How to submit a RAT-ZW tax installment application through e-Tax Office

The individual account in Poland’s e-Tax Office provides the “Application for payment in installments (taxes) (RAT-ZW)” service. It allows you to apply to pay a tax obligation in installments. The service is described on the official individual account in e-Tax Office page.

This article is a procedural guide. It is not legal or debt-management advice.

What an installment application means

Paying a tax amount in installments means dividing it into at least two parts and setting new payment dates for those parts. This is not, however, an automatic consequence of submitting the form.

As explained in the official Biznes.gov.pl procedure for paying tax amounts in installments, the decision is made by the tax office, is discretionary, and follows an individual assessment of the case. Even submitting a complete application does not guarantee that relief will be granted.

It is therefore necessary to distinguish between two events:

• submitting RAT-ZW — sending the tax office a request to divide the obligation into installments;
• being granted installments — the tax office’s subsequent discretionary decision in the individual case.

Installments are not deferment or cancellation

The application should correspond to the type of relief you actually want to request. The official Biznes.gov.pl procedure states that the tax authority is bound by the contents of the application. If you request installments, the authority cannot instead grant a payment-date deferment or cancel the tax arrears.

RAT-ZW should therefore be treated as an application to divide a payment into parts, not as an application for:

• moving the entire payment to a single later date;
• cancelling the obligation or arrears.

How to use the RAT-ZW service

1. Open the official individual account in e-Tax Office page and proceed to sign in.
2. In your account, find the “Application for payment in installments (taxes) (RAT-ZW)” service.
3. Complete the fields provided in the form. State clearly that you are applying to pay the obligation in installments.
4. Check which documents the form identifies as relevant to your circumstances.
5. Attach the documents that apply to your case or that the form or tax office requires.
6. Before submitting, check the application and the list of attachments.

The official e-Tax Office account page does not provide, in its RAT-ZW description, a complete list of fields that every applicant must fill in. Instructions displayed in the current form should therefore not be replaced with an unofficial universal checklist.

Documents that may be required

The e-Tax Office page expressly describes these as documents that may be required for the application to be complete. It does not present the entire list below as one mandatory set for every applicant.

The listed documents are:

• the ORD-HZ(4) form;
• an asset declaration for an individual, whether or not that person conducts business activity;
• an asset declaration for a legal person or an organizational unit without legal personality;
• the information form submitted when applying for de minimis aid;
• an entrepreneur’s declaration concerning the amount of public aid received or confirming that no public aid was received;
• the information form submitted when applying for de minimis aid by an entrepreneur providing a service of general economic interest;
• the applicant information form;
• the information form used when applying for de minimis aid in agriculture or fisheries.

The inclusion of a document in this list does not by itself mean that it is required for every application. The relevant set depends on the type of applicant and the individual case. This guide also does not determine which public-aid or de minimis-aid rules may apply; that would require separate, up-to-date verification.

Organizational recommendations

The following are practical recommendations, not additional legal requirements:

• create a separate folder for the application and attachments;
• give files clear names that identify their contents;
• before submitting, check that the attachments are legible and relate to the correct person or entity;
• retain a copy of the submitted application, its attachments, and any available submission confirmation;
• keep subsequent correspondence from the tax office with the application records;
• do not treat public-aid forms as applicable to you without first checking your circumstances.

What these sources do not determine in your case

The cited sources confirm that RAT-ZW is available, that the listed attachments are conditional, and that the decision is discretionary and based on an individual assessment. They do not determine:

• whether the tax office can grant installments in your specific circumstances;
• the outcome or likelihood that your application will be accepted;
• exactly which attachments will be required in your individual case;
• whether submitting the application affects ongoing collection or enforcement action;
• which deadlines, interest, fees, or public-aid rules apply to a specific case.

Do not assume that submitting RAT-ZW automatically suspends collection or enforcement, reduces interest, or changes applicable deadlines. These effects are not established by the e-Tax Office service description used in this guide. Questions concerning a specific obligation, ongoing proceedings, or legal consequences should be confirmed with the competent tax office or discussed with a suitably qualified professional.

Official sources

• Individual account in e-Tax Office — description of the RAT-ZW service and documents that may be required
• Biznes.gov.pl — the discretionary and individual nature of the decision and the distinction between installments, deferment, and cancellation