Sole trader or sp. z o.o.? Tax comparison
The honest answer depends on your numbers, not on a rule of thumb. Enter your revenue and costs and see what stays in your pocket under each form — including the ZUS a sole shareholder cannot avoid.
Everything except your own social contributions — those are added below.
Health is always due, even during ulga na start.
Set by what you do — 12% for most IT, 8,5% for many services, 5,5% for construction.
What stays inside is untaxed under the Estonian regime until it is paid out.
- Income tax—
- Social contributions—
- Health contribution—
- Left in the company—
- Effective burden—
- Income tax—
- Social contributions—
- Health contribution—
- Left in the company—
- Effective burden—
- Income tax—
- Social contributions—
- Health contribution—
- Left in the company—
- Effective burden—
- Income tax—
- Social contributions—
- Health contribution—
- Left in the company—
- Effective burden—
- Income tax—
- Social contributions—
- Health contribution—
- Left in the company—
- Effective burden—
What the numbers do not show
- Liability: a sole trader answers with personal assets; a company answers with its own.
- A company must keep full books, file annual accounts and hold shareholder meetings — real recurring cost and effort.
- The Estonian regime requires at least three employees outside the shareholders, with relief in the first years.
- A sole trader can switch tax form once a year; a company cannot switch to Estonian CIT mid-stream without notice.
An estimate on 2026 rates, for orientation only. It assumes a full year of trading, no joint filing, no reliefs beyond those selected, and profit taken as dividend or board pay. It is not tax advice.
Is that figure right for your case?
Send it to us and we will check it against your actual position — no charge for the first conversation.
Rates used (2026) — verified
- Zakład Ubezpieczeń Społecznych Składki przedsiębiorców w 2026 roku — Analiza Wydziału Planowania Funduszy, luty 2026 zus.pl
- Narodowy Bank Polski Kurs średni EUR z 1.10.2025 (4,2586 zł) — the statutory conversion date for 2026 limits nbp.pl
- Ministerstwo Finansów Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób fizycznych — scale, flat tax and lump-sum rates podatki.gov.pl
- Ministerstwo Finansów Ustawa o podatku dochodowym od osób prawnych — 19% / 9% and the Estonian CIT regime podatki.gov.pl
Figures are official rates for the tax year shown. They are not advice on your own case.
01 At what income does a sp. z o.o. start to beat a sole proprietorship?
There is no single figure, because the two are taxed on different things. A sole trader pays ZUS whatever they earn, so at low income the company often wins on contributions alone; higher up, the sole trader’s flat tax or lump sum can win again because a company’s profit is taxed twice when it is paid out. In practice the crossover sits somewhere between 150 000 and 400 000 zł of annual income for most of our clients — which is exactly why this calculator asks for your numbers instead of quoting a threshold.
02 Why does a single-member sp. z o.o. pay ZUS?
Polish social-insurance law treats the sole shareholder of a limited company as a person running a business, so they pay the full entrepreneur contribution — about 1 927 zł of social insurance a month in 2026, plus health — whether or not the company made a profit. It is the single most common surprise in this comparison. Adding a second shareholder with a genuine, non-token stake removes that obligation, which is why so many one-person companies in Poland are formally two-person.
03 Does this calculator account for liability, not just tax?
No — and no calculator can. A sole trader answers for business debts with everything they own, including a family home; a limited company answers with its own assets, and its board only in defined cases. For many founders that difference outweighs a few thousand złoty a year in either direction. Read the figures here as one input into the decision, then talk it through with an adviser who knows what you are exposed to.
- Scale, flat tax or lump sum? Tax form comparison One decision a year, worth thousands: compare the tax scale, the 19% flat tax and the lump sum on your own revenue, with the health contribution each one triggers.
- Salary calculator — gross to net Estimate take-home pay in Poland across employment, mandate, specific-task and B2B contracts — with a full breakdown of ZUS, health and tax.
- Employer cost calculator — what a hire really costs Gross pay is not the cost. See the full ladder from what leaves your account to what lands in the employee’s — pension, disability, accident, Labour Fund, FGŚP and PPK, at 2026 rates.
- Company formation cost in Poland Every fee, itemised: court fee, transfer tax, notarial tariff, sworn translation and a qualified signature — with the online S24 route priced against a notarial deed and against a sole proprietorship.
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