Tax forms for a JDG: tax scale, flat tax and ryczałt in 2026
Rates, costs, the tax-free amount, the 2026 health contribution and the annual return for each JDG tax form, plus the deadlines to choose or change the form.
Updated
The owner of a JDG pays income tax (PIT) in one of three forms: on the tax scale, as flat tax or as ryczałt (lump-sum tax on recorded revenue). The form also decides the health contribution and the annual return.
The forms compared in 2026
| Tax scale | Flat tax | Ryczałt | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the tax is based on | income (revenue minus costs) | income | revenue, without costs |
| Rate | 12% up to PLN 120,000 of income, 32% above | 19% | from 2% to 17%, depending on the activity |
| Tax-free amount | yes: a tax-reducing amount of PLN 3,600, i.e. PLN 30,000 of income free of tax | no | no |
| Joint filing with a spouse, family reliefs | yes | no | no |
| Health contribution | 9% of income, at least PLN 432.54 | 4.9% of income, at least PLN 432.54 | PLN 498.35, PLN 830.58 or PLN 1,495.04, depending on the year's revenue |
| Health contribution and tax | does not reduce the tax | deducted up to PLN 14,100 a year | 50% of the contribution paid is deducted from revenue |
| Records | KPiR (revenue and expense ledger) | KPiR | revenue register |
| Annual return | PIT-36 | PIT-36L | PIT-28 |
The health contribution amounts apply from February 2026 to January 2027. The ryczałt revenue thresholds are PLN 60,000 and PLN 300,000. Details: ZUS for a JDG.
Which form pays off when
- The tax scale usually wins at lower incomes, thanks to the tax-free amount and the 12% rate. It also allows joint filing with a spouse and the child relief.
- Flat tax usually pays off at high incomes, well above the PLN 120,000 threshold, when you have costs. It has no tax-free amount and no joint filing with a spouse.
- Ryczałt pays off when you have few costs and the rate for your activity is low. The type of service sets the rate, not the PKD code: see Ryczałt rates.
Work out all three options with your own numbers: the tax together with the health contribution.
Flat tax and ryczałt are not available for revenue from a current or former employer for the same work you did for them as an employee in the same year (and for ryczałt also in the previous year). That revenue is taxed on the scale.
Karta podatkowa
The tax card (karta podatkowa) is only for businesses that paid it at the end of 2021 and have not left it. A new business cannot choose it.
How to choose and change the form
- You choose the form in the CEIDG application or with a written statement to the tax office.
- Deadline: the 20th of the month after the month of your first revenue in the year. If the first revenue was in December: by the end of the year.
- If you choose nothing, you are taxed on the scale.
- The chosen form carries over to the following years. You report a change for a new year by the same deadline, usually 20 February when the first revenue of the year comes in January.
- You cannot change the form during the year.
You can use ryczałt if your business revenue in the previous year did not exceed EUR 2,000,000. For 2026 this is PLN 8,517,200 (at the NBP rate of 1 October 2025). A new business can choose ryczałt regardless of its revenue in the first year.
In Norman
You set the form under Account → Taxes, section Income tax and ZUS. The setting in Norman does not notify the tax office. See Tax settings, PIT advances and Annual PIT.
This is general information on the 2026 rules, not a choice of form made for you. Before you decide, compare the numbers with an accountant or a tax adviser.
Sources: PIT Act, art. 9a, 27 and 30c, Lump-sum Income Tax Act, art. 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12 and 25, Act on publicly funded health care, art. 79 and 81, Finance Minister's notice on the 2026 health contribution deduction limit, GUS notice on the Q4 2025 average wage, podatki.gov.pl: PIT.