Guide · VAT and cash register
Updated: · 8 min read · By Agnieszka Saladra, Certified Accountant
Not every firm has to buy a cash register straight away. A cash register (kasa fiskalna) in 2026 becomes mandatory only after the turnover limit is exceeded or - in selected sectors - from the very first sale. We explain how to calculate the PLN 20,000 limit, who has no right to the exemption, how much time you have for installation and how the relief on buying a cash register works. We also show how our online accounting office keeps track of these thresholds for you.
In short
A recording (fiscal) cash register is used to record sales to natural persons not running a business and to flat-rate farmers - that is, consumer sales. Sales to companies are documented with an invoice and are not counted towards the cash register exemption limit.
The rules for 2026 arise from the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 17 December 2024 on exemptions from the obligation to keep sales records using recording cash registers (Journal of Laws 2024, item 1902). The regulation has applied since 1 January 2025 and maintains the exemptions until 31 December 2027.
There are two routes by which you fall under the cash register obligation: exceeding the turnover limit or carrying out activities that are covered by a cash register unconditionally - from the first sale. We discuss both below. The rules are sometimes changed, which is why the state as of a specific date is worth confirming with an accountant or at podatki.gov.pl.
The most common is the exemption based on turnover. It applies as long as sales to natural persons and flat-rate farmers do not exceed PLN 20,000 in the tax year. The threshold did not change for 2026 and applies both to firms continuing their activity and to new ones.
Towards this limit you count only consumer sales. You do not include sales to other companies (documented with an invoice) or certain supplies of fixed assets towards the threshold.
If you start consumer sales mid-year, you set the limit in proportion to the number of days remaining until the end of the year. The formula is simple: PLN 20,000 x (number of days from the start of sales to the end of the year / number of days in the year).
In the following year, if the consumer turnover for the previous year did not exceed PLN 20,000, you can still use the exemption - this time with the full, annual threshold.
The PLN 20,000 limit does not cover everyone. The regulation lists activities for which a cash register is mandatory regardless of turnover - from the very first consumer sale. If you run such an activity, the cash register must be in place from the start.
This list shows the most common cases - the full catalogue of exclusions is in the regulation. The boundary can be fine (e.g. whether a given device is an electronic product or whether a food outlet counts as stationary premises), which is why it is worth confirming the classification of your activity with an accountant before you start selling.
When you exceed the PLN 20,000 limit (or the proportional one), the exemption expires - but not overnight. You have until the end of the 2 months following the month in which the limit was exceeded.
Example: you exceed the limit in March. The exemption ceases to apply at the end of May, so from 1 June you must record sales on a cash register. These two months are the time to buy, fiscalise and register the cash register - it is worth using it ahead of time, not at the last minute.
It is different in sectors covered by a cash register unconditionally - there is no transitional period or limit there. The cash register must already be working at the first consumer sale.
Today the standard is online cash registers - devices that transmit sales data on an ongoing basis to the Central Repository of Cash Registers run by the Head of the National Revenue Administration. Cash registers with a paper and electronic copy of the receipt are no longer sold (since 2019 and 2023 respectively); you can only have parts made for them during a transitional period.
An alternative can be a virtual cash register - software installed on a phone, tablet or computer, working like an online cash register. It is available only for selected sectors indicated in the regulations (including passenger transport, hotel services, catering).
Some sectors are obliged to use precisely an online cash register (including stationary catering, fuel stations, hairdressing, beauty, legal services, medical care, construction, vehicle repair). Which type of cash register will be right for you depends on the type of activity - we will compare the available options and present them, and you make the decision.
For the purchase of your first online cash register (or virtual one) you are entitled to relief: 90% of the net price of the cash register, but no more than PLN 700 per unit. Both active VAT taxpayers and firms exempt from VAT can use the deduction.
The method of settlement depends on VAT status: an active VAT taxpayer reports the relief in the JPK_V7 file, while a firm exempt from VAT files an application with the head of the tax office for a refund to a bank account. Remember also about the mandatory technical inspections of the cash register - failing to carry them out may mean having to return the relief.
The cash register obligation is an area where it is easy to make a mistake - from overlooking the limit, through misclassifying the sector, to a late installation. Each of these mistakes can end in a penalty or the loss of the right to relief.
At Luno-Group an experienced accountant looks after your settlements, not the app alone. We combine the convenience of online accounting with real support from a person who knows the rules and will answer your questions - in Polish or English.
Sources and legal basis
The limit is PLN 20,000 in sales to natural persons not running a business and to flat-rate farmers in the tax year. You do not include sales to companies. After exceeding this amount, the obligation to record sales on a cash register arises.
You calculate the limit in proportion to the number of days from the start of sales to the end of the year, using the formula PLN 20,000 x (days to the end of the year / days in the year). Starting on 1 July the threshold is about PLN 10,000, and on 1 October - about PLN 5,000.
Without the right to the limit, a cash register is used by, among others, catering, hairdressing, beauty, legal and tax advisory services, medical and dental care, vehicle repair, as well as the sale of car parts, computers and electronic products, and perfumes and eau de toilette. Cosmetics other than perfumes and eau de toilette are not on this list. The full catalogue is in the regulation.
The exemption expires after 2 months following the month in which you exceeded the limit. If you exceed the limit in March, the cash register must be working from 1 June. In sectors covered by a cash register unconditionally there is no transitional period.
The relief is 90% of the net price of the cash register, but no more than PLN 700 per unit. It is available for the first online cash register (or virtual one where it is permitted), to both VAT taxpayers and firms exempt from VAT, after meeting the formal conditions.
It depends on the sector and the way you sell - a virtual cash register is available only for selected sectors, and some activities are obliged to use an online cash register. We will compare the available options and present the costs and requirements, and the choice is yours.