Settlement of revenues/income for 2025 is the obligation of every taxpayer. The time expires on April 30 at midnight. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, young people whose income did not exceed PLN 85,528 last year do not have to submit PIT returns. Moreover, some of the annual returns will be automatically accepted by the tax administration. However, this only applies to PIT-37 and PIT-38. However, if the taxpayer was obliged to settle the tax himself and did not do so, he is subject to a penalty. We explain what to do to avoid it.
Read also: Do you want to settle your PIT quickly? Remember these 10 things
What are the fiscal penalties for failure to submit PIT on time?
The penalty for failing to submit your PIT on time depends on, among others: on whether the State Treasury suffered a loss due to the taxpayer's failure to file PIT, i.e. whether the so-called tax reduction.
If the depletion did not occur, it is the taxpayer may be punished with a fiscal fine. From January 1, 2026, the fine for a fiscal offense ranges from PLN 480.60 to PLN 24,030.
If there is a depletion, depending on its amount, you may be liable for a fiscal offense or a fiscal crime.
Read also: Do you benefit from child tax relief? See what the tax office checks and what mistakes to avoid
What if you do not submit your PIT return for 2025 by the settlement deadline (April 30)
If the taxpayer (mainly entrepreneurs, including the self-employed) failed to submit the PIT on time, he or she may avoid fiscal penalties, but you have to hurry.
If the taxpayer does not want to pay the penalty for submitting a tax return after the deadline:
- must submit the outstanding PIT as soon as possible,
- if the PIT results in an underpayment, he must also pay tax (after the deadline we are talking about tax arrears) along with interest on the tax arrears, and
- must include the so-called active regreti.e. a letter in which the taxpayer voluntarily admits to violating tax regulations and explaining the reason for failure to fulfill the obligation to settle income within the statutory deadline.
Hurry is advisable because Active regret will be ineffective if the tax office is the first to ask for a tax return.
Therefore, an active complaint must be submitted before the tax authority learns about the commission of a prohibited act, i.e. before the tax office realizes that the taxpayer has not fulfilled the obligation.
How to fulfill other obligations, including submitting the PIT return after the deadline?
If you do not submit your PIT by April 30, a problem will arise on May 1 or in the following days.
You will not be able to use the Your e-PIT service and thus submit your annual tax return because – according to the National Tax Administration – At midnight on May 1, 2026, automatic acceptance of returns in the Your e-PIT service will begin. “We anticipate that it will last until May 7 this year until 9 p.m. The service will not be available during this time.” – explains KAS.
Taxpayers who are late with their PIT return have other methods of filing their returns. You can submit your PIT to the tax office (but not earlier than May 4), send it by post (in this case, the date of the postmark is decisive) or in electronic form, using the e-Deklaracje system. If you want to attach an active complaint, it is best to send the PIT and active complaint by post. The e-Deklaracje system does not allow you to attach an active complaint (an additional document).
If the PIT results in an underpayment, then: the tax must be paid to your tax microaccount.
Who doesn't have to worry if they haven't filed their PIT themselves, and who has a problem?
If the taxpayer did not independently submit the PIT-37 and PIT-38 return for 2025, after April 30, 2026, the return prepared by the tax administration as part of the Your e-PIT service will be automatically accepted.
Thanks to this, PIT-37 and PIT-38 will be submitted on time, even if the taxpayer has not done anything. So employees, contractors and retirees are not subject to penalties for failing to submit a return.
Of course, there is no problem for natural persons who did not generate any income in 2025 and persons who obtained only tax-exempt income, e.g. young people up to 26 years of age, if their income in 2025 did not exceed PLN 85,528.
However, automatic acceptance will not apply to PIT returns of entrepreneurs, people renting apartments or selling real estate. This means that the PIT-28, PIT-36 and PIT-36L returns must be submitted independently. If If you are late in submitting them, you may be penalized.
Author: Łukasz Zalewski, journalist of the Law section, Business Insider Polska
