How to register a new business in Poland

The advice I got from Citibank about an overdraft was very simple: you can't have one. Not unless I gave them documents proving my income and that I paid my tax on time. I did point out that they know my income because they know how much is paid into my Citibank account every month and they know I pay my taxes because I pay them from my Citibank account but they were having none of it.

There are two or three different types of structure you can use as a non limited company.

Hi, I found them through my wife (actually through her company accountant). I think they speak only Polish though - anyway I think so because I talk with them in Polish all the time.

I will ask them. They are based in Raszyn, just out of Warsaw.

I also do know another accountant who does speak very well English. I will ask her if he is willing to take on more clients.

So I just spoke to her. Yes she is interested. Send me a PM and I will send you her contact details. Rest - up to you both I guess :)

here's my PM: lemarqo@gmail

thanks, appreciate it.

sobieski
Hi, I have just mailed you with her contact info.

Hi Everybody. I am an architect from Lebanon, willing to move to Poland and open my company there. In general, architects need a license to sign and build in poland, but still they can do design and hire local architects to sign, and this is what i am actually planing to do for the first 3 to 4 years (it takes 3 to 4 years to get the architecture license).

But as far as this forum is concerned, i am writing to inquire about the status of a Lebanese who wants to open a one person company in Poland (Warsaw of Krakow): will it be better to open as one person company? or to open a sister company,as i have my office registered back home in Lebanon? which is better for taxation/easy processing?

Ah, my partner/future wife is Polish, and i think this will help as well. Any advices are welcome. Thanks. Ma
PS:we are targetting a small size company at the begining,so the simplest structure is the best for us now.

as for accounting services in Poland pls see VATTAX (accounting office) page - there English is no problem and they will help you for sure

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.

BTW, what is a decent monthly fee for accounting services for a small, one-person business with less than ten clients? I heard 150zl/month somewhere...

I pay 100zl+VAT a month in Poznan for an accountant who deals with ZUS and the tax office, handles up to 50 documents a month (incoming/outgoing, doesn't matter) and provides advice on an ad-hoc basis. Given that it's Warsaw - then I'd be inclined to say that 150zl+VAT is a fair price. For someone English speaking and competent, then 200zl+VAT.

you don't need to have a KRS number - it depends of that, if you want to open a partnership or only company for your name. Better for you is this second thing, less documents and less complicated procedures. To open a company for your name (in polish is dzialalnosc gospodarcza na osobe fizyczna) you need to get the NIP number (tax office), REGON number (statistic office), get a place your company will be located. Then the best way is to hire a accountant company and they will help you with ZUS and other things.

Just buy a shelf company. Costs about €500 more than doing it yourself. You save a lot of money if you value your time at all..

Wrong. For the vast majority of non-EU citizens, it's not an option as it simply isn't allowed.

Talking about companies - the UK must be one of the easiest places to open one, as it can be done entirely online and pretty inexpensively. No tax on dividends either, as I recall.

I'm working for somebody, who is no-EU citizen and he had done all of things I wrote about and he has a company ;]

Poland doesn't treat EU citizens any different from non EU citizens when it comes to setting up a business.

It does do in terms of sole traders - unless something has changed very recently, non-EU citizens (apart from some, such as US citizens) cannot become one. No difference in terms of limited companies, though.

I missed that bit...

Thanks for the advice, delphiandomine.

I did find an accountant in Warsaw - a former student of a teacher friend of mine. He agreed to help me for 200 zł/mo. including VAT. I think this is a fair price as his English is at least upper-int and he's doing most of the legwork to start the company himself.

I needed to start this company in order to work at the British Council. As of this Fall, the BC require all teachers to have their own companies.

They are legally forbidden from doing that.

Yup, that's a fair deal. He should save you more than he costs - especially if he's always open for phonee calls/visits about what you can and can't get away with.


And no doubt they'll get away with it despite it being illegal to do so. I'm just sitting and waiting for the day that the taxman takes a very close look at the ESL industry here - I wouldn't be surprised if many schools are hit with a massive bill.

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 :)

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.

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? :-)

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.

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...

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.


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.

@ master shake,

would you mind providing contact details of the accountant you found in Warsaw?


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

marcopol,

I can assist you by setting up a one-person company in Poland.

gregor,

do you have an email address I can get in touch with you?

thanks

gregor_gajda@web.de

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.

gregor,

I sent you an email (from lemarqo@gmail yesterday to the address you provided above.

Thanks