Taxes & Notary When Buying an Apartment in Poland 2026: PCC, VAT, Fees

The apartment price isn’t the whole story — taxes, the notary and court fees come on top. The good news: for a new-build from a developer the extras are surprisingly low (VAT is already in the price, no PCC — realistically about 0.4–0.5% of the price). On the secondary market add 2% PCC — unless it’s your first home. All 2026 rates with worked examples below.

Where these numbers come from. Notary fees — the Minister of Justice regulation of 28 June 2004 (§3 — the rate scale; §6 pkt 15a, 16 and 19 — half the rate for a flat; §12 — deed copies; consolidated Dz.U. 2020 item 1473, confirmed by Dz.U. 2024 item 1566); PCC — the civil-law transactions tax act (first-home exemption since 31.08.2023; 6% rate on the sixth-plus apartment since 2024); court fees — the act on court costs in civil cases (consolidated Dz.U. 2025 item 1228). Law as at 28.08.2026 — confirm rates with your notary before signing.

PCC vs VAT — two different worlds

	New-build from developer	Secondary market
Tax	VAT 8% (≤150 m²) — already in the price	PCC 2% of value
First home	— (VAT unchanged)	PCC 0% — exemption
Investor (6+ flats)	PCC 6% from the 6th unit	PCC 6% from the 6th unit
Collected by	developer (in the price)	notary at the deed

• New-build: the developer’s asking price is gross — VAT 8% (for units up to 150 m²; floor area above 150 m² — 23%) is already inside. You never pay the 2% PCC.
• Secondary: the buyer pays 2% PCC on market value — on a 700,000 zł flat that’s 14,000 zł, collected by the notary.
• First-home exemption (since 31.08.2023): buying on the secondary market while owning no other home (now or previously) → PCC = 0 zł. An inherited share up to 50% doesn’t disqualify you. Applies to foreigners too.
• The 6% rate: buyers of the sixth and subsequent apartments in one development pay 6% PCC — including purchases from a developer (on top of VAT).

PCC tax on an apartment — how much and how it is paid

PCC on an apartment purchase is 2% of the unit’s market value, paid by the buyer — but only on the secondary market (art. 7 ust. 1 pkt 1 lit. a of the PCC act of 9 September 2000). Buying from a developer there is no PCC at all, because that sale is subject to VAT instead (art. 2 pkt 4).

Apartment price (secondary market)	PCC 2%
300,000 zł	6,000 zł
400,000 zł	8,000 zł
500,000 zł	10,000 zł
700,000 zł	14,000 zł

Three things that surprise most buyers:

1. You file no PCC-3 return and have no 14-day deadline. Because the sale contract is executed as a notarial deed, the notary is the withholding agent for the tax (art. 10 ust. 2): he collects PCC at signing and remits it to the tax office. Self-filing and the 14-day deadline (art. 10 ust. 1) apply to transactions concluded without a notary.
2. The base is market value, not the figure written into the contract. If the tax authority considers the price to be off market, it calls on the parties to correct it and may appoint an expert; if the expert valuation exceeds the declared figure by more than 33%, the parties bear the cost of the opinion (art. 6 ust. 3–4).
3. A mortgage adds a separate 19 zł of PCC for establishing a mortgage securing a claim of undetermined amount (art. 7 ust. 1 pkt 7 lit. b), on top of the 200 zł court fee for the entry.

PCC and a first home — when you pay nothing

Buy your first apartment on the secondary market and PCC is zero (the exemption in art. 9 pkt 17 of the PCC act, in force since 31 August 2023). All conditions must hold at once:

• the buyer is an individual (citizenship is irrelevant — the exemption covers foreigners);
• the object is a residential unit in separate ownership, a single-family house, or a cooperative ownership title;
• on the purchase date and before it you held no ownership of such a property or a share in one — the only exception being an inherited share of no more than 50%;
• the purchase is on the secondary market (from a developer there is no PCC anyway).

In money: from 6,000 zł saved on a 300,000 zł flat to 14,000 zł on a 700,000 zł one.

