According to the regulations, anyone who sells real estate within five years of its purchase is obliged to settle accounts with the tax office. In other words: he must pay tax on the sale of an apartment, house or other premises. In practice, there is a way to avoid paying 19%. tax on this transaction.
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As a reminder: tax of 19 percent paid by people who sell real estate within five years of its purchase (counting from the end of the calendar year). Entrepreneurs are an exception to these rules – for them, tax liability may also arise after five years.
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If five years have passed since the end of the year in which the apartment was purchased, the sale is exempt from PIT. Early sale means the need to settle tax, but only on the actual profit.
How to avoid tax on the sale of real estate before five years? We explain
Real estate sales tax may not be required if the seller meets a key condition: he transfers the funds for another housing purpose.
As the praw.pl website reminds, income tax on the sale of an apartment or house within five years is calculated on the difference between the sales revenue and the costs of obtaining it.
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However, if the funds are spent for your own housing purposes, you can benefit from the exemption. It is important that expenses are properly documented and do not exceed sales revenue.
Tax on the sale of an apartment. Not everyone can benefit from the relief
The situation may be unclear for some sellers, as “own residential purposes” is an ambiguous concept. As the praw.pl website reminds, the interpretation of the Minister of Finance from 2021 specifies that residential purposes include, among others: expenses for renovation or finishing of the property. Thanks to this, the taxpayer can avoid tax if he uses the funds, for example, to modernize a new apartment.
Sometimes additional doubts may arise. What is the difference between housing relief in PIT and inheritance and donation tax? In everyday language, both exemptions are sometimes confused, but they apply to different situations.
The housing relief does not cover the purchase of an apartment for children or families – only the taxpayer's own needs count.
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Purchasing several apartments or temporarily renting a premises is also questionable. The tax authorities emphasize that the exemption applies only to real estate that is actually used to meet one's own housing needs.
As the website praw.pl explains, the PIT exemption applies to the sale of real estate within five years and the use of the funds for own housing purposes. Housing relief in inheritance and gift tax allows you not to pay tax on an inherited or donated apartment if certain conditions are met.
