Unregistered business activity in 2026 – a limit of PLN 10,813.50 per quarter

Unregistered business activity is a transitional form between a hobby and a full company. It is for people who earn only occasionally and do not (yet) want to set up a sole trader business (JDG). From 1 January 2026 the limit is counted quarterly: revenue due in any quarter may not exceed 225% of the minimum wage, that is, PLN 10,813.50 (with a minimum wage of PLN 4,806 gross, which applies throughout 2026). If you exceed it, within 7 days of exceeding it you submit an application for entry in the Central Register and Information on Business Activity (CEIDG). Below this threshold you can legally earn money without registering in CEIDG and without paying ZUS (Polish social insurance).

In this article we explain who can use it, what the accounting obligations are and – most important – when unregistered activity stops making sense and it is worth registering a full sole trader business.

What unregistered activity is

Unregistered activity (Article 5 of the Entrepreneurs’ Law Act) allows an individual to carry on small-scale business without registering in CEIDG, provided that:

1. Revenue due does not exceed 225% of the minimum wage in any quarter – in 2026 that is PLN 10,813.50 per quarter
2. In the last 60 months you have not carried on a business (either as a sole trader or as a partner in a partnership)
3. The activity does not require a concession or a permit (selling alcohol, licensed transport, real estate brokerage and so on rule out this form)

There is no annual limit – only the quarterly revenue limit counts. You can earn PLN 0 in the first quarter and PLN 10,000 in the second – both situations are fine.

Which obligations you have despite not being registered

Unregistered activity is not completely outside the system – the obligations are limited, but they exist:

• A sales record – you keep a simple list (date, amount, customer); it can be in a notebook or in Excel
• A bill for the customer – on request you issue a bill (not an invoice) with a number and a description of the service
• PIT – you settle it once a year; you show it in PIT-36 as revenue from other sources (Article 10(1) point 9 of the PIT Act), after deducting costs
• ZUS – you do not pay (provided you are insured on another basis – a job, a contract of mandate, a pension)
• VAT – below the limit of PLN 240,000 a year you use the exemption for small taxpayers

You do not have to register in CEIDG, and you do not pay monthly PIT advances.

What is and is not allowed

Unregistered activity suits:

• selling handmade goods (jewellery, candles, decorations)
• small services (tutoring, gardening, childcare)
• creative freelancing (illustrations, texts, translations) on a small scale
• selling used items that are not part of your own assets (for example, items not inherited and not bought for your own needs)

It does not suit when:

• the activity requires a concession, a licence or a permit
• you carry it on together with someone else in a partnership
• you provide services to the same person/company regularly (the tax authorities may treat it as a business activity and challenge the form)
• you exceed the limit of PLN 10,813.50 per quarter – even once

What to do when you exceed the limit

If in a given quarter your revenue exceeds PLN 10,813.50 (for example, you issued three bills of PLN 4,000 each), you have 7 days from the day you exceeded it to submit an application for entry in CEIDG (the CEIDG-1 form) and register a sole trader business. All revenue from the day of exceeding the limit onwards you account for as an entrepreneur – with the normal obligations (PIT, VAT if applicable, ZUS).

From the day you exceeded the limit, the activity becomes a business activity, and within 7 days of that day you must submit an application for entry in CEIDG. You account for revenue from before that day as unregistered activity, and from that day as an entrepreneur.

How to settle PIT on unregistered activity

In the annual PIT-36 return you enter the revenue in the “other sources” item and deduct costs (actually incurred and documented). You tax the income according to the tax scale (12% up to PLN 120,000 of the tax base, 32% on the excess). The tax-reducing amount is PLN 3,600 (equivalent to PLN 30,000 of tax-free income) and applies to all your income together (employment, contract of mandate).

Example: in 2026 you had PLN 80,000 of income from a job and PLN 25,000 from unregistered activity (costs PLN 3,000). Total income = PLN 80,000 + PLN 22,000 = PLN 102,000. All of it fits in the first bracket of the scale, so you will pay 12% PIT, reduced by the tax-reducing amount and reliefs.

When to move to a sole trader business – the break-even point

Unregistered activity is convenient, but it makes less sense with regular, larger revenue. It is worth moving to a sole trader business when:

• Your quarterly revenue regularly approaches PLN 10,000 – there is a risk of exceeding the limit
• You have business costs of over PLN 500 a month – in a sole trader business you can deduct them as you go (instead of once a year)
• Customers require a VAT invoice, or a company customer does not want to pay into a private account
• You want to use the Start-up Relief (ulga na start) and preferential ZUS contributions (the first 30 months of very low contributions)
• You plan to run the business long-term – in a year it is already better to have KPiR (revenue and expense ledger) bookkeeping and a business account

You will find the details of registration in the article How to set up a sole trader business in 2026. If you combine it with a job, see A sole trader business alongside a job – how to combine them.

What next

If you are at the start of the road and do not know whether your jobs already require a sole trader business, get in touch with Profais. We will analyse whether unregistered activity is still enough or whether it is better to move straight to a company. If you move to a company and sign a contract with us, we guide you through setting up the company, registration and KSeF access free of charge.

Sources: biznes.gov.pl/dzialalnosc-nierejestrowana, the Entrepreneurs’ Law Act (Article 5), the PIT Act (Article 10(1) point 9).