Missed PIT-38 Deadline in Poland. Foreign Broker Investors
Missed the PIT‑38 Capital Gains Tax Deadline in Poland? What Investors Should Do
- The PIT‑38 deadline in Poland is 30 April each year.
- If you missed the deadline you can still submit the return late.
- Any tax due should be paid together with the declaration.
- Submitting a voluntary disclosure called czynny żal may help avoid penalties.
- Most late PIT‑38 filings concern investors using foreign brokers such as eToro, Interactive Brokers or Degiro.
- When do you need to file a PIT‑38 capital gains tax return
- Who must file PIT‑38 capital gains tax return in Poland
- Polish broker vs foreign broker
- PIT‑38 capital gains tax deadline in Poland
- Late PIT‑38 filing in Poland
- What happens if you missed the deadline
- Czynny żal – voluntary disclosure
- Why foreign broker tax reporting in Poland is difficult
- Frequently asked questions
If you missed the PIT‑38 deadline in Poland you can still submit the return late. The key is to file the declaration as soon as possible, pay any tax due and if necessary submit a voluntary disclosure called czynny żal.
PIT‑38 capital gains tax deadline in Poland
The PIT‑38 capital gains tax return in Poland must be submitted by 30 April of the year following the tax year in which the investment transactions took place.
For example capital gains realised in 2025 must normally be reported in a PIT‑38 return submitted by 30 April 2026.
If the declaration is not submitted by that date the return can still be filed later. The key issue is correcting the situation voluntarily as soon as possible.
The PIT‑38 form is used to report capital gains tax in Poland from shares, ETFs, derivatives, cryptocurrencies and other financial instruments. Many late filings concern investors using foreign brokers such as eToro, Interactive Brokers, Degiro or Revolut. If you invested through platforms like eToro and are unsure how Polish tax reporting works you can read our guide how to file eToro PIT‑38 in Poland.
Missing the deadline does not automatically create a serious legal problem. In practice the key issue is whether tax was due and how quickly the taxpayer corrects the situation. A broader explanation of how capital gains tax works in Poland can be found in our guide Polish capital gains tax FAQ.
When do you need to file a PIT‑38 capital gains tax return
The obligation to file a PIT‑38 return depends first on whether you were a Polish tax resident in the given tax year. In practice this means the year in which the investment transactions took place.
If you were a Polish tax resident in that year, Polish tax law generally requires you to report worldwide capital gains in Poland. This includes profits from foreign brokerage accounts.
If you are unsure whether you were a Polish tax resident in a given year you can check it using our online tool:
Polish tax residency test.
Only after determining tax residency does it make sense to analyse whether a PIT‑38 declaration should have been filed.
Who must file PIT‑38 capital gains tax return in Poland
Polish tax residents must file the PIT‑38 capital gains tax return if they had capital gains such as profits from shares, ETFs, derivatives, cryptocurrencies or other financial instruments.
This obligation applies even if the broker operates outside Poland. In recent years Polish tax authorities receive extensive information from foreign financial institutions through international exchange of tax data.
Polish broker vs foreign broker
If you used a Polish brokerage account you usually receive a document called PIT‑8C. This document only summarises your investment results. The taxpayer still needs to submit the PIT‑38 return personally, using the figures from the PIT‑8C as the basis for the declaration.
When investments are held with foreign brokers the reporting process is usually more difficult and requires separate analysis under Polish tax rules.
| Different tax methods | Polish tax law uses different methods for different types of investment income and transactions. |
| PLN reporting | The return must be prepared in Polish złoty, which requires currency conversion using official exchange rates from specific dates. |
| FIFO rules | Polish rules require application of FIFO, which often changes the final result significantly. |
| Forms and attachments | In practice the filing may require PIT‑38 and also PIT/ZG attachments. |
| Foreign tax and treaties | Foreign withholding tax and double tax treaty rules may also need to be taken into account. |
For this reason we generally do not recommend self preparing PIT‑38 returns for foreign brokers in Poland.
What happens if you missed the deadline
If a PIT‑38 return was not submitted on time the situation should be corrected as soon as possible. In Poland failing to declare taxable income may lead to consequences under fiscal criminal law, especially when tax was due and the declaration was not filed.
When the taxpayer corrects the situation voluntarily the tax office usually focuses on collecting the tax due rather than imposing penalties. The key factor is whether the missing declaration is submitted before the tax office starts an inquiry.
Why correcting the situation early matters
Many investors assume that foreign brokerage accounts remain invisible to the Polish tax administration. In reality financial institutions exchange account information with tax authorities under international reporting systems such as CRS.
Because of this automatic exchange of financial data the Polish tax office often eventually receives information about brokerage accounts held abroad by Polish tax residents.
For this reason it is usually safer to submit the missing PIT‑38 return voluntarily rather than wait for the tax office to request an explanation.
A practical issue may arise when undeclared investment profits are later transferred to Poland, used to buy property or spent in a visible way. In such situations the tax office may ask about the origin of the funds.
