The termination of an operating lease agreement is the moment when the entrepreneur must generally decide on the further fate of the vehicle used – whether to buy it for a company or for private property, and ultimately perhaps also to hand it over to relatives. Each of these choices has different tax consequences, both in PIT and VAT.
Buyout and delisting
If the buy-out took place directly to private property, the car never enters the fixed assets register. Article 10(2)(4) of the Polish PIT Act then applies, according to which the provisions on exemption from Article 10(1)(8) do not apply to the sale for consideration of: “the components referred to in Article 14(2)(19), even if they were withdrawn from business activity before the sale, and between the first day of the month following the month, in which these components were withdrawn from business activity, and on the date of their disposal for consideration, 6 years have not elapsed”.
This provision, in conjunction with Article 14(2)(19) and Article 23b(1) of the Polish PIT Act, means that a car purchased privately from an operating lease may be sold without PIT only after 6 years have elapsed from the month of redemption. The same rigor – but counted from the month of withdrawal, not from the buy-out – is provided for in Article 10(2)(3) in conjunction with Article 14(2)(1) of the Polish PIT Act, when the car was previously a fixed asset in the business activity and only later became part of private property. This deadline does not apply if the car is sold directly from the company’s assets, without prior withdrawal, such sale then constitutes ordinary income from business, taxed on general principles in accordance with Article 14(1) in conjunction with Article 14(2)(1) of the Polish PIT Act, regardless of the time of ownership of the vehicle.
The issue of the tax on goods and utilities is presented separately. If at least part of the tax was deducted during the purchase, the withdrawal of the vehicle to private property is a separate transaction subject to VAT under Article 7(2)(1) of the Polish VAT Act, according to which the supply of goods for consideration is also considered to be the free transfer of goods of the enterprise for the personal purposes of the taxpayer. The tax base is then the market value of the vehicle as of the date of handover, in accordance with Article 29a(2) of the Polish VAT Act, and the tax obligation arises at the time of withdrawal – regardless of whether and when the vehicle is subsequently sold or donated.
Car donation
The 6-year limit applies only to paid sales. However, the donation is by definition free of charge, in accordance with Article 888 § 1 of the Polish Civil Code and does not fall within the hypothesis of Article 10 section 2 point 3 or point 4 of the PIT Act – so it does not generate income on the part of the donor. This is confirmed by the well-established line of interpretation of the Director of the National Tax Administration, including the individual interpretation of 21 July 2023 (file ref. no. 0114-KDIP3-2.4011.340.2023.5.MR): “In connection with the act of donation, the donor does not receive any monetary value or other asset acquisition. Thus, the donation of a car will not have tax consequences for the donor (…) this activity will be tax-neutral”.
The authority took a similar position in the individual interpretations of 24 April 2025 (file ref. no. 0112-KDIL2-2.4011.204.2025.4.IM) and 23 February 2026 (file ref. no. 0115-KDIT3.4011.994.2025.5.DP).
In order for a donation to benefit from the inheritance and gift tax exemption, it should be made to a person listed in Article 4a(1) of the Polish Inheritance and Gift Tax Act – the so-called zero group, including a spouse, descendants, ascendants, stepson, siblings, stepfather and stepmother. Above the free amount, currently amounting to PLN 36,120, the donation must be reported on the SD-Z2 form within 6 months from the date of the tax liability, while below this threshold it is not necessary to report.
In terms of VAT, the free transfer of goods is equated with the supply of goods for consideration in accordance with Article 7(2) of the Polish VAT Act, so it is subject to taxation only if the taxpayer was entitled to deduct VAT on the purchase. If the buy-out took place without VAT deduction or this tax has already been settled earlier, with a separate, formal withdrawal of the vehicle to private property, the donation remains neutral. If, on the other hand, the donation is made directly from the company’s assets, without prior withdrawal, then it itself becomes a VAT-taxable activity.
Sale by the donee
Only the general rule of Article 10(1)(8)(d) of the Polish PIT Act applies to the donee, according to which income arises when the sale of movable property for consideration takes place: “before the expiry of half a year, counting from the end of the month in which the acquisition took place”.
The date of purchase here is the day of the donation. Since the 6-year requirement under Article 10(2)(3) and (4) of the Polish PIT Act applies only to a person who has withdrawn the asset from business activity and the donee has not withdrawn such an asset, its sale is subject only to the general rule – after 6 months from the end of the donation month, it remains PIT free.
Summing up
The order and manner of carrying out individual activities is decisive. Sales directly from company assets are always taxed, sales after prior private redemption or withdrawal to private assets are exempt from PIT only after 6 years, counted respectively from redemption or withdrawal, in accordance with Article 10(2)(3) and (4) in conjunction with Article 14(2)(1) and (19) of the Polish PIT Act.
The mere withdrawal of a vehicle on the purchase of which VAT was deducted gives rise to the obligation to pay VAT due regardless of the further fate of the vehicle. A donation to a person from the so-called zero group remains outside this rigor, because it concerns only a paid sale – if the formal conditions are maintained and in the absence of deducted VAT, it may remain neutral both in PIT and in inheritance and gift tax. On the other hand, the donee may sell the vehicle without PIT after 6 months from the end of the donation month, pursuant to Article 10(1)(8)(d) of the Polish PIT Act.
