Before you start

PESEL, and address registration within 30 days of moving in
A trusted profile for e-PIT
An employment contract, or a CEIDG registration and NIP
Contemporaneous IP records, if you intend to claim IP Box

Step-by-step

1
Get PESEL and register your address
Both are handled by the Urząd Miasta Łodzi. Meldunek is legally due within 30 days and the form needs the property owner's signature, so raise it during the lease negotiation.
In personWho: YouFree
2
On employment, do nothing
Your employer registers you with ZUS, withholds tax and issues a PIT-11 by the end of February. NFZ cover follows automatically.
Via employerWho: Your employer
3
On B2B, register in CEIDG and elect a regime
Registration is free and online. You then choose between the progressive scale, the 19% flat rate and ryczałt — 12% of revenue for software development, 8.5% for several adjacent classifications.
OnlineWho: YouFree
4
Meet the election deadline
The taxation form for a year must be declared by the 20th of the month following your first revenue in it — 20 February for a continuing business. There is no late election and no correction.
OnlineWho: YouBy 20 February for existing businesses
5
Start IP Box records on day one if you write software
The 5% rate applies to income from qualified IP you created through R&D, but it requires a separate ledger identifying each right and the revenue and costs attributable to it, kept as you go. Records reconstructed afterwards are the usual reason a claim fails.
OnlineWho: You
6
File by 30 April, then claim the resident's card
e-PIT auto-accepts on 30 April if untouched, silently forfeiting deductions and your 1.5% charity allocation. Once filed with a Łódź office, take the return and proof of residence to Piotrkowska 8 and pay PLN 5 to activate the Karta Łodzianina.
OnlineWho: YouAnnually by 30 April

Documents you’ll need

PESEL and NIP
PIT-11 from each employer, issued by the end of February
CEIDG extract and revenue records, for sole traders
A separate IP Box ledger, if claiming
Last year's PIT and proof of address, to activate the Karta Łodzianina

Things most newcomers don’t know

Łódź pays you to file your tax here, and the mechanism is the resident's card.

The Karta Łodzianina is issued on proof that you settle your income tax in Łódź, and it holds MPK season-ticket prices at the pre-increase level along with a range of municipal and partner discounts. Activation is PLN 5. A shrinking city with a shrinking tax base has an obvious reason to do this, and the effect is that where your PIT is filed is a live financial question rather than an administrative detail.

Source: Karta Łodzianina — resident package terms

Business space is taxed at roughly 28 times the residential rate.

The Ministry of Finance's 2026 ceilings are PLN 1.25 per square metre a year for residential space and PLN 35.53 for space connected with a business, and Łódź adopted the maximum on both, up 4.5% on 2025. A room reassessed as business space costs more than the rest of the flat combined, and the bill goes to the owner. If you plan to register a company at your rented address, put it in the lease.

Source: Ministry of Finance — 2026 local tax ceilings; Łódź city resolution

Under-26 exemption is worth up to PLN 85,528 a year and does not apply to B2B income.

The relief covers employment and mandate-contract income only. With around eighty thousand students feeding a BPO sector that increasingly offers B2B, young hires here routinely trade a full income-tax exemption for a slightly higher day rate and end up worse off. If you are under 26, run both numbers before choosing the contract type.

Source: podatki.gov.pl — ulga dla młodych

IP Box drops the rate on qualified software income to 5%, and the records must be contemporaneous.

Poland taxes income from qualified intellectual property created through R&D at 5%, and bespoke software written by a contractor commonly qualifies. The catch is evidential: a separate ledger identifying each right and attributing revenue and costs to it, kept throughout the year. Reconstructing it in March is what tax offices reject.

Source: podatki.gov.pl — IP Box relief

Common mistakes to avoid

Filing your PIT outside Łódź and forfeiting the resident-card discounts without noticing.
Registering a business at your home address without agreeing the property-tax consequence with the owner.
Taking a B2B contract under 26 and forfeiting the income tax exemption.
Missing the 20 February deadline to change taxation form.
Letting e-PIT auto-accept on 30 April with deductions and the 1.5% allocation unused.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.