Opening my own, one-person company in Warsaw, Poland

sobieskiThreads: 82 Posts: 1,141 Joined: Jun 1, 08 ♂	Aug 11, 10, 20:11 #31
master shake: sobieski, does your accountant have time for one more? I'm in Warsaw, need to open a business and could use a friendly accountant myself. Hi, I will ask her and send you her contact data by PM. She is on holidays now but reads her mail from time to time.

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Edited by: master shake Aug 12, 10, 17:07 #32

delphiandomine:

One bit of advice in this respect - if you can, try and get some private lessons to run through the books as well as the work at the BC. It'll save your ass in case of future problems :)

Future problems?? Hmm....

So two years from now, the tax man looks at my companies' reported average monthly income of 1000 zł, scratches his head, and wonders: 'How on earth is he supporting himself and his company on that? It must be tax evasion!'

Is this what you're driving at? :-)

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Aug 12, 10, 17:24 #33

master shake:

Is this what you're driving at? :-)

No, not that - but rather that if you're determined to be in "false" self employment, then they can quite legally chase you for the taxes that you should have paid. There's no way of telling what might happen - but I know there was a clampdown a while ago on people who were registered as self employed, yet only working in one job.

Bear one thing in mind - once you open up as a sole trader, you'll have to run all teaching activities through it - you cannot invoice school A (say the BC) and then accept a contract from school B - you must invoice both.

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Aug 13, 10, 14:16 #34

delphiandomine:

Bear one thing in mind - once you open up as a sole trader, you'll have to run all teaching activities through it - you cannot invoice school A (say the BC) and then accept a contract from school B - you must invoice both.

I did not know this. I've had conversations with my accountant and my school B director (the school I have had a contract with) and neither of them mentioned this fact. They said it didn't matter whether I was under a contract with school B or invoicing school B thru my company. They also said the tax I would pay would be about the same either way.

I will look into this...

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Aug 13, 10, 14:54 #35

master shake:

They said it didn't matter whether I was under a contract with school B or invoicing school B thru my company.

It depends on exactly how they're doing it. If you're familiar with the concept of PKD codes - you cannot be registered to do teaching (85.11.D if I recall rightly) and then be paid under umowa o dzielo/pracy/zlecenie for exactly the same thing - you need to put it through the company. But of course, if you're paid to do translations (for instance) - then you perfectly well can.

master shake:

They also said the tax I would pay would be about the same either way.

It's hard to tell really, but one benefit of having your own business is that you can write all sorts of stuff off as a "business expense" and it's legitimate, unlike the use of umowa o dzielo contracts for teachers. Really, to avoid fuss - I'd just run everything through the business - it's much easier to account for and deal with.

marcopolThreads: - Posts: 5 Joined: Jun 16, 10 ♂	Aug 17, 10, 00:42 #36
@ master shake, would you mind providing contact details of the accountant you found in Warsaw? I did find an accountant in Warsaw - a former student of a teacher friend of mine. I'm still seeking for an English speaking acountatn who can give legal advise and guide me through the Polish taxation and the procedure of setting up a one-person company or as a self-emplyed. thanks

gregorThreads: - Posts: 38 Joined: May 23, 09 ♂	Aug 17, 10, 09:38 #37
marcopol, I can assist you by setting up a one-person company in Poland.

marcopolThreads: - Posts: 5 Joined: Jun 16, 10 ♂	Aug 17, 10, 13:25 #38
gregor, do you have an email address I can get in touch with you? thanks

gregorThreads: - Posts: 38 Joined: May 23, 09 ♂	Aug 17, 10, 14:45 #39
gregor_gajda@web.de

delphiandomineThreads: 42 Posts: 9,954 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂ [Suspended]	Aug 17, 10, 15:00 #40
marcopol: I'm still seeking for an English speaking acountatn who can give legal advise and guide me through the Polish taxation and the procedure of setting up a one-person company or as a self-emplyed. I'd recommend that you strongly get an accountant to help you and not a lawyer or legal advisor - quite frankly, most lawyers don't have a clue about the taxation implications.

marcopolThreads: - Posts: 5 Joined: Jun 16, 10 ♂	Aug 18, 10, 08:42 #41
gregor, I sent you an email (from lemarqo@gmail.com) yesterday to the address you provided above. Thanks

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Sep 15, 10, 15:38 #42

So I just ran into a major hurdle with setting up my company. I submitted my EDG-1 'notice of starting economic activity' on Aug 10th. Finally, they contacted my accountant yesterday about the status of my application - it's a negative.

I'm a U.S. citizen, have been working and living in Poland legally for over a year now and I have a karta pobytu valid until December of this year (which I would extend, naturally).

But apparently because the residency decision was based on my having a contract with a language school, I am not allowed to start a business. I can live and work legally, but cannot start a business unless I have 'long term' permission to reside in Poland (i.e. for study or family reasons, etc.).

