How to file investment tax — PIT-38, Belka tax, cryptocurrencies

Investment tax in Poland — basics

In Poland investment gains are taxed at 19% rate — so-called Belka tax (named after the minister who introduced it). It applies to gains from:

• Sale of stocks and ETFs
• Interest from deposits and bonds
• Dividends
• Sale of cryptocurrencies
• Gains from investment funds

PIT-38 — when do you need to file?

You file PIT-38 form when in given tax year you sold securities or derivative financial instruments. Deadline: by April 30 of following year.

When you DON'T need to file PIT-38?

• If you only have IKE or IKZE and didn't withdraw funds before deadline
• If you only invest in deposits and bonds (bank withholds tax automatically)
• If you didn't sell any securities in given year

How to fill PIT-38 step by step

1. Collect documents

• PIT-8C from broker — Polish brokers (XTB, mBank, Bossa) send it by end of February. Contains transaction summary
• Statements from foreign brokers — Interactive Brokers, Degiro and others don't send PIT-8C. You must prepare statement yourself
• Cryptocurrency transaction history — export from Binance, Kraken or other exchange

2. Calculate revenues and costs

Revenue = sum of amounts from securities sales

Cost of earning revenue = sum of purchase amounts of same securities + commissions

Income = Revenue – Costs

Tax = Income × 19%

3. Foreign stocks — currency conversion

If you trade stocks in USD or EUR, you must convert each transaction to PLN using NBP exchange rate from day preceding transaction day. This is most tedious part of settlement.

4. Fill the form

In PIT-38 you enter:

• Revenue (position 20)
• Cost of earning revenue (position 21)
• Income or loss (position 22 or 23)
• Tax due (position 32)

5. File through e-PIT

Most convenient to file PIT-38 through e-PIT system at podatki.gov.pl. If your broker sent PIT-8C, data may already be pre-filled.

Dividend tax

Dividends from Polish companies are taxed 19% at source — you don't need to do anything, company withholds tax for you.

Dividends from foreign companies may be subject to double taxation. Thanks to double taxation treaties you can deduct tax paid abroad (e.g. 15% in USA) and pay difference in Poland (4%).

Cryptocurrency tax

Cryptocurrencies are also settled on PIT-38:

• Revenue = amount from cryptocurrency sale or exchange to other crypto
• Cost = purchase amount of sold cryptocurrencies
• Cryptocurrency loss can be deducted from cryptocurrency gains in following years
• Crypto to crypto exchange (e.g. BTC → ETH) is taxable event

Note: Keeping detailed record of cryptocurrency transactions is mandatory.

Investment loss

If you incur loss, you can deduct it from gains from same source within 5 following years (maximum 50% of loss annually). Therefore it's worth filing PIT-38 even when you have loss.

IKE and IKZE — tax benefits

• IKE — gains exempt from Belka tax when withdrawn after age 60
• IKZE — contributions deductible from income in annual PIT. Upon withdrawal you pay flat 10% tax

Using IKE and IKZE is one of simplest ways for legal tax optimization.

Most common mistakes

1. Forgetting foreign stocks — foreign broker won't send PIT-8C, but tax obligation exists
2. No currency conversion — NBP rates from preceding day, not transaction day
3. Omitting commissions in costs — brokerage commissions are cost of earning revenue
4. Not reporting loss — we lose right to deduction in future years

How Freenance can help?

Freenance tracks all your investment transactions and automatically calculates gains and losses. This gives you complete tax picture — you know how much tax you'll pay before year end. You can also better plan asset sales to optimize tax burden.

👉 Track investment gains and losses — freenance.io