Health insurance contributions under flat-rate income tax: the shared limit in 2026

This guide covers only the treatment of paid health insurance contributions for a sole trader subject to Poland’s flat-rate income tax. It is based on the official podatki.gov.pl guidance on deducting health insurance contributions.

Which contributions qualify

The rules apply to contributions you paid during the tax year under the Act of 27 August 2004 on Healthcare Services Financed from Public Funds. The contributions must relate to this business activity and cover:

• your own health insurance,
• persons cooperating with you in the business.

For the 2026 tax year, include contributions paid in 2026 that meet these conditions. You cannot deduct contributions refunded to you in any form or contributions paid on grounds other than your business activity, for example under an employment contract.

Business expenses or an income deduction — one limit

For paid contributions that meet the conditions above, you may alternatively:

• include them in tax-deductible business expenses, or
• deduct them from income.

Do not account for the same amount both as a business expense and as an income deduction.

In 2026, the combined amount of contributions included in business expenses and deducted from income must not exceed PLN 14,100. This is one shared limit — not a separate PLN 14,100 for expenses and another PLN 14,100 for the income deduction.

Documents confirming payment

You determine the amount of contributions to deduct using evidence that the expenditure was incurred. Examples of documents confirming payment include:

• a payment receipt,
• a bank transfer confirmation,
• a bank statement,
• a certificate from ZUS.

Advance payments during the year and PIT-36L

You take paid contributions that meet the stated conditions into account when calculating advance income tax payments during the tax year — through business expenses or an income deduction, subject to the shared PLN 14,100 limit in 2026. You make the final settlement in your annual PIT-36L tax return.

Separate rule: simplified advance payments

If you pay simplified advance income tax payments under flat-rate income tax, you may deduct from those payments 19% of health insurance contributions paid in the given month, provided they meet the conditions described earlier concerning the statutory basis, connection with the business, coverage of your own insurance or persons cooperating with you, and the exclusion of refunded contributions and contributions paid on other grounds.

During 2026, the maximum deduction from simplified advance payments is PLN 2,679. This is a special rule for simplified advance payments, not a general deduction of contributions from tax available to all entrepreneurs subject to flat-rate income tax. The final settlement of contributions takes place in PIT-36L.

Organizational recommendation: reconciling amounts

To keep your records organized, you may prepare a list containing:

• the payment date and document confirming the expenditure,
• the contribution amount that meets the conditions for relief,
• the amount already included in business expenses,
• the amount already deducted from income,
• the combined total under both methods, to compare with the PLN 14,100 limit.

This is an organizational recommendation, not an additional obligation to maintain such a list established by the cited guidance. If you use simplified advance payments, you may separately list the amounts deducted from those payments to compare their total with the PLN 2,679 limit for 2026.