I'm going to go to the Urząd Wojewódzki in Warsaw first thing tomorrow to try and get this sorted out, or find out how to get 'long term' permission.

Has anyone ran into a similar obstacle? I'd really appreciate some advice. Most of my clients/students this semester require invoices!

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Sep 15, 10, 17:57 #43

master shake:

I'd really appreciate some advice. Most of my clients/students this semester require invoices!

The simplest way is to simply speak to people you know who have their own companies and get them to issue invoices for you (you can give them a small amount of cash for their time and trouble).

Another way round it would be to register your company for things other than teaching. Translation and general secretarial services would be a good one. Then you can just give your clients invoices for copyediting documents (which was what most of my corporate clients used to ask for anyway; if they didn't, there could have been a taxable benefit for the student, i.e. the lessons). The downside is that you then have to add VAT but for corporate clients that won't matter anyway.

♂

Edited by: master shake Sep 16, 10, 19:28 #44

Thanks for the ideas Harry. I do know someone with their own company. He agreed to let me 'use' his company to issue invoices. That will work for the time being.

The problem isn't the kind of activity of the company, it's setting up the company itself.

The people at information on Długa 5 told me today that I CANNOT set up a company under my current visa. This is because the visa was done through a language school and starting a company is PROHIBITED under this kind of visa. If I want to start a company, they said, I will have to RETURN to the USA and apply for a business visa at the Polish consulate in the USA.

The only way an American can set up a small business in Poland (sole proprietorship) is under a visa which was issued as a result of 1) marriage to a Polish citizen 2) having Polish relatives 3) having permission for a 'long stay' in Poland.

That's it, as I understand it. So Americans without Polish wives are sh*t outta luck if they want to start a biz from within Poland. And that's really lame.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

TeemuThreads: 7 Posts: 24 Joined: Jul 21, 09 ♂	Sep 21, 10, 21:20 #45
master shake you can't be a sole proprietor of course, but you can open Spolka Z o.o. (polish LLC) and employ yourself there. So it is possible to work on yourself without polish wife there.

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Sep 21, 10, 21:29 #46

master shake:

So Americans without Polish wives are sh*t outta luck if they want to start a biz from within Poland. And that's really lame.

master shake:

If I want to start a company, they said, I will have to RETURN to the USA and apply for a business visa at the Polish consulate in the USA.

master shake:

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong!

I think you kinda answered your own question here.

gleiteThreads: 9 Posts: 39 Joined: Jul 19, 08 ♂	Sep 22, 10, 18:59 #47
However, being a non-EU member (from Brazil) is it possible to open a small partnership company and use the EU Funds ?

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Sep 22, 10, 21:57 #48

master shake:

So Americans without Polish wives are sh*t outta luck if they want to start a biz from within Poland. And that's really lame.

I think it's exactly the same for Polish citizens who want to start businesses in America - they need to return, get the right visa and then come back. As I understand it though, the general idea is that you can't "upgrade" a visa from within a country - you need to leave and then reapply for the right one.

I've never understood the logic behind this, but the world seems to work that way.

HOWEVER - what you could do is simply hand back the Karta Pobytu and begin your 90 days on the tourist stamp. It's perfectly allowed to start a business while the 90 day clock is ticking - it's the normal process for Americans without work permits here.

gleite:

However, being a non-EU member (from Brazil) is it possible to open a small partnership company and use the EU Funds ?

Forget it. EU funds are in very short supply at the minute for profit making businesses.

MarikaThreads: - Posts: 10 Joined: Sep 27, 10 ♀	Oct 4, 10, 19:16 #49
gleite: However, being a non-EU member (from Brazil) is it possible to open a small partnership company and use the EU Funds ? i am interesting also in that

ITSolutionsThreads: - Posts: 2 Joined: Oct 22, 11 ♂	Oct 22, 11, 05:11 #50
Dear Sobieski, I want to register my it company in poland. Will appreciate any help for an accountant and the following details. 1. I am resident of India 2. I deal in providing IT solution. 3. What kind of business format will be good for me. 4. Taxing in Poland. 5. Can i bank in Euro? Thanking you Saurabh

NathanG	Feb 10, 12, 16:59 #51
Hi guys, I am registered as self employed in the UK, i have a company registered in the Uk. my work involves online sales to the uk market which i dispatch from here in Warsaw. question is do i need a NIP number if i'm paying UK taxes. the reson i ask is because i wanted to by goods here in poland and a supplier asked for a NIP number!

darmi4	Mar 7, 12, 21:45 #52
Hey guys! I want to recommend one company which specializes in supporting individual entrepreneurs and companies to start up business in Poland. You can check their website for more information. It is called Easy Business Poland. greetings!

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