ZUS contribution holiday for December 2026: when to file RWS

To take a ZUS contribution holiday for December 2026, submit the RWS application in eZUS between 1 and 30 November 2026. October is too early and December is too late. The exemption is available for one chosen month per calendar year, subject to eligibility. You still pay your health insurance contribution.

This guide is for a sole trader running a JDG in Poland who has not yet used the contribution holiday for 2026. We checked the rules against ZUS information on 30 October 2026. RWS is the application for exemption from paying specified contributions for a selected month. Preparing the form, saving a draft or selecting an option in accounting software does not mean it has been submitted or approved.

Why must the December application be filed in November?

ZUS accepts RWS only in the month immediately before the exemption month. You cannot select any future period you like. Keep three separate periods in mind: the month used to check insurance records, the application month and the month covered by the exemption.

The final row uses the allowance for 2027. It does not carry forward an unused month from 2026. If you want the December exemption, prepare the information in advance but submit in November. Put separate reminders in your calendar for submission and for checking the ZUS response.

What should you check before opening the form?

The legal basis is Articles 17a and 17b of Poland's Social Insurance System Act. For an application submitted in November 2026, check the following points:

• Registration and insurance status. For a JDG, you need a CEIDG business registration and at least one day of pension, disability pension and accident insurance through the business in October. CEIDG registration alone is insufficient.
• Number of insured people. The October limit is no more than 10 people, including you. Apply the inclusion rules and relevant exclusions described by ZUS.
• Business revenue. Review 2024 and 2025. The condition covers having no business revenue in both years, or revenue no higher than the PLN equivalent of EUR 2 million in at least one of them. Use revenue, not profit after expenses.
• Work for a former employer. A specific condition concerns services supplied through your business to a former employer and duties previously performed as an employee. Check the full scope and periods in the legislation. Ending your employment contract does not by itself settle eligibility.
• De minimis aid. Your remaining allowance must cover at least the aid associated with the exemption. Review aid received during the preceding three years, including any earlier contribution holiday.

To include voluntary sickness insurance in the exemption, you must have been covered for at least one day in both October and November. Someone using only the start-up relief, ulga na start, does not pay business social insurance contributions. Do not assume RWS can instead exempt their health contribution.

This is not an exemption for a sp. z o.o. company or an automatic relief for a shareholder simply because they pay ZUS. See our separate guide to ZUS for a sole shareholder of a sp. z o.o.. A partner in a civil partnership who is registered in CEIDG can apply through their own contribution-payer account if eligible.

Does the 10-person limit mean the headcount at the end of October?

No. The official ZUS questions and answers explain that people registered throughout the month count, rather than just those registered on one particular day. Staff changes can make it easy to overlook someone whose contract ended earlier.

Illustrative example: a JDG owner and eight employees have the relevant insurance throughout October. One insured contractor finishes on 10 October and another starts on 20 October. There are never more than 10 people at once, including the owner, but there were 11 across the month. Assuming all these people count under the relevant rules, the business does not meet the limit.

Prepare a list of insurance registrations with dates. If leave, benefits, different insurance statuses or short contracts are involved, check how each person is treated. The number of full-time roles shown in payroll software is not necessarily the insured-person count required for RWS.

How do you prepare and submit RWS in eZUS?

Use the current official ZUS instructions for RWS. The version available when we checked describes this process:

1. Sign in to eZUS and select Konto płatnika, the contribution-payer account for the correct business owner.
2. Open Katalog usług, then Wakacje składkowe and the RWS application service. Alternatively, enter “RWS” in Wyszukaj sprawę.
3. Start the service and select the appropriate purpose. A new application, a correction and a withdrawal have different uses.
4. Review the business owner's details and the exemption period. When submitting in November, the period should be December 2026.
5. Complete the declarations, de minimis aid information, business classification (PKD) and required information about linked businesses. Read each answer before confirming it.
6. Check completeness, sign and submit according to the eZUS instructions. Keep the submission confirmation and the subsequent outcome.

For de minimis aid, distinguish your declaration from certificates issued by the authorities. ZUS explains that a printout from SUDOP, the public aid information system, is not an aid certificate. If you choose to attach certificates, obtain the documents from the bodies that granted the aid. Do not enter zero simply because you cannot find the paperwork immediately.

If an authorised accountant submits the application, agree who is responsible for submission and correspondence. Sending your information to the accountant does not confirm that ZUS received the application. Obtain confirmation of the correct period and submission date.

What remains to be done after the exemption is granted?

The contribution holiday covers your own social insurance contributions calculated from the applicable minimum assessment base, plus the Labour Fund and Solidarity Fund if you pay them. Your health contribution and contributions for people you employ remain outside the exemption. You can continue trading and issuing invoices during the exempt month without suspending the business.

RWS does not replace contribution settlement documents. For the exemption month, you must correctly prepare ZUS DRA and the appropriate RCA reports, separating state-funded contributions from those you still pay. Keep approval, preparation of the settlement, submission and payment of the remaining amount as distinct steps.

ZUS provides the outcome in your contribution-payer account in eZUS. If it grants a partial exemption, check exactly which contributions it covers. A refusal means reporting and paying contributions under the ordinary rules, even if you appeal. If the outcome has not arrived before the settlement deadline, confirm how to proceed with ZUS or the person responsible for your contribution reporting.

How should you account for Norman's current limitations?

According to the current Norman help centre, contribution holidays are not supported. Do not assume a standard contribution calculation or DRA file automatically includes an approved exemption. Submit RWS in eZUS and arrange the exemption month's settlement through the appropriate process with the person handling your ZUS reporting.

Norman's help centre explains the standard handling of ZUS contributions and the DRA file. Before downloading or submitting documents, check that the selected process matches your circumstances. Calculation tools help organise information; ZUS decides whether to grant the exemption.

Before closing the task, check four things: RWS was submitted in November, the confirmation refers to December 2026, the outcome covers the expected contributions, and the settlement documents reflect that outcome. Keep proof of payment for the contributions still due alongside these records. This prevents an application confirmation from being mistaken for completion of the whole month's settlement.