PIT-38 Poland 2026: What Revolut, eToro & IBKR Users Must File
If you used Revolut, eToro, Degiro or Interactive Brokers as a Polish tax resident, you must file PIT-38 and calculate your result yourself. Foreign brokers never issue Polish PIT-8C forms, but they do report your account data to Polish tax authorities. This guide explains who must file, how the 19% capital gains tax works and how to calculate results using NBP exchange rates and FIFO.
What most Revolut, eToro and IBKR users do not know
Foreign brokers report your trades to Polish tax authorities through automatic exchange of information (CRS). This means the tax office may already have data about your account — even if your Twój e-PIT shows nothing. No PIT-8C does not mean no obligation. It means the calculation is yours to make. If you already received a tax office letter, in practice this means filing returns for multiple prior unfiled years, not just the one indicated in the letter — see: tax office letter regarding foreign broker.
Quick answer
If you used foreign brokers or sold shares, you must file PIT-38 in Poland. The absence of data in Twój e-PIT does not remove the obligation. All cases require manual calculation using NBP exchange rates and FIFO.
Do I need to file PIT-38 in Poland if I use Revolut or eToro?
Yes. If you are a Polish tax resident and you sold shares, ETFs, crypto or other financial instruments through platforms such as Revolut, eToro, Degiro or Interactive Brokers, you must report the result in a Polish PIT-38 tax return.
Many investors assume that if nothing appears in the Twój e-PIT system, no reporting is required. This assumption is incorrect. Foreign brokers never issue Polish PIT-8C forms, which is why their transactions do not appear in the Polish tax portal. This does not mean the tax office has no information about your account. See the section below on automatic data exchange.
The investor must calculate the result independently using Polish tax rules, including conversion into PLN using official NBP exchange rates and the FIFO cost method.
Not sure if your situation requires filing? We can check it for you.
- Who must file PIT-38 in Poland
- How the 19% capital gains tax (podatek Belki) works
- Why foreign brokers do not appear in Twój e-PIT, and why the tax office still knows
- Revolut, eToro, IBKR, Degiro, Trading 212: what each requires
- When PIT/ZG is required
- Prior unfiled years: what to do
- How to calculate tax using NBP exchange rates and FIFO
What you need to know at the outset
If you are considered a Polish tax resident, you are taxed in Poland on your worldwide capital gains. This applies regardless of whether your broker is located in Poland, another EU country or outside the EU. The obligation to file PIT-38 arises from your residency status, not from the location of the investment platform.
19% capital gains tax. What assets are covered?
Capital gains tax in Poland is a 19% flat rate tax on investment income, colloquially known as podatek Belki, named after the finance minister who introduced it. The informal name appears frequently in searches and financial forums but refers to the same obligation. It applies to profits from the disposal of financial instruments and certain digital assets. Unlike personal income tax on employment or business activity, this tax is not progressive. The rate remains 19% regardless of the level of profit.
The tax base is calculated as the difference between revenue from sale and the tax deductible cost of acquisition. Only the net profit is subject to taxation. If you incur a loss, no tax is due, but proper reporting remains important.
Who is required to file PIT-38
The key criterion is Polish tax residency. In simplified terms, you are treated as a Polish tax resident if you spend more than 183 days in Poland during the tax year or if your center of vital interests is located in Poland. The latter refers to personal and economic ties, such as family, permanent home or main business activity.
If you meet these conditions, you must report global capital gains in PIT-38. Each of the following categories is reported separately and governed by different rules:
- Sale of stocks, ETFs and other securities
- Cryptocurrencies and certain digital assets
- Foreign dividends, reported separately in PIT-38 and usually requiring PIT/ZG as an attachment
- Interest from foreign accounts
- CFDs, Forex and other derivative instruments
These categories cannot be offset against each other. A loss on shares does not reduce tax on dividends. Crypto costs are tracked and carried forward separately.
If you are uncertain whether you were a Polish tax resident in a given tax year, use our free tool: Polish Tax Residency Test.
When you do not need to file PIT-38
Not every investor is required to submit PIT-38 each year. If you invested very passively and only purchased non-dividend-paying shares, did not sell any instruments during the year and did not receive any dividends or other taxable income, you do not generate taxable income.
In such a case, no tax liability arises because no disposal of financial instruments took place. The obligation to file PIT-38 arises only when you sell assets, receive dividends, interest or otherwise realize taxable income.
From a strictly formal legal perspective, yes. Polish tax law provides no minimum threshold below which the filing obligation disappears. Even very small amounts of dividend income technically trigger a reporting obligation.
In practice, Polish tax authorities approach such minor irregularities pragmatically. Severe sanctions are not applied in cases involving very small amounts. Nevertheless, filing the return remains the recommended and legally correct approach.
