A fixed asset with an expected useful life of more than one year, which is complete, ready for use, and intended for the entity’s business purposes, must be entered into the fixed assets register if its value exceeds PLN 10,000. It is possible to make a one-off depreciation write-off of such an asset and recognise the expense in a single accounting period.
Depreciation methods
There are two main ways to apply one-off depreciation for fixed assets valued above PLN 10,000 (net value for active VAT taxpayers, gross value for VAT-exempt taxpayers):
- one-off depreciation under de minimis aid,
- depreciation of brand-new fixed assets.
One-off depreciation under the de minimis aid scheme
The de minimis aid scheme is available to both individuals and legal entities who have started their business activity in a given year, as well as to small taxpayers.
A small taxpayer is defined as a taxpayer whose sales revenue (including VAT) did not exceed the equivalent of EUR 2,000,000 in the previous tax year. The euro value is converted into PLN using the average exchange rate announced by the National Bank of Poland (NBP) on the first business day of October of the preceding tax year, rounded to the nearest PLN 1,000 (Article 5a(20) of the PIT Act).
Based on this definition, a small taxpayer in 2025 is one whose 2024 sales revenue, including VAT, did not exceed PLN 8,569,000. For 2026, the limit will be PLN 8,517,000.
Not all fixed assets may be depreciated under the de minimis scheme. Tax regulations precisely define which asset groups are eligible for this form of depreciation.
One-off depreciation under the de minimis aid applies to assets classified in Groups 3–8 of the Polish Fixed Assets Classification (KŚT):
- Group 3: Boilers and energy machinery used in production processes,
- Group 4: General-purpose machinery, equipment and devices,
- Group 5: Specialised machinery and equipment dedicated to specific industries,
- Group 6: Technical devices supporting production processes,
- Group 7: Means of transport (excluding passenger cars),
- Group 8: Tools, instruments, and other movable equipment not classified elsewhere.
It is worth noting that intangible assets are not eligible for one-off depreciation under the de minimis scheme.
Furthermore, one-off depreciation under this scheme is subject to a monetary limit of EUR 50,000. For 2025, this translates to PLN 214,000, and for 2026 — PLN 213,000, based on the NBP exchange rate on the first business day of October of the preceding year.
If the depreciation limit is exceeded, the excess amount must be depreciated according to the general rules starting from the following tax year.
One-off depreciation may be applied no earlier than in the month in which the asset is put into use — i.e. after it has been actually included in business operations.
Depreciation of brand-new Fixed Assets
Polish tax law also provides a preferential depreciation scheme for brand-new assets (unused, undamaged, and not previously operated), up to a limit of PLN 100,000, provided that one of the following conditions is met:
- the initial value of a single acquired fixed asset in a given tax year is at least PLN 10,000, or
- the total initial value of at least two fixed assets acquired in a given year is at least PLN 10,000, and the initial value of each exceeds PLN 3,500
If the PLN 100,000 limit is exceeded, the surplus amount must be depreciated according to general rules in subsequent tax years.
This type of one-off depreciation applies exclusively to brand-new fixed assets classified in Groups 3–6 and 8 of the Polish Fixed Assets Classification (KŚT).
An additional advantage of this form of depreciation is that it may also be applied to intangible assets, unlike the de minimis depreciation scheme.
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