Haulage Accounting: The 2022 Change That Many Firms Still Calculate the Old Way
Haulage accounting differs from ordinary bookkeeping, and the sharpest difference is driver payroll. A change made in 2022 still has many firms calculating it the old way.
February 2022: international drivers are no longer “on a business trip”
Since that date, drivers performing international transport are not treated as being on a podróż służbowa. The consequence: diets and lump-sum allowances can no longer be paid that way, and the weight of pay had to shift into base salary.
That looked like a straight cost increase. Set up correctly, it is manageable. The problem is firms that carried on with the old logic.
What replaced it: the “virtual diet”
In place of diets there is a calculation mechanism that reduces the contribution and tax base:
- For ZUS contributions: the equivalent of €60 for each day the driver spends abroad can be deducted from the base — regardless of the diet rate of the country in question.
- For income tax (PIT): the equivalent of €20 per day applies.
The mechanism only engages where monthly income exceeds the average wage, and in 2026 the driver’s ZUS base cannot fall below 9,420 PLN.
Applying those two figures correctly materially changes what the driver takes home at the same gross cost. Applying them wrongly means paying contributions you did not owe.
ZUS is auditing this area
Transport payrolls have been receiving specific attention from ZUS. A payroll built incorrectly means arrears and interest, backdated. This is not a line item to fix later.
Other haulage-specific matters
- VAT on fuel and tolls — reclaiming VAT paid abroad is a separate process, and neglecting it is a direct loss of margin.
- Working time records — both an inspection matter and a payroll input.
- Vehicle depreciation and financing — the leasing structure changes the tax outcome.
Related
The driver document chain: Hiring non-EU drivers
The full setup route: Setting up a haulage company in Poland
What Meyis does
We run haulage-specific accounting: driver payroll built to the post-2022 rules, the ZUS and PIT deductions applied properly, foreign VAT reclaims, and payroll kept consistent with the working time records.
Frequently asked questions
- Can international drivers still be paid diets?
- Since February 2022 drivers in international transport are not treated as being on a business trip, so diets and lump-sum allowances cannot be paid that way. The weight of pay moved into base salary.
- What is the virtual diet?
- It is the calculation mechanism that replaced diets: the equivalent of €60 per day spent abroad can be deducted from the ZUS contribution base, and €20 per day from the income tax base.
- Is there a floor on the ZUS base in 2026?
- Yes. In 2026 a driver's ZUS base cannot fall below 9,420 PLN, and the mechanism applies only where monthly income exceeds the average wage.
- Does the €60 deduction vary by country?
- No. The amount deducted from the ZUS base is the equivalent of €60 per day regardless of the diet rate applicable in the country concerned.
- What happens if the payroll is set up wrongly?
- ZUS gives transport payrolls specific attention. An incorrectly built payroll produces backdated arrears and interest, and correcting it later is expensive.