Poland VAT invoice requirements
A Polish faktura has been a structured XML file in the National e-Invoice System (KSeF) for most Polish businesses since 2026. Sellers established elsewhere, OSS sales and invoices to consumers stay outside KSeF.
Last checked Sources
What an invoice in Poland must show
Every EU VAT invoice carries the details of Article 226 of the VAT Directive: number, dates, both parties, VAT numbers, goods or services, taxable amount per rate, rate and VAT. The overview lists them. Poland adds:
- "mechanizm podzielonej płatności" (split payment mechanism)
- Required on invoices to a taxpayer whose total exceeds PLN 15,000 (or the foreign-currency equivalent) and that cover goods or services listed in Annex 15. Omitting it can trigger an additional tax liability of 30% of the VAT on those items. [2]
- "metoda kasowa" (cash accounting)
- Required where VAT becomes due on receipt of payment under the cash accounting method. [2]
- "samofakturowanie" / "odwrotne obciążenie"
- The words "samofakturowanie" are required on self-billed invoices and "odwrotne obciążenie" when the buyer accounts for VAT (reverse charge). [2]
- Legal basis of an exemption
- For exempt supplies (including the small-business exemption under Art. 113), the invoice must cite the Polish provision, the VAT Directive provision or another legal basis for the exemption. [2]
- Buyer's NIP for unregistered business or legal-person buyers
- Since 1 February 2026 the invoice must show the tax identification number of a buyer that is a taxpayer not registered for VAT, or a non-taxable legal person, if the buyer has one. Business buyers must give that number. [2]
- KSeF access code (QR code)
- A structured KSeF invoice handed to the buyer outside KSeF (e.g. to a consumer or a foreign buyer) or used outside KSeF must carry a code that gives access to the invoice in KSeF and lets the data be verified. [2]
- KSeF numbers of earlier advance invoices
- A final invoice after advance payments must list the KSeF identification numbers of the advance invoices, or their invoice numbers if they were not structured invoices. [2]
VAT rates in Poland
The VAT Act's base rates are 22% and 7%; a transitional rule has set them at 23% and 8% since 1 January 2024 until a defence-spending condition is met. An invoice shows the taxable amount and the VAT for each rate it uses [2].
| Rate | Applies to (examples) |
|---|---|
| 23% | Standard rate: everything without a lower rate |
| 8% | Goods and services in Annex 3 to the VAT Act, e.g. sugar and confectionery, sauces and mixed spices, live plants and cut flowers |
| 5% | Goods and services in Annex 10 to the VAT Act, e.g. meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables, fruit, cereals, bread and bakery products, books and children's books, e-books, sanitary towels, tampons, nappies, child car seats |
| 0% | Intra-EU supplies of goods and exports (with proof of export) |
Issuing and keeping invoices
- Currency
- VAT amounts must be shown in złoty (PLN). Foreign-currency amounts are converted at the National Bank of Poland (NBP) average rate on the last working day before the tax point (or before the invoice date if the invoice comes first). The seller may opt for the last ECB rate instead, or for income-tax conversion rules, which it must then use for at least 12 months. [2]
- When to issue
- By the 15th day of the month after the month of supply (or of an advance payment). Special deadlines apply, e.g. 30 days for construction services and at the payment due date for utilities and similar continuous services. An invoice cannot be issued more than 60 days before the supply or payment. A consumer's request for an invoice must be honoured if made within 3 months from the end of the month of supply or payment. [2]
- Simplified invoice (faktura uproszczona)
- If the total amount due does not exceed PLN 450 (or EUR 100 when the amount is in euro), the invoice may leave out the buyer's name and address, quantity, net unit price, net value and the per-rate totals, as long as it shows data that lets the VAT per rate be determined. It must still show the buyer's VAT number. It cannot be used for intra-EU distance sales, distance sales of imported goods, sales where no buyer VAT number is shown, or intra-EU supplies of goods. A fiscal receipt of up to PLN 450 showing the buyer's NIP counts as a simplified invoice; until 31 December 2026 these receipts stay outside KSeF. [2]
- Keeping invoices
- Invoices and VAT records must be kept, sorted by settlement period, until the tax liability becomes time-barred. Invoices issued in KSeF are stored in KSeF for 10 years. [2]
E-invoicing in Poland
In KSeF an invoice counts as issued only once the system gives it a KSeF number. The rollout ran in two steps in 2026, with relief for small volumes until the end of the year.
