Although a few years ago (January 1, 2019) the period to take advantage of the housing relief in PIT was extended from two to three years, then some taxpayers still have a problem with meeting this date, especially if for money from the sale of old real estate they buy a new apartment on the primary market, from the developer. Some people exceed the period of three years, but not because of their fault, but because of the delays from the developer. Does this mean that the taxpayer must pay 19 percent. PIT and loses the right to a housing relief? This question was already answered by the Supreme Administrative Court in a final judgment of 2025, and recently another judgment was passed, this time the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk.
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Sale of real estate. How much time to take advantage of the PIT housing relief
Let's start with the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court of March 4, 2025 (reference number II FSK 1569/24).
It concerned a man who sold a flat with a garage for 560 thousand on March 7, 2019. zloty. He sold it within five years of acquisition (he purchased on December 17, 2015). For this money he bought a different apartment and wanted to take advantage of the housing relief in PIT (Article 21 (1) (131)).
We would like to remind you that the PIT taxation is subject to the sale of real estate for a paid sale, if it took place within five years from the end of the calendar year in which the acquisition took place and is not related to the business activity. However, if the taxpayer within three years from the end of the tax year in which he sold the property, spends the money – in whole or in part – to satisfy his own housing purposes, he can take advantage of the housing relief, so he will not pay PIT at all or partially. The second condition for using the housing relief (from January 1, 2019) is to obtain the legal title of the new property over the period of three years. In other words, a notarial deed must be signed during three years.
The man who sold the apartment in 2019 had time to take advantage of the housing relief, and thus spending money for his own housing purposes, until December 31, 2022. The man in 2021 signed a development agreement for the purchase of another apartment. Under this agreement, the man was supposed to pay money for the purchase of an apartment by the end of 2021, and the developer undertook to sign a notarial deed, which transfers the ownership of the apartment to a man at the latest on June 25, 2022. The man met his part of the contract, but the developer – no. The notarial deed was concluded only in June 2023, i.e. after the three -year date to take advantage of the housing relief. The developer made a statement that “the delay in the completion of the investment occurred for reasons completely independent of him, without his fault, as a result of force majeure.”
The man believed that since he was not the one who is to not meet the three -year period, but the developer, he should be able to take advantage of the housing relief. The director of the National Treasury Information did not agree with this, which is why the dispute moved to the courts.
What did the courts decide on the PIT housing relief when the developer delayed the signing of the notarial deed?
WSA in Szczecin (judgment of 24 July 2024, reference number I SA/Sz 254/24), and then the Supreme Administrative Court in its judgment of 4 March 2025 agreed with the man.
The Szczecin court pointed out that the taxpayer kept his obligation under the development agreementbecause he paid money to buy an apartment, so he spent money on his own housing purposes on time.
The Supreme Administrative Court also decided that the taxpayer could take advantage of the housing relief. In the justification, the court admitted that “in the special circumstances of the present case, the applicant has the right to take advantage of the relief.”
The Supreme Administrative Court added that “the applicant did not have in relation to the developer the status of a decision -making entity in the implementation of the development project, which could affect the course of the construction process. The schedule of the development project was determined only by the developer.” Therefore, the court found that the taxpayer, as a buyer of a dwelling, only met a cash benefit according to the provisions of the contract with the developer.
“It should therefore be considered that it should be considered that The premises for the use of a housing allowance relate to the taxpayeras a potential beneficiary of the relief, not the developer. Therefore, if the applicant-tax managed the provisions of the development agreement, and at the same time retained the conditions for granting a housing relief, then the ultimate failure of these conditions caused by the developer's deveperedness, should not result in deprivation of the applicant's right to tax preference ” – sounds A key fragment of the justification of the Supreme Administrative Court judgment.
The court also pointed out that the legislator, when introducing changes in the housing relief in 2019, wanted Remove the conditions for using the relief, which undoubtedly has a social purpose. So in the situation “when all material premises were met – depending on the taxpayer – this is not fulfilled by a purely formal condition – not the fault of the taxpayer – should not destroy the possibility of obtaining a relief. A different position would be a manifestation of excessive formalism” Said the Supreme Administrative Court.
Let us add that the same position was taken by the Provincial Administrative Court in Gdańsk in its judgment of 16 July 2025 (reference number I SA/Gd 249/25, unlawful), as reported by LinkedIn Aneta Grochowalska, a law student at the University of Gdańsk.
Author: Łukasz Zalewski, journalist of the Business Insider Polska Law Department
