the time remaining on the relief.

Illustrative example: preferential contributions start on 1 December 2024. The JDG is suspended from 1 January to 31 March 2026 and resumes on 1 April. The preferential period still ends on 30 November 2026. You do not add three months to that date or start a new 24-month period.

Keep a timeline of suspensions even though they do not move the end date. You will need it to check the individual monthly reports. A suspension is also different from a ZUS contribution holiday, which has its own conditions, application and reporting requirements.

What should you do before the preferential period ends?

Record both the final preferential month and the first month after it. If the period ends on 30 November, check the November calculation separately from the rules applying from December. The month in which you make the transfer does not determine the contribution base.

Confirm the correct ZUS insurance registration and the next applicable scheme. Mały ZUS Plus is a separate relief with its own eligibility requirements, not an automatic extension of preferential ZUS. To estimate amounts, use the ZUS contributions calculator with the correct year and scheme. An amount calculated by the tool does not establish entitlement or confirm that your insurance registration is correct.

How do you record the correct dates in Norman?

According to the current Norman help centre, select your scheme and its start date under Account → Company → ZUS contributions. A date is required for every scheme except full ZUS. Use the date that matches your insurance registration, not the date you bought a subscription or first imported documents.

After saving, check the current month's scheme and the date of the next one. The documentation describes automatic transitions between schemes within the app. Compare the displayed end of preferential contributions with your own timeline, especially after an early opt-out or a suspension. Resolve discrepancies before preparing the monthly report.

Norman prepares the DRA as a KEDU file; you review it and submit it through eZUS or Płatnik. Changing an app setting does not replace insurance registration, and preparing the DRA is separate from filing it or paying contributions. Keep the registration confirmation, verified end date and final preferential month's reports together. They provide a concrete basis for the next month's review instead of relying on a remembered number of months.