Guide · Expenses
Updated: · 8 min read · By Agnieszka Saladra, Certified Accountant
Choosing how to finance a car is one of the more important cost decisions in a business, and from 2026 the rules of the game have changed. Car leasing in business is settled differently in the operating and finance variants, and new cost limits based on CO2 emissions mean that the same vehicle can burden costs to very different degrees.
In short
From a tax settlement perspective, the key point is who owns the vehicle during the agreement and who depreciates it. It is precisely this difference that determines what enters your company's costs and when.
In an operating lease the leasing company remains the owner of the car throughout the agreement. It is the lessor that depreciates the vehicle, while you include the initial payment and the monthly instalments in costs (subject to the limits described below). After the agreement ends, you may carry out a buyout.
In a finance lease you, as the user, are the economic owner of the vehicle - you enter it in the fixed asset register and depreciate it yourself. The tax-deductible cost from the instalment itself is then only its interest part, not the whole instalment.
There is no single form that is better for everyone - it depends on the car's value, CO2 emissions, the form of taxation and plans regarding the buyout. At our accounting office we will calculate both variants and present the effects, and you make the decision.
The most important change in 2026 concerns the value limit of a passenger car up to which costs can be settled - both depreciation and lease or rental instalments. From 1 January 2026 the limit depends on the vehicle's CO2 emissions.
In practice the PLN 100,000 limit will cover almost all combustion cars and most hybrids. This is a significant reduction from the earlier threshold of PLN 150,000, which previously applied to vehicles other than electric ones.
The transitional rules are important. For cars entered in the fixed asset register by the end of 2025 (that is, in the case of a purchase and a finance lease), the previous, higher limit is retained. It is different, however, with an operating lease and rental - here the new, lower limit from January 2026 also applies to agreements concluded earlier. An old agreement does not protect you from the new rules.
Limits for a passenger car in business 2026
| Vehicle type | Cost/depreciation limit | VAT deduction |
|---|---|---|
| Electric or hydrogen | PLN 225,000 | 50% without a log, or 100% with VAT-26 and use exclusively for the business |
| Combustion with CO2 emissions below 50 g/km | PLN 150,000 | 50% without a log, or 100% with VAT-26 and use exclusively for the business |
| Combustion with CO2 emissions of 50 g/km or higher | PLN 100,000 (change from 2026) | 50% without a log, or 100% with VAT-26 and use exclusively for the business |
The amounts and rules may change with successive amendments - before important decisions it is worth confirming the current state of affairs at podatki.gov.pl or with an accountant.
If the car's value does not exceed the limit applicable to its emissions, you include the operating lease instalments (and the initial payment) in costs in full. The problem begins when the car is more expensive than the limit.
When the vehicle's value exceeds the limit, you include the instalments in costs only in the proportion calculated as the limit divided by the car's value. For a combustion car worth PLN 200,000 with a limit of PLN 100,000 the proportion is 50%, so only half of the principal part of each instalment and of the initial payment enters costs.
For cars cheaper than the limit the proportion is 100% and nothing changes. The higher the vehicle's value above the limit, the smaller the part of the instalment that can be included in costs.
On a passenger car used in the business you can deduct VAT in two variants. These rules, as a rule, remain unchanged in 2026.
By default you deduct 50% of VAT - this applies to lease instalments, fuel and other running expenses. It requires no additional formalities and assumes the car serves both business and private purposes.
The full 100% VAT deduction is available when you use the car exclusively for the business. Several conditions must then be met together: submit the VAT-26 form to the tax office, keep a detailed mileage log, and establish rules (a policy) for using the vehicle that exclude private use.
The non-deductible part of VAT (e.g. the 50%) as a rule increases the vehicle's value or enters costs - which in turn connects with the limits described above. Settling VAT on a car can be complex, so it is worth agreeing it with an accountant before signing the agreement.
After an operating lease ends you can buy out the car, usually at a pre-agreed low price. The buyout is a separate transaction - the acquisition of a fixed asset - and is settled independently of the earlier instalments.
A car from a buyout can be entered into the business as a fixed asset and depreciated, or - at a low value - included in costs at once. You can also buy it out for private purposes and not enter it into the business. Each of these scenarios has different income tax and VAT consequences.
Selling a car bought out from a lease - including one bought out for private purposes - is revenue from business activity if it takes place before six years have passed, counted from the first day of the month following the month in which the car was withdrawn from the business or bought out for private purposes (Article 10(2)(4) in conjunction with Article 14(2)(19) of the PIT Act); the rule covers vehicles bought out after 31 December 2021. After those six years the sale falls outside income tax. Before you decide on the form of buyout and a possible sale, we will calculate the effects of the individual variants with you.
Leasing is not the only route. If you use a car in your business that is neither the company's fixed asset nor leased, you settle it on different terms.
For an entrepreneur using a private car for the business, as a rule 20% of expenses on its use (e.g. fuel, repairs) are included in costs, with no obligation to keep a mileage log for income tax purposes.
The mileage allowance and flat-rate work differently when reimbursing the costs of using a private car, e.g. to an employee. The rate per 1 km of mileage in 2026 is about PLN 0.89 for cars with an engine capacity up to 900 cm3 and about PLN 1.15 above 900 cm3, while the monthly flat-rate limits are usually 300, 500 or 700 km depending on the size of the municipality.
After the 2026 changes, the difference between leasing and purchase (cash or credit) depends heavily on the car's value and its CO2 emissions. For cars within the limit the tax effect tends to be similar; for more expensive vehicles the cost proportion can significantly change the calculation.
We do not point out in advance which form is best - every situation is different. We will compare the operating lease, the finance lease and a purchase for you and present the numbers, and the choice is yours.
In an operating lease the lessor owns the car and depreciates it, while you include the instalments and the initial payment in costs. In a finance lease you depreciate the vehicle as a fixed asset, and the cost from the instalment is only its interest part.
From 1 January 2026 the limit depends on CO2 emissions: PLN 225,000 for electric and hydrogen cars, PLN 150,000 for emissions below 50 g/km, and PLN 100,000 for emissions of 50 g/km or higher. The limit applies to both depreciation and lease instalments.
For an operating lease and rental, the new, lower limit from January 2026 also covers agreements concluded earlier. Transitional rules with the higher limit apply, as a rule, to cars entered in the fixed asset register by the end of 2025, that is a purchase and a finance lease.
The full deduction is available when the car serves exclusively the business. You must submit the VAT-26 form (as a rule by the 25th day of the month after the month of the first expense), keep a mileage log, and establish rules of use that exclude private use. Without this you deduct 50%.
The interest part of the instalment is, as a rule, a cost in full, regardless of the limit. The principal part is subject to the limit - if the car is more expensive than the limit, you include it in the proportion calculated as the limit divided by the vehicle's value.
It depends on the car's value, its CO2 emissions, the form of taxation, the VAT status and plans regarding the buyout. We do not point out a single variant in advance - we will calculate the operating lease, the finance lease and a purchase for you and present the effects, and you make the decision.