Table of Contents:
1. In what situations is a tax penalty fine issued?
2. Tax offense or tax crime?
3. What is the amount of penalties for tax crimes or offenses in 2025?
Due to the increase in financial penalties for tax offenses and crimes related to prohibited actions in the area of tax settlements, special caution should be exercised when reporting business transactions and professional legal assistance should be utilized. Starting January 2025, the maximum fine for tax crimes will increase to PLN 44.8 million, and in extreme cases even up to PLN 67 million. Fines for tax offenses will also increase – the maximum penalty will amount to PLN 23,330. The changes are linked to the rise in the minimum wage, which impacts the level of tax penalties.
In what situations is a tax penalty fine issued?
Tax penalty fines are issued by authorized employees of tax offices as well as authorized employees and officers of the Customs and Tax Service performing tasks in customs and tax offices or carrying out tasks for the KAS (National Tax Administration) in organizational units of the Ministry of Finance. The imposition of a fine depends on fulfilling several conditions. The identity of the offender and the circumstances of the tax offense must not raise any doubts. Furthermore, there must be no need to impose a harsher penalty than a fine (i.e., up to 5 times the minimum wage). The offender’s consent to accept the penalty fine is also a prerequisite for the issuance of the fine.
Tax offense or tax crime?
The increase in the minimum wage shifts the boundary between a tax offense and a tax crime – in cases where the prohibited act involves the reduction or risk of reducing public dues (e.g., VAT refund fraud, tax fraud, unjustified inclusion of expenses in tax costs). Whether a given case is classified as a tax crime or offense depends on the amount of public dues reduced or at risk of reduction. The dividing line is set at 5 times the minimum wage at the time of the prohibited act. If the amount of public dues reduced or at risk does not exceed this limit, it constitutes a tax offense. Acts resulting in higher reductions are classified as tax crimes. The threshold for this distinction in 2025 is PLN 23,330.
What is the amount of penalties for tax crimes or offenses in 2025?
The aforementioned minimum wage in force at the time of the prohibited act affects the fines imposed for tax crimes and offenses. Fines for tax crimes are calculated in daily rates. When determining a fine, the court specifies the number of daily rates for the offense and the value of one daily rate. The minimum number of daily rates provided in the Fiscal Penal Code is 10, while the maximum is 720. In summary proceedings, a fine may be imposed up to a maximum of 200 daily rates unless the Fiscal Penal Code provides for a milder penalty. The upper limit of a fine imposed in summary proceedings applies not only to individual fines but also to cumulative fines.
The range of daily rates for a fine depends on the minimum wage applicable at the time of the prohibited act. In the case of continuous acts – i.e., when the offender undertakes two or more actions in short intervals with the same intent or using the same opportunity – the time of the prohibited act is determined by the date of the last action constituting the tax crime, as per Article 6 § 2 of the Fiscal Penal Code. If it is not possible to precisely determine the final moment of the offender’s actions, the time of the prohibited act is considered to be the last day of the last month in which the offender undertook individual actions constituting the continuous act (see Supreme Court judgment of June 28, 2012, case reference III KK 397/11).
When determining the daily rate, the court also considers the offender’s income, personal conditions, family situation, financial circumstances, and earning potential. These factors are considered based on their state at the time of sentencing, even if they did not exist at the time of the prohibited act (see Supreme Court judgment of May 16, 2019, case reference III KK 157/18).
