Poland has introduced a new type of account that will allow individuals to invest up to 100,000 zloty (EUR 23,200) without paying capital gains tax.
The government says the scheme is designed to encourage Poles to build long-term savings and channel billions of zloty into the domestic financial market.
The new legislation, which was signed into law on August 13 by President Karol Nawrocki and will take effect on January 1, 2027, creates Personal Investment Accounts (OKI).
These will allow investment assets such as shares and investment fund units to be exempt from the 19% capital gains tax up to a limit of 100,000 zloty. Of this amount, up to 25,000 zloty may be held in savings assets such as bonds and deposits.
Assets held in an OKI above those limits will be subject to a new tax on their value. The government has said the tax will amount to 0.85% in 2027 and will be adjusted annually.
Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski earlier described the introduction of OKI as “the biggest change in years for individual investors and the largest project aimed at building domestic capital to drive the development of the Polish economy”.
While Nawrocki, who is aligned with the opposition, regularly clashes with the government and has vetoed a record number of laws, in this case he approved their idea, which he office said “could have a positive impact on both citizens and the state”.
“Poles will gain a tool to promote family wealth building thanks to an attractive tax-free allowance and a guarantee of no account maintenance fees,” they added.
The government estimates the scheme could result in about 74 billion zloty flowing to the Warsaw Stock Exchange until 2040. Kamil Gemra, an assistant professor at the Warsaw School of Economics, said he considered the projection realistic.
“Society is getting wealthier; we have record amounts in our bank accounts. It would be enough for just a few% of that money to flow into the capital market for the figure cited by the finance ministry be achieved,” Gemra said.
The government also forecasts, however, that the tax exemption will reduce state budget revenues by nearly 9 billion zloty over 10 years, at a time when public finances are under increasing strain amid rapidly rising debt.
Poland already has three mechanisms that allow people to accumulate assets with tax advantages: Individual Retirement Accounts (IKE), Individual Pension Schemes (IKZE), and Employee Capital Plans (PPK).
However, in all three cases, the capital gains tax exemption is conditional on withdrawing funds after reaching retirement age.
Despite the Polish stock market’s strong performance in recent years, Poles’ direct participation remains modest. Shares make up only 2.9% of household assets, the equivalent of 3% of GDP. That is well below the EU average of 8.2%.
By contrast, households’ cash holdings are equivalent to 11.5% of GDP, well ahead of the EU average of 4.5% and behind only Slovenia (11.7%) and Germany (11.6%). (Notes from Poland)