RSU and stock options. When PIT-38 applies
If you receive shares from your employer under RSU or stock option plans, the key issue is when taxation arises. In many properly structured plans, taxation is deferred until the moment you sell the shares, and only then reported in PIT-38 as capital gains.
If you only received or vested shares but did not sell them in the given tax year, no PIT-38 filing obligation arises from that event alone. However, dividends or a later sale of shares will trigger reporting.
The classification depends on the structure of the plan. In some cases income may be treated as employment income instead of capital gains, so documentation matters. Detailed explanation here: RSU and stock options taxation in Poland.
When PIT/ZG is required
PIT/ZG is an attachment to PIT-38 required when you report income earned in a foreign country. It is most commonly needed for foreign dividends and interest received from accounts held with foreign brokers or banks.
For each country where you received foreign dividends or interest, a separate PIT/ZG is filed. It records the gross income, the foreign withholding tax paid, and the credit applied under the applicable double taxation treaty. The 19% Polish tax on foreign dividends is reduced by foreign withholding already paid, subject to treaty limits. Where the foreign withholding rate is lower than 19%, a top-up in Poland applies.
Foreign broker statements often show withholding tax in a format that does not map directly to PIT/ZG fields. Correctly identifying which amounts qualify as creditable foreign tax, and under which treaty, is one of the more technically demanding aspects of PIT-38 preparation for investors with foreign dividend income.
Revolut and PIT-38 in practice
Simply having a Revolut account or using the Revolut application for everyday payments does not create any obligation to file PIT-38.
However, if through Revolut you purchased and later sold shares, ETFs, cryptocurrencies or other financial instruments, you must calculate the result and file PIT-38. The obligation is linked to investment activity, not to the mere use of the payment application.
Revolut never issues a Polish PIT-8C. The annual statement or trading history available in the Revolut app is your source data, but it is not the final figure you report. You must convert all transactions into PLN using NBP exchange rates for each transaction date and apply FIFO. The result shown in the Revolut app is in the account currency and reflects Revolut’s own calculation methodology, which does not correspond to Polish tax rules.
Revolut reports account information to Polish tax authorities through the Common Reporting Standard. Filing or not filing PIT-38 does not affect whether this reporting takes place.
eToro and PIT-38 in practice
eToro never issues PIT-8C forms for Polish tax residents. The eToro account statement available in the platform shows your trading history and overall result, but this is not the figure you report in PIT-38.
The eToro statement is denominated in USD. To calculate your Polish tax liability, all transactions must be converted into PLN using the NBP exchange rate applicable on the day preceding each transaction. FIFO must then be applied to determine the tax deductible cost of acquisition. The result in PLN may differ substantially from what the eToro platform shows.
eToro reports account information to Polish tax authorities through the Common Reporting Standard, regardless of whether you file PIT-38.
We calculate your eToro result in PLN, apply NBP rates and FIFO, and prepare your PIT-38. See eToro tax filing service →
Interactive Brokers and PIT-38 — does IBKR issue PIT-8C?
No. Interactive Brokers never issues PIT-8C forms for Polish tax residents. IBKR provides detailed activity statements and tax reports in its own format, but these are not equivalent to a Polish PIT-8C and are not submitted to Polish tax authorities in any form that would pre-fill your tax return.
If you traded through IBKR, you must independently calculate your capital gains result in PLN using NBP exchange rates and FIFO, then report it in PIT-38. The IBKR annual statement or activity report is your starting point for the calculation, not the final result you report.
Yes. Through the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), Interactive Brokers reports account information to tax authorities in the account holder’s country of tax residence. This is separate from PIT-8C. It is an automatic exchange of financial data between institutions, not a ready-made tax form for the investor. The tax office receives this data regardless of whether you file PIT-38.
PIT-38 by broker: what each platform requires
All major foreign investment platforms operate the same way for Polish tax purposes: no PIT-8C, no pre-filled data, and CRS reporting to Polish tax authorities.
| Broker | Issues PIT-8C | Reports via CRS | Your obligation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revolut | No | Yes | Calculate in PLN using NBP rates and FIFO, file PIT-38 |
| eToro | No | Yes | Convert USD statement to PLN, apply FIFO, file PIT-38 |
| Interactive Brokers (IBKR) | No | Yes | Use activity statement as source data, calculate in PLN, file PIT-38 |
| Degiro | No | Yes | Export annual statement, calculate in PLN using NBP rates and FIFO, file PIT-38. Degiro provides a tax report but it does not follow Polish rules. |
| Trading 212 | No | Yes | Export transaction history, calculate in PLN using NBP rates and FIFO, file PIT-38 |
Why Twój e-PIT shows nothing, and why the tax office still knows
Reporting comparison. Polish vs foreign brokers
| Feature | Polish broker (e.g. XTB, mBank) | Foreign broker (e.g. Revolut, eToro, IBKR) |
|---|---|---|
| PIT-8C form | Issued and reported to tax authorities | Never issued for Poland |
| Data in Twój e-PIT | Pre-filled | Never appears |
| Tax office data (CRS) | Via PIT-8C | Via automatic CRS exchange, independently of PIT-8C |
| Your obligation | Verify and file if needed | Manual calculation and reporting, no exceptions |
The absence of data in the government portal does not exempt you from the reporting obligation. Foreign brokers do not pre-fill your tax return, but they do report your account data to Polish tax authorities through the Common Reporting Standard. The tax office receives this information regardless of whether you file.