In practice most investors contact us after discovering that they should have filed PIT‑38 for several past years. Once the brokerage data is collected the correction process is usually straightforward and can often be completed relatively quickly.
Czynny żal – voluntary disclosure
Polish law provides a mechanism called czynny żal. It allows the taxpayer to voluntarily inform the tax office about a failure to submit a declaration.
If done correctly and before the tax authority initiates proceedings, this often prevents financial penalties under fiscal criminal law.
Typical situation we see in practice
A frequent situation involves a person who has been living in Poland for several years and invested through foreign brokerage accounts but never filed a PIT‑38 declaration.
In such cases the usual solution is to collect statements from all brokerage accounts, calculate the capital gains tax for each year, calculate interest on any unpaid tax and submit the missing PIT‑38 declarations for all non‑expired tax years together with a voluntary disclosure (czynny żal).
In practice we regularly assist clients in correcting several years of investment reporting. When the situation is corrected voluntarily these cases are usually resolved efficiently and typically do not involve negative consequences beyond payment of the tax due and statutory interest.
A typical situation involves an investor who opened an account with an international broker such as eToro or Interactive Brokers while living in Poland. The investor trades shares or ETFs for several years but assumes that taxes are handled automatically by the platform.
After a few years the Polish tax office receives information about the foreign account through international automatic exchange of financial data. Many clients first contact us after receiving a letter from the Polish tax office asking why PIT‑38 returns were not filed for those years.
In most cases the situation can still be corrected by preparing the missing PIT‑38 returns for the relevant years and submitting them together with a voluntary disclosure called czynny żal.
Why many investors miss capital gains tax reporting in Poland (PIT‑38)
Many investors believe that foreign brokerage platforms handle taxes automatically. In reality foreign brokers normally do not prepare Polish tax reporting. As a result investors may trade for several years without realising that a PIT‑38 return should be filed in Poland. This usually results from automatic international exchange of financial data between tax authorities.
When the Polish tax office receives information about a foreign brokerage account linked to a Polish tax resident, it often checks whether the related PIT‑38 returns were filed.
If you lived in Poland you may need to file PIT‑38 for all relevant years
If you were a Polish tax resident in a given year and held investment accounts with foreign brokers, Polish tax law generally required those capital gains to be reported in a PIT‑38 return for that year.
Many investors realise this only after several years. In such situations it is usually necessary to submit the missing PIT‑38 returns for each tax year in which you were a Polish tax resident and had investment transactions.
Importantly, correcting the situation before the tax office contacts you usually has very limited negative consequences. When the missing declarations are submitted voluntarily together with a short notification called czynny żal, Polish tax authorities in practice focus mainly on collecting the tax due rather than imposing penalties.
Financial institutions in most developed countries participate in systems of automatic international exchange of tax information (for example CRS reporting). Through these mechanisms tax authorities exchange information about financial accounts held by foreign tax residents.
As a result Polish tax authorities frequently receive data about brokerage accounts held abroad by Polish residents. This is one of the most common reasons why letters concerning unreported foreign investments appear several years after the transactions took place.
If you need to correct one tax year or several years of investment reporting, our team can prepare the required PIT‑38 returns and assist with voluntary disclosure to the tax office.
More information about the service is available here:
Common mistakes investors make with PIT‑38
- Assuming that foreign brokerage accounts do not have to be reported in Poland because the Polish tax office will not know about them. In practice international automatic exchange of financial information (CRS) means that tax authorities frequently receive such data.
- Taking the account result shown by the broker at face value and assuming that this figure can simply be copied into a Polish tax return.
- Assuming that crypto transactions do not need to be reported in Poland.
- Ignoring dividend income because the brokerage account overall shows a loss.
How far back can the Polish tax office check PIT‑38?
In Poland tax liabilities generally become time‑barred after five years counted from the end of the tax year in which the tax payment deadline occurred. In practice this means that if a PIT‑38 return was not filed, the Polish tax office may review and request filings for the last several non‑expired tax years.
If you lived in Poland for a longer period and invested through foreign brokers, it is often necessary to calculate capital gains tax for each open year and submit the missing PIT‑38 returns together with a voluntary disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still file PIT‑38 after the deadline?
Yes. A late PIT‑38 return can still be submitted. If tax is due it should be paid together with the declaration.
Will I automatically receive a penalty?
No. When taxpayers correct the situation voluntarily before the tax office contacts them, penalties are often avoided.
What is czynny żal?
It is a voluntary disclosure submitted to the tax office explaining that a declaration was not filed on time.
Do I need to file PIT‑38 if I only had losses?
Not always, but the situation is often more complex than it appears. Many investors assume that if their brokerage account shows a loss they do not need to file PIT‑38. In practice several issues should be checked first.
- You may have received dividend income, which is treated separately from capital gains.
- The account result shown by the broker does not automatically determine the Polish tax result.
- Even where a loss exists, the reporting position often still requires proper review.
For these reasons it is often necessary to analyse the transactions before deciding whether a PIT‑38 declaration should be filed.
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