Working from home is increasingly common for self-employed professionals in Poland. If you run a jednoosobowa działalność gospodarcza (JDG) — a sole-trader business — you may be able to deduct a portion of your home-related costs from your taxable business income. Here is everything you need to know for 2026.
Who Can Claim a Home Office Deduction?
The home office deduction is available to:
- JDG owners (sole traders) registered in the Central Register of Business Activity — CEIDG.
- Persons operating under a B2B contract where they invoice clients through their own registered business.
- Professionals who use part of their home exclusively or predominantly for business purposes.
Employees on a standard employment contract (umowa o pracę) cannot claim home office deductions — their costs are covered by the standard employee cost allowance (koszty pracownicze), which is fixed by law.
The Proportional Area Method
Polish tax law does not define a specific "home office deduction" — instead, it allows you to include a proportional share of home expenses as business costs (koszty uzyskania przychodu) under the general rule that costs must be incurred to earn income.
The standard approach is the area ratio method:
- Measure the floor area (m²) of the room or space used exclusively for business.
- Divide by the total floor area of the apartment or house.
- Apply this percentage to eligible monthly costs.
Formula: Deductible share = Business area (m²) ÷ Total home area (m²)
Eligible Costs You Can Deduct Proportionally
- Rent (czynsz) — your monthly rent payment, including administrative charges to the housing association (wspólnota).
- Electricity (prąd) — monthly electricity bills.
- Heating (ogrzewanie) — gas, district heating, or other heating costs.
- Internet (internet) — if used predominantly for business, you may deduct 100% of the internet subscription, or apply the area ratio if shared with personal use.
- Water and sewage (woda) — proportional share of water bills.
Note: mortgage principal repayments are not deductible. However, mortgage interest on a loan for business property can be deductible in some circumstances — consult a tax advisor for complex ownership situations.
Worked Example
Suppose you live in a 60 m² apartment and use one room of 12 m² as a dedicated home office:
- Business area ratio: 12 ÷ 60 = 20%
- Monthly rent: 3,000 PLN → deductible: 600 PLN
- Monthly electricity: 250 PLN → deductible: 50 PLN
- Monthly heating: 200 PLN → deductible: 40 PLN
- Monthly internet: 80 PLN → deductible: 80 PLN (100% if business use)
- Total monthly deduction: 770 PLN (9,240 PLN per year)
On a 19% flat-rate tax (podatek liniowy), this saves roughly 1,756 PLN in tax per year.
Documentation You Must Keep
The tax authorities may request evidence, so keep the following:
- Copies of all invoices and receipts for rent, utilities, internet.
- A written calculation showing the floor-area ratio (ideally with a floor plan or lease agreement showing room dimensions).
- Your lease agreement or property ownership documents.
- Your KPiR (podatkowa księga przychodów i rozchodów) or accounting records with the deductions correctly booked.
Limitations and Risks
- The space should be used exclusively or primarily for business. Deducting a living room you also use for watching TV is risky and may be challenged.
- The tax office may question unusually high deduction ratios (e.g., claiming 80% of a large house as a business office).
- If you own the property, deducting depreciation (amortyzacja) of the residential part is generally not allowed since 2022 (residential buildings were removed from depreciation schedules).
- Always consult a biuro rachunkowe (accountancy firm) if your situation involves co-ownership or a mortgage.
Use our flat-rate tax calculator to estimate your annual PIT liability, or our B2B net income calculator to see the full picture of your take-home pay after all deductions.