A caveat for joint purchases. Where a couple buys together and only one of them qualifies as a first-time buyer, the exemption may be applied in proportion to that person’s share rather than to the whole price — the Supreme Administrative Court addressed this reading in its ruling of 7 April 2026 (III FSK 281/25). Practical takeaway: with a joint purchase, agree with the notary before the deed what base PCC will be calculated on. Our apartment purchase costs calculator models a single buyer.

The 2026 notary fee scale in full

Maximum rates under the regulation (based on property value):

Value	Maximum fee (net)
up to 3,000 zł	100 zł
3,000 – 10,000 zł	100 zł + 3% of surplus over 3,000
10,000 – 30,000 zł	310 zł + 2% of surplus over 10,000
30,000 – 60,000 zł	710 zł + 1% of surplus over 30,000
60,000 – 1,000,000 zł	1,010 zł + 0.4% of surplus over 60,000
1,000,000 – 2,000,000 zł	4,770 zł + 0.2% of surplus over 1,000,000
above 2,000,000 zł	6,770 zł + 0.25% of surplus, max 10,000 zł

Three things worth knowing:

1. For an apartment, half the scale rate applies. The regulation halves the maximum for a contract of sale of a residential unit (§6 pkt 19), for establishing separate ownership of a unit and transferring it — including in performance of a developer agreement (§6 pkt 16) — and for the developer agreement itself (§6 pkt 15a). The full scale rate applies to, say, a plot of land, not to buying a flat.
2. 23% VAT is added to the fee.
3. Deed copies (wypisy) cost 6 zł net per page (§12) — usually 200–400 zł for a full set.

Examples for a residential apartment sale deed (half rate):

Apartment price	Fee net	Fee with 23% VAT
500,000 zł	1,385 zł	1,703.55 zł
700,000 zł	1,785 zł	2,195.55 zł
900,000 zł	2,185 zł	2,687.55 zł

These are maximums — the fee is negotiable, especially on standard transactions.

What a notary costs on a 300k, 400k, 500k and 700k zł apartment

The notary’s own fee first (half the §3 rate, because this is a sale of a residential unit):

Apartment price	Fee net	With 23% VAT
300,000 zł	985 zł	1,211.55 zł
400,000 zł	1,185 zł	1,457.55 zł
500,000 zł	1,385 zł	1,703.55 zł
700,000 zł	1,785 zł	2,195.55 zł

And here is the whole bill payable at the deed — fee with VAT, court fees, copies and any PCC. Assumptions: no mortgage, 6 pages of deed copies (44.28 zł gross), and on the primary market 100 zł added for opening a land register:

Apartment price	New-build	Secondary with 2% PCC	Secondary, first home
300,000 zł	~1,556 zł	~7,456 zł	~1,456 zł
400,000 zł	~1,802 zł	~9,702 zł	~1,702 zł
500,000 zł	~2,048 zł	~11,948 zł	~1,948 zł
700,000 zł	~2,540 zł	~16,440 zł	~2,440 zł

How to read it: these are maximum fee rates and the real invoice is often lower; a mortgage adds 219 zł (200 zł court fee + 19 zł PCC) to any column; a full set of copies usually runs past six pages, so in practice that line grows to 200–400 zł. The entire gap between the columns is PCC.

The same figures, run against your own transaction: apartment purchase costs calculator — with a mortgage, copy pages and the first-home relief, each line linked to the provision it comes from.

The notarial deed — what it contains and why you need copies

A contract of sale of an apartment must take the form of a notarial deed — without it the transfer of ownership is void (art. 158 of the Polish Civil Code). Ownership passes at the moment of signing; the land-register entry only makes it public.

The mandatory content is set by art. 92 § 1 of the Notaries Act: date and place, the notary’s details, the parties’ details — including the buyer’s citizenship where the buyer is a foreigner (§ 1 pkt 4a), the parties’ declarations, confirmation that the deed was read, accepted and signed, and the signatures. In practice the deed also covers the unit and its land-register number, the price and payment mechanics, the handover date, and declarations on arrears and registered residents.

Two things the notary does for you: he files the land-register application through the courts’ electronic system no later than the day the deed is drawn up (art. 92 § 4 of the Notaries Act), and he collects and remits PCC as withholding agent. Deed copies (wypisy) carry the force of the original and go to the land-register court, the bank, and both parties — at most 6 zł net per started page.