- 1 February 2026
KSeF issuing for taxpayers with 2024 sales above PLN 200 million; KSeF receiving for all
Invoices are XML files following the FA schema, sent to the National e-Invoice System (Krajowy System e-Faktur, KSeF). An invoice counts as issued once KSeF assigns it a KSeF number. [3]
In force
- 1 April 2026
Mandatory KSeF issuing for all other VAT taxpayers established in Poland
Between 1 February and 31 March 2026, taxpayers whose 2024 sales were PLN 200 million or less could still issue paper or electronic invoices. [2]
In force
- Until 31 December 2026
Transitional relief for small volumes and cash-register invoices
Until 31 December 2026, a taxpayer may issue paper or electronic invoices outside KSeF while its invoiced sales including VAT in a month are PLN 10,000 or less; it loses this right from the invoice that crosses the limit. Invoices from cash registers and fiscal receipts with the buyer's NIP (simplified invoices) are also outside KSeF until that date. From 1 January 2027, an invoice for a cash-register sale to a business must be issued in KSeF. [2]
In force
- Since 1 February 2026
Who is outside the KSeF obligation
Not required: sellers with no seat or fixed establishment in Poland (or whose Polish fixed establishment does not take part in the supply), sales under the OSS/IOSS special procedures, and invoices to consumers (natural persons not in business). These may be issued as ordinary electronic or paper invoices; issuing them in KSeF is optional. [2]
In force
Good to know for Shopify sellers
Selling into Poland from another EU country? An invoice follows the rules of the country where the supply takes place. If you report your sales to consumers through the One Stop Shop (OSS), the rules of your OSS country apply instead, and when a business customer pays the VAT under the reverse charge, your own country's rules apply [6].
- A business buyer who pays at a cash register must have its NIP printed on the fiscal receipt. Otherwise the seller may not issue a VAT invoice for that sale; doing so can trigger an additional tax liability of 100% of the VAT shown. [2]
- Invoices to consumers are needed only on request. B2C invoices do not have to go through KSeF, before or after 1 February 2026. [4]
- A foreign Shopify seller with no seat or fixed establishment in Poland is not required to use KSeF for its Polish invoices, but may do so voluntarily. Sales reported through OSS/IOSS are also outside KSeF. [2]
- KSeF is not used for purchases from foreign suppliers. It is for invoices issued under Polish rules, including invoices to foreign customers. [5]
Make an invoice for Poland
For a one-off sale, the free invoice generator lays out seller, buyer, VAT per line and the reverse charge note in your browser and saves a PDF. Add the national details listed above yourself.
For every Shopify order, Paperly: Invoice Order Printer builds the invoice from the order with the totals Shopify recorded, numbers invoices without gaps in your own series, issues a credit note for each refund that refers to the invoice, and keeps issued invoices unchanged for 10 years. When you enter your VAT number, the PDF carries Factur-X / ZUGFeRD XML (EN 16931).
Paperly makes PDF invoices and does not send invoices to KSeF. A business established in Poland issues its KSeF invoices through KSeF itself or software connected to it.
Sources
Every fact on this page links to one of these pages, published by the national tax authority, the official law gazette or the European Commission. Last checked November 2026.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your case may differ: check the tax authority’s current guidance or ask an accountant before you rely on it.
- Co to jest NIP (biznes.gov.pl, Polish government business portal)
- Ustawa o podatku od towarów i usług, consolidated text Dz.U. 2026 poz. 1263 (Sejm of the Republic of Poland, ELI API)
- Od kiedy trzeba wystawiać faktury w KSeF? (Ministry of Finance, ksef.podatki.gov.pl)
- Konsumenci i osoby fizyczne - FAQ (Ministry of Finance, ksef.podatki.gov.pl)
- Pytania i odpowiedzi KSeF 2.0 (Ministry of Finance, ksef.podatki.gov.pl)
- EUR-Lex: Council Directive (EU) 2017/2455, Article 219a on which member state's invoicing rules apply