In practice, discrepancies between CRS data and submitted returns are detected automatically and result in a tax office letter — in most cases covering multiple prior unfiled years, not just the most recent one. See: foreign broker tax office letter explained.
Yes. If you used a foreign broker, you must calculate the result yourself. The absence of data in Twój e-PIT means the broker did not issue PIT-8C — it does not mean the tax office has no information about your account. For edge cases, see the full FAQ: Polish capital gains tax FAQ.
Prior unfiled years: what to do
If you traded through foreign brokers in previous years and did not file PIT-38, the obligation does not disappear. Polish tax law allows filing returns for prior years within the statutory limitation period. In most cases this means you can still file for years that have not yet become time-barred.
Filing voluntarily for prior years, before a tax office letter arrives, is the correct approach. It reduces the risk of penalty interest and formal proceedings. If you have already received a letter from the tax office, in practice it covers multiple years and requires filing all outstanding returns together, not just the one indicated in the letter.
We handle PIT-38 filings for multiple years, including cases where original returns were not filed or were filed incorrectly. See PIT-38 filing service →
Checklist before you start: collect annual statements from each broker, export all trades, confirm currency pairs and dates, and prepare a PLN conversion table using NBP rates.
How to calculate foreign investment tax using NBP rates and FIFO
You are allowed to calculate and file PIT-38 yourself. However, you must apply several specific rules of Polish tax law.
First, all transactions must be converted into PLN using the appropriate exchange rate published by the National Bank of Poland. It is not sufficient to rely on the summary result shown in the broker application.
Second, you must apply the FIFO principle. This means that when you sell shares or other instruments, the tax deductible cost is determined according to the order of acquisition, not according to how transactions are grouped or presented in typical broker reports.
Simply copying the annual profit or loss from your brokerage statement is not sufficient. The Polish calculation may differ significantly once NBP exchange rates and FIFO methodology are applied.
In practice, a brokerage account may show an overall loss, but after recalculating all transactions into PLN using official NBP rates, taxable income may still appear. Such differences are caused by currency movements and the order in which costs are matched under FIFO.
Applying FIFO and converting transactions to PLN can be handled systematically. The real risk lies elsewhere. Polish tax law treats different types of income as separate categories that cannot be offset against each other. Shares and ETFs, cryptocurrencies, dividends, and interest are reported in separate sections of PIT-38 and follow different rules. Misclassifying an instrument, or combining categories that must be kept separate, produces a return that is formally incorrect even if every number adds up. This is where most errors occur in practice, and where professional support makes the difference.
What if you incurred a loss
Even if your overall result for the year is negative, filing PIT-38 is advisable. By reporting the loss, you secure the right to offset it against future capital gains within the statutory limits and time frame.
Frequently asked questions
More questions on PIT-38, PIT-ZG, brokers, crypto and foreign tax credits.
Why is my Revolut or eToro income not in the Twój e-PIT system?
Does Interactive Brokers issue PIT-8C for Polish clients?
Is exchanging one cryptocurrency for another taxable in Poland?
I paid tax abroad. Do I still need to report in Poland?
Can the Polish tax office obtain information about my foreign account?
Do I need to file PIT-38 if I only had losses in 2025?
When professional support makes sense: PIT-38 involves multiple income categories, each reported separately and governed by different rules. Shares and ETFs go in one section, cryptocurrencies in another, dividends and interest in separate sections, with foreign withholding tax credited under applicable double taxation treaties. These categories cannot be offset against each other. If your situation involves more than one of them, incorrect categorisation is the most common source of errors and the hardest to detect without knowing the rules.
Professional calculation and filing support
Polish capital gains tax involves multiple income categories: shares, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, dividends and interest. Each category is reported separately, follows different rules, and cannot be offset against the others. Foreign withholding tax on dividends requires applying the correct double taxation treaty. Losses from prior years must be carried forward in the right category. Misclassifying an instrument or combining categories that must be kept apart produces a formally incorrect return, regardless of whether the numbers add up. We handle the classification, apply the correct rules for each category, and prepare a return that holds up to scrutiny.