A preliminary contract needs no notary, though in deed form it gives you a claim to conclude the final contract (art. 390 § 2 of the Civil Code). A developer agreement, by contrast, must be a notarial deed, and its cost is split 50/50 with the developer by statute — see the developer agreement guide.

Court fees — the land register (księga wieczysta)

Action	Fee
Ownership entry	200 zł
Opening a new register	100 zł
Mortgage entry (with a loan)	200 zł
PCC on establishing the mortgage	19 zł

The notary collects these at the deed and forwards them to the court. Before buying, it’s worth checking the land register (section III — claims and encumbrances, section IV — mortgages) — free online by register number.

What you’ll really pay — two scenarios (700,000 zł apartment)

New-build from a developer (cash):

Item	Amount
PCC	0 zł (VAT in the price)
Notary fee (ownership transfer)	~2,195 zł
Deed copies	~200–400 zł
New register + ownership entry	300 zł
Total extra	~2,700–2,900 zł (~0.4% of price)

With a mortgage add the 200 zł entry + 19 zł PCC and bank costs. The developer agreement cost is split 50/50 with the developer — the Developer Act requires it.

Secondary market (not a first home):

Item	Amount
PCC 2%	14,000 zł
Notary fee	~2,195 zł
Copies + ownership entry	~400–600 zł
Total extra	~16,600–16,800 zł (~2.4% of price)

The difference is almost entirely PCC — so when comparing new vs resale, always compare the all-in cost, not the price per m². New-build prices by district: Kraków apartment prices 2026.

Apartment purchase costs — the full list beyond the price

Item	Primary market	Secondary market
Notary fee incl. VAT	1,200–2,200 zł	1,200–2,200 zł
PCC 2%	— (VAT in the price)	6,000–14,000 zł (0 zł with the relief)
Court fees (land register)	300 zł	200 zł
Deed copies	200–400 zł	200–400 zł
Mortgage: entry + PCC	219 zł	219 zł
Agent commission	usually 0 zł (developer pays)	1.5–3% + VAT
Bank costs (fee, valuation, insurance)	a few thousand zł	a few thousand zł
Handover inspection with a specialist	300–600 zł	—
Turnkey fit-out	2,500–4,500 zł/m²	depends on condition

In total: on a new-build, one-off transaction costs run about 0.4–0.5% of the price; on the secondary market with PCC, about 2.4% (up to 4–5% with an agent’s commission). The largest single line of the budget is usually still the fit-out, which appears in no deed at all.

Three things worth pricing before you sign a reservation: the costs at the deed (purchase costs calculator), the handover inspection and defect list (apartment handover from a developer), and — if you are buying to let — the tax on future rent (rental income tax: 8.5% and 12.5%).

Who pays what — cheat sheet

• Sale-deed notary fee: customarily the buyer (parties may agree otherwise).
• Developer agreement: developer and buyer 50/50 (Developer Act).
• PCC 2%: always the buyer — collected by the notary.
• Court fees: the buyer.
• Agent: in our model the developer pays the commission — the buyer pays nothing. See also: how a foreigner buys an apartment and mortgages for foreigners.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the notary for a 500,000 zł apartment? At most 1,385 zł net (1,703.55 zł with VAT) for a residential sale deed, plus copies and court fees. The whole bill at the deed is about 1,950 zł without PCC and about 11,950 zł with 2% PCC.

How much is the notary for a 300,000 zł apartment? The maximum fee is 985 zł net (1,211.55 zł with VAT). The whole bill at the deed: about 1,456 zł on the secondary market with the first-home relief, about 1,556 zł from a developer, and about 7,456 zł on the secondary market with 2% PCC.

Do foreigners pay higher purchase taxes? No — PCC, VAT and notary rates are identical. The 0% PCC first-home exemption covers foreigners too.

Is there PCC on a new-build from a developer? No — from a developer you pay VAT (already in the price). Exception: 6% PCC on the sixth and subsequent apartments in one development.

Can the notary fee be negotiated? Yes — the scale sets maximums; on standard deals notaries often go below them.